By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
August 29, 2003
The number of brides and grooms who danced to Alice Peacock’s hit single “Bliss” at their wedding receptions surely is too numerous to count. But when the Chicago resident married her husband almost six years ago, they chose “Cheek to Cheek.”
“He had to sit out the rest of the dances ’cause he had knee surgery just three weeks before our wedding,” says Peacock, who is on tour promoting her self-titled album (Sony).
In an interview from her DePaul neighborhood home, she took a breather to chat about her songs, her cats and the compliments she received from Mr. and Mrs. John Mellencamp.
Songwriting tips: Write from a true place. People can relate to it.
People don’t know: My cat Fred weighs 24 pounds. Wylie is more normal size.
Last good movie you saw: “Pirates of the Caribbean.” Johnny Depp was like a drunk, gay John Wayne in it. He was great!
Book you’re recommending: I just finished reading The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe.
Best advice you ever got: Write what you know. For a long time, I put limitations on myself because I couldn’t be Neil Young or Joni Mitchell.
Worst advice you ever got: Bangs will look cute on you. No. I’ve got cowlicks.
Best thing about being you: I get to make music and do what I love to do for a living.
Worst job: I was a bad waitress and had to do it for a long time.
You never: Send food back.
Most humbling experience: I had been bitching all day about stupid little things. Then I met a woman in Denver who was a cancer survivor and said my music meant a lot to her. That put me in my place.
Most exciting rock ‘n’ roll moment: Touring with John Mellencamp and playing to 15,000 people each night.
Careless whispers: I’d join him to sing “Pink Houses” every night. He would talk to me off-mike and shoot the breeze. He’d say stuff like, “Your hair looks really nice.”
More compliments: His wife [model Elaine Irwin-Mellencamp] would tell me, “I love that shirt,” or “You look great tonight,” which was very sweet but I didn’t believe her! Have you ever seen her? She’s unbelievably beautiful.
Male groupies: I get boy fans at my shows but my guy comes on the road with me. We like to see each other.
Favorite neighborhood hangout: The Local Option/Local Shack [1102 W. Webster]. My husband owns it and I eat there all the time. I just had the gumbo. Mmmm.
Cook-in-training: My husband is a great cook. I’m a really good baker but a novice cook. I’m very recipe-bound.
On tongue: I had to eat everything as a kid, including heart, kidneys and tongue. It’s the food that tastes you back.
Favorite talent-show winner: Kelly Clarkson [of “American Idol”] has an awesome voice. I’d love to see how she goes with her own songwriting.
