Liz Phair fetes 30 years of ‘Exile in Guyville’

Singer-songwriter Liz Phair didn’t realize her musical response to The Rolling Stones’ “Exile on Main St.” would make the impact it did 30 years ago.

Regarded as a “feminist landmark,” Phair’s 1993 debut “Exile in Guyville” is just as meaningful to her.

“It’s practically provided me an entire career, if you think about it,” she said. “I was just trying to play with the big boys in the neighborhood and show the local rock stars that I could do that. It’s crazy, the twists and turns that life takes.”

Phair will play “Exile in Guyville” in its entirety and select other tracks during Arizona shows at the Marquee Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 5, and The Rialto in Tucson on Wednesday, Nov. 8. The jaunt is short, as she said it’s hard to spend time living on a bus at age 56.

“But, I’m playing ‘Exile in Guyville’ from front to back,” she said. “I’m going to take you on the journey of the 18-song cycle, and then, for the encore, I’ll be freer and more spontaneous and break the illusion.”

Live, she must “pitch it up,” as she has a higher voice now than she did in the early 1990s.

“That goes to show you how much I was going out to bars, drinking and smoking,” said Phair, with a laugh. “I can’t attribute it to anything else.”

The tour excites her, because she collaborated on it with Kevin Newbury, a New York City-based theater, opera and film director and producer.

“He’s someone I saw a long time ago when Courtney Love and Todd Almond did ‘Kansas City Choir Boy’ that Kevin directed.

“It blew me away. I had a profound experience at that production. It’s been a dream of mine to work with Kevin. I can’t afford an entire production, but just the song cycle.”

Like Love, Phair has maintained her place as a role model. In the years following “Exile in Guyville,” Phair continued to break barriers. She is thrilled to be included in lists of influential, gutsy female musicians.

“I feel that all these women working in music before me are historically interesting. To still be a part of it at this age, that feels great,” she said.

She has her own set of heroes.

“When I hear ‘Exile in Guyville,’ I hear The Rolling Stones, Dinosaur Jr., Pavement — what I was listening to and what was inspiring to me,” said Phair, who has sold more than 5 million records.

Still, it doesn’t seem like three decades since the birth of “Exile in Guyville.” She said she feels as if she blinked and it’s 30 years later.

“What’s weirder is thinking about the ’90s, and drilling down and thinking about what it was like back then,” she said.

“It seems like a legend rather than reality.”

In 2018, Matador Records reissued “Exile in Guyville” and released a deluxe box set titled “Girly-Sound to Guyville,” which included the remastered original album and the first official restored audio of 1991’s Girly-Sound tapes — early Phair works that were self-released on cassette.

She recalled her music career in 2019’s memoir “Horror Stories” (Random House). On her most recent full-length album, 2021’s “Soberish,” Phair reunited with “Exile in Guyville” producer Brad Wood. It’s easy for her to stay grounded and passionate about music, as she’s a “mad art fiend.”

“I like doing art more than anything,” she said.

“Whatever I get to engage in — music, writing, art, whatever — my brain loves it.”

When Phair looks back on “Exile in Guyville,” she’s happy.

“There’s nothing I could change on the album,” Phair said.

“It’s the perfect snapshot of who we were and what we were doing. I’m happy with the artistic decisions on it.”

Liz Phair w/Blondshell

WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8

WHERE: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress Street, Tucson

COST: Tickets start at $49.50

INFO:
www.rialtotheatre.com

This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2023.