ATLANTA'S MUSIC SCENE IS ABOUT TO GET a lot rockier, and a little bit gayer, thanks to a week packed with appearances by three gay musicians, each embarking on his or her own national tour.

First up is Bitch, the indie rocker grrl formerly of Bitch and Animal fame, who comes to the Red Light Café in Amsterdam Walk on Oct. 14. Bitch is touring behind her first solo album, "Make This/Break This," which was released in late 2006, in addition to testing out material for an upcoming album with her band, the Exciting Conclusion.

Bitch says she approached her first solo effort simply as an exercise in doing something new.

"I think personally I wanted to make a record by myself because I never had without Animal," she says. "I wanted to do it without ever thinking that I would put it out. I wanted to know that I could."

Judging by the result, she definitely could. She describes the record as "symphonic" and introverted, but true to form, it manages to instantly grab the listener's attention.

"People have been responding to it really well," Bitch says of taking the album out on the road. "It's a very listenable record ’Ķ There's a real, warm sound to it, with so many different sounds that it represents my eclecticness."

Bitch's eclectic feel extends beyond her music and onto her resume, which also features an appearance in John Cameron Mitchell's "Shortbus" and a penchant for combining the personal and the political, two worlds she calls "instantly melded."

"Everything we do in our personal lives is political in some way," she says. "I think it's just a matter of being open and honest about that with yourself to keep those two worlds in balance and simultaneously coexisting."

Bitch says fans can expect the same in her live performance, which will be enhanced by the addition of new material she is developing with the Exciting Conclusion for an upcoming album.

Bitch also hopes to help take her listeners to a freer place within themselves.

"I would describe my fans as people who are either very liberated or inside dying to liberate themselves," she says. "That's one thing that I've always wanted to step into. Animal and I have talked about for years allowing ourselves to be free onstage and letting people witness a certain sense of freedom. I would like to help bring that out in people."

ERIC HIMAN, WHO MAKES HIS latest Atlanta tour stop as part of Blake's Southern Exposure series on Oct. 18, also understands a thing or two about the freedom to reveal a personal part of himself as an entertainer.

Himan says he feels more vulnerable than ever, thanks to his latest album, "Everywhere All at Once," which reveals a more detailed look into the private processes of his mind than his previous work.

"I think the most vulnerable thing that you can do is let somebody in on how you think," the indie rocker says. "I think it's natural when it's your art. It's something you have to give up in order to get closer to progressing in what you do."

Like Bitch's album, Himan's latest disc encompasses a variety of sounds, ranging from soulfully revealing to hard-rocking, which he says will come through in his show at Blake's.

"It's a very upbeat show," he says. "Usually people think acoustic guitar is going to be sappy and slow, but I'm very upbeat."

Himan notes a recent addition to his repertoire that contributes to a rock sound sure to surprise listeners as much as it did the artist himself.

"I play with a band once in a while, and I just bought this electric guitar pedal," he says. "I realized after playing with this band and using the pedal that I'm really more of a rock artist, just playing with an acoustic guitar."

Himan is looking forward to playing at a venue like Blake's, where he says the atmosphere will contribute to a party-like feeling for the show.

"It makes it a little bit rowdier and a lot more fun," he says. "It's not like everybody's sitting down at a table and listening to me. Everybody's kind of a part of it."

ALSO TAKING THE STAGE the same night as Himan is veteran singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier. She appears at the Five Spot in Little Five Points in support of her latest album, "Between Daylight and Dark," released last month.

The album, which follows her work on the well-received "Mercy Now," is already garnering national praise. It promises to build on Gauthier's longterm reputation as a lyricist and performer.