"I know there are plenty of people who think of dance music as throwaway music," says Kristine W (born Weitz), who will perform this Saturday night as part of Served, a new monthly dance party at Beatbox helmed by DJ Escape.
"Even guys who go to parties all the time, they love it but they don't necessarily understand the effort that can go into it. I don't want to put out the musical equivalent of McDonald's. I work really seriously on my songwriting and my recording."
In a genre sometimes brushed off as disposable oontz oontz, Kristine's efforts have paid off in a career of remarkable durability. Since her first single, "Feel What You Want," went to #1 on the Billboard dance charts more than two decades ago in 1994, she has scored 18 top five dance songs, sixteen of which -- most recently "Fade" in 2011 -- went to #1, besting the likes of Whitney Houston, and placing her just a single hit behind Mariah Carey and Donna Summer.
Unlike so many once-you-heard-them, now-you-don't dance acts, Kristine is far more than fluttering lashes and sparkly boobage used to put a face -- and body -- on what are essentially producers' records. She composes her own work on piano and guitar (she also plays saxophone), focusing on melodies and lyrics; the beats and sizzle come later. Her hits are anchored by songs, not just sounds.
For ample proof of the substance beneath the glittery surfaces of her club hits, one need only listen to "Straight Up with a Twist," Kristine's self-financed 2010 smooth jazz album. Alongside an arrestingly tender arrangement of the Eagles' "Take It to the Limit," a grin-inducing reimagining of The Romantics' punky 1980 "What I Like About You" ("My brothers used to play that song in their high school rock band," she said) and several new tunes of her own, Kristine offers stripped down re-recordings of some of her dance chart toppers, including "Wonder of it All" and "Save My Soul."
Slowed down and stripped of all the studio flourishes that mark their more famous versions, these tracks make winning arguments for Kristine's artistic motivations and the staying power of her career.
"A good song is a good song, no matter how you frame it," she says, pointing to her compositions' ability to be convincingly presented in radically different styles. "I've written lots of unreleased songs that I think would make great country records. And I'd definitely like to do a rock album one day."
Kristine's diverse musical interests stem from her upbringing. She was raised in rural Pasco, Washington by her mother and maternal grandmother (Her father died when she was three), both very much involved in music at their church, where Kristine first sang publicly. Grandma was also trained as a classical violinist, but could no longer play after being struck by lightning and having her shoulders dislocated; she ended up teaching herself to play lap guitar to keep music in her life.
After Kristine's father passed, her mother took up singing with bar bands to earn a living, which required a diverse repertoire and a versatile singing technique.
"It's funny to think what must be going through Mom's head when she sees me at a show today," says Kristine, now the mother of a teenage son and daughter herself. "I wonder what it's like to see this little girl you had singing hymns during the offering at church and entertaining at old age homes with my guitar now as this adult dance diva."
As a high school student, Kristine competed in local beauty pageants to earn scholarship money, and after going to the 1981 Miss America Pageant as Miss Washington, where she won the talent competition singing Gershwin's "Summertime" from "Porgy & Bess." Ultimately, she used her winnings to enroll at the University of Las Vegas and continued to fund her education by performing in casino lounges.
In a multi-year run leading a band, and the Sting, at the Las Vegas Hilton, she won Singer of the Year and Bandleader of the Year.
While her show largely consisted of covers, she began to be courted by agents and labels. Her first dance single, "Feel What You Want," recorded independently in Europe, eventually led to contracts with RCA and Tommy Boy records.
During her Beatbox set, Kristine will perform numbers from her latest release, last year's "New and Number Ones," a career retrospective which includes seven new tracks, including her most recent hit "Everything I Got."
Among the best cuts is a giddy, speedy reinvention of Chaka Khan's "Through the Fire," another great example of how solid song craft can underpin dance floor throb.
"Good dance music helps get people through hard times," says Kristine. "It isn't really given the credit it should be."
Kristine W performs with DJs Escape and Hex Hector at Served, Saturday, May 30. 10pm-4am. $20-$30. Beatbox, 314 11th St. www.beatboxsf.com www.kristinew.com