Nikki Lane: The Rise of a Country Rebel
Growing up in South Carolina, Nikki Lane loved her mom's Motown records and her dad's country cassettes, but she'd also sneak to see alt-rock and punk shows. All those influences come through on her new album, All or Nothin', which was produced by the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach.
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The 30-year-old Lane calls herself "the First Lady of Outlaw Country," and there's plenty of heartbreak, violence and anonymous sex in her songs (see "Sleep With a Stranger," where she sings, "You can call me anything you want to/Just don't call me after tonight").
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"I'm not misbehaving that badly," Lane says. "I'm just not making the shit that's on country radio."
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Nicole Lane Frady's goal after dropping out of high school was to have a clothing line, not a record deal.
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But while working as a stylist and designer in New York, she started writing songs and soon landed a record deal (her 2011 debut was called Walk of Shame).
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Lane moved to Nashville with her dog (Tammy Faye Barker) and (now ex-) husband, and opened a pop-up vintage store, High Class Hillbilly. There she met Auerbach, who was stunned by her songs. "They're old and new at the same time," he says. "And she can fucking sing."
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But old habits die hard: Lane still collects vintage pieces while on tour, stopping off in small towns to scour antique shops.
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"If you go into an antique store and there's a 1940s letterman jacket for $25," she says, "what the hell are you supposed to do?" By Elisabeth Garber-Paul