Pink Martini’s China Forbes leads a double life as a singer and songwriter

Best known as a lead vocalist for the eclectic, electric orchestra Pink Martini, China Forbes also has deveoped a solo career as a singer-songwriter. Her second solo disc “The Road” came out in May. 

But she will be singing and swinging with Pink Martini when she returns to Chicago for an SCP Special Concert on Feb. 28.

Influenced and inspired by Joni Mitchell, Carole King and Suzanne Vega, Forbes began her musical career as a songwriter; she has written numerous tunes, including the title track to Pink Martini’s third album “Hey Eugene.” Along with Pink Martini founder and leader Thomas Lauderdale, Forbes also has co-written many other notable numbers for the band, including “Sympathique (Je ne veux pas travailler)” and “Hang on Little Tomato.”

“The Road” (Heinz Records) finds her returning to her singer-songwriter roots, sharing a journey of personal, autobiographical songs that tell the story of her life so far.

From the road, Forbes found time to answer some questions about Pink Martini’s current tour and her new disc.

What’s the secret of Pink Martini’s appeal?

It’s definitely founded on a nostalgic style of music. In the early, mid ’90s, when the band first started, it was a lot of cocktail music. For those of us who like to go to vintage and antique malls, and are nostalgic for the past, this music really touched our hearts. And I think people appreciated the large ensemble of real musicians playing real instruments. And they were all such accomplished musicians from classical and jazz backgrounds.

So I think the authenticity of it — you could see it and touch it and it was real, and it was nostalgic and made us yearn for the past. But also it had an inclusivity that was modern. I think all of that together made it unlike any other band.

How did Pink Martini founder Thomas Lauderdale explain the band’s concept when he recruited you?

Well, when I got involved it was still really new, and they hadn’t traveled at all. It was really raw. And it wasn’t as defined. When he sent me some cassettes of their live shows that they had done, it made perfect sense; that’s who Thomas is. He had a vintage suitcase and a vintage Polaroid camera, and vintage everything. He lived in that world from the beginning, and so this was a natural outcome of who he is.

So it didn’t surprise me at all, but it was a completely different style of music from what I was doing, because I was writing all my own songs. But it was fun, because I had this theater background, so it was like “OK, I can play this character and do this for a while.” I starting doing it in that way, but over the years that character became kind of who I am. I guess I became the character.

You sing in many languages, do you speak them, too?

I’ve sung in 30 languages. I do not speak them all; I speak French, and I studied Italian and lived in Italy for a summer. But that’s it, English, Italian and French. And Spanish is something I’ve been so immersed in, hearing Spanish, that I understand a lot of it. But I can’t really talk much.

I think one unifying trait of our audiences is that they are open, and they’re appreciative that we make the effort to sing in all these languages, and maybe their language, too. Even if it’s not perfect, people are really grateful that you tried to sing in their language. And did your best. That took a lot of the pressure off, for me, early on.

I loved when in Paris they all said to me, “Oooh, your French is getting too good! Don’t get any better — you’ll lose your cute accent!”

"The Road” features 11 new original songs by Forbes, including the singles “Full Circle” (heard often in concert with Pink Martini) and “Rise.” Do you feel like you’re leading a double life?

It does kind of feel like that. Because with Pink Martini I wear gowns, and I put jewels on and I come out and I’m elegant onstage. And then, with my own music it’s like I take off the gown and put on a schmatta [Yiddish for “rags”] — a cool schmatta. A nice schmatta.

I sit at the piano, or play the guitar, and it’s like my heart and soul. And it’s my personal stories. And that’s a very different experience for me as a performer. And it’s fun to do both. I like playing the role of the elegant diva next door, but then I’m also just me.