The Setlist: Jinx Dawson surfaces on We Are Hex track

• Margot fulfills destiny with appearance on Wes Anderson tribute album
• Part of Grammy-nominated album was recorded at the Pop Machine
• Zakk Knight channels Hendrix in bid to appear on caravan of guitar heroes

Editor's Note: This is the 18th installment of the Setlist, a weekly roundup of Indiana music news.

A new We Are Hex song bridges the past and present of spooky, subversive Hoosier rock.

Jinx Dawson, the Indianapolis native who sang in proto-goth/metal band Coven and scaled the charts with movie ballad "One Tin Soldier," provides an opening monologue and backing vocals for "W.D.M.R.S." -- a We Are Hex single that will be released on 7-inch vinyl this spring.

Esther Jinx Dawson attained a measure of infamy in 1969, when Esquire magazine suggested that Coven's debut album helped to cultivate a diabolical Southern California scene that gave rise to the Manson Family. We Are Hex abbreviated the name of that album, "Witchcraft Destroys Minds and Reaps Souls," for its "W.D.M.R.S." title.

"We have been devout Coven fans and long considered Jinx an inspiration," We Are Hex vocalist Jill Weiss said.

We Are Hex dabbles in visuals related to Satanism and the occult (seen in pentagrams and "666" imagery), and Coven is considered to be an early adopter of the rock-and-Lucifer connection. A Facebook bio credited to Dawson claims, "Many decades ago, I became the first rock musick performer to come forward openly as a Left Hand Path High Priestess and Ceremonial Mage."

After Esquire published its sensational expose, Mercury Records pulled the "Witchcraft" album out of circulation. Check out a YouTube clip of Coven making a TV appearance in 1969. The band's concept/sound would be seen and heard by millions, but Black Sabbath and Heart were the acts that cashed in.

In 1971, filmmaker Tom Laughlin recruited Dawson to sing a cover of the Original Caste's "One Tin Soldier" for the movie "Billy Jack." Dawson's rendition of "One Tin Soldier," billed as the work of Coven, reached No. 26 on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart and became an iconic anti-war anthem.

For more on the Dawson/Coven saga, I recommend a detailed three-part blog entry posted at Overground in November and January.

In the 1993 photo that accompanies this report, Dawson is seen during the second act of her showbiz career. She designed rhinestone clothing and accessories worn by Barbra Streisand, Cher, Liza Minelli, Madonna and Michael Jackson.

Dawson left California and returned to Indianapolis in the 1990s to care for her ailing father. The North Central High School alum will celebrate her 64th birthday on Monday, Jan. 13.

"It worked out that Jinx could do some vocals the one day we had to record the track," Weiss said. "She killed it in one take, of course."

Milwaukee-based Latest Flame Records will issue "W.D.M.R.S." and its B-side, "Tongues." Before the vinyl arrives, you can listen to the songs at the We Are Hex Bandcamp page.

Not to be overlooked in the Jinx Dawson news, the band made a bone-rattling video for "Tongues" with filmmaker Mitch Massie.

Meanwhile, Dawson appears to be planning a solo comeback. In a two-minute sampler posted to YouTube in November, a company known as Nevoc Musick teased a Jinx album titled "Coven."

Perfect match: It's a good thing that American Laundromat Records didn't put out a Wes Anderson tribute album without the participation of Margot & the Nuclear So and So's. Margot vocalist-guitarist Richard Edwards is an avid fan of filmmaker Anderson, known for films such as "The Royal Tenenbaums," "Rushmore" and "Fantastic Mr. Fox." The name of Edwards' previous band, Archer Avenue, paid homage to the fictional street where the Tenenbaums lived, and it's not difficult to connect the dots between the Margot band name and the Margot Tenenbaum character portrayed by Gwyneth Paltrow. So, I'm happy to report that Margot & the Nuclear So and So's recorded a version of "Ziggy Stardust" for "I Saved Latin!" -- the Anderson tribute album that American Laundromat will release this spring. Originally written and recorded by David Bowie, "Ziggy Stardust" was covered by Seu Jorge for 2004 Anderson film "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou." "Latin," a reference to a line in "Rushmore," also includes contributions from Black Francis (covering Love's "Seven and Seven Is," featured in Anderson's "Bottle Rocket"), Juliana Hatfield (covering Elliott Smith's "Needle in the Hay," featured in "The Royal Tenebaums") and Mike Watt & the Secondmen (covering the Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man," featured in "Fantastic Mr. Fox). Meanwhile, Indianapolis-based Joyful Noise Recordings posted new Margot tune "Flying Saucer Blues" to Soundcloud to promote the label's 2014 Flexi-Disc Series. While the band will be part of the series, "Flying Saucer Blues" isn't earmarked for that project. The song will be heard on "Sling Shot to Heaven," the Margot album that will arrive in stores next month.

Studio magic: Chrisette Michele made part of her Grammy-nominated album "Better" in Indianapolis. While in town to play an April 2013 show with Keyshia Cole at Old National Centre, Michele recorded vocals for the song "Visual Love" at the Pop Machine -- a studio overseen by Kaleidostars members Marc and Eric Johnson. The Johnson brothers assisted Motown Records executive Rex Rideout during the session. Michele's "Better" release is a nominee in the Best R&B Album category, squaring off against Faith Evans' "R&B Divas," Alicia Keys' "Girl on Fire," John Legend's "Love in the Future," and TGT's "Three Kings." The live telecast of the Grammy Awards will air on Jan. 26 on WISH-8.

In the running: Hoosier guitar man Zakk Knight is seeking support for his bid to win onstage time during the upcoming "Experience Hendrix" tour, a Jimi Hendrix tribute caravan featuring Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Dweezil Zappa, Bootsy Collins and more. For Knight's entry in the "Perform on the Experience Hendrix 2014 Tour" contest, he submitted a video of his performance of Hendrix tune "If 6 Was 9." Online voting, which will determine five "popular" winners in the competition, begins on Jan. 16 and ends on Jan. 22. A panel of judges including Janie Hendrix, Eddie Kramer, Brad Tolinski and Dave Stewart will make the final call on the overall winner on Feb. 6. The tour's closest stop to Indianapolis is a March 18 show in Louisville, Ky.

Coming to town: Classical-meets-jazz keyboard player Jon Batiste will promote 2013 album "Social Music" on Jan. 15 at the Tarkington at Carmel's Center for the Performing Arts. The New Orleans native has composed music for and acted in HBO's "Treme," a series that features characters inspired by Batiste's family. Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. performance are priced $15 to $56.

Call Star reporter David Lindquist at (317) 444-6404. Follow him on Twitter: @317Lindquist.