Amy Ray Says the Excerpts from a 2-part interview with Indigo Girl Amy Ray, by Shirley Liu, first published in 1997.

Androgyny With a sexy shaved head and a voice that could make you melt, gender-bending diva Androgyny is our latest musical obsession

Bible Thumpin’ Beats Contemporary Christian music went into an uproar when Marsha Stevens came out. Now she runs a record label and a music ministry training program for musicians in ministry to the LGBT community.

Casia Eller Stands Out Some say that she is the Brazilian hope of a crossover into the American market. Others call her the South American Melissa Etheridge.

Catching Up With Ellis Minnesota-based, Texas-born singer-songwriter and dyke heartthrob Ellis has legions of fans — lesbian, straight, young and old. We recently caught up with her to talk about her current projects, including a new DVD.

Chasing Ani Righteous Babe Ani DiFranco spins circles around the record industry’s rules for success. Upon the release of “Revelling /Reckoning,” Curve spoke with the rabble-rouser about the winds of political change and also got an emotional weather forecast on her

Chatting with Kristi Martel The East Coast singer, songwriter, composer and pianist tells all about her latest release, Ravengirl.

DIY Queen Behind the Music Madalyn Sklar (at right, with Emiko in New York) is the feisty founder of GoGirls Music, the oldest and largest online community of indie women musicians. For eight years, their catchy motto (“Cuz chicks rock!”) has been inspiring thousands of musicians, from rock to reggae to folk to ska and more, to exploit the Internet and other DIY tools to get their music out to audiences.

Estrojam Rocks Chicago Estrojam rocks in Chicaco this September, with a lineup that includes Amy Ray, Numbers, Brazilian Girls, and the Octopus Project.

Get Comfortable: A Q&A With Meshell Ndegeocello With the release of the lyrical Comfort Woman this fall and the instrumental Dance of the Infidels next month, Meshell Ndegeocello is once again in the spotlight. A cozy conversation with the funky soul diva herself.

Getting It On With the Butchies The Butchies, Kaia Wilson, Melissa York and Alison Martlew, are at it again, girls. And, oh my, lemme tell you that they’ve got a good scald on their new record, “3,” which they recorded and mixed in eight days flat.

Getting Personal With Brazilian Girl Sabina Sciubba new Beautiful, talented and known to get more than a little flirty with her female fans, Sabina Sciubba, the lead singer of Brooklyn-based band Brazilian Girls, is much more than just a pretty face.

Hip-Hop Her: Women Take Over the Underground Scene “When a queen steps to the microphone all she wants from you is silence,” raps Los Angeles underground hip-hop artist Medusa.

I Love Rock and Roll Joan Jett is a rock ’n’ roll feminist and, yes, a lesbian icon. From her punk rock beginnings in the late 1970s with teen girl band the Runaways through her prolific solo career with her band the Blackhearts, with whom she’s racked up nine Top 40 hit singles and eight platinum and gold albums, she’s been a force to reckon with. And she wants you to know she’s still going strong.

I Was a Music-School Dropout: Nellie McKay Nellie McKay sings like the love child of Doris Day and Eminem. No, wait — she’s Ella Fitzgerald crossed with Ani DiFranco. Scratch that; she’s a little bit Chet Baker, a little bit Elvis Costello, with lyrics that are one part Tori Amos, one part They Might Be Giants and one part Bitch and Animal.

Jamie Anderson, Tret Fure, Deidre McCalla & Lucie Blue Tremblay: Still Got It Nowadays, dykes are more likely to treat women’s music lovers like me like dinosaurs, but honestly, some of these not-quite spring chickens are still making some of the best music out there.

Jen Foster Stays True to Herself Jen Foster’s new record, Underdogs, has received three nominations at the Outmusic Awards and is getting rave reviews from press and fans alike. We recently talked with her about her music, her girlfriend (who is also her manager), and coming out to conservative parents.

k.d. Lang’s Love Sweet Love Leaving behind the “constant craving,” she’s surprised us with an album inspired by love of the requited kind. She describes her latest work, Invincible Summer, as the yang to (1996) Ingenue’s ying.

Kylie Minogue Rocks My World She’s infinitely more interesting to look at than most American pop tarts, the danceability of her music can’t be beat, and I’m finally ready to admit that I can’t get her out of my head.

Let the Poetry Come We work for the dyke stories scribbled in the margins: the bi-dyke home-schooling her “farm of four feminist sons”; the Latina intersexed queertrans slam poet; the rainbow-mohawked, 57-year-old lesbian who rides her motorcycle from town to town doing breast-cancer education; and the fierce activists, teachers, and artists who amplify community struggles against divisiveness, apathy, and Home Depot.

Maia Sharp Takes a Turn Musician Maia Sharp is on a roll. Her songs have been recorded by everyone from The Dixie Chicks and Cher to Bonnie Raitt and Trisha Yearwood (and she makes appearances on the last two albums as well). And critics are still raving about her 2005 release, Fine Upstanding Citizen.

Malea McGuinness: Exclusive Interview new As a trained opera singer she showed off her pipes in The King and I on Broadway, but Malea McGuinness left the acting stage and New York behind to pursue music in Los Angeles. Her latest album, True Believer, is a tribute to her favorite bands from the '60s and '70s.

Mary J. Blige Breaks Through After six studio albums and a well-deserved reputation as the queen of hip-hop and soul, it doesn’t seem like Mary J. Blige needs to release a breakthrough album — but that’s what she’s delivered in The Breakthrough, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts in December and, this week, returned to take the top spot again. We recently talked with her about what went into making this album, her personal demons and what she thinks about her lesbian fans.

Mekole Wells When she was stabbed in a domestic violence incident, it didn’t look like the singer Mekole Wells would survive, let alone sing again. Eight years later, she’s still going strong, moving and inspiring audiences with her song and story of perseverance.

Melissa Etheridge on Surviving Cancer By now there isn’t a lesbian alive — well, maybe there’s one in some remote corner of Kuala Lumpur — who doesn’t know who Melissa Etheridge is. She’s the rock star who stole Bruce Springsteen’s crown, the lesbian who parented two babies conceived with David Crosby’s seed, the wife of a twentysomething TV star and the chick who rocked the dyke world when she came out and declared she was, indeed, a lesbian. And most recently, Etheridge became the face of breast cancer: the ultimate symbol of survival as encapsulated in a woman who defiantly shaved her head, went through chemo and then went on to give the most talked- about television performance of the year (at the 2005 Grammy Awards). We recently caught up with her to find out how cancer has changed (almost) everything.

Melissa’s Second Coming Melissa Etheridge has been mesmerizing lesbians ever since she came out to her father, left her Leavenworth, Kansas, hometown and headed West to make a name for herself.

Mimi Ferraro and Homeland Insecurity Curve writer Jennifer Corday got the scoop on New York-based lesbian Mimi Ferraro, the feisty lead singer of indie pop-rock band Audio Fiction.

Missy Higgins Tells All This songstress from Down Under wowed Australia last year with her best-selling album, On a Clear Night, and now she's got flocks of lesbian fans following her tours in the United States. Find out what keeps her humble, where her music is going next and whether she's thinking about hooking up with a Yank.

Mo B. Dick: The Art of Kinging Drag is nothing new for queer audiences, but Mo B. Dick is taking the act to new heights.

No Man's Woman: Sinéad O’Connor When Sinéad O’Connor hit the pop culture radar in the late 1980s, she was a bald-headed, controversy-courting, angry banshee whose vocal acrobatics could put most performers to shame.

One Way Ticket to Hell Real life Sapphic sweeties Kristen Howe and Erin Stoddard co-star in a campy musical with cult appeal.

Queen of Observation: A Q&A With Sheena Metal Los Angeles radio talk-show host Sheena Metal is one of those women who could give J.Lo a run for her money.

Shelby Lynne, Ms. Led, Missy Higgins and More Extra Chick Music We could have crammed our special music issue with 200 women and still not have enough room to fit in everyone we love. But we’d be remiss if we forgot to mention these staff faves.

Show Me the Money: Miss Money's the Gay Missy Elliott What a strange journey it’s been for Miss Money, a barely legal underground musical genius who has been singing for 15 years and is now building Money Talks, her own mini music empire in Houston, Texas.

Sister Funk Meet Sister Funk, the five-piece, all lezzy (that’s right, 100%), contemporary pop-rock band with a Saturday Night Fever flare.

Sisters Are Doing It for Themselves Sultry, sexy singer-songwriter Deborah Falconer; ’80s girl icon and Go-Go’s alum Charlotte Caffey; and the Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray have a few things in common. They are all women who have asserted themselves in the music industry and thrived in that cutthroat world. They have also all evolved as indie record label owners; after starting their own businesses they’ve moved onto the Internet. They’re sisters who are doing it for themselves — and in Ray’s case, for all her friends as well.

SONiA Teaches Us How to Disappear Fear Disappear Fear’s SONiA keeps her “i” small to remind herself of her place in the world. But for all her lack of ego, this “acoustic activist,” as an Israeli fan recently dubbed her, is a force to be reckoned with. SONiA’s work fits somewhere in the noble tradition of political folk-rock; her lyrics are audacious and original. She recently talked with us about her take on issues ranging from homophobia and date rape to hunger, fossil fuel consumption and war.

Southern Firecracker: Beth Ditto Only four years after she graduated from high school, Beth Ditto’s throaty vocals, bluntly sexual lyrics and penchant for exhibitionism had become libidinous bywords among teen and twentysomething dykes.

The Donnas: Girls Rock in a Guy’s World From high-school nerds to MTV superstars, the Donnas have certainly come a long way from their first garage band. A conversation with bassist Maya Ford — the girl known as Donna F. to scores of screaming fans who have the Donnas to thank for finally giving girl power a swift kick in the pants.

Top 10 Reasons Pamela Means Rocks Come lie here beside us as we ponder the top 10 reasons we’ve fallen for this Boston-based, biracial, indie artist and can’t get up.

Top 10 Reasons We Love Melissa Ferrick Perhaps no other lesbian musician garners the kind of slavish devotion that rocker Melissa Ferrick does. Her devotees, or “Ferrickheads, “call in sick when her CDs come out and follow her around the country tallying Ferrick concerts like that other Melissa once notched lovers. “I think it’s really cool,” says Ferrick. “Sometimes they fly in for several shows at a time. I especially like the homemade Ferrickhead T-shirts.”

Virago: Bandmates and Lovers new They're a lesbian couple and a band that makes sweet music mixing the sounds of blues, rock and Latin percussion. Read about their rock 'n roll romance and get acquainted with Virago's wild side.

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