made the songsmith an instant sensation. Baker was an undergrad at Middle Tennessee State University at the time, writing emotionally charged, Telecaster-and-pedalboard-powered tunes from her unique point of view as a queer punk rocker from a Christian family raised in Germantown, Tenn. â a Memphis suburb and a conservative pocket in a county that leans blue.Â
For Baker,
Sprained Ankle attracted a congregation of folk, indie, emo and post-rock appreciators, striking a particular chord with other young adults from religious backgrounds striving to define spirituality for themselves. She and her band â a mix of Music City and Bluff City players that includes guitarist Mariah Schneider, bassist Calvin Lauber, keyboardist Noah Forbes and drummer Matthew Gilliam â have also endeared themselves to Gen-Xers with Jawbreaker and Death Cab for Cutie covers. In a KEXP session taped recently at Third Man Records, Baker busted out a haunting solo rendition of Soundgardenâ�