Out indie musician and Philly native Christine Havrilla is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her album, “Some Other Thing,” with a special hometown performance Oct. 20 at World Cafe Live.
Havrilla has built a solid career all over the country as a solo artist, sitting in with other musicians and with her backing band, Gypsy Fuzz.
“I did have management off and on, which is very helpful because there is so much office work, PR work and behind-the-scenes work with touring and bands and hotels, not just music,” Havrilla said about what it takes to keep her career going. “One of the challenges of doing it independently was keeping everything organized and keeping myself driven, because if I wanted to play, I had to make it happen. It’s funny when I think back to when I first put this album out — I had a batch of cassettes (remember those?) and CDs as everything was starting to shift into digital.”
Havrilla said she has strived to evolve beyond the expectations of the industry.
“People look at me and want to see me play guitar. The singer-songwriter thing — I’ve been labeled that, but I don’t feel like I’m that type of person. I think I’ve evolved with more songwriting under my belt, and just really going for things sonically on the guitar.”
For this 20th-anniversary performance revisiting one of her earliest albums, Havrilla said she’s collaborating with musicians she has not had in her rotation or creative circle for a number of years.
“This is totally focusing on this album from 1998,” she said. “It’s been kind of exciting because I’ve only been touring with two of these songs in my set list for years. So it’s actually going back and relearning and revisiting the other 12 songs that a lot of newer fans don’t know about, because the older songs are only available digitally and are not in print. I have some of my old musicians performing with me from that era and it’s been this whole reunion vibe and this exciting energy. We’re playing these songs with our new mindset and improved talent. We’re making it work and reintroducing the older album to a lot of newer fans.”
Knowing how fierce her drive and independent streak are, we asked Havrilla about her plans for the next 20 years.
“I am still going to be doing this,” she said. “I’m getting ready to record a studio album. I’ve been putting out a bunch of live sessions over the years. I’m still writing. I play bass for other bands. I’m stretching myself musically. I want to learn, improve and challenge myself. I’ll keep touring and playing out as much as I can. As long as people keep coming, I’m going to be out there.”
Christine Havrilla celebrates the 20th anniversary of her “Some Other Thing” album with a performance 8 p.m. Oct. 20 at World Cafe Live, 3025 Walnut St. For more information or tickets, call 215-222-1400 or visit www.christinehavrilla.com.