The
cover
of
“In
the
Eyes
of
Strangers,”
the
new
album
by
lesbian
singer-songwriter
Melissa
Ferrick,
introduces
fans
to
Ferrick’s
partner
of
the
past
12
years.
“Her
name
is
Moon.
I’ve
had
her
since
she
was
a
kitten,”
Ferrick
explains.
Sometime
during
the
photo
shoot,
which
took
place
at
Ferrick’s
home,
the
anxious
singer
got
tired
of
standing
for
photos
and
asked
her
manager
to
snap
a
picture
of
her
and
the
cat.
The
manager
liked
the
idea,
and
the
photos.
“And
it
ended
up
being
the
album
cover,”
quips
Ferrick.
Moon’s
presence
on
the
cover
of
“Strangers,”
could
be
the
last
remnant
of
the
Melissa
Ferrick
fans
have
followed
since
her
debut
in
1993.
As
Ferrick
tells
it,
she
is
a
musician
on
the
move.
“You
get
to
different
places
in
your
life
where
you
say,
‘if
this
doesn’t
change,
I’m
going
to
find
something
else
to
do
because
there’s
no
challenge
in
this,’”
she
says.
The
singer
admits
to
being
drained
after
a
grueling
two
years
of
touring
in
support
of
“The
Other
Side,”
her
2004
CD
that
found
her
playing
nearly
all
the
instruments
and
settling
the
arrangements
on
the
record
by
herself.
With
“Strangers,”
Ferrick
brought
in
friends
new
and
old
for
the
recording
process.
And
she
says
she’s
ushered
in
a
raucous
new
sound.
“It
really
helps
separate
me
from
the
onslaught
of
female
singer
songwriters
with
guitars,”
she
says.
“There’s
so
many
singer-songwriters
around,
especially
women,
you
kind
of
get
slotted
into
this
idea
in
people’s
heads.”
Ferrick
celebrates
the
release
of
“Strangers”
with
an
Atlanta
concert
on
Dec.
9
at
Vinyl
in
Atlanta
Live.
“It’s
really
hard
to
say
to
people,
think
Pete
Townsend
instead
of
Jewel,”
she
continues.
“It
just
seems
like
it’s
easier
for
guys
to
be
seen
as
in
a
band
instead
of
girls.”
But
Ferrick
is
not
complaining.
She
acknowledges
that
much
of
her
career
unfolded
in
pubs
and
listening
rooms
across
the
world,
the
stomping
grounds
of
countless
would
be
folk
singing,
string
strumming,
singer-songwriters
everywhere.
The
new
album
is
about
differentiating
her
image
from
everyone
else.
“That
feels
like
what
I’ve
come
up
against,
and
its
what
I’m
trying
to
define
right
now,”
she
says.
“Inside
my
heart,
I’m
really
a
rocker
and
a
band-fronter.”
Fans
are
quickly
adapting
to
the
new
sound
that’s
a
natural
extension
of
the
music
that
built
her
solid
fan
base,
she
says.
“It’s
an
interesting
place
to
be
in
when
you’re
a
musician,”
she
says.
“My
younger
fans,
who
seemed
to
kind
of
dwindle
in
the
last
couple
years,
like
to
dance
and
stand
up,
and
they
show
up
to
the
bars
and
the
theaters.
My
older
fans
who
come
to
the
listening
rooms
want
to
sit
down
and
hear
the
music.”
With
her
band
support,
Ferrick
is
aiming
to
break
into
venues
that
will
accommodate
fans
of
all
ages.
“I
hope
that
this
record
and
this
tour
help
me
break
into
those
theaters.
Getting
into
larger
rooms
helps
sell
tickets,”
she
wagers.
Even
with
a
band
behind
her
on
stage,
Ferrick
has
firm
foothold
in
the
direction
of
her
own
career,
and
remains
focused
on
growing.
When
major
and
indy
label
sponsorship
fizzled,
she
started
her
own
Right
On
Records
in
2000.
Six
years
later,
she’s
confident
that
she’s
got
the
hang
of
balancing
the
roles
of
artist
and
record
executive.
“To
be
completely
honest,
it
was
really
a
tax
situation,
where
I
needed
to
incorporate,”
she
says
of
forming
the
label,
on
which
she
is
the
sole
recording
artist.
And
any
jitters
about
failing
to
secure
space
on
record
store
shelves
are
gone,
she
says.
“Now,
six
years
later,
I
have
national
distribution
that
I’m
really
happy
with,”
she
says.
“Every
year
that
goes
by,
it
seems
less
and
less
of
a
need
to
be
with
another
label.”
No
doubt,
her
confidence
was
boosted
by
fans
willing
to
invest
in
a
new
Ferrick
record
before
a
single
disc
is
pressed.
She
says
fans
donated
about
half
of
the
$20,000
recording
budget
for
“Strangers.”
The
rest
she
financed
on
credit
cards,
though
she
is
careful
to
expediently
repay
those
debts.
“Every
time
you
sell
20
albums
on
the
road,
you’ve
got
to
send
that
back
home,”
she
says
of
her
strategy.
“I’m
almost
out
of
debt,
I’m
happy
to
say.”
“In
the
Eyes
of
Strangers”
was
recorded
over
11
days
in
a
studio
in
Boston,
close
to
Ferrick’s
home
base
of
Newburyport,
Mass.
The
title
of
the
album
hearkens
a
sentiment
Ferrick
says
most
artists
experience
at
...
