Chan Marshall, better known as Cat Power, will make her film debut in Janis: Little Girl Blue later this month at the Toronto Film Festival. Slotted for a September 13th release, the documentary about the legendary Janis Joplin will include a series of personal letters written by the singer read by Marshall. Directed by Amy Berg, the forthcoming film strikes a personal chord with the blues rock performer. "Janis was like an icon of the house that I grew up in," she stated in a recent interview with the Santa Cruz Sentinel . "At the time, I don't think there was any female that was really that free on stage, that loving, that open. Janis was just all about love. No one was as strong and as powerful as she was with her energy."
A definite source of inspiration for many, Marshall cites her connection to the singer-songwriter as one fostered by origin. "To be asked to read letters was intimate," says Marshall. "[Like Janis] I left the South - I'm the only person in my family to ever leave the South - and I have written letters to my family so I felt these pangs and feelings [that] she had..."
The formative experience of reading the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer's letters also coincided with a new chapter in the Georgia native's life. Now the mother of a four-month-old baby boy named Boaz, the once stage shy the performer whose career began in '95, is currently focusing on getting back to the basics in terms of her songwriting and onstage performance. "Ever since the 'Sun' record, I've been on a hiatus, trying to get back to what it was like for me to play and sing again without a band, getting back to my guitar and piano," she explained.
Currently set to play a string of tour dates including New York City, it seems as if Cat Power is on the rise.
Revisit Cat Power's "Sun" below:
