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On November 12, 2005, KT Tunstall, a virtual unknown singer-songwriter from Scotland, walked into First Act Guitar Studio and played 10 songs to an invited music-industry crowd. It was but her second US gig, and a nice friendly place to start. For many artists, that would be that — especially after your debut CD goes on to sell a whopping 3.5 million copies worldwide. But on July 30, with her second CD, Drastic Fantastic, due September 18 from Virgin, Tunstall returned to the small studio showroom on Boylston Street, playing to the same-sized crowd — this time mostly WBOS ticket winners — and entertaining with chat as much as with music. In fact, she performed just two songs: “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” (the breakthrough hit from Eye to the Telescope) on acoustic guitar and “Hold On,” the first single from the new CD, on electric guitar. She was joined by recent additions, back-up singers Kat Storza and Gita Harcourt. Tunstall, who’d just played before 40,000 at a Live Earth concert, seemed in her element, as unaffected by fame as anyone could expect. The slight, dark-haired 32-year-old took the stage smiling and went right into the big hit, strumming the guitar, stomping on a tambourine, and belting, “Oh no, Oh no, you’re not the one for me.” She then mused about her earlier First Act visit. “The last time I was here, I saw a hawk, this eagle-like bird flying down to the street holding a pigeon in its mouth. Then I saw it fly up to the building and rip the pigeon apart.”
After “Hold On,” a melodic rocker about resisting others’ bad advice and holding onto what you’ve got as the world changes “ready or not,” WBOS DJ John Laurenti took the stage for a Q/A session. He asked Tunstall whether she indeed had called Drastic Fantastic “guitar-heavy and very sexy.” “Did I say that? Sounds very arrogant. Well, a girl’s got to try . . . “ Tunstall revealed that the album will have some twists, among them her ukulele debut, which was overdubbed 15 times. The most important thing, she said, was “for me to progress.” Look for a fall tour with a likely Boston stop.
