By WAYNE BLEDSOE, bledsoe@knews.com
May 19, 2006

Healthy White Baby's Laurie Stirratt is not so sure about the current health of rock 'n' roll, but she believes it's capable of recovering from any illness.

"It's one of those things that always comes back around," says Stirratt from her Chicago office. "Fads come in, like disco flooded the market, but rock 'n' roll came back in spades. I think people are always gonna like rock 'n' roll. I don't know if it's ever gonna be a huge, major-label thing again. I think it will probably stay in the indie realm."

Rock 'n' roll will be abundant next weekend at Knoxville's Hottfest, held at the Corner Lounge Thursday-Sunday. Chicago's Healthy White Baby will share the bill with more than 20 local and out-of-town acts.

Healthy White Baby (the band's title was taken from a line in the movie "Raising Arizona") brings together Stirratt, best known for being part of the alt-country band Blue Mountain, singer-guitarist Danny Black (formerly of The Blacks) and drummer Ryan Juravic.

Healthy White Baby was born from the breakup of the Blacks and Blue Mountain.

Stirratt and her husband and Blue Mountain partner Cary Hudson split in 2000 and also ended their band. Black and his romantic and musical partner Gina Black (Danny changed his last name to the band's, in the tradition of The Ramones) put an end to the Blacks around the same time.

In 2003, Stirratt moved to Chicago and looked up Danny, with whom she had become friends several years earlier.

"He was one of the top people I wanted to work with," says Stirratt.

Black had tried an earlier incarnation of Healthy White Baby, but had called the band off until he played with Stirratt. The two later enlisted Juravic.

"There's so much chemistry in this band," says Stirratt. "This group is so much fun to play with."

Part of the fun, she says, lies in Black's songwriting. Another part is that both she and Black are older.

"At our ages, we're not so driven to be stars," says Stirratt. "That helps take the ego out of it. And not having a (romantic) relationship with someone in the band makes a big difference. In Blue Mountain, me and my husband were together 24-7. We didn't have a relationship outside of it. Everyone needs some time alone."

Healthy White Baby's debut album was released in 2005 on Broadmoor Records, which Laurie and her twin brother, John Stirratt, own. John is a founding member of both Wilco and the Autumn Defense, and Laurie and John released their own duo album, "Arabella," on Broadmoor in 2004.

Laurie says running a record label has opened her eyes to how things have changed in the record business.

"Retail is the icing on the cake," she says. "It's all downloading now. I don't like to just have a file on my computer. I like to own a record. I still buy vinyl, but the whole concept of going out and buying a record will soon be obsolete. I don't like it, but that's where it's going."