A typical weekday afternoon in Chicago is all the things that characterize big cities — loud, congested, fast paced. It’s a city where everyone’s got something to do, something to say and somewhere to be. With all the usual commotion going on right outside her window, Gina Crosley sits in a rare moment of quiet reflection.
A polished take of her ballad “Fall For Me” echoes through her second-floor apartment and, for a moment, the city is quiet. It’s as if the simplistic beauty of the track catches even Crosley by surprise on what has to be her thousandth listen. She sits on an oversized black futon in a pair of jeans and a sweater and gazes out the window as her simple guitar and vocal ballad fills the room.
When complimented on the track, all she can offer is a “thanks,” which is uncanny, since the slim, red-haired singer is usually more detailed in her answers. Perhaps she was reflecting on what inspired the track.
“Ninety-five percent of my inspiration for songs comes from ex- or current boyfriends,” said Crosley. “That’s just what I write about. It’s just always me trying to tell somebody off, or it’s a song about discovering where I went wrong.”
“Fall For Me” is a remarkably vulnerable track, one of many in Crosley’s arsenal of pop-rock gems, and now more than ever, she seems poised for the spotlight.
As lead singer and guitarist of Chicago pop-rock phenom Rockit Girl, Crosley has taken years of ups and downs and poured them into her new music. Her edgy, melody-driven debut, The Lift Off E.P., produced by Veruca Salt co-founder Louise Post, made a splash in Chicago, and its limited release made it a hot commodity among local rock fans.
Crosley, too, became a hot commodity, joining Veruca Salt as bass player, and later joining Courtney Love’s female supergroup Bastard. It took only 10 days together for the group, consisting of Love, former Hole drummer Patty Schemel, Louise Post, and Crosley, to collapse. It didn’t take long for Crosley’s relationship with Post to fall apart, either.
“I guess the short version of it is that I basically jumped onto a sinking ship and I didn’t want to see that because I loved that ship,” said Crosley, referring to her adoration of Veruca Salt. At their height, Post and Veruca Salt co-founder Nina Gordon were a Chicago institution and played shows around the world. Post and Gordon split in 1998 due to speculated “creative differences.” While Gordon struck out on her own, releasing one solo album and disappearing for the time being, Post carried on the Veruca Salt torch and Crosley became part of the new face of Veruca Salt. Her alliance with Post was so close that the two even moved to L.A. together. It was after the move to L.A. that things went downhill, though.
“I was pushing Louise every day, like, ‘Let’s write, let’s record,’ and she seemed really excited, but her excitement would sway in and out because one minute she was all hyper about it, and the next minute she’d be asleep and she’d sleep for three days,” said Crosley.
One of three attention-loving cats in Crosley’s apartment jumps up on her lap as she ponders her answer to what went wrong with Post. “It’s not a priority to her anymore,” she said. “She already went through it all, and she was worn out,” said Crosley. “I was coming in as a kitten. I had not experienced any of this stuff. When we were on tour, it was the first time in my life I actually felt like I was fulfilling my real purpose in life.”
Things with Post eventually reached their boiling point. “I felt like she was holding me back,” said Crosley. “I walked into a band that was basically dead. I couldn’t do it anymore; I needed to leave, and when I did, things got really volatile between us.”
So volatile, in fact, that Post even took to e-mailing fans of Crosley just to bad-mouth her behind her back. The underhanded maneuver didn’t rattle Crosley too much, though.
“I saw what she was doing and I was like ‘Whatever,'” she said.
Now Crosley (lead vocals/guitar) and new Rockit Girl members Emily Togni (bass/vocals) and Mike Mertz (drums) are preparing for a string of gigs over the next two months, with a stop at Chicago’s famed Double Door as well as several shows at The Legion in Platteville. Crosley and crew also plan on completing the remainder of Rockit Girl’s new full-length album, tentatively titled The Catalyst.
The early material from The Catalyst retains Crosley’s penchant for pop hooks, but goes beyond the work she did on her debut. The Chad Adams-engineered record has even more bite and more sparkle from someone who is slowly perfecting the tough task of writing infectious hard-hitting tracks that are simultaneously punk, pop and rock at the same time.
“The Lift Off E.P. was the first six songs I ever wrote in my life,” said Crosley. “Obviously I’ve got a lot more experience now writing and recording. I wrote these new songs from the ground up without help from anybody else.”
New tracks like “Go On and Go” and “The Joke’s On You” growl with intensity, and bring the listener back again and again with shimmering hooks that don’t wear down after repeat listens.
“The Lift Off E.P. was a lot of Louise’s influence on me,” said Crosley. “These songs are me, just me, and that’s it. So I feel I went into this record having a better understanding of drums, bass, song structure and vocal harmonies especially.”
Four-part harmonies have always been a big part of Crosley’s inspiration and music, and the departure of bassist Kathryn Heidemann left a gap that has been difficult to fill thus far.
“I didn’t have Kathryn Heidemann around for this record, and she was a big influence on the way the vocals were handled before because she was such a great vocalist,” said Crosley. “Having to focus all my energy on writing all the vocal parts is different in that respect. It’s just all me this time.”
Dealing with a revolving door of band members has been problematic for Crosley, but her steadfast determination and strong will to make it to the next level have helped her deal with members who weren’t as serious about the music as she was.
“It’s definitely frustrating when people leave. It’s frustrating when I discover someone’s around that’s not on the same page as me,” said Crosley. “I have a very specific idea about what I want out of this band and I always have and when I went into this, I knew what I wanted.”
While Crosley has worked with a lot of musicians since she first started Rockit Girl back in July 1999, her criteria, although blunt, are very clear.
“I know that I want a band with really strong players, women that are not only really talented but also appealing to the eyes and the ears both,” said Crosley. “It’s about the whole package — vocally, instrumentally, and having a great attitude.”
Crosley’s on-stage persona is fearless, and while she may be a confident, self-assured person off stage, she can compete with just about anybody when it comes to giving the crowd a good show. She’s got the guitar skills, and her vocals are as strong as the very best that Chicago has to offer. Finding group members for Rockit Girl with a balance of talent has been the challenge. “There are a lot of talented women out there, some vocally, some instrumentally, and some are just hot, but it’s hard to find all three,” explained Crosley.
Crosley has been encouraged by her time with new bassist Emily Togni thus far. “I finally found somebody that’s got everything I need because she’s so into what I’m doing and she shares all the same ideas as me,” said Crosley. “I’m really excited about her. I’m really hoping we can make it work because I’m ready.”
Crosley recently inked a non-exclusive representation deal with Laura Wolfson of the L.A.-based 10th Street management company that represents groups like Everclear, among others. Wolfson is currently shopping Crosley’s demos to labels in hopes of landing a deal for the release of The Catalyst. But if the ups and downs of Crosley’s career have taught her anything, it’s about her own personal strength: “I just never, ever give up, even when I need to, or even when some people think I should. I just won’t stop.”
Rockit Girl will play Saturday, May 15, at The Legion, 60 South Court, Platteville. For more information, tour dates, and MP3s, visit www.rockit-girl.com.
