Vonda Woman

OFTEN called the voice of 'Ally McBeal,'' Vonda Shepard has one of the most unusual jobs on TV. This singer/songwriter plays, well, a singer/songwriter who performs in the bar that the characters frequent.

She rarely speaks on the show, yet she manages to move the plot with her music. She's an oddball on a series that has thrived on bizarre occurrences.

What isn't strange is her easy rapport with an audience and the depth of her original songs, such as 'Don't Cry, Ilene'' and 'Maryland.''

Shepard made waves last year with her fourth solo album, 'The Songs of 'Ally McBeal' featuring Vonda Shepard,'' and she is currently touring to support her just-released disc 'By 7:30.''

She'll play Long Island's Westbury Music Fair tomorrow and appear here in the city at Irving Plaza on Monday.

Post: On 'Ally McBeal'' you play a barroom piano singer. Have you ever actually done that?

Shepard: I've never sung a lounge gig in my life, or performed 'Feelings'' or 'Misty.'' I have played lots of clubs since I was 14, but I always did my own music. The biggest similarity between me and my character is that we've both played clubs for 20 years. In real life, the clubs aren't quite as controlled - and my hair isn't quite as in place as it is on 'Ally McBeal.''

Post: The songs you sing on the show usually come at poignant moments and tend to dovetail with the plot. How are they selected?

Shepard: David Kelley [the show's producer] chooses all the music, as if he's not busy enough in his life. Lyrics are very important to him. Whether it's one of my original songs or a cover tune, he wants to be incredibly specific with his message. That's why sometimes my originals work and sometimes they don't. Occasionally I suggest a song. He's very generous and open to ideas, but he makes the final decision.

Post: Most of the public knows you only from your work on 'Ally McBeal.'' Does that bother you?

Shepard: It surprises me, since I've done so many interviews about my life before 'Ally.'' Still, people are just discovering my music. Fans sometimes come up to me and say, 'I loved your first album.'' I ask, 'You have my first album?'' And they say, 'Yeah, that 'Ally' album.'' It doesn't frustrate me as much as it makes me laugh.

Post: I've never heard you speak on the show or have another other character call you by name. Does your character have a name?

Shepard: They use my name. It's only happened three times, so you might have missed it. It's really strange when I watch the show and suddenly I hear something like, 'Vonda, thank you for that song.'' Most of my speaking has just been stage banter, but once I did have an actual line.

Post: Really? Do you remember it?

Shepard: Of course. I practiced it for hours. I was sitting at the bar with the character Renee [played by Lisa Nicole Carson] watching another singer practice for the Christmas show, and I say, 'She's not bad.'' It was a big moment. I think I stuttered on my first take.

Post: Are you a TV watcher?

Shepard: I don't have much time for TV shows, but if I did I'd watch 'Seinfeld'' reruns.

Post: Did singing come naturally, or were you trained?

Shepard: Both, really. I was born singing. My father tells this story about when I was 3 weeks old how I would rock in the crib and sing in the crib all night long. My crib would roll across the floor in the middle of the night. Finally my father nailed its legs to the floor. After that he told my mom, 'I think we got a singer in the family.''

Post: Did your family have a piano?

Shepard: We had this old upright that was the funkiest sounding piano I've ever played. I mean it was really trashed. It was a pile of junk, but I still wrote some of the best songs on it. I think some of the inspiration for those songs came from the inconsistency of that piano.

Post: What did you play when you first started doing club gigs?

Shepard: I was really into soul music, but when I listen to my old tapes they crack me up, because I really wasn't cutting it. But from 16 on I studied pretty vigorously, and that's what improved my voice. I've spent a lot of time working on it.

Post: What sparks your songs - a melody, a lyric phrase?

Shepard: You know, it's funny. I'll be walking through my living room and I'll have this visceral feeling like there's inspiration in the room, and I'll turn on the tape recorder before I even sit at the piano. I can feel it before it happens, so I turn on the tape and I'll just play. I sometimes get a melody and some gibberish, and then I'll get into it and more words come out. I try to just let it happen, and then I go back and edit. It's important for me not to over-think the music. The real work is in the editing - I'll spend a long time editing a song. I've worked on a few songs for as long as a year.

Post: What singers do you admire?