Jenny Hoyston Loves the Nightlife

Jenny Hoyston is not only a prolific musician in many genres, but she seems to be an easygoing gal. She's famous for her full-time job as Erase Errata's vocalist and guitarist, as well as for her side projects such as her solo moniker Paradise Island; but no matter how many times she's interviewed, reviewed, or written about, it seems her last name is misspelled as many times as it is actually spelled correctly.

"I don't really get annoyed or angry about that kind of stuff," Hoyston says. "I think it's funny that people write about our band being hip or cool. We're such dorks. I'm such a shy nerd."

But the thing is, Erase Errata is cool. The trio has just released their Kill Rock Stars debut, Nightlife, and the general consensus is what every band can hope to hear from fans and critics alike: it's even better than the others.

"We're so happy with the [label] switch," Hoyston says. "It was a really good move."

Now Hoyston and her band mates are label mates (and current tour buddies) with bands like the Gossip and Mika Miko. KRS has a long history of supporting bands that are punk, female and queer, and are pumping out some of the best music for the GLBT community and indie rock community alike. Nightlife, poetic, political, and full of enough pop, is a perfect fit alongside past releases from KRS alumni like Bikini Kill, Deerhoof, and Sleater-Kinney.

As Paradise Island, Hoyston is more experimental with sounds, instruments, vocal loops, and overall songwriting. The song "Pedal Revolution" is an anthem of her love of bike riding, in which she admits she "freestyles when [she's] riding." Paradise Island (which Hoyston says refers to her "finding peace in alone time") hints a bit more at Hoyston's sense of humor than her Erase Errata roots do.

Hoyston is also releasing a duets album with folk-punk wailer William Elliott Whitmore on Southern Records this fall. Hoyston says she and Whitmore met through a mutual friend and came to bond over their shared love of road trips and music.

Hoyston will be in Chicago twice in September, once with Erase Errata at Metro on Saturday, Sept. 9, and at the end of the month for Estrojam, where she will open for Nina Hagen and also spin an after party at Abbey Pub.

"I enjoy playing events that are celebratory of women and queer people in addition to the regular tour circuit," Hoyston says. She also mentions that she originally wanted Erase Errata to play, but then decided to go solo after she found it would conflict with the band's Gossip tour.

At Estrojam, Hoyston says she will be spinning "party music," which will hopefully include some dance-able remixes from Erase Errata. Hoyston says she is excited about playing the festival because she is happy to be an "openly queer musician" and "welcomes the opportunity to promote queer visibility."

"Especially if my music is reaching places where queer people are looked down upon," Hoyston says. "Before I lived in San Francisco, I took so much strength from openly queer artists, actors and musicians, [like] Team Dresch, Ellen."

Now that she's in a public position herself, it's likely that in places where queer people are looked down on, Hoyston is looked up to.