This blog originally posted at http://mariancall.wordpress.com/2013/01/10/some-amazing-people/
Broadcasting from Juneau AK, in my home, with tea and oranges and honey. I have a short thing to say that I’ve been meaning to say. Just sharing some love.
As an aside, I’ve been moving over the past couple of weeks, and now I have a home. Like a Home home. This is kinda big for me, because I have been living in I would consider “other people’s space” since mid-2008. I’ve been pretty happy and perky about it, but it’s been strenuous, and I can’t say what a revelation it is, to have a place to live that’s mine. I can leave shampoo in the shower — I can play the music I want, when I want it — I can buy food at Costco because I’ll be here long enough to eat it — I can invite people over and cook dinner. It’s stirring up crazy emotions, this nesting after years of perching. But I’m a fan. Home is nice, however long I get to have it.
Since I’m nestled in here, recording and editing music and making tons of things for you guys (and sleeping), I am Not On Tour. Sorry. A girl’s gotta stop sometime. I’ll be here in Juneau for a couple of months, trying to forget how to drive. I’ll hit the road again in late spring/early summer.
For now I think it’s way past time I pointed you toward some of the incredible people it’s been my pleasure to work and play with. THEY are on tour. THEY are also making new music. You should know about them. In no particular order:
–> Scott Barkan will be touring NC, PA, NY, and NJ very soon, and you are likely to catch him a lot more in the Northeast over the next few months. I recommend you hunt him down and listen to him play. Join his e-mail list, especially if you’re in the NE sector of the U.S. His guitar work will leave you breathless. Don’t take my word for it; see this video of his performance of “I Got No Reason” at CERN — yes, that CERN — cuz Switzerland will be talking about it for years. The audio is not perfect but I will never forget how it felt to hear him on this particular night.
His most recent album is called “Little Days,” and it’s wonderful. Scott also plays with kickass costumed comedy/rock supergroup Fortress of Attitude. They are brave enough to let Scott play electric guitar. I am still afraid he will blind the audience with rainbow lasers shooting out of his hands if we try that on my tours.
–> Seth Boyer somehow got loose in the Lower 48 unsupervised, and he’s tweeting up some chaos down there. On his way back north he’ll play with me in Juneau, but he does his own thing too, and lots of it, mostly in Alaska and sometimes Outside.
Seth sings the songs that inspire the angels to have three too many shots of whiskey and weep. From his bio, and it’s true: “Seth’s music has been described as having the enthusiasm of Josh Ritter if the knife that killed Elliott Smith had stabbed it in the chest. At once heartbreaking and optimistic, bourbon and anti-psychotics fuel its unflinching candor.” I love it.
“Lie to Me” is one of my favorite songs by anyone ever.
Seth’s one of those guys who exposes the limits of the dumb categories we assign people, because he’s everything; he is Alaskan flannel shirts and Viking beard through and through, he loves sportsball, he listens to All The Podcasts (and he makes some), he knows everything about nerd lore and films — seriously, Seth’s brain is a ridiculous filing cabinet of facts protected by spiky opinions sharpened with wit. He’s a wit porcupine. You should get his album and you should catch him at a show, especially a show in a quiet room where you can hear his pretty voice.
–> Molly Lewis and the Doubleclicks are the people I wish I could play with way more than I do. I miss them. They are an inspiration to me and I loved playing a few shows as a superpowered girl group — even though all our acts are very different. They are CURRENTLY IN THE BAY AREA and heading down to L.A. Catch them in the next few days if you’re there! They are often in the Northwest and occasionally in other parts of the country. They are a perfect joint girl power tour, like pears and brandy or spicy pickles and stout (it’s true, try it!).
The Doubleclicks sort of write songs in haiku. I mean, they’re not haiku, but they are short and nicely self-contained like tiny very funny presents with bows. Once I gave them thirty minutes to perform, and I think they got through ten songs. Here are some favorites of mine at w00tstock 4.0 with awesome sound:
Molly Lewis’s stuff is heady in the way I like heady, and her rhymes are those of a badass verbal contortionist. I love the topics of her songs, from Peeps to Abraham Lincoln to bioluminescence. She makes great songs and they are smart and sometimes very moving. You can find her stuff on sale here, and her solo tour dates there. She is also big on the Youtubes.
This is my favorite song by Molly because I prefer beards so very very much and because the Doubleclicks let me play their keyboard cat this one time.
–> Bryan Ray played a bunch of the 49>50 Tour with me and met bunches of you guys. But he is smarter than me, so he decided to stay in one place more, and now he lives in Austin TX. He still mixes and masters studio work for me sometimes, because that is his particular genuis. And I hope we can do my next project together, whatever that may be.
I’m excited that Bryan is now doing the kind of studio work he told me he wanted to do back in 2010 — thrilled in fact. But his solo work, when he has time to make some, is really gorgeous and otherworldly, and worth a listen. He’s releasing tracks under the name Lonely Child. Bryan has created rich, layered tone poems about childhood and growing up. They’re stream of consciousness sound journeys, showcasing his personal tastes and production prowess. I completely love this film he made with Timmer O’Phelan.
–> Jordan Shindle holds down the fort back in Anchorage. He has been playing with me since he was in high school. We’ve toured a bit, but mostly he takes care of my Alaska hometown needs and protects Anchorage from boredom. He’s too Rock Star for me anyhow.
Jordan’s latest project is a new band called Giants Make Way. Yup, it’s metal, and it totally fits him — he finally gets to use All The Pedals that I seldom let him break out. He’s pushing himself to new heights technically, the band’s music is getting popular at home in Anchortown, and they just released a new EP (it’s en route to iTunes, you can listen to it now here). I don’t know squat about metal. But this is better than a heckuva lot of the metal I’ve heard. I love young excited bands, and I really love it when they push themselves to technical excellence, not just increasing decibels. So rock on, guys — I hope this year’s a good one for you.
SO GO CHECK OUT one or more of these good folks. Drop a dollar on a track. Go to a show or get on a single mailing list so we can find you when we ARE playing near you.
Or, heck, go hear whoever you can hear near you. Live music can really change your life, and I mean that. It flips your whole perspective around — sometimes for a couple minutes, sometimes for months. Do it.
I support and wish luck to TONS of other musicians I love and folks I’ve worked with — these are the people I’ve toured with the most extensively, but there are tons more I could mention who have played with me. People like Joel Hermansen (who co-wrote Love & Harmony with me), Johnny Giedosh, Vixy & Tony, Colter Lemons, Eric Rodgers, Nathan Levine, and more and more and more. If they get back to me with links I’ll add them.
But now it’s time to sleep in my house. Where I live. Where I get to stay tomorrow and the next night and the next night and my suitcases are all finally unpacked. My best to all of you, especially you on the road –
Marian
