SXSW Profiles

Sally Timms, Saengerrunde Hall, 8pm Thursday

Sally Timms is still a member of the Mekons.

"It's my primary occupation," she says with a chuckle, "Occupation's the wrong word, it's a hobby."

Her work as a solo artist, especially last fall's just-under-the-wire Best of 1999 entry, Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments for Lost Buckaroos (Bloodshot), would have anyone else seriously thinking about giving their day job -- er, hobby -- the ol' heave-ho. Spotlighting her appealing vocals, the sly and effective combination of honky-tonk and lullabies, Twilight Laments... focused Timms ability to concoct a tempting musical spell. Originally from Leeds, England, the current Chicago denizen claims not to be very knowledgeable about country music, though she began singing it in a band called the Shee Hees.

"We used to do cheesy country covers," recalls Timms. "It was an all-women band, and we thought it was a kind of joke. It really was more like performance art."

She got serious about country music when she connected with the Mekons' Jon Langford in 1983, as he and others started giving her traditional country songs ("Long Black Veil") just to hear her honeyed voice sing them. Though Bloodshot had been after Timms to follow up 1997's Cowboy Sally EP, she resisted until 1999, explaining that it all came together rather quickly. First she needed to collect some songs.

"I asked a lot of people," she relates. "I'm kind of cheeky like that. I'd just go up to people and say, 'I'd like a song, please. Would you give one to me?'"

The list of songwriters who agreed includes Langford, who co-wrote two songs, Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, Robbie Fulks, the Handsome Family, and Jill Sobule. The loping, bluegrass-tinged "When the Roses Are in Bloom" came from Wilco's Mermaid Avenue sessions, while Fulks wrote the English-folk-sounding "In Bristol Town One Bright Day" specifically for Timms.

"Generally [songwriters] say yes, because not that many people ask," she explains. "I think a lot of writers like the idea of writing for someone else on a very occasional basis."

Meanwhile, the inclusion of Johnny Cash's classic "Cry Cry Cry," done in a sweet and loving manner, may indicate that she knows more about country than she'll admit to. As a whole, Twilight Laments... possesses an engaging, whimsical nature that's truly rare.

"If I'd of had my way it would be far more kitschy," claims Timms. "Fortunately I have friends who reigned me in, or the whole thing would have been a joke. But everything seemed to come about as a happy accident. It's short and sweet and it's just what it is."