SONiA keeps the “i” in her name lowercase as a reminder. “People of the world see things through small eyes,” she explained. “It’s a self-reflective device.” But the lesbian folk singer who describes herself as a humanist with feminist undertones, is out to change that. Beneath her sophisticated harmonies and rhythms reminiscent of Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan lies some serious social consciousness.
Whether she’s on stage solo or with her band, disappear fear, SONiA’s powerful lyrics are a cry for unity and an end to the prejudices that keep people apart. “The essence of my music is that when you disappear fear between people, what you have is love. That’s a very important concept to me. I want it in the forefront of my music,” she said.
SONiA’s career began in 1987 with her sister Cindy, who later traded in her life on the road for motherhood. Drummer Laura Cerulli and bassist and trumpet player Angela Edge later joined SONiA to form disappear fear.
Born in 1959 in Baltimore, MD, Sonia Rutstein realized her passion for music early in life. “When I was about 4 years old, my aunt took me to the Flower Mart in Baltimore. Louis Armstrong performed ‘Hello Dolly’, and I knew that song from the radio. When he was on stage, the sun was shining behind him. He looked like [the angel] Gabriel with his trumpet. That’s when music really hit me. It’s when my heart and mind were in the exact same place at the same time.”
SONiA started playing her own music at a young age too. “I began fooling around with the guitar early on,” she said. I taught myself how to play ‘Jingle Bells’ on one string. But later, when I was thirteen, I started taking lessons and I learned to play some contemporary songs by artists like Paul Simon and Cat Stevens. That music was very influential to me.”
While picking up the guitar came naturally to the artist, it took her years to develop enough confidence to write her own lyrics. “I would write music to other people’s poetry,” she said. “The few times I used my own words, I got laughed at. That had a detrimental effect on me for a long time, so I started writing music to poetry in Seventeen magazine.”
Today, with more than 10 records under her belt, SONiA said she’s rarely at a loss for lyrical inspiration. Her sexual orientation, in particular, has had a major influence on her music. “My orientation is like oxygen. It’s about staying true to my heart. The fact that the most significant relationships of my life have been with women is a big part of who I am. It’s a path that I’ve chosen and a path that’s chosen me. A lot of my music is about creating a conversation about that.”
SONiA said she came out to her sister at age 15. “Cindy said she already knew. She was very supportive.” But it wasn’t until she was 22 that she truly came to terms with her sexuality. “I finally realized that I had these feelings and attractions to certain women in my life,” she said. “but it was difficult for me because gay culture was so different when I was growing up. There’s a greater variety of gay and lesbian people now, and there’s much more openness and honesty.”
“When I was younger, the people that I saw who were lesbians were scary women with mustaches or prison wardens. It took time for me to figure out my place in all of that. I thought, ‘I can’t be gay just because I’m in love with my high school best friend.’ But I couldn’t stop being who I was. I had to figure out my own path.”
SONiA’s orientation has not only inspired her own lyrics, it has also impacted her career. “At some point you have to ask yourself ‘Would you rather play for 80, 000 screaming fans at a football stadium or 80 lesbians at a café?’ The poets and intellectuals among us don’t make up a big number of the population. I feel like there are people in the music industry that love what I do and have been listening to my music for years. Did I get a multi-million-dollar contract? No. But what I’m doing is more important that the industry and money—it’s more important than all of that. I think I’ve known that all along.”
Indeed, SONiA’s career is about more than just record sales. In August, she ventured to war-torn Israel to play acoustic sets in northern bomb shelters as Hezbollah violence rages outside. “I learned that most people in Israel want nothing more than peace,” she said. After leaving the strife-ridden nation, SONiA bean organizing a project to bring guitars to countries at war. “I’m getting musicians from all over the country to donate their guitars to these desolate places. People need to have an outlet for expression other than guns and violence.”
SONiA also worked with 15 other female songwriters for “Needle in the Groove: Women Singing for Social Change.” The CD benefits a Palestinian organization, Flowers Against the Occupation, for girls who want to attend college. Ani DiFranco, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Toshi Reagon, Holly Near and others also contributed to the CD.
Traveling around the world is a major job perk for SONiA. So when she was selected in late August for the Mid-Atlantic region and was given the opportunity to travel across the country in a Jeep to perform free street concerts. “I was chosen among thousands of songwriters. There were eight musicians selected. I was the only woman and the only gay person. Jeep chose us based on the spirit of our independence,” she said. “It was amazing. I basically got to see the country as a very well-paid street musician.”
So what’s next for SONiA? The Grammy nominated musician just finished work on a new CD to be issued this spring. “La Tormenta Santa” – The Holy Storm—is an amalgam of English, Spanish and Hebrew lyrics with Middle-Eastern inspired rhythms. “This album is a reflection of the war that America is fighting in Iraq, but also of the war we’re fighting in our hearts in this country,” she explained. SONiA added that she’s been inspired by other languages recently. “English is great for business and rap, but it’s much more fun and expressive for me to blend other languages together. You get to see the world through bigger eyes when you learn new languages.”
SONiA heads out on a five-week U.S. tour for the album on Jan 5. You can catch up with her and disappear fear with Steph Hayes and the Good Problems at 8:30 pm Dec 23 at the Steel City Coffeehouse 203 Bridge St, Phoenixville. “There will be great harmonies and some amazing drum and guitar work,” she said. “This is going to be a great way to end Hanukkah and begin Christmas.”
SONiA lives with her partner of 10 years, Terry Irons, in Baltimore. As to what’s next for SONiA, it certainly isn’t retirement. There are so many countries that I still want to visit,” she said. “I have an amazing job, and I get so much love from sharing my music. It’s wonderful.”