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99 People to Watch in 99

People A-C | People D-G | People H-L People M-P | People Q-S | People T-Z Laurie Sirois Michelle Tea Novelist Twenty-seven-year-old Michelle Tea--famed for her speedy storytelling at venues like the Bearded Lady--bursts into print in '99 with her first novel, The Passionate Mistakes and Intricate Corruption of One Girl in America, published by (Semiotext(e)). The book, lauded by the Village Voice as "rollicking and blistering, pained and hilarious, wired and wide-eyed and smashingly good," chronicles a young woman's misadventures from Goth Underground to Queer Nation to Tucson sex worker. Michelle is pitching her second novel, Valencia, set in the Mission District, and she'll be touring nationally with her infamous performance girl-group, "Sister Spit." (HH) Tin Hat Trio Jazz Players With their debut album on EMI/Capitol's classical label Angel due out early next year, the Tin Hat Trio is poised to jump from being San Francisco's best-kept secret to taking the national stage. Though Memory Is an Elephant is destined for numerous Top 10 lists, the trio has already moved past the album's stunning melange of tango, klezmer, blue grass and avant garde jazz. Featuring Mark Orton's rhythmically deft acoustic guitar, Rob Burger's harmonically rich accordion and Carla Kihlstedt's hair-raisingly gorgeous violin, the Tin Hat Trio is the best argument around for the postmodernist aesthetic. (AG) Karen Dacker Jill Tracy Chanteuse Jill Tracy, a gorgeous siren whose voice is filled with menace and mystery, has recently finished the follow-up album to her sublime Quintessentially Unreal. That album consisted largely of Tracy and her piano, but for Diabolical Streak, she put together a whole backup ensemble, the Malcontent Orchestra. Due out in February or March, Diabolical Streak promises to be lush, eerie, sophisticated and cinematic--Tracy calls it "macabre parlor music." We can't wait. (MG) Ubiquity Conceived by husband-and-wife wax connoisseurs Jody and Michael McFadden, the Ubiquity family roots can be found in the 1990 inception of Groove Merchant, the legendary rare-find record shop in the Lower Haight. Immortalized by Beastie Boy Mike D. in "Professor Booty" ("This one goes out to my man the Groove Merchant/Comin' through with the beats that I've been searchin' "), Ubiquity has expanded into a three-label operation which still includes Luv 'n Hate, CuBop (steamy Latin jazz) and, of course Ubiquity (drum 'n' bass and other forward-thinking electro). No Categories Vol. 2, due in January, has tracks from Greyboy, Beatless and two bands that Andrew Jervis, Ubiquity A&R director, has recently put together. (AN) N. Rondestvedt Conrado Velasco Photographer Velasco traded in his career as an art director in order to, in his words, "get inside the camera and off the flat page." The results have been formidable. Future projects include a series of black-and-white portraits, some of which will be fashion- and portrait-oriented. Could he be the next Man Ray? (DR) Andrew Wagner Editor Interested in reading about Kate Moss' latest coke binge or the socio-cultural impact of urban architecture? Hmm. Two years ago Andrew Wagner, 25, launched the Dodge City Journal, a quarterly of critical essays and photos about, you guessed it, cities and the ways in which architecture affects its inhabitants. Impressed with his sophisticated and unusual vision, LIMN gallery/store owner Dan Friedlander invited Andrew to start LIMN, an art and design magazine, earlier last year. Three issues later, LIMN is gaining international attention and attracting top visual and theoretical thinkers, including Barry Katz and Robert Neuwirth. (AN) Chris Wade Deke Weaver Performer, Writer & Theater Artist The award-winning performer/writer/theater artist will present his hilarious Fargo-esque epic, The Crimes and Confessions of Kip Knusten: A Hockey Way of Knowledge, at Intersection for the Arts in March. "Belly laughs, dark despair and drop-jawed magic" are guaranteed. (HH) The Werepad People By far the coolest place to watch movies in San Francisco, the Werepad is an underground temple of exploitation cinema. Now, with their shocking new film, Planet Manson, these auteurs are primed to make San Francisco cinematic history. (MG) Paula West Jazz Vocalist Long championed by Bay Area jazz/cabaret lovers, sultry singer Paula West is finally gaining some heavyweight notices. The New York Times' Margo Jefferson caught her act at the Firebird Cafe last month and noted West's "languorous jazz phrasing and ... sense of humor." With her sly sensuality and knack for finding rarely sung gems, West brings a deliciously contemporary sensibility to classic popular tunes. She makes her triumphant return from points east with a three-week run in the York Hotel's Plush Room from Jan. 20 through Valentine's Day. (AG) Farika Dr. Winkie Restaurateur A flash doesn't have to be short-lived, it only needs to be blinding in its intensity. Such is the case with everything the elusive Dr. Winkie touches: first, the legendary San Francisco Club DV8, then the star-studded Les Deux Cafe in Los Angeles and most recently Mercury, a shiny multilayered playground of the well-heeled, well-dressed and, finally, well-fed. (MS) People A-C | People D-G | People H-L People M-P | People Q-S | People T-Z [ San Francisco | MetroActive Central | Archives ]