Pink
Photo: Arista

What would you say if someone told you Linda Perry, the unforgettable voice behind 4 Non Blondes' 1992 hit "What's Up?," has become one of the hottest producers in pop music?

Perhaps, in her words, "Hey, what's goin' on?"

It's a behind-the-boards comeback, that's what, and all the one-hit wonders are doing it.

Find it hard to believe Perry co-wrote and produced several songs on Pink's Missundaztood, including the title track? Or that she's behind upcoming projects from Christina Aguilera (see "Christina Aguilera: Not Your Puppet"), Solange Knowles (see "Solange, Beyonce's Lil' Sis, Says She's No Destiny's Child") and Courtney Love?

Consider that Deep Blue Something's Todd and Toby Pipes, of "Breakfast at Tiffany's" fame, have recently logged studio time with fellow Texas rockers Flickerstick and the much heavier Drowning Pool. And that Meredith Brooks, the self-proclaimed "Bitch" of 1997, is producing Jennifer Love Hewitt's highly anticipated Jive Records debut.

They are the artists behind some of the most memorable hits of the last decade, and they are suddenly getting back on that track, only in a truer sense of the word "behind."

Perry is so intent on staying behind the scenes, she declined to be interviewed. Other artists-turned-producers, however, did offer insight into the emerging trend.

"Artists make good producers in many ways," Toby Pipes said. "We relate with the artist and know what they are going through with labels, management, road problems and songwriting."

Matthew Wilder, who had a hit in 1983 with "Break My Stride" and later produced No Doubt's Tragic Kingdom as well as tracks for Aguilera, 98° and Natalie Imbruglia after failing to score another solo smash, agreed that understanding the challenges artists endure is invaluable.

"My experience," Wilder explained, "gave me the gift of insight into what it is to navigate through unimaginable disappointments, fighting every inch of the way for what you believe in. ... My experience as a recording artist allows me the sensitivity and perspective of young musicians who are on a similar quest and affords me a vocabulary to be able to speak to their respective needs, frustrations and desires."

Artists also bring with them a proven ear for hits, name recognition and studio experience.

"Most artists have had the chance in their careers to work with a ton of great producers in great studios with great engineers, so over time you learn a lot from the best people in the business," said Pipes, who is producing up-and-comers Crash Vinyl, Hi Fi Drowning and John Price. "We have had the chance to work with some fantastic people over the years, and hands-on experience with the best is priceless."

"When I met her," Aguilera said of Perry earlier this year, "she showed me how to sing from a different place. It's an incredible release to scream like that."

Artists becoming producers is hardly a new concept. Veterans like Brian Eno (Devo, U2) and Steve Albini (the Pixies, Helmet) were in bands — Roxy Music and Big Black, respectively — long before they became sought-after producers. It's the idea that artists are overcoming one-hit-wonder status by producing that is novel.

Don Was was ahead of the game when he started producing full-time (he had dabbled in it before) for Glenn Frey and Bonnie Raitt just a few years after his group Was (Not Was)'s big hit, 1988's "Walk the Dinosaur." But his star has even been re-energized in recent years, thanks to his work producing the latest Barenaked Ladies and Black Crowes albums.

Both Pipes, who has long recorded Deep Blue Something's material with his brother, and Wilder said becoming producers was not a conscious decision.

"Once it became evident that my recording career had run its course, I had to find other ways to continue creating music, for it's what I know, what I do and what I love," said Wilder, who is producing newcomers Dana Glover, Mercy Street and Benny Cassette.

Wilder considers the move from artist to producer a natural step in the evolution of a complete musician. "I never considered myself having left the scene," he said. "It's not about getting back, it's about moving on."

Deep Blue Something and Brooks are moving on too, though unlike Wilder, they are taking advantage of the increased exposure from producing by moving on as artists. Deep Blue Something's self-titled third album was released last year, while Brooks' Bad Bad One is due in May (see "Meredith Brooks Preps Album, Produces Jennifer Love Hewitt LP").

"If people are digging what you are doing to help other people, they might dig or have more of an open mind toward what you are doing yourself," Pipes said.

And Deep Blue Something would be glad to tap into some of Drowning Pool's audience. Really.

"Todd and I grew up on a lot of different styles of music, starting with Simon and Garfunkel, then Black Sabbath, then Iron Maiden, then David Bowie, then Joy Division, then on to the Smiths and Stone Roses, and Bauhaus, so somewhere in there we were influenced by the rock."

• P!nk
• Drowning Pool
• Christina Aguilera
• Solange
• Deep Blue Something

Meredith Brooks
Photo: Jason Walsmith

Meredith Brooks, the most famous "Bitch" in music, is mounting a comeback — and working overtime to pull it off.

Brooks has spent more than two years writing and recording Bad Bad One, her third album and the follow-up to 1999's disappointing Deconstruction.

"I'm a blue-collar working musician, let me tell you," Brooks said last week at Clive Davis' Grammy Eve party (Click for photos from the event.). "I built a studio and learned ProTools and engineered and produced the whole thing."

Later this month, Brooks will release her new single, "Shine," which marks the return of co-songwriters David Darling and Shelly Peiken, who teamed with Brooks on her breakthrough single, 1997's "Bitch." Bad Bad One is due in May.

After her own album is released, Brooks will likely resurface in entertainment headlines later this year as the producer of Jennifer Love Hewitt's Jive Records debut.

"Everyone's going to be so surprised," Brooks said. "She's a great soul singer. I'm very excited about both records. I suggest you don't do two records at once, but I've made it through."

• Meredith Brooks
• Jennifer Love Hewitt

Talk about your last-minute additions.

-- David Basham

• Meredith Brooks
• Eurythmics
• Annie Lennox
• Dave Stewart

Almost a year after facing the wrath of an unruly crowd in Buenos Aires, Argentina while opening for the Rolling Stones, Meredith Brooks has returned to a studio to cut a new album, and has landed rapper Queen Latifah to drop some verses on the track "Lay Down."

• Meredith Brooks
• Queen Latifah

Meredith Brooks is planning to help out some folks in her hometown, but she needs an opening act first.

The "Bitch" singer will play a benefit show for the Heartland Humane Society in her hometown of Corvallis, Oregon on October 10, but she's looking for an opening act to help her out.

Any local bands interested in playing the show should submit a four-song demo tape to Brooks, and all entries should be postmarked by September 16. Finalists will be asked to audition at Corvallis' Majestic Theatre on September 23, and the winner will play the October 10 benefit at Oregon State University which will help the Humane Society build an Animal Education Care Center.

Acts interested in trying their luck should submit demos to:

"Meredith Brooks Talent Search" c/o Heartland Humane Society 5311 S.W. Airport Place Corvallis, OR 97333

• Meredith Brooks

Capitol Records has released some details on the track that Meredith Brooks has recorded for the soundtrack to the upcoming Nicolas Cage thriller "Snake Eyes."

As we reported last week (see "Meredith Brooks Lends A Tune To Nicolas Cage Film"), Brooks recorded what will be one of the few songs on the soundtrack, which will feature Ryuichi Sakamoto's score.

The label now reports that the track, titled "Sin City," was recorded under the guiding hand of producer Paul Fox, who has also worked with 10,000 Maniacs and Grant Lee Buffalo.

The soundtrack will arrive on August 4, while the movie (which also stars Gary Sinise and comes from "Scarface" director Brian DePalma) will hit theaters on August 7. Before that, Brooks will spend a week on this summer's Lilith Fair in late July.

• Meredith Brooks

Meredith Brooks will next follow her "Bitch"-driven success with a song on the soundtrack to the upcoming Nicolas Cage thriller "Snake Eyes."

Brooks' label, Capitol Records, offered no details on the track, but announced that the singer had recorded the only song that will appear on the score-heavy soundtrack.

The movie, which was directed by Brian DePalma ("Scarface," "Mission: Impossible"), also stars Gary Sinise ("Forrest Gump," "Apollo 13") and is set to open in August.

The soundtrack will be released later this summer on Hollywood Records.

• Meredith Brooks

After being driven from the stage in Buenos Aires while opening for the Stones two weeks ago, Meredith Brooks is now beginning to publicly comment on the incident.

Brooks, whose face has been splashed across Argentine newpapers since the incident, has come forward to speak out against the violence directed towards her as both misogynist and a dangerous example of the violence created by a mob mentality.

"I just keep thinking that God didn't bring me down here to play for the Stones," Brooks told the El Rayo news agency, "I guess he brought me down here to say that this was wrong and people have to make it right." [800k Quicktime]

As we previously reported (see "Meredith Brooks Booed Off Stones Stage, Simple Minds Added To Croatia"), Brooks was booed and pelted with objects by an audience restless to see the Stones.

What happened to Brooks is not the first time openers for the Stones have been greeted unfavorably, as both Prince and Guns n' Roses have been forced offstage by similar audience reactions in the past.

• Meredith Brooks
• The Rolling Stones

Meredith Brooks was forced to leave the stage while opening for the Rolling Stones in Buenos Aires, Monday, after the crowd began throwing things on the stage and calling out for the headliner.

Reuters reports that Brooks also had a rough reception when she played the first of three shows on the weekend. The night in question, she tried to win the crowd over by wearing an Argentine soccer shirt, but neither that gesture nor her rendition of her megahit "Bitch" pacified the masses. She left the stage after just two songs, according to a report on Ticketmaster.com, throwing the shirt on the ground in the process.

Brooks is scheduled to appear tomorrow night as well, but no word as to whether the singer will give it another go. Bob Dylan is scheduled to step in for the rest of the South American dates.

Meanwhile Simple Minds will get to try their luck opening for the Stones when they roll into Croatia May 28, a date confirmed by the official Simple Minds website. Other European shows are rumored.

• Meredith Brooks
• The Rolling Stones
• Simple Minds

Audiences can reminisce some of the highlights from the surprise summer package tour of the summer when the "Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women in Music" double CD arrives in stores on April 28.

The CD includes artists who appeared on both Lilith Fair's main and second stages, and tour organizer Sarah McLachlan has pledged 50 percent of the album's proceeds to benefit RAINN, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network founded by Tori Amos, and Lifebeat, a music industry AIDS support group.

The line-up and schedule for this year's festival remain very hush-hush, although, as we previously reported (see "Meredith Brooks To Join Stones And Dylan Before Hitting Lilith"), Meredith Brooks has already announced that she will return for a month's worth of Lilith dates.

The track listing for "Lilith Fair: A Celebration of Women In Music:"

CD 1

• Paula Cole - "Mississippi"
• Indigo Girls - "Scooter Boys"
• Auteur De Lucie - "Sur Tes Pas"
• The Cardigans - "Been It"
• Dayna Manning - "I Want"
• Abra Moore - "Four Leaf Clover"
• Lisa Loeb - "Falling in Love"
• September '67 - "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner"
• Lhasa - "El Payande"
• Suzanna Hoffs - "Eternal Flame"
• Suzanne Vega - "Rock in My Pocket"
• Joan Osborne - "Ladder"
• Sarah McLachlan - "Building a Mystery"

CD 2

• Sarah with Jewel and the Indigo Girls - "The Water Is Wide"
• Emmylou Harris - "Going Back to Harlan"
• Meredith Brooks - "Wash My Hands"
• Patty Griffen - "Cain"
• Wild Strawberries - "I Don't Want to Think About It"
• Dar Williams - "What Do You Hear in These Sounds"
• Shawn Colvin - "Trouble"
• Yung Chen Lamo - "Lama Dorje Chang"
• Tracey Bonham - "The One"
• Wild Colonials - "Charm"
• Tara MacLean - "Jordan"
• Victoria Williams - "Perry Winkle Sky"

• Sarah McLachlan
• Meredith Brooks