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MICHELLE SHOCKED
June 1, Ventura Theatre, Ventura
June 2, Wiltern Theatre, LA

Los Angeles has been Michelle Shocked’s home for the past year. “I came over [from Europe] last April to record,” she says, “and it’s been my base ever since—though I’m sure it’s temporary.” Ever since she left her home state of Texas in 1983, Shocked has been on the move—settling for a stretch of time on a houseboat moored in Amsterdam because of a strong aversion to the American political regime and policies in the ‘80s. Now she’s here in So Cal and says, “I relish the opportunity to dispel the myth of LA as just yuppies in BMWs with their car phones. Los Angeles is the most culturally and ethnically diverse city in the world. I find it amazing that the ultimate white stereotype is what comes through, while all these millions of people from other cultures are being ignored.”

This concept of diversity is one that Shocked explores in Captain Swing (released last fall on PolyGram). “I very deliberately put a song called ‘On the Greener Side’ on the record,” she says. “It’s where I draw from the principal [sic] of green politics—which is unity through diversity. But for being pegged as such a political songwriter, I find it amusing that people are hard-pressed to find anything political in that song. But when you understand the motivations behind my songs, it’s that just about everything I do with my career is political.”

That said, Shocked adds, “People have attempted to portray me as a po-faced, somber serious political protest singer. But it’s not accurate. My sense of humor is in there a lot.”