New Orleans Times Picayune
4/26/02
Myshkin's pain yields beautiful "Rosebud Bullets"
By Keith Spera

Myshkin's 2000 release "Why Do All The Country Girls Leave?" was a joyous romp through a kaleidoscope of styles, from country-blues to pop to "gypsy-torch-punk," a category of the singer's own creation. On her new "Rosebud Bullets, she aspired to craft a more cohesive album, one that is bound by a common theme.

That theme, she says, is "heartbreak. And heartbreak. And heartbreak." She wrote and recorded most of "Rosebud Bullets" in the wake of her split last summer from her husband and longtime creative partner, singer songwriter Mike West.

Despite, or perhaps because of, its unhappy origins, "Rosebud Bullets" is a gorgeous, often bittersweet body of work. With her band, the Ruby Warblers - upright bassist John Lutz and drummer Scott Magee, who will join her Wednesday at the Blue Nile for a CD release party with fiddler Neti Vaan and clarinetist Ben Schenck - she has crafted a record that draws on torch songs, Celtic influences, Gypsy music and other exotica, stamped with her singular, sometimes haunting, alto.

Always a formidable presence, that alto makes great strides on "Rosebud Bullets." Often cast in bare settings, its richness and subtle power are striking.

"With any instrument, and with voice as well, you stay on a plateau for a while, and then you make a little leap and suddenly you're in this other space in your growth as an artist," Myshkin said. "I fell like I had one of those little jumps. I'm able to use my voice more emotively. It's a matter of technical things, but it's also an attitude thing. I think I found a new passion in performance and singing that changed the way I sing."

She will likely find new inspiration in August, when she leaves New Orleans, her home since 1993, for Portland. The move is necessary, she believes, for both personal and professional reasons. Friends, an abundance of gigs and some of the west coast's most inexpensive living await her there.

She knows that leaving new Orleans will not be easy. "I've learned so much here," she said. "I feel like I've gone to school here for nine years. But I feel like I've done what I can do in New Orleans. I need to be in some place that feels more connected to the rest of the world. It's hard to be taken on your own terms in this town. This place is wonderful; it's a magic kingdom here. It's a beautiful town, and I love it. But it's time."

For years, she and West collaborated on each other's albums in between barnstorming tours around the country. West recorded and mixed "Rosebud Bullets" after their break-up; Myshkin is optimistic that they can remain friends. "We found new ways to work together, which was good, " she said. "We did some great work together over the years."

Her work has hit a new high water mark on "Rosebud Bullets", as her lyrics match her poignant voice. She wrote the lines "I'll be here all the winter/ come summer I'll be somewhere cooler again," from the song "Ruby Warbler," before she realized she'd be making a summertime move to Portland. "I think it often works that you write stuff and you're not really sure what you're writing about until later," she said.

"Rosebud Bullets" feels more like a film to her, as it conjures many visuals. Such a perspective accounts for the dramatic arc of the songs. The final cut, "Northern Coast," is a farewell to both the record and Myshkin's time in New Orleans. It closes with, "I dream of the northern coast/ California fog and dogpatch grass/ passes clearing red and roan/ manzanita and madrone/ I dream of the cliffy coast/ I see jumping women floating down/ gowns that match the spray and foam/ all the strings swell as the credits roll."