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Bauhaus Bassist Pens Edie Sedgwick Musical

David J has completed Silver For Gold, a musical based on the tragic life of Edgie Sedgwick. The Bauhaus bassist/Love & Rockets co-founder spoke to such key countercultural icons as John Cale and Bibbe Hansen (a.k.a. Beck's mother) for the project, which starts a two-week stand in Los Angeles on March 6.

"Edie was very damaged but the angle of the play is very sympathetic," J explained. "The play puts her life in mythic terms—Edie is seen as Persephone and it chronicles her journey into the underworld, which is New York. Warhol is there as Hades and Bob Dylan is Orpheus."

Sedgwick is often considered the inspiration behind Dylan's classic Blonde On Blonde album, as well as a key figure from the heyday of Andy Warhol's Factory collective. She was last portrayed in the film Factory Girl, which received mixed reviews and managed to upset Dylan. J's musical doesn't appear to be honing in on her controversial side, however. "When I was writing [the play] it was if she was around as a spirit," J said. "It was very strange. I had never experienced anything like it. I felt a distinct presence, so I guess she was the archetypal muse."

Silver For Gold will be performed at the Met Theatre in Hollywood March 6-16. A CD of J's score—played live with a four-piece band—will be released later this year.

—The ARTISTdirect Staff
01.24.08