Aimee Allen: the "I love rock 'n' roll" one

She lived in her car before she had a record deal, but Aimee Allen is quick to point out, "I don't want to be another Jewel. And I'm not Britney." Instead, this 23-year-old-rocker resembles a hot-wired amalgam of Angelina Jolie and Joan Jell. When I was 10, I'd sit in front of the mirror and play air guitar to Joan Jell all day," she says.

Then my stepdad took my tape and never gave it back. I was so pissed off I was like, OK, then, I'm gonna rock like Joan Jett." These days, however, Allen rocks as only she can--with an idiosyncratic yet infectious kick. Making clear she's no assembly-line pop fembot, Allen maintains her rebellious streak on her upcoming debut I'd Start a Revolution If I Could Get Up in the Morning (Elektra), a striking hybrid of heavy guitars, hip-hop funk and smoky vocals that reveal the influence of Rickie Lee Jones. Allen's confessional, clever wordplay, however, remains her music's emotional center. "My mission is to make people feel less alone," she explains. "I just want to say 'I'm r eally fucked up, too, and that's great!' I'm the tough-but-sensitive rock chick: Girls put themselves in this little pink box, but I want to make it OK for them rock out."

COPYRIGHT 2002 Brant Publications, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning