Bebe Buell is a rock goddess of sorts.
Not only is she the mother of actress Liv Tyler and a former Playboy Playmate, but she's also played muse to a smorgasbord of rock 'n' roll heroes: Todd Rundgren, Jimmy Page, Elvis Costello and Steven Tyler. (Her 2001 book, "Rebel Heart," is a recommended read for those with prurient interest.) The former model formed her first band in the '80s and has continued to record and perform. Last month, Buell, 56, released the 12-song album, "Sugar," a surprisingly heavy and dark chunk of girl power.
She chatted from New York about the album and her fans in Minneapolis.
Q What should people expect from "Sugar"?
A I have a kick-ass band. My bass player played with Iggy Pop and Danzig. It's a full-on rock 'n' roll show. It's a very young audience, too, and I don't know quite what to attribute that to. My daughter's fans? The pop culture connection?
Q How did the album come about, and why did you release it digitally via iTunes and Amazon?
A The recording process was just me, my guitar player Jim [Wallerstein], who's my husband, and my drummer Bobbie [Rae]. Jim and Bobbie did all the music and I wrote all the lyrics. Every note you hear on the record is three people.
This record is still going to come out on a label. The beauty of iTunes and Amazon is that most labels test the waters with those formats. It takes me literally an hour to go through my mail on Facebook. When I get that many requests from people who want the album, I'm thinking, "Why don't I do Phase One myself?" I figure that I've been around long enough and have a strong enough fan base that I can take a chance like that.
