Yesterday, Kim Gordon's revealing new memoir, Girl In a Band, was released, and to coincide with the event, the ex-Sonic Youth bassist, vocalist, and post-punk feminist icon appeared at The Strand bookstore in New York City — the second appointment in an 11-date book tour. (She'll be at San Francisco's Jewish Community Center on March 4, FYI.) Gordon is appearing with a different guest for each date, and her New York side-kick is Elissa Schapell, a contributing editor at Vanity Fair, author and literary critic. (Sleater Kinney / Portlandia star Carrie Brownstein will be joining Gordon in SF — woo-hoo!)


The first thing to note about being in the same, small room as Kim Gordon, is that, when she first enters, you initially feel like you've seen a unicorn. This woman is radiant and more beautiful in person, and carries herself with an effortless, understated cool. She and Schapell sit in leather armchairs, side by side and conduct an interview of sorts. Schapell is funny (and possibly a teeny bit red-wine-drunk), knowledgable and asks Gordon some very insightful questions. It becomes obvious very quickly though why this second person onstage is needed: Kim Gordon — as she herself states almost immediately after sitting down — is awkward. And rather guarded. And occasionally unsure of what she wants (or is willing) to say.

At times, Gordon seems like she would rather be anywhere but here. She talks openly about not liking to do press; at times, she squirms in her seat; her answers to questions can sometimes be abstract and a little rambling. When Schapell asks a three-minute long question about whether or not true artistry is possible while in a relationship with another artist, Kim shrugs, says she doesn't know, and then clams up entirely. The interview eventually comes to a sudden end when Schapell asks a question about Twitter. At which point Gordon looks at her watch, smiles and says "I think it's about that time... Twitter is stupid..." Interview over!

Despite all of this, Gordon remains charming throughout. Hers is not a difficult persona born out of ego and entitlement — it seems partially related to genuine social anxiety, and partially a character tic found in the types of artists who express themselves more fluidly in their work than in their real lives. At one point Schapell makes a joke about needing a pair of pliers onstage because of the struggle of dragging information out of her friend.

Somehow, despite all this, there are nuggets of enlightening information peppered throughout. Gordon reveals that, despite all of her success, she still lives in perpetual fear of one day having to get a nine-to-five job ("It's my nightmare"). She admits she's open to doing more acting, and "wouldn't mind being on Louis C.K." She reveals that she believes in astrology and that her personal astrologer is in the room tonight. She talks about her genuine love for Karen Carpenter and The Carpenters, who she describes as a "weirdly radical" band. She says that she no longer misses playing in Sonic Youth and that the silver lining of her break-up from husband and bandmate Thurston Moore was that it "put me back on track to doing what I should be doing" — in particular, more visual art. She says that she has always identified more as an artist, than as a musician.

There's some fun anecdotal stuff too, about Chuck D's appearance on "Kool Thing" being unintentionally cheesy ("It was cliched in a way that we deserved, but it worked perfectly with the song..."), about the disastrous 1989 interview she conducted with LL Cool J for Spin, as well as the background to the song, "Swimsuit Issue": a sexual harassment lawsuit brought against someone at Geffen Records by an employee. (Tonight, Gordon can't, however, remember which album the track is on — an audience member has to shout "Dirty!" to remind her.)

At the end of the interview, Gordon takes a couple of queries from the audience and manages to artfully avoid a question about Sonic Youth re-forming ("Will you reunite?" a human at the back of the room calls out; "Free Kitten?" Kim responds wryly, "Yeah. I think now would be a really interesting time to bring that back..." The room erupts in applause). And when one mother in the crowd asks for some solid advice for her 13-year-old daughter, Kim offers: "Be true to yourself. Don't modify for some dude ... which is easier said than done."

Then, after a brief signing session, it's all over. The interesting thing about this tour is that each appearance will be directed by Kim Gordon's side-host — meaning an entirely different experience for each city, each night. We have a feeling that Carrie Brownstein is going to make for an excellent interviewer. Hopefully, it will make Kim Gordon a less reluctant subject.