This is a reprint of an interview with Gina by Mark Woodlief, a contributing writer for the Oregonian newspaper, A&E Friday, 31st October 2003. Sound check notes from the Northwest music scene 10/31/03 By MARK WOODLIEF GINA NOELL LETS GO, COOKS UP SOLO ALBUM -- As she neared completion of her debut solo CD, "Letting Go of Strings," singer Gina Noell hit on a unique idea that gives more intimate meaning to the expression "will work for food." Throughout much of the past year, Noell and her producer/husband, Michael Cubbon, assembled many of Portland's most talented musicians to play on the CD. Some of these players -- notably including Jeff Trott Band and Everclear keyboardist James Beaton, Carmina Piranha/Carmina Luna's Lara Michell, Pinehurst Kid Joe Davis and Keith Schreiner of Dahlia -- had literally sung, or rather played, for their supper. It seems that in addition to being a solid songwriter and flirtatious frontwoman, Noell, the former vocalist of LoveNancySugar, also is an ace cook. Last summer, anticipating the cost of funding the manufacturing and promotion of her album, Noell and Cubbon hosted a series of three-course fund-raising dinners at their home. Friends and supporters enjoyed paella, herbed halibut, shepherd's pie and lamb chops with baby potatoes and asparagus. "It finally hit me that so many people who had worked on the album did work for dinner," Noell says. "And (they) liked it. It seemed like something I could do." Something she could do, indeed. Just like releasing a solo effort instead of "hiding," as Noell puts it, "behind a band name." During several former lineups of LoveNancySugar she split her time and energy between writing songs, being frontwoman and trying to strike compromises among band members. No longer. "This is the first concept that I've done where I really am able to call the shots. I'm finally hearing my songs the way I want to hear them." The 13-song "Letting Go of Strings" provides Noell room to explore a variety of styles from guitar-fueled modern rock ("3-65") to trip-hop ("Perfect") to electronica ("Addicted") to '80s-style new wave ("Heat"). There's even a bossa nova-influenced tune, "No One's Left Standing." The common thread to the diverse recording is Noell's dusky coo. While it's easy to hear influences in Noell's singing -- Kate Bush, Debbie Harry, Annie Lennox, even a few male vocalists -- she succeeds in establishing her own identity on "Letting Go of Strings." That identity is a sassy mixture of independent woman, sweet romantic and seductress. The final track, "(Look) What I Can Do," is an assertive, proud declaration of accomplishment. "I am such a girly girl," Noell says. "I think we (women) have so much more power than we give ourselves credit for, and we don't have to find that power by trying to be masculine." Copyright 2003 Oregon Live. All Rights Reserved.