by
Beth A. Long published in issue #1220
CROSSING BORDERS
- Linda Nuñez brings her wide-reaching repertoire to Lilish Fair in Orlando Oct. 16
ORLANDO - Linda Nuñez (pronounced
NEW-nyez, as manager Melissa Foxx would have you know) is one of the hardest-working performers in the area. Doing as many
as 15 gigs per month, this singer-songwriter has a fan base that includes hip young soccer moms at Borders Café as well as
hundreds of lusting lesbians lined up at Hard Rock.
Nuñez moves seamlessly from gig
to gig and audience to audience - including the Lilish Fair at Faces in Orlando Oct. 16.
Her partner and manager, Melissa
Foxx, is a popular radio personality for Clear Channel. Foxx is a one-woman managerial staff who handles everything: booking
all Nuñez’ performances, making travel arrangements, coordinating promotions, updating her Web site (LindaNunez.com),
and sometimes even running the soundboard.
Foxx said that she believes that
a musician should only have to worry about the music, the band and the night’s performance.
And Nuñez has plenty of performances.
With a powerhouse voice that rings like a bell and a strong solo guitar style, Nuñez plays about half her gigs as a stand-alone
performer. The rest of the time she’s backed by a full band that has to work to keep up with her fierce vocals.
ABSOLUTELY DIVERSE
Nuñez writes Latin-flavored rock
and roll and fills out her concert set lists with cover songs ranging from Tom Jones to the Goo Goo Dolls. Her sets usually
consist of 80% original material, which is unique for a musician who plays so frequently and at such a variety of venues.
"My first band never had a name. We never played anywhere past my living room," Nuñez said. She joined Sterling Road in Fort
Lauderdale and the rest is history.
The performers she names as her
major musical influences are as diverse as Nuñez own repertoire: Nancy and Ann Wilson of Heart, Live, Pat Benatar and Barry
Manilow.
"My biggest thrill was singing
Freebird with the Artimus Pyle Band," Nuñez recalled. "He had me vamp on the chorus. When the song was finished, Artimus took
the mike and said, ‘I think Ronnie Van Zant would have liked that!’"
The typical up-and-coming songwriter
books a few gigs each month, often finding a niche in one type of establishment. Lesbian acoustic performers in particular
tend to be pigeon-holed as "dykes on a mike," playing almost exclusively to gay or gay-friendly cafes, bars and coffee shops.
Not so with Nuñez, who also plays throughout Florida, from the straightest sports bar to the largest of pride events and even
major venues like Universal’s Hard Rock Live.
SEXUALITY ISN’T
AN ISSUE
So how do Nuñez’ straight
audiences handle her sexual orientation? "They respect her for what she puts out there without tagging the sexuality," Foxx
said. "If the straight audiences recognize she’s a lesbian, they don’t make an issue of it."
When she plays gay venues, about
10% of the audience is straight, and vice versa: Ten percent of an audience at a straight venue is usually lesbian. Her straight
fans that follow her to gay establishments do seem uncomfortable at first, but they quickly relax and enjoy the music.
Ironically, Nuñez has had more
difficulty gaining acceptance from gay audiences because she does not play strictly gay venues or overtly gay-themed music.
Nor does she present a radically anti-establishment image (a la Bev McClellan), instead embracing her pretty girl-next-door
looks.
Lesbians have grown to love her,
though, which was apparent at a recent Hard Rock performance where almost 200 of them trucked out to Universal Studios City
Walk to hear Nuñez play a full band performance. For obvious reasons, much of her lesbian following can feel uncomfortable
in the over-the-top straight bars where a large proportion of the audience is testosterone-driven young guys.
According to Foxx, she and Nuñez
choose not to overbook gay bars, avoiding over-saturation so that she can generate more excitement and pack the house when
she does perform.
Her largest crossover may be at
the Borders Cafés she plays throughout the state. Lesbians of all ages feel comfortable at Borders, where anything goes, sitting
next to straight hipster couples and snowbird retirees. When asked if all this mixing is making a difference in the relationship
between the gay and straight communities, Foxx said, "We’re making little teeny dents."
No matter who she’s playing
to, Nuñez seems to be doing things right. She’s got a new CD, Cry Mercy, on sale at Borders Books & Music. She plans
multiple-CD release parties set in both gay and straight venues so that her entire fan base can celebrate with her. Until
now, she has produced her own albums, and she is the only unsigned musician (male or female) to be sponsored by Gibson Guitars
- an impressive credential.
Is Nuñez going to remain unsigned?
If the right deal comes along, she and Foxx would consider it. For now, they’re doing things their own way in their
own time, and the results are clearly outstanding.
Will she go straight to the top?
Or gay? Let’s hope both. W
