lifeblood: songs: backgrounds: be the one

1994-01: disappear fear stops at birchmere, the washington times:

the duo often get compared to the indigo girls; the two groups are friends who tour and perform together - both indigos contribute backing vocals to "disappear fear," along with long-lost folk heroine janis ian.

like bob dylan - actually a distant relation of the sisters - ms. rutstein takes on the big issues, such as prejudice ("who's so scared") and political cynicism ("washington work song"). but ms. rutstein's songs seem more literal, more tuneful than mr. dylan's.

many songs revolve around her experiences as a lesbian - in the tender "be the one," she describes kissing her lover " . . . outside so everyone/could see and judge." and the ringing "fix my life" decries the tragic legacy of aids.

"it took sonia a long time to write that song," ms. frank says. "if aids were around when we were teen-agers, we probably wouldn't be alive today.

"we both feel maybe (because of the song) some other kids will be more thoughtful about how they give love," says the singer, who is married and the mother of a 5-month-old son.