Call Us Generation S—for Stiff: I ran into Bar None Records head Glenn Morrow yesterday at the post office and he told me his reaction upon seeing the sign at the Hoboken nightclub Maxwell's advertising last Saturday's record-release concert for The Stiff Generation (Groove Disques).

"It made me realize, 'Yeah, that's what I am,'" he said. "I wrote an e-mail to [Stiff Generation contributor] Amy Rigby, and she agreed. She said, 'We're not the punk generation, we're not the new-wave generation. We're the Stiff generation.'"

Although I was too young to get into nightclubs when Stiff Records artists like Elvis Costello and Nick Lowe first hit American shores, I proudly displayed my allegiance to the Stiff generation when I performed at that Maxwell's show. The evening's bill included several other Stiff Generation acts, including Amy Rigby (who did a fantastic acoustic version of "What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding"), Bigger Lovers, Michael Shelley, former Records guitarist Huw Gower (who surprised me by playing "Starry Eyes," a song I'd never seen him do live), and Groove Disques owners Nixon's Head.

Backed by those wonderful Jersey postmodern mods, the Anderson Council, I sang my contribution to The Stiff Generation, the Kirsty McColl/Tracy Ullman tune "They Don't Know." (That link will play a snippet of my cut; to hear the whole tune, you have to buy the CD). I followed up with "Sure Wish He Wasn't Here," a fab tune by my friend and neighbor, the legendary Chris Butler, who released it last year with his group Kilopop. (If you don't recognize Chris's name, you'd almost certainly recognize some of his songs, as they've sold enough records to circle the globe a few times over. Check out his mile-long CV.) Chris joined me on tambourine and backing vocals for his song. (The Anderson Council also wrote their own account of the evening, including a photo of the group with me and Chris Butler, on their blog, which uses the same template as this one. Hey, guys, I discovered this oh-so-Modernist Mondrian look first!)

It was a tremendous thrill having Chris onstage with me, on top of the immeasurable excitement of making my professional debut—and at my favorite rock club, no less. The crowd of about 85 people was enormously supportive, cheering me on. I was on adrenaline the whole time I was up there.

Here you see me cooling down with Todd after friends of mine (including Lauren Agnelli, Janet Rosen, Michael Malice (who took these photos), Caren Lissner, frequent Tuesday Night Trivia champ Jon Blackwell, Rooks and Lynchpins drummer Ken Anderson), as well as Amy Rigby, complimented me on my performance.

I'm sorry to say that, when I first got offstage, I just thought my friends were being polite. Things sound different when you're onstage. To my ears, I thought I sounded like a retarded Nico at best. I thanked each well-wisher, got a soda to help me cool off, and ran outside as soon as I could, on the verge of tears.

Thankfully, my stepfather, who was there with my mom, had videotaped my performance. Before my eye makeup could wash away, he showed me the tape, which completely changed my perspective on my performance. I realized I'd actually come across like a real singer, and not just like a Bunburying rock critic. Even if I still did sound like a hyperactive version of the former Velvet Underground singer, it was a Nico with all her brain cells intact.