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A
Little Bit Country
(The Naughty Miss Tammy Faye Starlite)
by Justine Ciovacco
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Tammy Lang is not a God-fearing woman, but she plays one on stage.
Still, her alter ego, Miss Tammy Faye Starlite, is not your average
preacher.
"The character is a cross between Loretta Lynn, Courtney Love, Lenny
Bruce and Billy Graham," says Lang, a New York-based performance
artist. As Starlite, she plays small clubs around the county with
her band, the Angels of Mercy, performing what she calls "filthy
gospel country."
Her songs are controversial. Though Lang is Jewish, Miss Tammy Faye
Starlite is a Christian country singer who waxes poetic about rape,
incest, and nymphomania, and tries to convert the Jews who attend
her shows. "It's my nature to push further than I often should,"
says Lang, "I guess we're not Tipper-friendly at all."
The Tipper here, of course, is Tipper Gore, former champion of the
Parents Music Resource Center--the villains of mid-'80s music who
asked that warning labels be included on all music products. But
as an independent artist, Starlite doesn't have to worry about such
mainstream requests.
Her EP, On My Knees, presents itself as a live radio broadcast made
during a barn dance at 4 am. Starlite's delicate vocals--on songs
like "God Has Lodged a Tenant in My Uterus" ("He's asked me to keep
it safe, and keep it warm/God forbid I should hurt it, kill it,
or desert it/My placenta is its' shelter from the storm")--are punctuated
by trailer-parkesque hoots, jealous hollering men and pig calls.
It was produced by former Del-Lords singer/guitarist Eric "Roscoe"
Ambel, who has worked with the Bottle Rockets, Mojo Nixon and Ian
Hunter.
On-stage is where Miss Tammy Faye Starlite shines. Four years ago
when she began performing, Starlite dressed like Tammy Wynette,
complete with long, flowing dresses. "Now I have mini-dresses and
lots of glitter all over," says Lang. "That's my thing, lots of
glitter. Plus, I wear boas and feathers. I used to make the band
wear angel wings, but we've stopped that."
Everyone in the audience is fair game. During a song called "Daddy's
Hands," Starlite positions herself on the lap of a man in the audience.
She's been "stared and glared at," and people have left mid-show,
but that's fine with Lang. "You kind of just keep going and go with
what's going on in the room....Not everyone thinks the Holocaust
and incest are fodder for comedy."
Lang feels that being a woman covering these subjects does lend
to the naughty nature of her act. "I think it makes a difference.
She's a feminine character; docile to men. Some songs may be about
[raunchy] subjects, but the character sees everything good through
her eyes."
Plus, it may appease offended audience members to know that it's
a family act. Her husband, Jay Oakes (aka Jimmy Jay Starlite, her
"husband and brother") is part of the show. Furthermore, Lang is
a "classically" trained actress. Besides putting in two years' work
on the CBS soap Guiding Light , Lang voiced a character for MTV's
Downtown cartoon.
So, why country music? Checking out the musical influences of her
major "deities," The Rolling Stones, brought Gram Parsons to Lang's
attention. Emmylou Harris, Patsy Cline, and Loretta Lynn soon followed.
"I became a country music addict!" she says, "I love Nashville,
though country these days is a bit glossy. [That's why] we've been
incorporating a bit more punk and gospel into our show."
Considering that Starlite's early repertoire included a cover of
Tammy Wynette's "Stand by Your Man" that positioned a gang rape
monologue in between two choruses, her music's gospel slant may
seem like an odd connection for some people. But Lang sees gospel
in a unique light: "It's very emotional and sexual. The phase 'on
my knees' is in so many Christian songs. Or, they talk about 'laying
down before him'...the rapture, that's just reaching climax."
Performing as Miss Tammy Faye Starlite has met Tammy Lang's goal.
"I just kind of like to entertain by provoking a little bit," she
says. "It's the sheer thrill of provocation. It's like when you
go up a hill in a roller coaster and you are anxious, but then you
come down the other side. It's that little thrill."
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Starlite's CD is available at www.Tropia.com
and Tower Records, 4th St. and Broadway in New York City. |
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