2004-03 Interview

REGINA SPEKTOR

BY TRACEY HUMMER

WHAT THE STROKES HAVE WROUGHT

New Year's Eve is singer-songwriter Regina Spek- tor's new favorite holiday. To usher in 2004, the 24-year-old Russian émigré landed in Las Vegas before a throng of revelrous hipsters to open for the Strokes. Her performance marked the cul- mination of a whirlwind year for Spektor: After the Strokes lead singer, Julian Casablancas, invited her to play some shows with the band, Spektor wound up paying her own way through the group's entire U.S. and European tours. "It was funny because I was buying my own plane tickets and booking my own hotels," she says. "But the Strokes really took me under their wing."

Spektor, whose family came to America when she was 9, has quickly become a leading light in New York's anti-folk scene with her mix of poetry, performance art, and piano balladry (think Joni Mitchell meets Björk)—all showcased on her new album, Soviet Kitsch (self-released). She has also recorded a duet with Casablancas for a forthcom- ing Strokes' single. "It was all very cool," says Spektor. But she adds, "I can't be the Strokes' little sister forever. My New Year's resolution is to keep doing what I'm doing, my way."

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Tracey Hummer is a New York-based writer and editor. Above: Regina Spektor wears a jacket by MARC BY MARC JACOBS. Skirt and shoes by MARC JACOBS. Earrings by FROCK VINTAGE NYC. Fragrance by MARC JACOBS. Hair-styling products by REDKEN. Styling: EVAN ROSS/frocknyc.com. Hair: RHEANNE WHITE/See Management. Make- up: SHAWNELLE PRESTIDGE/See Manage- ment. Special thanks: VIS VITAE NYC; SPLASHLIGHT STUDIOS. Fashion details page 183. Photo: ADAM WEISS.