This Canadian pop punker ain’t Avril

Normally, when you answer a ringing phone, you get a “Hello, how are you?” I got a greeting… Normally, when you answer a ringing phone, you get a “Hello, how are you?” I got a greeting from Fefe Dobson’s agent, asking if I was ready for the interview. Not your typical phone call, but not one where you were dying to get off the line, either.

The Toronto-native, 18-year-old punk pop singer may just give Avril Lavigne some competition this year. As written in The New York Daily News, “Move over Avril,” may be just the phrase, though Dobson doesn’t give the impression of recognizing her own talent, keeping her head straight on her jeweled, sometimes scarf-embellished neck.

One thing is for certain. The girl’s got style, both in her dress and voice. Although articles often note Dobson and Lavigne’s similar tastes in the punk/alternative category, the comparisons usually end there. Her lyrics are a bit deeper and more personal than Avril’s “Sk8tr Boi” track, and her answers to my questions during the interview were more intellectual than what I would expect to come from an encounter with another pop star.

Listening to Dobson’s debut CD, released on Dec. 9, is like reading diary entries to her life experiences. The sultry, hard-edged tune “Bye Bye Boyfriend”, and the emotionally driven track “Unforgiven,” an ode to the father that walked out of her life years ago, lead the listener to believe that Dobson is not shy about exposing her emotions.

“I’m fine with my feelings out and people knowing what I’m all about. I think that’s why it’s on a record,” Dobson said.

Leaving high school to be signed with Island Records nearly nine months ago has kept Dobson busy. Being so occupied, you wonder how the girl could possibly have time to accessorize. Since already in this short amount of time, Dobson has appeared in countless interviews in magazines such as Vanity Fair and Teen People, along with her debut on MTV’s TRL. It makes a person wonder what sort of competition is in store for Avril. Perhaps another Spears and Aguilera feud.

After talking to her, I got the impression that Dobson is not going to end up on an episode of “Celebrity Death Match” anytime soon. Dobson speaks highly of her fellow Canadian, but then, again, didn’t Spears and Aguilera start off as friends? However, while Spears and Aguilera seem similar in both their sex kitten appearances and music, Mtv.com noted about Dobson and Avril that: “The differences between the two are more apparent in the music. While Avril channels her inner Sum 41, Dobson was raised on grunge.”

As Dobson put it: “I think we’re totally different, and we both agree with that – Avril and I. Our music’s different. Our sound’s different. We’re just two Canadian, young girls that have some guitar in our music.”

As for musical inspirations? “I’m obsessed with Kurt Cobain and John Lennon. It’s weird because I have obsessions with Judy Garland and Sid and Nancy.” I have weird obsessions with these people. I think it’s just that they speak to me in an odd way, and, you know, maybe I feel that they’re kind of misunderstood in a way. And I feel sometimes, like, in my own personal life, like by my family, or whatever, I’m kind of misunderstood. But, I don’t know, I just think that their music is so genius and they’re such characters.”

The question is, then, how do you go from Judy Garland to punk? Maybe playing the leading role of Dorothy in “The Wizard of Oz,” a past school production, could have something to do with that obsession. And then there was a combination of influences, both from her older sister’s albums and her mother’s favorite records. Growing up, she would hear Lionel Richie’s voice and the “Flashdance” soundtrack drifting up to her room from downstairs. While upstairs, perhaps you could imagine a young Fefe lip-synching to Nirvana.

Whatever the reasons for her musical inspirations, Fefe’s got a sound all her own. In the past year, the media has seen the transition from teenie bopper to punk rocker Maybe the new year will show off a bit more talent and cover up a bit more midriff with the latest artists to enter a world run by MTV.