GERLINDA
GRIMES,
LEAD
singer/
guitarist/lyricist
of
weaklazyliar,
is
a
lesbian.
But
she
says
her
intent
isn’t
to
play
only
to
gay
listeners,
so
she
opts
instead
to
tell
universal
tales
to
which
anyone
can
relate.
The
Atlanta
indie
alt-pop
quartet’s
new
CD,
“Songs
for
Any
Occasion,”
is
scheduled
to
be
released
on
Feb.
15.
“I
don’t
make
any
kind
of
conscious
attempt
to
write,
or
not
write,
about
gay
themes
in
my
music,”
she
says.
“Honestly,
I’m
not
even
sure
what
a
‘gay
theme’
would
be.”
Further,
Grimes
believes
weaklazyliar’s
brand
of
pensive
folk-pop
isn’t
necessarily
the
only
fitting
genre
for
expressing
gay
sentiments
in
music.
“I
think
you
can
express
how
it
feels
to
be
a
gay
person
effectively
through
any
creative
medium,
including
the
creative
medium
of
day-to-day
life
itself,”
she
says.
Grimes,
who
cites
singer
Suzanne
Vega’s
“amazing
lyrics
and
pure,
quiet
voice”
as
primary
influences,
has
a
voice
that
is
sometimes
slightly
reminiscent
of
both
Vega
and
former
Sixpence
None
The
Richer
vocalist
Leigh
Nash.
It’s
that
element,
and
Grimes’
own
intensely
poetic
lyrics,
that
help
convey
the
sometimes
bittersweet
but
ultimately
life-affirming
moments
in
the
band’s
songs.
“I’m
driving
through
Birmingham
/
Everything
has
brought
me
right
here,
/
To
where
I
am
/
Of
all
the
small
things
I’ve
ever
done
/
This
is
one
/
This
is
one,”
Grimes
sings
on
“Broken
Windows
in
Factories.”
In
the
wistful
“When
Joe
Lived
on
Mary
Street,”
Grimes
sings,
“When
Joe
lived
on
Mary
Street
/
Rain
was
a
devil
dancer
in
a
dark
coat
/
He
wanted
so
many
impossible
things
/
He
didn’t
know
which
one
to
choose
/
He
let
them
all
go.”
SUCH
SONGS
ARE
akin
to
old-fashioned
ballads,
with
characters
facing
difficult
choices
in
life
and
love.
The
band
formed
in
1996
when
Grimes
met
bassist
Chris
Mathewson
and
the
two
connected
over
songwriting.
Drummer
Jeff
Frazier
joined
them
soon
after.
Over
the
next
eight
years,
the
group
went
through
several
lineup
changes
but
continued
to
write,
perform
and
record.
They
gradually
accrued
a
critical
following,
thanks
to
their
debut
EP
and
subsequent
CDs,
“Yesterday
Night”
and
“The
November
Diaries.”
Their
songs
have
been
featured
on
the
TV
shows
“Felicity,”
“The
Education
of
Max
Bickford,”
and
the
Saturday
morning
teen
series
“Just
Deal.”
So
far,
Grimes
says
her
status
as
the
band’s
front
woman,
and
its
only
gay
member,
has
been
a
positive
experience.
“The
guys
are
supportive
to
the
point
that
none
of
us
ever
think
about
the
fact
that
I’m
gay.
To
them,
I’m
just
Gerlinda,”
she
says.
“All
of
our
fans,
gay
and
straight
and
in-between,
seem
OK
with
it,
too.”
The
“guys”
are
Mathewson,
Frazier,
and
keyboardist
Ryan
Taylor.
Despite
weaklazyliar’s
ambivalence
regarding
gay
themes
in
its
music
and
Grimes’
sexual
orientation,
the
sweet
song
“Elevator”
—
laced
with
Taylor’s
evocative,
almost
William
Orbit-inspired
keyboard
flourishes
—
comes
perhaps
the
closest
to
indirectly
conveying
gay
sentiments:
“Suddenly,
I
am
aware
of
my
knees
/
They’re
funny
and
lonely
and
small
/
Here
is
my
family:
laughing
in
the
corridor
/
I
don’t
know
who
I
am
at
all.”
“Maybe
that’s
a
‘gay
theme,’
but
it’s
also
a
human
theme,”
Grimes
says.
With
three
straight
men
and
a
lesbian
playing
together
like
a
fine-tuned,
indie-pop
machine
with
heart,
there’s
little
wonder
that
their
reflective
folk-pop
continues
to
win
them
fans.
