Alison Scott: Singing with TLC

For the most part, Alison Scott says it's wonderful having veteran male musicians in her backing band, especially since they're all guys who probably could be doing other things but believe in her talent.

One exception so far, though, might have been when she suggested to "the boys" that they cover the classic TLC ballad "Waterfalls." The ubiquitous pop hit meant everything to a 13-year-old girl in 1995.

"That's prime material from my middle-school experience, so the nostalgia factor is obviously a lot higher for me than it is for them," said Scott, 27, crediting bassist Steve Price for buying the idea right away. But she had to sell the song to drummer Peter Anderson and her guitarist, producer and manager, Kevin Bowe.

"We usually cover older material, so it took some convincing. I made them at least try it. And as soon as we did, everybody loved it."

"Waterfalls" wound up being one of the best tracks on Scott's most formative album to date, and it's the kind of recording that shows how this singer/pianist from the western burbs (Plymouth, to be exact) can inject ample amounts of Southern soul and muddy grit into her music despite her vanilla, middle-America background. She even surprisingly passes for a convincing rapper in her remake of the TLC song.

Titled "Chinese Whispers," Scott's third album will be celebrated Saturday at the Fitzgerald Theater, another step up the venue ladder for the rock/R&B/soul singer, whose last CD party (for the new-standards disc "Hiding Under the Covers") was at the Dakota, and whose very first performance as an original songwriter was the release show for her 2007 debut album at the Varsity Theater.

She's more proud of the fact that Saturday's show doubles as a breast-cancer fundraiser. Her mother is a cancer survivor and her special musical guest at the Fitz, beloved local picker Molly Maher, recently completed chemotherapy. Proceeds benefit Hope Chest, which is hosting a pre-party at nearby McNally Smith College of Music.

"I think Kevin's plan was to make the record and send me on my way," she recalled, "but by the end of it, it was pretty clear we worked well together."

Since then, Scott has also welcomed to her band Price (bassist with the Suburbs of late) and Anderson (Honeydogs, Polara). After a couple years of steady performances -- "The game plan at first was to never turn down a gig," she said -- the tight unit has manifested on CD. "Chinese Whispers" is more diverse, up-tempo and just plain rockier than her prior discs, thanks in large part to the band.

Scott's backers also clearly helped boost her confidence, as she takes on a wide range of serious subjects in the new songs, including the economy ("Upside Down"), unwanted pregnancy ("Rock Me Sweetly") and fidelity (the disc opener "So Why").

"I wrote 'So Why' when I was about two weeks away from walking down the aisle, and it's about stealing another woman's man," Scott laughingly recalled. She quickly added that the song in no way reflects her own marriage of two years: "That should tell you that a lot of what I write isn't really about my own personal life."

Scott could write quite a personal song about her roller-coaster experience during another music competition in April. That's when KQRS declared her a winner in a contest to open for Bon Jovi at Xcel Energy Center, but then said she really didn't win -- and then gave her the gig anyway. The station reportedly miscounted the votes, and Jon Bon Jovi himself insisted Scott play the show.

Even though she's only 1-1 in music contests, Scott can still boast of having a winning record.

Slim pickin' again It probably won't catch the attention of gossip hound Perez Hilton, as did last week's visit by Lady Gaga, but the Turf Club has its longtime patrons riled up by welcoming back Slim Dunlap for a long-overdue show Friday night.

Through no fault of his own, the one-time Curtiss A backer and latter-day Replacements guitarist -- whose 1996 classic "Times Like This" might be the best overall post-'Mats album -- became a lightning rod of sorts when the St. Paul rock club changed owners in 2006, and his monthly gig soon became a thing of the past. Never mind that the shows weren't drawing very well (file under: taken for granted). There should be a good crowd for this one, though, which will also feature ex-Turf booker Rob Rule and his band the Mammy Nuns, plus Kruddler and High on Stress, which will be Slim's backing band (10 p.m., $6).

Double the Is Members of the new all-female all-star trio Is/Is were too young at the time to really know the context, but singer/guitarist Sarah Rose offered up the infamous Bill Clinton quote to explain the trio's moniker: "Depends on what the definition of 'is' is."

Rose and her cohorts are already known for playing beyond their years. She and drummer Mara Appel hit the scene with First Communion Afterparty in their teens, and bassist Sarah Nienaber is the still-babyfaced frontwoman for Gospel Gossip. The four songs on Is/Is's debut EP for the Guilt Ridden Pop label, "This Happening," offers the same wall of reverby guitars and retro haze as their prior bands, but with Rose's droning vocals out front, reminiscent of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval. EP party is Saturday at 7th Street Entry with Daughters of the Sun and Brute Heart (9:30 p.m., $5).

Already working with his Jayhawks partner Gary Louris on another duo album, Mark Olson is back in town Sunday touring behind his just-released solo disc on Rykodisc, "Many Colored Kite," a more upbeat and bright-eyed follow-up to his acclaimed divorce record, "Salvation Blues." The ever-nomadic Olson spent a month in Portland, Ore., recording it with Chris Robinson's studio sidekick Beau Raymond. Guests include Jolie Holland, Ryan Adams sideman Neal Casal and Norwegian singer Ingunn Ringvold, who is also Olson's girlfriend and touring partner. Expect to hear a few Jayhawks tunes along with the new stuff Sunday at the Varsity Theater, part of the venue's "Quiet, Please" series (8 p.m., $14). ... Those double-CD expanded editions of the Jayhawks' "Hollywood Town Hall" and "Tomorrow the Green Grass" have been postponed until Jan. 18 on Sony/Legacy. ...

Just as it dropped its new double-EP on Tuesday, Atmosphere announced two First Ave gigs Nov. 27-28 (tickets on sale Friday for $20). The cover art for the new release, wordily titled "To All My Friends, Blood Makes the Blade Holy: The Atmosphere EPs," cutely features four arms knocking drinks together -- three cocktails and one baby bottle. ... Also coming out of the diaper chute, Roma di Luna will take over First Ave on Oct. 2 to tout its ambitious third CD, "Then the Morning Came."

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658 Twitter: @ChrisRstrib