As lead singer of the two-person band Mecca Normal, Jean Smith is regarded as one of the forerunners of the Riot Grrrl movement-unapologetic, in-your-face music by women rockers who are front and center, no strings attached. Her long-awaited second novel attempts to find the razor's edge between order and chaos in a complicated, male-dominated world. Impressionistic sound-bytes combine with colorful, hyper-aware riffs in which Claudine, the narrator, invites the reader to participate in her subjective world of memory, vision, and flashback.

Jean Smith is the singer and lyricist in Mecca Normal, whose first album was released in 1986. Their tenth album, the Family Swan was released by Kill Rock Stars. As a solo artist, Jean has also released an album. The next Mecca Normal CD will be out in spring 2006. Jean is profiled in The Rolling Stone Book of Women in Rock and The Trouser Press Guide to Music. She is the author of I Can Hear Me Fine, and has written for magazines including Rolling Stone, Your Flesh, Review of Contemporary Fiction, Raygun, and Resister. Jean lives in Vancouver.

Jean Smith's profile page