Sugar Blues

Singing-songwriting phenom Gina Sicilia brings it on home.

by Mary Armstrong

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Published: Feb 10, 2009

EVERYBODY'S DARLING: Randy Lippincott recalls a younger Gina Sicilia singing "gut bucket blues" at the old Warmdaddy's.

Discovering Gina Sicilia is one surprise after another. First there's the CD, put out by low-profile indie label VizzTone. Fairness dictates at least a taste of all new releases. Slap it on blind, hit play.

Hey Sugar kicks off with an arrangement that could've been lifted from an original Cab Calloway score. Within 10 seconds, Sicilia's voice blasts itself a permanent place on your shuffle. This is one blazing hot singer.

Now it's fair to look at the credits. Surely that's not a current photo on the cover. That huge, confident, commanding voice can't be coming from this very young woman, can it? The liner notes state flatly: Sicilia is 23 years old. Further reading reveals she grew up in the area.

Get the feeling you've been missing something?

Speaking on her cell from North Jersey where she's been working with producer Dave Gross, Sicilia reveals that not only did she grow up in Newtown, but it's still her home. During her tenure at Council Rock High, she didn't give much thought to pop.

"I would listen to my parents' music collection. [So] my parents always liked the music I listened to! They played a lot of doo-wop, '60s girl groups."

But where did that big voice come from? "At 13 or 14, I'd lock myself in my bedroom and sing along with Aretha, trying to emulate her." While Sicilia's voice is distinctly her own, the inspiration is audible. Another '60s artist figures prominently: "I always loved Sam Cooke. I want to follow him [not just in performing]. I want to start my own business as he was doing."

Which reminds her, "I love Gospel, traditional-style like the Soul Stirrers [Cooke's group prior to moving to Top 40] and the Dixie Hummingbirds. I've written a gospel song." She says, "I'm more spiritual than religious. And even if you are not religious, gospel music is inspiring and uplifting." Coincidentally, she pronounces her last name like the patron saint of music: Cecilia.

The booming Philly music scene is one of the reasons Sicilia chose Temple, in 2007, for journalism. She recalls fondly Randy Lippincott's Tuesday night jams at Warmdaddy's back then, when the club was at Front and Market. "It was a great experience jamming with a band for the first time."

"She always just seemed like she was in awe of everything, in awe of being onstage," recalls Lippincott. You can almost hear the indulgent smile in his voice over the phone as he remembers those days.

He's a real veteran, having spent umpteen years on the road as Johnny Copeland's music director. Lippincott's still providing a platform for everyone from beginners to pros every Tuesday at Warmdaddy's (now farther South, on Columbus).

"[Sicilia] was getting her stage legs," he chuckles, remembering watching her soldier on despite a broken leg. "She got the sympathy vote for sure," while singing what he calls "gut bucket blues — maybe Koko Taylor covers?"

She's a lot more versatile now. About half of the songs on Hey Sugar — the new follow-up to her debut, last year's Allow Me to Confess — are her own. While the album starts off with a blues blast, it quickly migrates to the '50s sound of the title track. "I love doo-wop! I always wanted to record something like I'd loved listening to." The setting is not a cappella — more the '50s of early-early Freddy Fender or Sunny and the Sunglows, dreamy and romantic.

Keep it spinning and you'll see Sicilia has a strong love of country, too. She does a fine cover of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors," moving seamlessly from blues belter to country balladeer. "Nobody's Darling but Mine" reaches back to the '30s for about as plaintive a country song as you'll ever hear.

Check her Web site (ginasicilia.com) for links to her video tribute to an early country/blues crossover success, Ray Charles' version of Buck Owens' classic song, "Crying Time." As we go to press, Sicilia and group are making a road trip/pilgrimage to Memphis and Nashville.

With all these genres mastered, it seems Sicilia should have surfaced sooner. She explains her scarcity: "I'm from Philly, but my producer [Dave Gross] introduced me to the New York blues scene. I go to Hoboken a lot — the Dubliner has Sunday night singer/songwriter night — and that's had a huge influence on me."

With luck she'll find time to grace a few of the many Philly songwriter nights to show off the one woman/one guitar side of Gina Sicilia, after her full band gig at World Café Live.

(m_armstrong@citypaper.net)

Sat., Feb. 14, 8 p.m., $14-$15, World Café Live, 3025 Walnut St., 215-222-1400, worldcafelive.com

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