Singer/songwriter Sonia discusses her newly reformed, all-gay band Disappear Fear, being an out performer and her songs’ activist edge.
By BO SHELL Feb. 03, 2006
Introspective and unassuming by phone, lesbian singer/songwriter Sonia is a soul force by song.
In the late 1980s, Sonia began her long and winding career as a folk singer and activist with Cindy by her side in their band Disappear Fear. In 1995, when her sister left the music industry to be a full-time mom, Sonia was heartbroken but not discouraged. She pressed on with her sister’s support behind the scenes.
"It was really bittersweet," Sonia says. "But it really forced me to grow up and really move into my own era of musical challenges. It was either sink or fly, and I’m flying."
After a successful career with her sister, then as a solo artist, Sonia returns to the stage with two new, all-gay Disappear Fear and lesbian band mates Angela Edge and Laura Cerulli.
"It’s really cool," Sonia says of her new lineup. "They really believe that being a part of this music and making Disappear Fear happen is good for them personally and good for the world."
Sonia performs a solo set followed by a show with the band at Eddie’s Attic on Feb. 4.
Always the activist, Sonia’s music is peppered with political messages. From the name of the band ("When you disappear fear between people, you have love," she says.) to her last solo album "No Bomb is Smart," her music is more about bringing people together than making profit, she says.
Sonia performs in venues from Israel to Australia, and says music crosses political and language barriers. Her performance as an American songwriter in foreign lands allows others to see the U.S. in a different light, she says.
"With what I’m writing about and being a peace activist with my music, I am able to present, as an American in another country, just as myself… that there are Americans and American performers whose passion for music is greater than their desire for power," Sonia says.
Unlike some better-known lesbian artists, Sonia has been openly gay since her career began. She relates being out from the beginning to her lack of commercial success, but she doesn’t regret it.
"I can think of people in pop music like Melissa Etheridge, kd lang, and the Indigo Girls, and how they were not out until they had their corporate backing," Sonia says. "That didn’t occur for us. I think maybe we’re rebels or something. Could I do it a different way? Absolutely not."
Aside from her work as a fulltime musician, Sonia enjoys body boarding, snow skiing and painting professionally as well as for personal pleasure. She painted murals in Holland, and is often commissioned for artwork when she’s not touring.
"Painting is very in the moment, and it’s very much like music, using colors through a different medium, which is all you’re doing in music, only a different approach," Sonia says.
"DF05," Sonia and Disappear Fear’s latest release, contains live tracks recorded during the group’s 2005 summer tour. In addition to the current tour that includes Atlanta, the band is slated to perform at this year’s World Pride in Israel and plans to release a new album of original material later this year.