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She’s never been a fan of convention. From her discovery at the Kerrville Folk Festival in the mid ‘80s, to her claim of “indentured servitude” against her former record label Mercury, singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked has used her unflinching outspokenness and musical hybrid of roadhouse rock, folky ballads, and Texas swing to forge her own path. Shocked – who’s released a handful of indie CDs in the past few years, including one with the zinger of a title, Artists Make Lousy Slaves – says she may well rejoin the mainstream music industry, oh, one of these years.

I’m looking for round two,” the 38-year-old Shocked says by phone from her New Orleans home. “I’m ready to tear down the temple pillars… so, it’ll have to be a brave record label to work with me.” In the interim, Shocked’s planning to record a new album with her four member touring band, which is led by her longtime collaborator Fiachna Ó Braonáin of Ireland’s Hothouse Flowers. She’s trying out many of the new songs on this current club tour. While researching the roots of gospel music in the early 1990s, Shocked became involved with a black Pentecostal church in South Central Los Angeles – a move that not only awakened her spirituality but also broadened her musical palette. “I’ve declared myself a born-again tar baby,” she says, only half joking. “Gospel music is seductive… There’s a deep and powerful substance behind it. You can’t touch the stuff without getting the black on you.”

Shocked says although her image in the media has often been that of a somber soul, “I am just full of life… The gospel tradition has made my joy fuller and brought a sense of hope,” she says. “I’m a woman with a vision. I can’t tell you where I’m going, but I can bring you along for the ride.”