Lene Lovich Goes It Alone on the Cheap After Leaving Stiff

Lene Lovich--the swirling, avant-garde songstress from Europe who came to prominence along with Elvis Costello, Rachel Sweet, Ian Dury and Wreckless Eric during the legendary “Be Stiff” tours of the late ‘70s--is back. This time, she’s doing things on the cheap, with no record company behind her. Still, on the phone from a tour stop in Norman, Okla., she was positively bubbling.

“I’m feeling very powerful and excited because that’s what the audience gives me,” she said cheerfully. “In some ways, I’m like an emotional vampire--although I’m not stealing people’s energy: They give it so freely.”

Lovich, who plays the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano on Sunday night, seemingly dropped out of sight after her “No Man’s Land” album in 1981. She explained that problems between her and Stiff Records had escalated to the point where she “couldn’t even talk” with management. Yet, she added, the label refused to release her from her contract.

“It’s been so hard for me,” she said softly. “I probably would’ve been better off with no record company than the one I had. I spent the first year and a half trying to be optimistic, giving them songs and having them be rejected. All they wanted me to do was sing Motown covers, and I just couldn’t do that. It’s not that I don’t like those songs--please, don’t misunderstand me--but I can’t see saying something that’s already been said when I’ve already got so much to say.”

Finally free of her contractual bonds to Stiff, she is not only touring but has been involving herself in composing and recording projects. She is collaborating with Peter Hammill on an opera based on Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Fall of the House of Usher,” which they’re hoping to perform at a festival in Barcelona, Spain, this year.

And she has contributed a track to “Liberate the Animals,” an album on Chicago-based Wax Trax, to benefit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. “Nina Hagen, an artist friend of mine from West Germany, had come to my house to record some demos as I have a recording situation in my front room,” Lovich said. “While she was there, she started telling me about this organization, and when I heard about the horrible things that were happening to these poor animals, I wanted to get involved too.

“So Nina and I wrote a song called ‘Don’t Kill the Animals,’ which is very different from the things I write normally. It’s very straightforward and direct, almost like journalism, because we wanted to make sure we got the message across.”

Returning the favor, the animal rights group lent Lovich money to fly to the States from England and to launch her current tour. “It’s an expensive proposition without a record company to help you,” Lovich said.

The past few years have hardly been all business. “I also had two little girls,” she said, “and it’s the most wonderful experience. Pazy’s 3 1/2 years old and Hali’s 3 months, and having them makes a lot of things come into their rightful place. It makes me a lot less selfish. And it makes me very optimistic about the future.

“I have lots of new songs. I suppose, as always, my songs aren’t directly in the middle of the road--they’re more to the left of the road or in front of the road, which might make it difficult for the record companies to hear right off.

“But listening to my little girl sing my songs is a feeling that’s beyond description. Just hearing that lets me know that there’s a place in the world for my music, even if I have to put out my records myself. Because as long as my music makes me feel this way, I know it’ll make other people feel good, too.”

Lene Lovich sings at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano, Sunday at 9 p.m. Tickets: $18.50. Information: (714) 496-8930.