Subway to Somewhere

While attending the Otis Art Institute in Paris three years ago, Patti Rothberg--then 21--was working toward a degree in illustration. Although she didn’t know it at the time, the seeds of her first album also were being planted.

As she tells it, her frustrations-- caused by feeling isolated overseas, a lack of communication and simple bad luck--provided the inspiration for the songs on her critically praised debut album released earlier this year, “Between the 1 and the 9.”

“Can you believe I lost my passport the first week I was there?” asked Rothberg by phone from a tour stop in Lake Tahoe. “And I was living under some very strict conditions in the maid’s quarters of this French couple’s home. I was feeling lowdown a lot, and all I had was a couple of bags and my acoustic guitar.

“At the time of this orientation for my school, I remember not even wanting to go outside. . . . I felt like there was nothing to do, but I had all these ideas rolling around in my head,” she said. “I was bored and frustrated with not being able to communicate with people, in either English or French.”

Rothberg did snap out of the doldrums and go on to graduate in 1994, but only after returning to her New York home and finishing her studies at the Otis school there. That’s when she began channeling her experiences into folk-based songs.

Her road to success began when Rothberg was discovered by Alicia Gelernt, a musicians’ manager who now oversees Rothberg’s career, while playing for spare change in the city’s subway station.

Impressed by her as a person and by her songs, Gelernt introduced Rothberg to “Little Dave” Greenberg, a recording enthusiast with a nearby home studio. Soon a demo was cut, and Gelernt shopped it to Brian Koppelman, a former law-school classmate of her sister’s who also happened to be senior vice president of EMI Records. He signed Rothberg last year, calling her one of the best artists he’s seen in the past 10 years.

For “Between the 1 and the 9”--the title is a nod to the spot where she played in the subway station--Rothberg insisted on using Greenberg as producer and included about a dozen her own paintings, done since she left art school, in the CD booklet.

The 13-song collection, released in April, captures much of the alienation, anguish, confusion and self-doubt felt by large numbers of today’s youth.

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Where Alanis Morissette and Courtney Love specialize in in-your-face angst, Rothberg balances her fury with introspective songs focusing on self-examination, respect and empowerment.

The grainy-voiced singer-guitarist often rocks hard, albeit with a folky, pop-influenced edge. Bringing an appealing touch of variety to the table, Rothberg--who plays Saturday at the Coach House--branches out to include subtle textures of psychedelia and funky R&B.;

While Rothberg spews venom at ex-boyfriends in kiss-off songs including “Flicker” and “Treat Me Like Dirt,” she’s quick to point out that she’s not anti-male. Her only beef is with deception, which is not exclusive to one gender.

“For those who will open up to me honestly, I can advocate most of their points of view,” she said. “But some women are afraid to show a vulnerable side because they feel it makes them look weak.

“And equally stupid, some men exhibit this false macho bravado that doesn’t impress me either. I really admire men, like [David] Bowie, who can show their feminine qualities too--freely and openly.

“To me, even though I consider myself a feminist, it’s really not a male/female thing. It’s about empowerment and respect. For me, the more people I get to know, the more I know about myself. My life, and therefore my music, have to be continually evolving to mean anything to anyone.”

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The Rothberg original “Forgive Me” is one of the album’s few autobiographical sketches. She sings with a heavy heart about someone who once played a romantic role in her life: “If I had just one more day to take all of your blues away / Then maybe you’d be holding me just right / Can you ever forgive me?”

“That one was originally about someone specifically, and I don’t think I ever got through to that person,” she recalled softly. “But in the end, life’s all about personal development, and we have to experience a lot of highs and lows before we can move on and grow.”

The woman who explores the often complicated issues in the album “Between the 1 and the 9” sounds like a different person from the teen who “practically lived in my basement after [high] school, eating olives and listening to records by Adam Ant, Missing Persons, Joan Jett, Suzi Quatro and especially Bowie.”

But that’s just part of growing up and experiencing life.

“We’re all writing about similar things that reflect some kind of truth, or maybe awareness, that exists out there today,” she said. “I just try to make music that will bring people together, or at least that everyone can relate to.”

* Patti Rothberg and the Wallflowers play Saturday at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. $10-$12. 8 p.m. (714) 496-8930.