It’s a great time for music. There’s an abundance of creativity in the air, a boom in innovation and imagination, and great new ways to reach people globally that are a series of firsts in history for musicians and songwriters. You tube and the internet have changed everything. The old gatekeepers no longer have a monopoly on who is allowed into the arena, old radio is dead or dying, old media the same, and the world wide web is wide open and ripe with possibilities. There’s no more gate to keep! No one is in charge. It’s a free for all. And really, thats a good thing. Because so many artists could not shape themselves into the pretzel that old media demanded before allowing entrance, they were shut out. Today, the game has changed. It’s becoming easier for the cream to rise to the top. It’s a vastly different world then it was when I entered the music business in 2000, and it’s an exciting time. Sure, it’s hard to get heard because there’s so much happening now, (it’s like trying to drink from an open fire hydrant there’s so much out there now), but what a good problem to have! It’s a great time to be alive, and to be an artist and a fan of original music.
Here’s a few of the people I’ve been enjoying, a few artists I’d like to share with you l because I love them, enjoy their work, and believe they have something valuable to offer. Let me know what you think, it’s would be great to hear from you.
BW Stoneking –We played a show with him on BBC Radio Scotland as part of the Celtic Connections Festival in Glasgow. He’s amazing, check him out.
Fred Eaglesmith–My friend, my hero, my mentor, my favorite songwriter. ‘Nuff said.
Gretchen Peters–An absolutely gifted and amazing artist, with a fantastic new CD out now.
Lori McKenna–What a great song, what a great songwriter, what a great CD.
Ruthie Foster.New CD just out, Let It Burn.
She’s a true BAD ASS!!! She’s got it, and then some.
Gillian Welch and Dave Rawlings, The Harrow and The Harvest.
7 years in the making, and finally, here it is. A new record from one of the most amazing duo’s that have ever walked the earth. They are truly timeless, operating outside of time as I know it. They are time travellers, and we are lucky to be able to see perform live in our time. If they are playing near you, you gotta go see them. It never ceases to amaze me how good they are live. Truly, truly great.
Fred is an old favorite!!!! Can just see the Canadian plains. And thanks for the Lori McKenna clip. Never heard her before…..love women with “different” voices. And Ruthie goes without saying.
What I’m looking forward to hearing is a wonderful singer and songwriter who has just pooled talents with Joe Henry for her latest album. When will it be out? I hope you were able to keep things ‘fun’, despite Joe’s unerring focus…
Big fan of all of then except Lori McKenna, but only because I keep meaning to listen to her but have never got around to it. I know, I know … excuses, excuses.
Gretchen just did a twinterview with me, which was really informative http://bit.ly/ywA0zp
I’ve been re-reading Flannery O’Conners Mystery and Manners, a collection of her unpublished essays and lectures, brilliantly edited by her lifelong friends Robert and Sally Fitzgerald. This book is a must read for her fans, but I think everyone who reads or writes would get something from reading this collection. Her wit and her wisdom shine like diamonds in the sun, and I find myself laughing out loud as I read this book again for the third time. Here’s a great paragraph about about writing fiction.
” One of the most common and saddest spectacles is that of a person of really fine sensibility and acute psychological perception trying to write fiction by using these qualities alone. This type of writer will put down one intensely emotional or keenly perceptive sentence after the other, and the result will be complete dullness. The fact is that the materials of the fiction writer are the humblest. Fiction is about everything human and we are made out of dust, and if you scorn getting yourself dusty, then you shouldn’t try to write fiction. It’s not a grand enough job for you.”
Is this perfection or what?
The same things that Flannery says about writing fiction can be said of songwriting. Tom Waits says the songwriter is the Queen of the Teacup, the King of the Thimble. In other words, it’s all the seemingly little things that matter most in a song. They add up to a great story, or they don’t. They make you feel, or they don’t. For me, the hard work of songwriting is finding the patience to sort through all of my BIG and GRAND ideas, sift them and sift them again until I end up with the bits of dust that matter most. A great song, like a great book, is not a collection of great lines, nor is it a collection of ”acute psychological perceptions”. An artist creates a world for the reader/listener to enter into, and it’s done by the careful and deliberate use of small details, speaking with character and action, not about character and action. It’s hard, emotionally exhausting work, and as Flannery puts in Mystery and Manners:
“Writing a novel is a terrible experience, during which the hair often falls out and the teeth decay. I’m always highly irritated by people who imply that writing fiction is an escape from reality. It’s a plunge into reality and it’s very shocking to the system. If a writer is not sustained by the hope of money, then she must be sustained by a hope of salvation, or she simply won’t survive the ordeal.”
ditto songwriting.
The hope of being of some kind of service, to ones self, to truth itself, to other soul’s out there in the dark looking for connection, or as Flannery puts it, salvation, is the sustenance most artists live on. It’s gotta be enough, or there’s no point even getting into the business of writing. If money is what you’re looking for, there’s about a billion easier ways to make money than writing. It was true in the 1950′s, when Flannery wrote these essays, and it’s even truer now.
Enough of that..here’s a true treasure, it’s Flannery O’Conner at Vanderbilt University reading from her novel A Good Man Is Hard To Find
Yesterday morning, I asked Rick to read “A Good Man is Hard to Find” out loud to me so I could hear it orally. All before I read your blog post and saw that you were writing about Flannery and referencing her work. Next, hearing her voice reading the same story at Vanderbilt confirmed to me that there are no coincidences in life. It’s a tribe thing.
We are all swimming in the collective unconscious together and the stardust of Flannery O’Connor is still swirling around us all.
Yes, it’s the little things in life (like this) and these kinds of moments that makes life so very meaningful.
If the early evening gloom is getting to you, (yes, it’s getting to me), we can take comfort in the fact that the days are about to start getting longer. The winter solstice–which marks the beginning of winter and the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere — came last night at 11:30 CST.
Yesterday was the shortest day of the year. Today the days begin to lengthen, and for me that means my walks on the red trail at Warner Park will slowly start getting pushed back. This gives me more time during the day at my writing desk which is a good thing, as I am in the process of writing new songs and feel rushed to get out to the trail in the early afternoon to beat the encroaching darkness. Right now I have to be out there by 3 to walk the 5 mile trail, because it’s been getting dark at 4:30pm.
I love hiking the hills at Warner Park here in Nashville, and I especially like hiking them in the winter, because I don’t have to worry about snakes. I have an irrational, primal fear of snakes, and I have run into timber rattlers several times in the park, and every time I do, it scares the bejesus out of me. They come out in the spring, and they’re out all summer, but in the winter, NO SNAKES.
I like it, this walking in the cold, no snakes anywhere.
The timber rattler is a beautiful animal, but I can’t get past my crazy fear (and healthy respect) for it’s majesty. I got very, very close to one in March….here’s a video taken from my iPhone….
Click on this picture for my video of the timber rattler rattling...
Warner Park in the winter time.
I am a daily walker (snakes or no snakes). Somewhere a long time ago I read that writers walk, and I find it particularly helpful to walk the hills when I am writing. Its part of my creative process, the songs marinate as I climb the hills in silence and listen to the leaves under my feet and hear the occasional train rolling down the tracks in the distance. Problems in the songs somehow sort themselves out without me having to fix them, rhymes reveal themselves, and melodies write themselves as my legs move my body through the woods. There is something bigger than myself at work in these moments, and while the information bubbles up into my conscious mind through my subconscious mind, I don’t think it originates there. I am just the vessel, the recipient of the story. In other words, the songs come through me, not from me. There’s something else at work in those hills, and don’t want to name it because any name I could give it would diminish the experience. Lets just say there’s a power greater than myself working on me. My job is to show up, be patient, trust my gut, and allow for that power I can’t name to do it’s work. Creativity is a magical thing, it flows though humans in the most simple and complex ways, and we are allowed to literally co-create the universe when we embrace our creative powers. The key word here for me is co-create. Of course I can force songs and push them into shape with my will, but if I do, I lose something vital, I lose the spirit of the original inspiration. I lose the magic. Forced songs sound like forced songs, they sound crafty…and I don’t want to write crafty songs. I want to write well crafted songs, of course, but there’s much more to it than that. I want to be an artist. I want to move people, and be useful in the greater scheme of things. Crafty songs have their place, but craft without art, without that magical divine spark, does not interest me.
This idea is articulated beautifully by one of my favorite writers Jame Lee Burke. James wrote a piece for the NY Times in 2002 about it in a series called Writers On Writing. Here’s a nice quote from James from that article, read the whole thing if you get a chance, it’s time well spent if you have an interest in these things:
” You write a day at a time, and let God be the measure of its worth; you let the score take care of itself, and most important, you never lose faith in your vision. God might choose fools and people who glow with neurosis for his partners in creation, but he doesn’t make mistakes.”
Mary, Saw you and Tania last night at Bean and Burlap. Just magical. Tania is a great fiddler and I just ordered her last two CDs from Amazon to send to family members. My grandfather (Pepere) was a fiddler. Spent this morning listening to The Foundling (purchased last night) and was moved by the maturity, depth and breadth and poetry. It’s bubbling at the surface now. I am a psych nurse and author (psych) and love how you peel back each layer with your narrative and poetry. I hope you soon record your World War vet “via the train vehicle” song on a CD soon. As I said last night, ” I am so glad you were born!” You are special! Keep wandering….
I saw you last night at the Burlap & Bean in Newtown Square Pa. It was another great show. What I like most about you is your personal intimacy, both on-stage and off. If you could’ve only brought one person with you on the tour, you chose wisely in bringing Tania E. She is such a talented complement to your music. Thanks for the show. You played the blues, and now I feel better;-)
“A laborer works with hands. A craftsperson works with hands and mind. An artist works with hands, mind and heart”
Ken, this is beautiful. I’ve not heard this before, and I’m probably gonna use it for the rest of my life…it’s says exactly what I’ve tried to say in way too many words!
Thank you,
Mary
I appreciate your discussion of inspiration. There is something in that word that sounds of breathing, and something that sounds of spirit, which of course is not a thing at all. I heard this recently, and you reminded me of it when discussing the forced manufacture of songs over the artistic flow. A laborer works with hands. A craftsperson works with hands and mind. An artist works with hands, mind and heart.
Thanks for sharing your inspiration. Your art.
On this New Year’s Day, I wanted to thank you, Mary, for this particular blog posting. It inspires me as I look to cultivate more deeply my own creativity this year, and especially gives me an extra reason to go walking as often as I can!
Thank you as well for the link to the James Lee Burke essay; I love him, too, and that may just be the finest meditation on writing I’ve ever read. I plan to print it, this blog entry, and Kerouac’s “Belief and Technique for Modern Prose” and keep them all at my desk. Thank you again, and Happy New Year!
My friend Gretchen Peters has inspired me. With her wonderful blog on Huffington Post, and her fantastic new CD Hello Cruel World, she’s got me thinking about art….in a good way. Really thinking.
In her blog, Gretchen writes, “As a songwriter, singer and musician, I explore the emotional terrain of everyday life on a regular basis. I am interested in shining a light into some dark corners, even compelled to do it, to take the secrets that we all keep and bring them into the light, give them a name, treat them with compassion and humility, but, above all, to tell the truth. Art has the power to transport us into other people’s lives, and thus, ultimately, into our own hearts. The act of empathizing with another, no matter how different, breaks down the walls built by secret-keeping and fear, and forever binds us together in our humanity. So many people prefer you to assume a role that makes them comfortable. But life is not about making other people comfortable. This idea seeped into the songs that were coming out of me — the old adage, “Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.” I wanted to say what seemed unsayable. That life is tough, heartbreaking, unfair — and short. And that there is unspeakable beauty to be found.”
I couldn’t agree more.
I’m home now, in Nashville, sitting at my writing desk, contemplating these ideas while I try to write some songs. And I’m wondering, whats left for me to say? And I realize that writing and performing my most recent project The Foundling has changed me. There’s plenty for me to say, because I have changed. I am not the same person that I was three years ago when I decided to take on the most confusing and complex part of my own story by writing songs about it.
I love this quote by the great playwright, three time Pulitzer Prize winner, and fellow adoptee Edward Allbee . (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf)
“All serious art is being destroyed by commerce. Most people don’t want art to be disturbing. They want it to be escapist. I don’t think art should be escapist. thats a waste of time.”
Sometimes, the greatest thing an artist can do is be disturbing. To disturb the comfortable, and comfort the disturbed is to answer to a higher calling. It takes courage, self awareness, confidence and audacity to go against the grain, to shake things up, to stand alone and speak truth to power.
The writing of The Foundling was a key that opened a dark room inside my head, threw the lights on, and ran some of the monsters out. I feel lighter, less anxious, and more at peace now. Somehow, by revealing the hardest thing I’ve ever had to face, it’s lightened my load. The songs of The Foundling have made many people uncomfortable. They’ve made ME uncomfortable at times. They’re not for the faint hearted. They are heavy, and the story does not end well. But, is that REALLY true? Because here I sit, feeling a sense of peace and serenity thats flows like a river deep inside me. I’ve never felt better in my life. I feel connected to people, to myself and to a power greater than myself. There’s a great gift in being an artist, and for me that gift is being the recipient of what Gretchen was describing in her blog, being returned to my own heart through the sharing the truth of my humanity with others. Sometimes people tell me things like “That song you wrote was a life raft for me when I was going through x,y,z….” I always smile and nod and say sweetheart, we’re floating on the same little boat. It goes both ways; thats the nature of art. If it’s the kind of work that has a deep moving effect on a listener, you can be assured that is has had the same effect on the artist. The artist saves his/her own life by the work he/she does. Thats certainly been my experience. I write, I learn, I grow, and I move on. The work helps me to move on, to not stay stuck. I learn the lessons by writing about my experiences — making art from these experiences frees me to move on. My work gives me a powerful reason to get up in the morning. I am dedicated to it, and I love it. Ten years into being a professional songwriter, my passion for it continues. Writing helps me understand who and what I am, and it helps me understand the human condition and my place as a member of the human race, afflicted and gifted by the human condition just like everyone else. I’ve travelled the word now for a decade, and I am certain of one thing, we are all made of the same stuff. The human heart does not vary all that much, we humans are all much more alike than different, despite what the politicians and corporate media types try to tell us.
As a songwriter, I have no desire to do anything other than try to describe whats going on around me and inside me. I look out and see so much worth loving, so much worth singing about, writing about, worth trying to gently capture like a butterfly in my little song net. There is plenty left for me to say. Sometimes the greatest songs in the world are simple love songs, honest and true, without irony or cynicism. I think it’s high time I write a few songs like that.
Mary
Reading what you wrote was certainly an inspiration as is your music. I have seen you a number of times now in the UK and every time you and your music have touched me in some way. I have all your albums and very much look forward to the next one and to hearing the songs that you are working on. It is good to read that you have never felt better about your life – because you have had to go through so much to reach that place of peace and serenity.
Dear Mary, I discovered you through Mercy Now playing at a oneness blessing circle and within a very short time, I had 5 of your CD’s in my car player which stayed there cycling through continuously for over 2 years. Through the arduous process of breaking up a 19 year relationship, every song touched my heart deeply, inviting the tears, witnessing and containing the grief, the shame, the loss of time and youth and hopefulness, the relief, all of it. I have seen you 4 times – in Austin, San Francisco, Berkeley and Santa Monica. I could speak to so many things – of course, the music, your aliveness and truthtelling, your body of work which is deep and prolific and magnificent, such incredible songwriting that doesn’t falter or compromise, the stories, your generosity, openness and spark with your fellow musicians, it is not easy to pinpoint exactly what occurs, but just being in your presence, I feel elevated, hopeful, deeply touched by this human journey that we are all on and soulfully connected to something bigger than me, something so vulnerable and so precious. I experience you as radiant, courageous, willing, an inspiration, a trailblazer, willing to name all that you see along the murky path of life with such curiosity, clarity, depth and insight that somewhere in the midst of it, perfect and unique alchemy happens. Thank you for being you.
Mary, I first became aware of you and your music through KPFT radio here in Houston. From that time forward you have been my very favorite singer/song writer. Please continue with your work. You have so much to tell. Looking forward to seeing you in Houston. Do you have any idea when that may be?
Mary, I just wanted to let you know how much you and your songs have helped me through the years.You have a unique way of putting into words the emotions and feelings I could not explain or even think of a way of expressing.Your words have taught me about truth and letting go which has truely set me free. It is true that being honest and true to yourself and your beliefs releases an enourmous amount of pent up anxiety that a lot of us are holding inside. I think if more people would be honest with themselves and others the amount of drug and alcohol dependencies would decrease enormously. Being honest and telling the truth, exposing yourself to others, isn’t always easy, But I know you’ll sleep better at night. Thanks for everything and I hope to see you soon.
I’ve always thought that art (no matter the medium) is worthless unless it makes you think and that’s precisely how it stays with you and makes an impact on you. All else is the equivalent of junk food. I remember when we first saw you perform and were literally stunned by the honesty and rawness of your songs. We so admired your guts in putting yourself out there.
Life is life- sometimes painful, sometimes hard, sometimes pure ecstasy. It’s odd to me when people want to avoid dealing with the tough stuff because I’ve found that I’ll deal with it sooner or later. And later seems worse to me.
You are right, Mary and so is Edward Albee. We have the drug industry that has marketed itself so well that many think that they shouldn’t have to process anything troubling. The music industry rewards utter fluff.
Your passion and honesty makes you uniquely beautiful. (Not to mention all that talent, too….)
Mary, your work is always an inspiration. It captures the bittersweet note of everyday dreams, disapointments and hope. Thank you for sharing your talents and your art with us. Ginny
I am enjoying getting to know you through your songs and your writing. I was completely blown away when I heard “I Drink” for the first time last week. Your incredible voice and your emotion hit me first, and then the words sank in. As someone who had alcoholic parents, I recognize the pervasive feeling of hopelessness you were able to convey in that song. I escaped that cycle of self-destruction but the song has made me feel more compassionate about those who get trapped in the mess. Thank you for sharing your art with us. We need to hear what you have to say.
Mary – Having heard you perform “Foundling” live, I agree that it is disturbing – but as my favorite Jungian therapist and author pointed out, the point of being here in this world may not be happiness – but rather meaning. And sharing our stories and what they mean to us not only allows us to understand our own lives better (as you’ve said)but it can also be a life preserver thrown out to another soul who is going down for the third time purely out of a sense of complete aloneness. If our experiences, yours and mine, are different – what Pema Chodron calls “the genuine heart of human sadness” is not.
And as to simple songs – “Mercy,” for me, is one of the most authentically simple, beautiful and compassionate songs, I’ve ever heard. It’s become a talisman for me, guarding against the temptation to close my heart.
May you write well, always.
I am writing this from my room at Irving House, a great little Bed and Breakfast in the heart of Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. The owner, Rachel Solem, always takes great care of us, and we look forward to staying here whenever we play the Boston area. It’s raining out tonight, and I’m getting some laundry done downstairs, grateful to have a washer and dryer on site so that we can head to Colorado tomorrow with clean clothes. I’m tired, we’ve been on the road now for so long I don’t even know how long, but I feel good as well, knowing that the shows have been successful, and that I am doing what I was put here to do. A sense of flow comes with this traveling life, and the tiredness comes when I slow down. Tonight we are off. I know I’ll be able to get some rest soon, but tonight, it’s get a few housekeeping things done, find a nice little place to eat dinner in Chinatown, probably The New Golden Gate, ( I love their Lobster with Ginger and Scallions and Salty and Spicy Squid), and go to bed reasonably early, tomorrow is a fly day, off to Colorado for three shows.
I’ve been reading a lot about the Harlem Renaissance lately, and enjoyed one of Langston Hugh’s Memoirs called The Big Sea. It lead me to a book I absolutely fell in love with called Cane by Jean Toomer. What an amazing book! Jean Toomer was unknown to me before I read about his work in Langston’s memoir, and now I am fascinated by him. Alice Walker has written that she can’t live with Cane, she loves the book so much, and here’s a review from Amazon:
“By far the most impressive product of the Negro Renaissance, Cane ranks with Richard Wright’s Native Son and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man as a measure of the Negro novelist’s highest achievement. Jean Toomer belongs to that first rank of writers who use words almost as a plastic medium, shaping new meanings from an original and highly personal style.”
Langston Hughs also reminded me of what an amazing human being Josephine Baker was, and this lead me to discovering that she’d performed her own version of The Times They Are A Changing.
Coretta Scott King asked her if she would take over leadership of the American Civil Rights Movement for the slain Martin Luther King, (she was by his side on for the March on Washington, and spoke to the crowd before him), but Josephine decided that her children were too young to loose their mother. She was an amazing, amazing human being, and now I am on the hunt for a great book about her life. One book leads to another…..
Are you likely to come for a few dates to the UK? England specifically? If not, well, just know how much your music touches me and how I relate. I knew from the first time I heard your voice I would like you and bought all your albums there and then. We survivors need to be out there to show other survivors we can have wonderful lives despite the black hole we had to crawl out of. xo
So good to see and hear where your light is shining now. Thanks. Had not heard Josephine Baker for a long time, and had not heard of Jean Toomer. Such a blessed richness.
..so odd ..this just came across the wires …as I was re reading “If (and only if) You Want To Write”….which has sortta become my Bible…after you had recommended same a few years back…and found just ,dare I say, exactly what you found in that miniature masterpiece…that over and over…told us what we really knew already…and the great error in ever thinking that though our expressions are as varied as the species on the planet.. there is but one origin …and it is in the delivery of the Obvious that excites us..and if by extension it excites another…fine …if not ’twas a great trip back to the womb anyway…guess we are all flowers in the same field…but you Mary …have a great way of distribution of the Seminal, so all the other flowers have to thank you…While most thought I was really going off the deep end playing the album Mercy Now over and over ..while getting back up from a destroyed relationship…they had no idea that your genius in finding Truth in Anguish and Pain …was only the Mirror Image Of Beauty in Redemption…and “Mary is just saying what I already know”…it’s just done so well and with the Precision I needed…(it also helps that I drank in Olympic fashion for 30 years always fighting it by Guilt…rather than it’s opposite Weapon of Mercy)….denial is a hard nut to crack…and to get used to loving yourself requires the skill of Courage…AKA …Mercy. Mercy is no pious grace…but a Warrior one…and I suppose , like many, I want to gush with platitudes and gratitudes.. on how your work has made such a difference in my Life…but I know you’d have none of that…but say rather..”Get out in the Field and start Seeding”…well, I’ll try…but in the meantime…armed with that film clip .. the Performance Art it truly is…and possibly a new book to read…I’ll do my Homework…Honestly…and Mercifully ..cause Mary told me.
I am on a plane to France tonight, looking forward to a few days off in Saint Antonin Noble Val, a village outside of Toulouse, where Arnold, my Dutch booking agent for the last 10 years now lives. He’s had enough of Amsterdam, and has moved his family to the South of France. Sure sounds good to me! He has invited us to come visit for a few days, and relax a little. We will play a single show there in the village, then go to Amsterdam for 10 days, driving from our base in the city to the gigs throughout Holland. My first record deal was on a Dutch lable, and I feel very at home in The Netherlands, so returning is a great joy for me. There will be a lot of driving, but it is a small country, and I find it easier to base a tour out of one hotel and drive a couple hours to and from a gig, than to pack up and change hotels every night. My favorite hotel in Amsterdam, The Schiller Hotel (where I wrote at least three songs that I recorded on my Lost Highway records including The Last of the Hobo Kings) was fully booked, and way too expensive now anyway…so we are trying a new hotel this time. I am a creature of habit and will miss my old haunt, but over the years I’ve been saddened by the demise of Rembrandt Square, the square where the Schiller is located. They’ve put neon billboards and flashing signs and tried to turn it into a sort of Dutch Times Square, and there’s massive amounts of drinking and rowdiness there on the weekends. The last time we stayed at The Schiller when we returned to the hotel after our gig the scene was downright threatening. Roving bands of drunk young men, yelling and agressive. All good things must pass, I guess. No matter, we will have a great time in Holland, and find our way to wonderful food, shops and walks in the cities where we will play.
I am reading with great admiration Rosanne Cash’s memoir, Composed. I bought it at the airport in Nashville, and I have not put it down since. We had a three hour layover in Charlotte and I am now on the plane again and almost done reading it. She is a fantastic writer, and has a wonderful sense of herself, and she puts it out there in an engaging and generous way. She has me totally captivated. I am trying to write my own memoir of sorts, and I am well aware of how difficult it is to tell your story and be objective, fair, even handed, interesting, honest and funny. It ain’t easy! Especially when addiction is a large part of the story, but she’s done a fine job of it, and I will refer to her work as I trudge through my own. We performed with her this summer at The Vancouver Folk Festival, and Tania played a few songs with her, she was charming and warm and I thrilled to recommend her book to everyone. It’s a page turner!
Tania Elizabeth, Rosanne Cash, Vancouver Folk Fest 2011
I spent last week on musical train trip through the southwest with my dear wonderful talented friends Karyn and Lindford who bill themselves as Over The Rhine, and Richard Shindell, has whose work I have truly loved over the years. Tania took a much needed 10 day vacation, and I went to New Mexico and Colorado, solo. The adventure was put together by Roots On The Rails, which is more or less my friend Charlie Hunters vision and passion, and his right hand helper Sarah Ovenden’s logistic genius. They do several of these trips a year, and if you’re up for a musical adbenture, it’s an adventure of a lifetime.
Richard and I hit it off quite well, and I found myself on stage singing country songs directly to him, as he played guitar with me. He was a sport and allowed me to indulge him, and we ended up writing a song together in an old wild west hotel in Silverton Colorado called Black Eyed Susan’s Looking Back. It’s got Richards classic sound, and I can’t wait till we finish it so I can play it on the road.
Fred's Birthday! Me and Bill and Fred and Blue on Fred's B'day this summer.
I’ve taken to playing a great song called Cigarrette Machine, off of Fred Eaglesmith’s FANTASTIC new record 6 Volts. I love the song and totally enjoy singing it. I played it with Over The Rhine, their band, and Richard at a Roots On The Rails show in New Mexico, and I did not want it end it was so much fun to perform. Can’t wait to play it with Tania in Holland.
As we fly over the ocean now, I am visualizing Tania Elizabeth and I sitting in a little French Café’, eating avec de l’ail et vin blanc and pommes frites avec la mayonnaise a l’ail for dinner, croissant and black café for breakfast, and I am filled with anticipation for our little four day holiday. We have been traveling nearly non-stop over the last year and a half, and a couple of days in the same place has resonance with me. I will rest, I will write, and I will eat French food…. all three things I truly love doing.
Getting ready for the show, Sisters Folk Festival, Sisters Oregon, 2011
Hello Mary and Tania,
I was at your concert yesterday in Groningen and I am still blown away by the whole experience. Last week I bought the tickets in an impulsive moment. I sort of discovered your music when I heard ‘mercy now’ played in a BBC detective series some months ago. Then I saw your name on the Oosterpoort website and bought tickets. What a quality performance it was! The lyrics, your voice and the sound of the violin pierce right through you. I was really surprised to see you two after the show, selling Cd’s en talking to fans. So approachable for such great musicians! Thanks for shaking hands! Hopefully see you next year again in Groningen. In the meantime I will listen to ‘the foundling’ a lot.
I was at your concert last night at the Amer. It was wonderfull and i enjoyed it very much. It was the second time that i saw you(last year in Groningen – Oosterpoort) and again i was moved and touched by your performance. I think your a wonderful personality and your songs are not other than the best there are to find in the genre. The Foundling is one of my favorite records from the last ten years and very well be one of my so called Island records. I hope that there will be a live cd/dvd from The Foundling in concert at one time. Your other records are also great. Great personal lyris and poetic stories, great compositions and a moving voice and guitarplaying. Thank you Mary(and Tania) for making such incrediable music. I hope we can enjoy your music for years to come. Thank you and have a great tour in Holland and elsewhere.
Hej Mary (and Tania)
I had to miss you at Wolfville’s Deep Roots in 2007.. but last week in Hengelo (close to my hometown) I finally made it to attend a life performance. It was more than great. As far as I’m concerned it could go on and on and on. You two are such an inspirational ‘couple’. I do love this music and I specially loved your good spirits this evening! Hope to see you both again sometime. In the meantime I’ll play you CD’s on and on and on…
Mary,
I stumbled on an article about you in the Daily Comet online. I’ve often wondered where
life lead you. I’m so happy and inspired to so where you ended up. I’m going to look for
your tour coming to Florida. I’ve been in St. Petersburg since 1989 practicing as a veterinarian. Enjoy your European tour, and be sure to eat some waffle cookies for me
in Holland. I spent my senior year at the University of Utrecht.
Have just driven home from St. Antonin through a beautiful, clear full moon night having seen you and Tania play; listening to “Between daylight and dark” on the CD player. Thank you for coming and playing here – I never thought I`d ever get the chance to see you – and please, please, please come back again soon. An amazing incredible evening was had by all. Merci (now)!
What a wonderful musing Mary. Roseanne is a dear friend from my years in Nashville. You are a continuing inspiration. I have finished that album I told you about a few years ago. Next on to mastering. Music is a wonderful and strange road through the swamps and the highlands. Reading about your trip in Europe took me back to the many places over there that I hope to play again. Keep on keepin’ on sister and thanks for your support in finishing this record…
It’s been an amazing summer for Tania Elizabeth and I, from the Stan Rogers Folk Festival in Canso, Nova Scotia to St. Olav’s Festival in Trondheim, Norway, from Edmonton Folk Festival to Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, Vancouver Folk festival to Sisters Folk fest….all in all, we played 9 festivals this summer, and loved every single one of them. Folk festivals are a gathering of the tribe, of the folk music community in the regions where they are held. It’s always a joy to see everyone and get caught up on what’s been going on with old friends since I’ve seen them last, make some new friends, and listen to great music.
Vancouver Folk Festival, Stage Shot
In Norway, we made our way around Trondheim by foot, and came across a few amazing sites, a couple of them I took pictures of and posted below. One is an old fashioned organ grinder on the street with his grand daughter imitating him, and the other is a shrine erected to the victims of the mass killing on the island off of Oslo. Both are shot with my i-phone, which takes decent pictures, especially with the Hipstamatic app.
We played St. Olav’s Festival in a venue they called an “open church”, a nine hundred year old church that stays open for homeless street people and lets them sleep there. Our host called himself a street minister, and he works beautifully with the people who end up there, holding an open mic for the community, playing piano, and being an all round example of love in action. It was wonderful to watch him with the folks who gather, the broken hearted, the alcoholics, the mentally ill, the wounded dreamers, the lonely, the lost and wandering souls. He is true minister, and I admire his mission. It was great to meet him, and to play for his audience. I learned a few things about what a true church can be for people who really need one.
Norwegian Organ Grinder with his Granddaughter
Street Minister and the 900 year old Open Church
We left and went on to the the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, and I was able to show up a week early and teach at the songwriting school, which was a blast. It’s always nice to be in one place for a while, and I love teaching out there in Lyons CO., It’s a great week for the teachers as well as the students, we all re-set out engines and get our heads on straight about writing and being creative. The setting is pure Rocky Mountain beautiful, the songwriters are there to learn and connect with each other, and there’s enough time to get some all of it done. If the students had half as much fun as I did, then they were doing just fine. This is such a wonderful way to spend a week of summer, it always renews me and reminds me I have much to be grateful for.
Tania and I loved the afternoon show we played at the festival after the school ended, and a photographer got a great shot of her feet on stage, with the stomp boards she is using to get some percussion sounds.
Tania's Feet
Me and Tania Elizabeth, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival 2011
We went on to play and teach at Sisters Folk Festival in Sisters Oregon, another fantastic festival and wonderful song school, then worked our way down the West Coast, picking up our dear friend Lori McKenna in Sacramento who came with us for a few days, playing LA and San Francisco with us, and making the journey all the better. We have a shot of us in Chinatown in San Francisco, with a guy busking on the street near the restaurant where we had dim sum.
Mary, Lori, and Chinatown Busker
Summer’s not quite over yet, as I am in New Mexico now, preparing for a musical train trip with Over The Rhine and Richard Shindell. The trip begins in Albuquerque, NM, an, meanders through Colorado, and winds up in Chama, NM. Along the way, there will be jam sessions, open mics, parties, concerts, great food, boisterous celebration, high jinks, and revelry. The road goes on and on for us…we will be off to Europe again in two weeks, then on the East Coast of the US for some dates. More soon…..
Tonights concert was just fabulous. The two of you created a great atmosphere. Voices and fiddle together with the stompboard sound and the guitar made the concert an incredible experience. Hope to see both of you again.
Last friday we attended the concert you and Tania gave at Metropool in Hengelo, Netherlands. It was a truly mesmerizing performance and this gig has already become one of the most memorable concerts we’ve ever attended. I’ve been a fan since Drag Queens and Limousines so I was happy to be able to introduce your music to my wife Carla during this great concert in our hometown. She has become a fan of you and Tania instantly. We hope you will release a live duo album someday !!
Wishing you love and happiness,
Rob and Carla
Beautifully written newsy post. Loved how you and Tania walk with the people, rather than just watch them. Great to read about a church that is for the people rather than judging them. Safe journeying for you both.
hi Mary, I am a huge fan of yours and wish you would please come to Philadelphia. My doggie, cody, loves your music also. I just saw k.d.lang last Thursday in Phillie for the fourth time. She was, as always, really great. Please, please Mary come to Philly. I am a cousin of Buddy Miller’s mother Elaine.
love from your biggest fan,
maryellen i.e. m.e. xx
Hello Mary, just wanted to send a note to let you know the Last of the Hobo Kings was a great tribute to a wonderful man. Steamtrain Maury was a friend of mine. He was a great conversationalist and truely a warmhearted guy. Thank you for writing a nice song to play and remember. I’ll watch for you in southeast Michigan. James Ingle Tecumseh, MI
Hey, Mary, just a note to say Thanks for your usual good summary. I note your schedule regularly, as faithful fans do. So enjoyuable to know you had some times with Lori, sharing performances, good times. So glad to know you’re “doing what you love to do.” Love and prayers. Mary E.
My last few weeks off at home in Nashville have been wonderful. I managed to get my garden dug up, built up, fertilised and planted, and I set up an auto watering device so that the garden self waters every other day at 6 am. I closed in the extra garage to create a studio/office, and I got to hang out my with friends, getting re-connected to people I’ve missed all winter because of my travels. But the nesting is over now, and I am looking at a very full schedule till through the fall.
Our two month spring tour started in Texas and winds through Italy, England, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Germany and Switzerland. There’s plenty to look forward to, and while the amount of travel is daunting, the adventure of it all still thrills me.
In Texas, my guitar started acting up, so I brought it to Mark Erlewine to fix her up for me, and lo and behold….Trigger, Willie Nelson’s guitar was in there for some work. I got a couple of shots of her.
Trigger at the doctor's office
Ain't she beautiful?
Tania Elizabeth and I will perform songs from The Foundling at the American Adoption Congress Conference in Orlando, then fly to Milan for day off before the Italian tour and head to the public baths for an affordable day of sauna and jet lag healing. We’ve already booked a massage, and I am very much looking forward to being pampered Italian style after the long flights.
We’ll perform The Foundling again at The Foundling Museum in London, then we will play a couple festivals in Ireland. After that, we are all over England for two weeks. then Scotland for a show in Glasgow.
We return to Berlin May 16th to play at the lovely Quasimodo, one of my favorite places to play in Europe. And after ten years of touring Europe, I finally get to play some shows in Switzerland, May 19th in Lucerne, and may 22nd in Zurich.
PLENTY to look forward to, all of it interesting and challenging. Life is good!
Check out this video from Australia, loved talking with Brian from RockWiz before the show:
Recently, I have been honored to be included in a couple of books by amazing women writers. The massively talented Marshall Chapman has written a book called They Came To Nashville, where she talks to artists about their move to music city. She interviews everyone from Willie Nelson to yours truly , and I am thrilled to be given my own chapter in this wonderfully entertaining contribution to the history and lore of Guitar Town.
Jewy Height, a brilliant and gifted music writer has also written a book, Right by Her Roots, Americana Women and Their Songs and it’s fantastic. She looks deeply at 8 Americana women songwriters, from Lucinda Williams to Julie Miller, and once again I am thrilled to be included with my own chapter in the mix.
Coming up this fall after the summer touring will be my return to the musical train trip, this one called the Roots on the Rails Narrow Gauge Train Trip, with Over The Rhine and Richard Shindell. We even have a Facebook Page for the event. We will be riding from Albuquerque, NM – Durango, CO., and it’s going to be an AMAZING journey. This will be a spectacular journey filled with unforgettable scenery, great train rides and fantastic music as we travel into the magical San Juan Mountains of Colorado and New Mexico. Last time I did the Roots On The Rails train trip we went across Canada with Tom Russell, Nanci Griffith and Gretchen Peters, and it was a trip I will never forget. Seeing the country by train is a great way to really see it, and the connections formed on these trips can last a lifetime, the groups really do enjoy each others company, sharing meals, drinks songs and stories, the journey is one of joyful play, and everyone shoots out the other end fulfilled. I am really looking forward to this one, I hope you will consider joining us.
More soon from the road as we wind through Spring in Europe.
Saw you again at Moonlight on the Mountain in Birmingham, you made my wife cry for the sadessand joy she felt then. We loved the show. Please keep doing what you do.
My Husband and I are such fans and keep up on your tours hoping someday you will perform in New York City. Have you ever considered looking into a little venue called the Stephens Talkhouse? Its located in Amagansett Long Island. We are anxious to some day see you perform!
Beautiful, beautiful concert on Sunday night at the El Lokal in Zurich. We’d been waiting so long for you to come our way and it’s been more than worth it.
Thank you for the wonderful evening in Dachau. It
was like in the Seventies with friends, hope, beer and good
music! and it remembered me a lot to a small bar, French Quarter, New Orleans, not the tourist stuff;-)
Last weekend I went to the Folk Alliance Convention in Memphis,TN. I’ve not been to a Folk Alliance gathering in over a decade, but I found the conference extremely helpful early on in my music career. I got booked at my first Folk Festival, met my first booking agent, my first manager, and landed my first record deal all as a result of attending the International Folk Alliance conference.
I showed up that first year with with a black double pick guard Gibson J200 Everly Brother guitar, a handful of songs, a heart full of hope, and a head full of fear. The conference felt huge to me, everyone seemed to know each other and I knew no one, and the obstacles to my songs being heard seemed insurmountable. I was still in the restaurant business at the time, with a closet full of well-worn chef coats, 25 employees (and their families) still depending on my restaurants for their income, and a dream of getting out. I had not yet toured as a musician. I was just getting started as a songwriter, and was as the very beginning of trying to figure out how the music business worked. I showcased my songs in nearly empty hotel rooms, felt overwhelmed and unseen, and ended my first timid attempt at a music conference unsure and a little shaky. But I left feeling determined, the little bits of encouragement I received did help, and I spent the next year working on my songs and playing open mics three our four nights a week.
I felt a little less intimidated by the time I went to my second Folk Alliance, and managed to land a publicist who was to become my first manager. By the third year I attended the conference I’d self released my second CD Drag Queens In Limousines, I knew why I was there, and set some goals for myself. I was accompanied by my wonderful first manager Marlene Baker, and we were pro-active in getting people in the music business to come see me play. We landed an agent ( the legendary Sean LaRoche who held court at the bar), a record deal was discussed (it took a while longer, but we eventually got one on the fantastic indy lable Signature Sounds), and I was on my way. I sold the restaurants, moved to Nashville, and I didn’t look back. Put Folk Alliance behind me, and almost forgot about it.
Fast forward 13 years.
I returned to the conference this year because I wanted to see the old friends I’ve traveled with on my musical journey over the last decade, and renew other relati0nships that I had started and hoped to deepen. I also wanted to try to find a way to give back, sit on a few panels, try to repay some of the gifts I’d been given as a result of the wonderful group of folkies who converge every year for this event. Also, I wanted to play front of people who’d not seen me in a while, or who’d not seen me perform with Tania Elizabeth.We were offered several showcase opportunities this year, and enjoyed all of them. The biggest showcase was the “official” showcase, set up by the conference itself. A showcase I would have LOVED to have been offered all those years ago when I first started coming to the conference, but was not selected for back then. In the old days, I thought those official slots were only offered to stars.
Folk Alliance 2011
The showcase was on Friday Night, in a room room packed with a couple hundred people. My friend Eliza Gilkyson was on right before me, and some of the people she brought into the room stayed for Tania and I and were joined by others who pushed in as seats opened when Eliza was done . Eliza left the stage, and we took the stage at nearly the same time. Eliza unplugged and we plugged in…there was literally no time for a sound check of any kind; the schedule did not allow for one. It was one two three go…you are on. I strummed a few chords, said hello into the mic, and that was it, showtime. The stage lights were bright in my eyes, I couldn’t see the people’s faces in the room but I could feel them, and I felt my heart begin to beat hard. I was nervous. Not so long ago, being up here, doing this official showcase at this conference would have been a big, big deal to me. Tonight I jumped up here without a second thought, the way I’ve been jumping on stages all over the world for years now; just get up and do it, don’t think about it. Just plug in and play your best, don’t worry about anything but delivering the song from an honest place and connecting with people’s hearts. It occurred to me that I’ve been so busy working hard over the last decade that I’d not taken time to look back and see how far I’d come. Pushing hard for progress, I didn’t take the time to measure it when it came. Moments like this were the measure for me, moments when I am made aware of the miles I have travelled over the last ten years. It’s been an amazing journey. I had to smile. I’d come full circle. My nerves were telling me to stop and smell the roses, to let myself enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Halfway into our second song the line to the fiddle went dead, and Tania’s playing was no longer amplified. The sound man tried to fix it to no avail, and I didn’t want to waste time on it given that we only had a 30 minute showcase. He jiggled the wires for about 2 minutes, nothing happened, and I knew I had to do something. I instinctively jumped off the stage and went into the audience to play the next song – Tania followed, and we played Last of the Hobo Kings as a sort of impromptu house concert. Standing on the floor in the audience with the stage lights no longer in my eyes, I looked out into the packed overflowing room and saw friends from so many places–Betsy Siggins from my old days in Harvard Square at Club Passim, Barbara Manners who has booked me every year in her music series in Connecticut as far back as I can remember, Geoffrey Himes, the wonderful music writer who has written about me for many publications including the Washington Post and No Depression Magazine, Kim Jameson who took such good care of us at the 30A songwriters festival down in Rosemary Beach Florida a few weeks ago, students that I have worked with in many of my song schools and trips to Costa Rica, and dozens of other dear friends I’ve collected over the years. Without amplification, standing in the aisle between the seats, I felt and SAW people lean into us. I felt and SAW love and support in the room, felt the energy in the room come together in that moment, united in song. I felt the power of unity, the power of people holding me up, of people joined in a spontaneous moment of oneness, of togetherness. It is a feeling money cannot buy, the feeling of being one in a room packed with people. I think it’s one of the things that drives musicians down the endless highways, the desire to experience this feeling over and over again, no matter the cost.
Not too long ago, I was afraid to look into the audience’s eyes. I’d close my eyes as I played my songs, I’d look over their heads. I couldn’t look into their eyes for very long. I’ve had to work on this, this fear being vulnerable, and fear of the power of looking into the face of the audience while singing to them. But here, in this place, surrounded by these people, it came naturally. I looked into their eyes one by one, and took it in. I let myself feel the power of it. It’s both a humbling and poignant feeling. What to with it, I don’t yet know. All I really know is that yes, I have come a long way in short time, and the true treasures of my journey are the many relationships that I have formed. I couldn’t have planned this night any better. The power failure was a blessing, a gift, an opportunity. An opportunity to look into the eyes of love, and slowly take it in.
You were great last time in Den Bosch(holland). I was thrilled from the very first moment till the last song…the favoret song of my best friend who past away….MERCY NOW.
big kisses Stan
Hey Mary
Hope you’re having fun on your UK tour
I lOVE your music, hope it’s not too late to get a ticket to one of your shows.
Thanks for helping me find the right tea bag (ha)
Good luck on the road
Melinda x (Teaxs gal living in UK)
PS LOVE photo of Trigger!
Mary, I love your new song Between the Dayligh and the Dark. You have come a long way, since the days on Carolatta St. I would love to see you in Baton Rouge.
Thank you for being such a laser sharp beam of light through the mayhem, for your raw humanity laid bare to share for all of us less brave to follow more safely and courageously. You weave in and out of the soundtrack of my life and each time I reach in closer there you are delivering more gems of wisdom, nudges for the heart to open wider, clarity and insight. Thank you Mary.
When Mary performed in Australia last year her songs struck rich deep and profound in the hearts of many of us here.
She creates a musical commununion, her songs come from a place of truth and integrity, and she sings with the voice of one who has lived to uncover those truths.
So reading this testimonial about what happened at the American Folk Alliance is no suprise. America, Mary is one of your most important voices and deserves all your grace, love, and support.
I remember seeing that shy, timid performer you were years ago at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. It is definitely true:You’ve come a long way baby!! Congrats and continued success! Can’t wait to see you on Friday, March 4th in Hudson,NY!
Jason Wilbur, John Prine, Me, Iris Dement, Dave Jacques
(click on the photo to enlarge – it’s a really good one)
I am home in Nashville, watching it snow, and deeply grateful to be in my own house, in my own office, sitting at my on desk, drinking tea from my own mug. I am a good traveler, and I love the road, but I am learning the joys of being home these days. I used to get stir crazy at home, feel the pull of the highway after a couple weeks off. I used to worry about my career going away if there weren’t any new gigs on the books, if there wasn’t road work in front of me. Lately, I am just glad to be home, and the old fears of having to get a day job ( or open another restaurant ) are not creeping in. So far. Mostly, I am tired and I wanna get my strength back, wake up rested instead of still tired, and I wanna get back to writing songs. I need to be home for a while to find my center, to find that voice that tells me what I should write next. I have not heard that voice in a year or more, and my new worry is that it might be gone. A writer never knows when our last song has been written, do we? But I know the voice is still out there, still in there. I’ve just got to get centered, rested, and get busy listening again.
So, I’ve been going through my CD’s and books, sorting out what I want to give away and what I want to keep. Cleaning house. Getting rid of things I don’t love. Pruning, sorting. I am moving my office into my bedroom, and my bedroom into my office. I want a bigger office, and a smaller bedroom. I’m re-arranging things, shaking it up, making it feel new around here again. I suppose this is a pre-writing ritual. Making space in my office, making space in my habits, on my bookshelf’s..for something new.
I remember being on the road with John Prine a few years ago, opening a string of shows for him in California, and a couple in Chicago. One night I was sitting in the green room with him, and asked him, “John, where do you think your songs come from?” He said “Hell Mary, I have no idea. I went to Ireland for three months last summer to write, and didn’t get a single thing until the day I was coming back home to Nashville. The morning we were leaving, three songs suddenly came through, before we went to the airport to fly back home. I had no idea they were coming through, none.” He laughed. ” This whole process is a mystery to me still.”
I feel the same way. I don’t know where the songs come from, or when they are going to come. I keep the faith ( with some fear around the edges) that there are more songs left for me to write. I do what I can while waiting on them to arrive. I clean my office, I move my office. I make soup. I light a fire in the fireplace. I change the strings on my guitar. Read books. Watch movies. Listen to music. Hike the hills in the snow. Call friends on the phone. Strum my guitar. And I wait.
Thank-you. I am starting late in my life to make music on my guitar, but I’ve always sung. My mom used to say “Sing before breakfast you’ll cry before supper.” Maybe not true still I can’t forget it. Anyway, they come up from deep within and it does not matter at all if noone else understands or even shares them but when they do it is so wonderful! I just shared my first one with my guitar teacher–it was from a bit of courage and a lot of love from those of you who inspired me. Thank-you again.
First time I saw you was at the Columbus Music Hall opening for someone. I could see you in the back hallway getting ready and you were visibly nervous. Talked to you again in Columbus the night we went into Iraq. Sad,rainy night and you drank coffee while I slipped in to get a ticket. Nervous again and you wondered what to say in your show. Saw you at Fur Peace Ranch and in this video. Confident! You are do good! Keep at it and see you again when you are near Ohio.
Firstly, I want to say congrats on receiving the #3 album from the LA Times, as that is a huge accomplishment.
I want to comment on you coming home to relax to find your center. I think that we get so busy in your lives that we forget to listen to that little voice in our head. However, we forget that most good things happen in our life when we find that center. Your success has come because you are very connected with the voice inside of you and the more you listen to it, the more you will write beautiful words for your songs.
Mary, I, along with probably everyone else on this site will agree that you are the songbird of our generation. Just keep doing what your doing and putting smiles on thousands of faces across the world
I clean my office, I move my office. I make soup. I light a fire in the fireplace. I change the strings on my guitar. Read books. Watch movies. Listen to music. Hike the hills in the snow. Call friends on the phone. Strum my guitar. And I wait. Sounds familiar?:)
I’m not sure when you actually wrote “The Foundling” but that piece being your most recent release, I wouldn’t worry for a moment about whether or not more songs will come, yet. What an enormous purge of emotion writing that must have been for you. It was for me, and I’m only the listener. You are the miner of these emotions and I imagine you would have to go digging in a cold dark place to unearth these nuggets of pain and bring them out in the light of day, look at them and face them head on so you can continue on to a brighter more peaceful you. Give yourself a break, enjoy the free time and space while you are in it. Sounds like you’re de-cluttering your soul with these songs. That’s a good thing! Creating space for something new to come in. You’re description of being home, that last paragraph, well, it sounds like heaven on earth. Walk in the woods, in the snow, the fire… all of these things will bring you to your next place wherever or whatever that may be remains to be seen. Trust that the wherever or the whatever is where you are meant to be. Those beautiful songs you’ve written (so many) weren’t an accident. That was you. You did that. You’ll most likely do it again. When? Who knows? But I’ll bet you will. I think I just gave myself a much needed pep talk without realizing it.
Thanks. : /
Mary, I love reading what you write, I love listening to you speak, and your song-writing is among the best there is – spare and poetic, real and true. There will be more and I’m looking forward to hearing it all!
Mary, be assured, the songs will come because they are how you sort and file the pages of your life. Like a volcano, you just have to wait for the lava to build up pressure and explode again. Some day when you are just driving or even looking at the box of items you are throwing out of your life, the seed to another album is going to erupt. Thanks in advance for the next piece of work.
Dear Mary, a huge THANK YOU for such a great learning experience at the songwriters workshop here in Halifax, (Dead of Winter Festival). I am writing feverishly and have cast aside my fears thanks to you my friend.
St.George’s Church had a true vessel on the alter; indeed a fantastic concert. Can’t wait to see you again!
Much love , Wanda Rose Milne
Just read your comment old fears of having to get a day job ( or open another restaurant)”
Well, I did just do that. Been a musician since I was 11 years old and at the age of 18 had to open my first restaurant to support my family (Mom, Dad, and brother). I have absolutely no regrets about opening my restaurants and being one of the top San Diego Caterers, but I sometimes wonder what would have happened if I stuck to music and singing instead. Check out my San Diego catering restaurants http://www.surfbrothers.net when you have a chance.
Miss Mary,
Every time I listen to your music, it’s like I’m hearing it for the first time all over again. Mercy Now is healing 3 generations of pain in my family. The video, It Gets Better, brought tears. I’m in awe! I can’t wait to see you for the first time all over again in Earlville.
Keep the faith (and the fear). That’s what makes you real.
Today I was on KC’s local NPR stations website to check out the playlist from ” The Fish Fry” and decided to check out Bill Shapiro’s (Cyprus Avenue) “Top Five Albums Of 2010″ and there was your latest album “The Foundling. This made me get out my copy of “Filth & Fire” which I’ve had since ’02. I listened to “Sugar Cane; “Camelot Motel; and “After Your Gone” for a couple of hours and was so moved I decided to go to your website, and there it was! You’re playing tomorrow in KC! I will be at the show, there is a higher power, thank you.
I just picked up Foundling Alone and I am blown away. It sounds like the show you gave in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last fall. The emotional range of your writing and singing is amazing. This cd is the closest thing to being with you in a dark auditorium…slowly being transported through life. I hope you make it back this way again soon.
Mary,
Something struck me with your comments regarding cleaning out your unwanted CD’s, Books and belongings. It is a beautiful quote from what I think is one of the most prolific philosophers and word smiths ever, Henry David Thoreau
“A man is rich in proportion to the number of things he can afford to let alone.”
While perhaps Woman is more appropriate, I am sure you see the similarity. There is something truly delightful about having a clean slate, no clutter, less racket, more simplicity! It seems to naturally lead to a fresh mind, perfect for new projects!
Well I just discovered you, Mary, based on my music selections for Pandora. Just listened to “Mercy Now” – I’ll definitely be getting one of your CD’s soon. Wish you would get together with John Prine and Iris Dement and come to Minnesota for a concert. I would go. Do you ever play concerts in Minnesota? It’s pretty cold here now so wait until it’s nicer here – maybe June :-/
hmmm…lost my comment!
Heard you at St. George’s Round Church, Halifax – thank you so much – have been listening to you for years but this was our first chance to catch you live.
I love your mixture of puckish stage presence and hurtin’ music – it is lovely.
Thanks for Mercy Now – it was just what I needed right then…
Mary, I saw you last night at St. Mary’s Round Church, and I woke up with your songs
and your voice, and that incredible violin
in my head. I don’t think a concert has ever affected or touched me so deeply. You looked tired at the end, after the standing ovation and the last song. No wonder. You project the feeling of those songs so perfectly, so intensely, that they could penetrate steel. Thanks for the wonderful music.
enjoy that winter fireside. there’s no place like home. drink deep of the hearty soup. have no fear. it will find you, even as you don’t look for it – whatever it may be. and besides, what we create is just a part of who we are. in the end it is all like so much snow falling from sky to earth.
I have a severe depression. I last now now 4 years. Your music is a kind of therapy for me. I like your songs so much. The reason why you don’t write songs now is easy. You are now (and it ook a couple of years) happy.
“I feel the same way. I don’t know where the songs come from, or when they are going to come. I keep the faith ( with some fear around the edges) that there are more songs left for me to write. I do what I can while waiting on them to arrive. I clean my office, I move my office. I make soup. I light a fire in the fireplace. I change the strings on my guitar. Read books. Watch movies. Listen to music. Hike the hills in the snow. Call friends on the phone. Strum my guitar. And I wait.”
Larry King once wisely said, “I remind myself every morning: Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening.” That’s precisely how I feel. I am grateful to have learned something new today. – Tenis
Incredible pic, I wish I was there! Mary stay just the way you are, wherever these songs come from, I just love it so much, so hang in there and keep em comin’!
Mary, your raw and beautiful honesty IS the hot tea on a snowy day — we all have been blessed with the gift of life and you, Mary, surely enrich ours. Listening to you story-tell in lyrics so deeply rubbed in always, always leaves me becalmed — something like a sailboat sitting motionless until the wind picks up again. All the best to you in life and in your career! Peace.
Mary, I just discovered your music a week ago when I heard “Mercy Now.” Simply awesome. I’m recently divorced and trying to quit drinking. Just reading how you were chilling at home, sipping tea, waiting patiently for the next song to come to you helped me. Take care.
Hey, Mary. Rest well; you deserve it. I’m going to start the process to see if we can get you back at the Rose Garden Coffeehouse in Mansfield, MA. Once every 15 years is not enough! Mac
Mary, love your thoughts. Just let it flow naturally, I see a song title in there already-I keep the faith(with fear around the edges). Looking forward to more songs from you and catching you in person. Have a wonderful and wonder-filled year.
Oh Mary, i look forward to see you in Italy next spring: and believe me there’s for sure more room for an indefinite number of songs to be written. We wait too and this is a pretty good feeling! My very best to you for your life and career
I want to thank Randy Lewis of the LA Times for selecting The Foundling as his pick for his #3 best album of the year. It sure feels good to get that nod from such an acclaimed and well respected music journalist. Thanks Randy!
I just picked up Foundling Alone and I am blown away. It sounds like the show you gave in Cedar Rapids, Iowa last fall. The emotional range of your writing and singing is amazing. This cd is the closest thing to being with you in a dark auditorium…slowly being transported through life. I hope you make it back this way again soon.
I used to record my own music in my own recording studio. One day I had a mix tape of the songs I recorded from many years back and my heart was broken that I didn’t pursue my music career. Keep Up the good work:)
Hell, Mary. You DO know where your songs come from. YOUR SOUL and YOUR HEART. I don’t want to believe that you wrote your last song. I have all your albums and have gone through all your life stages with you. You are not done yet! The Foundling was a courageous and bold production. I respect your willingness to share with others your deepest feelings. There are few artists who can do that – John Prine, Nancy Griffith, and Merle to mention a few. I’d love to hear you perform with John Prine. I just missed your performance at Stone Mountain but will try to keep up with your visits to New England in the future. Keep it up, Mary. You and your music are very special and unique.
Rest well,
Bob
Congrats, Mary, no less than you merit – I was playing Sugar Cane, I Drink and Can’t Find the Way to my friends today and I was trying to explain why you’re one of my favourite artists ever. It’s about the combination of your music, your lyrics and your attitude – call it bravery, outspokenness, poetic genius, whatever, I love your music and I just know that as society crumbles in the way that it is, people are gonna be looking for voices to articulate what’s going on and that’s exactly what you do. Rock on Mary.
I am finally back home in Nashville, where it’s freezing cold, the first snow of the winter is falling, and it’s beautiful sitting by the fireplace in my little house tonight. After nearly 11 weeks of travel, after playing songs in Harrisburg, PA., Stone Ridge, NY., Philadelphia,PA., New York, NY., Ridgefield, CT., Provincetown, MA., Raleigh, NC. Then off to Oslo,Bergen and Trondheim (Norway)–Gothenburg, Malmoe, Orebro, and Stockholm (Sweden)…..Brighton, London, Birmingham, Bristol, Nottingham, Norwich, Manchester and Gateshead (England)……Galashiels and Edinburgh (Scotland)….Brussels, (Belgium) …..Melbourne, Queenscliff, Mullumbimby, Adelaide and Sydney, (Australia) and finally…Aukland, (New Zealand), I am home. Whew! Literally, Tania and I flew around the world in the last two months.
Brussels, Belgium Nov. 13, 2010
It’s been an amazing journey, meeting people in different cities every night, playing songs and telling stories to audiences from so many different cultures in such a short time. Everywhere I went I saw tired, stressed out adult stares looking up at me from the audience, expressions that I watched slowly melt into childlike wondrous gazes as songs and stories broke down the walls of time and space to briefly relieve them of their burdens, bringing us together into one human experience…for a short while, for the duration of a song.
From the stage, the process is amazing to watch. Before I became a performing songwriter, I had no idea that performers watch the audience as the audience watches them. But we do. It’s different every night, but yet…good nights are always the same. I look out into the audience after a few songs, after my own nerves are calmed down by the music. Then I look into people’s faces. After that, no matter where I am, I focus all the weapons at my disposal on transcendence. Transcendent relief for all of us..from all the wedges that politicians and religions have used to separate us since the beginning of time…age, race, nationality, ethnicity, sexuality, our indoctrinated belief systems. Songs and stories can transcend oceans of differences and unite people, they have the power to connect us like no other medium. Woody Guthrie was well aware of this, when he wrote “THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS” in bold letters on his guitar. Nixon was aware of this when he tried to have John Lennon deported for his work to stop the war in Vietnam. Songs are powerful things.
On good nights, I forget that I am on stage, I forget that I even am. I lose my awareness of myself, (self awareness?) and disappear into the songs I sing and the stories I tell. Even when the song stories are about me, it’s no longer ME I sing about. The stories, if told right, are about all of us, all people..humans, mortals trapped in the human condition, and I am not fully there while I sing them. I slip away into the song, into the story. Even after the final chord has been played, during the milliseconds before self consciousness returns, all that exists is the fading ring of the music. This is artists’ bliss, to be relieved of ego, of separateness. I suppose its one of the big reasons why musicians put themselves through it, all the difficult , painful travel racing through multiple time zones in short periods of time, bone chillingly early flights to the next town carrying heavy suitcases, guitars, heavy boxes of gear, and bags and boxes of CD’s, the hundreds of hours in filthy graffitti covered green rooms with their broken chairs and worn out soiled, sunken in couches sitting on disgusting sticky floors…. the cold, bad road food, the constant abuse from airlines, the disrespect from those promoters who are only in it for the money, the aching loneliness. We do it for the moments of bliss. And as tired as I am right now, I am already starting to think about getting up there on the next stage in the next town and doing it again. And again.
I missed you at Harrisburg and Philly but am glad to see such a positive response you are getting from your music.. I guess if you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything.
Kudos!
Saw Mary Gauthier perform this remarkable work in its entirety at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem, PA this year. It’s among 40+ recordings on my 12th annual best of the year list. The entire list (in no particilary order) will be aired and streamed worldwide on WDIY’s The Blend on Monday 12/27/10, 1-4pm EST and will be viewable on Spinitron.com.
The words You write about bringing us together, it´s because of Your story from life and Your love to life which You have put down in Your words that describes it so well, that we all can relate. Joined You in Malmoe and it was magic. Such a amazing evening with beautiful tunes, lyrics, power and love. Your music and lyrics will heal forever. Wish You a relaxing Christmas and a happy healthy New Year!
See You next time in Malmoe!!
And we SO very much appreciate that you put up with all of that to bring us your beautiful stories (though often they are about not so beautiful things, which is what makes them beautiful, and heartfelt and soulful, in and of themselves;).
Happy to have you back in the States safe and sound. Would be even happier to have you back in Knoxville Rest up and take your time, then come see us when you need a fix!
Ah….the warmth of a crackling fire.
Those embers draw you in like a moth to a flame.
Seems like they capture your heart and soul and suddenly every wrinkle the world has placed on your forehead are “poof” GONE!
Big ole cup of tea with honey to sip and maybe a cookie or two and suddenly you are in a land that time forgot!
Enjoy your break and your fire and “Thank you so much for sharing your gifts with us. We are so Thankful.
Nicely said. Thankfully, I have experienced that unity through your performances and am always looking forward to the next time. Very appreciative of your candor and your willingness to put yourself out there.
I appreciated your words and reflections. You gave me a view of what you and others do that I didn;t have before. Though I am not a muscian I aim for transcendence with those I work with as well. Your connections with Woody Guthrie and John Lennon give me hope and appreciation for the the role music and muscians play…and hope for me too. Thanks for putting it out there for us all and above all Welcome Home.
Songs about rebels and outcasts may be commonplace in countrymusic, but true mavericks are harder to find, and don’t necessarily look like Nashville stars. Mary Gauthier carried an acoustic guitar and had a harmonica strapped round her neck, like the young Dylan, and her opening song, Last of the Hobo Kings, was a true story that had echoes of Steinbeck and Woody Guthrie. Then, with the dry, sadly humorous I Drink, came a reminder of her own tough upbringing. Abandoned as a child in New Orleans, she was adopted but ran away from home, battled with drink and drugs, and only started singing in her 30s. And, she reminded us, she’s been named gay country artist of the year by Glama (Gay and Lesbian American Music awards).
She has used her experiences to write thoughtful songs that are highly individual, never mawkish and often unexpectedly warm-hearted. She said she was worried about singing in the chapel, a former church, “because of the words that might come out of my mouth”. Next came stories about her adoptive mother, and Sugar Cane, an angry, vivid childhood memory of the pollution caused by the burning of the Louisiana fields after harvesting.
A cool and evocative singer, she was helped by the harmony vocals and inspired five-string violin work of Tania Elizabeth. Gauthier ended with pained songs from her last album, The Foundling, a concept work based on the search for her birth mother, but left out the most harrowing track, March 11 1962, and instead veered off optimistically into Lennon’s War Is Over, and her own more cheerfully autobiographical Drag Queens and Limousines. She deserved the standing ovation.
Wow, that’s kind of crazy that musicians look at the audience and study them, too. I guess I kind of thought that it would be a bit distracting, but I guess if your that skilled and once you get into a groove it wouldn’t matter. My uncle’s from Tennessee, too. I’m actually visiting him for christmas, so I’ll be in your home state within the next week
Very nice and sensitive. Im not a musician. But i love music and i’ve just wanted to be there while you were singing. Traveling, meeting new people everyday, telling and learning their stories, sharing life and peace with so many people must be a great thing! You’re so lucky! Believe me! Wish you could come to Turkey someday
No artist ever knows quite where the muse will lead, but there’s something in the trusting and willing yourself over to the unseen that is magical, priceless, and necessary… if you want to continue to be creative. I had no idea where the muse or these songs would lead me, but the road the writing and releasing of The Foundling has taken me down has been adventurous one, to say the least.
I wrote my own adoption story in song, that I might know it. Simply put, I write that I might know.
I’ve been told that the release of such a “dark” record was not advisable in these “uncertain times”, but I wasn’t in a position to dictate what kind of art I was going to make. Years of writing, creating, recovery and therapy led me to the source of my own personal strife, and to move through it to the other side, I had to embody it, then create from it. I had to write my way out of the hole. The muse, the source…she tells me what to do, I don’t tell her. Knowing that others had gone before me into their own mysteries was a great relief, and having the support of so many friends and colleagues around me was the torch that lit my way to the discovery that, as large as the darkness in me was, it was surrounded by light, by life, by love.
Having passed through pain and fear, my experience of sharing my journey with others has been life changing. I have come to realize that not only am I not alone in that there are other adoptees who understand what it feels like to be “falling through space”, and who know what it feels like to eventually dare to wonder out loud where they came from, and to finally acknowledge the need to look for their origins, only to be met with resistance, rejection, and state sanctioned closed birth records. Many of us have decided to become activists, to try and change the system, to work for changes in the laws so that all adoptee’s birth records are opened once and for all, and the horrors of closed system adoption might become a thing of the past.
There are so many people involved in the Adoptees Rights Movement. There are birth mothers who have grown and changed and come to a place where they want to meet their children, or have lost the chance to meet their own but recognize how valuable the knowledge of origin could be to the children who do seek. There are adoptees who are working together to counteract the shame and deep loss they’ve experienced, and to co-create a world where children are no longer seen as commodities. There are adoptive parents who see in their children their true natures, and honor them by letting the children keep their original names, taking them to where they came from, keeping in contact with birth parents when possible, showing them, quite literally, that their love for them does not hinge on them pretending to be something they are not.
These brave souls are working towards one of the last to be recognized ciivil rights issues – the right for human beings to know their origins, for all adoptees to know where they came from, to have unrestrained access the their own birth certificates. As of now, we do not have that right. In all but 6 states, adoptees birth records are sealed shut by the state, and upon adoption birth certificates are re-issued…. with adoptive parents names on them.
As a species, we devote so much time to tracing our history – archaeologists spend years out in the fields, hoping to uncover clues about our past, astronomers search the skies for the smallest clues to our most fundamental beginnings, spiritual people seek the inner realm to find truth, and yet…… there is a group of people who are being denied the right to view a piece of paper that would allow them definitive and sometimes lifesaving answers, that would allow them to see themselves as part of a continuum, that would give them practical information that could profoundly affect their mids, bodies and spirits.
November is National Adoption month here in the USA, and while you’ll find the official website has a slightly different slant on things than we do over here (well, maybe a bit more than slightly), we also want to honour those who are working every day to create the best possible situation for adoptable children who need a home and a family. Click here to add your name to the Adoption Reform Action List.
In November, I am going to post videos of live performances from a show Tania Elizabeth and I did at Joe’s Pub in New York City in June 2010 on The Foundling You Tube Channel. We’ll be posting every song on The Foundling, two a week in November, until we have made the entire concert available. Just a little something to add to the conversation for National Adoption Month.
I thank Mary for this very generous contribution to adoption rights. It will be a prelude and a platform for discussion as well as a gentle healer for the gaping wound of adoption.
Last night Tania and I watched about an hour of video’s on the It Gets Better YouTube channel. The channel was created to address the recent crisis of gay youth suicides in America. We both were moved to tears, and decided to make our own video to contribute to the It Gets Better website, since the YouTube channel created by Dan Savage reached the maximum allowed video’s (650) very quickly. Check out some of those YouTube videos if you can- there are some wonderful and moving pleas posted by people from all walks of life talking to the kids and trying to help them see that it gets better after high school. For me, high school was unbearable, and I quit when I was 15. Being a gay kid was hellish, and clearly, its still hellish for gay kids now. I wish I could go into schools and play this song and tell the kids there’s nothing wrong with them, but thanks to YouTube and the web, people like me can go directly to the kids, we don’t have to go through school administrators who would never let gay adults into their schools to talk to kids. Anyway, here’s our little contribution to the project:
So beautiful. My heart breaks every time I see in my mind’s eye the photo of one of the young men with his kitten. I hope that many people hear your message.
Hello again from the road! We are on the east coast of the USA this week, driving thru some lovely fall color as the seasons change.
Tania Elizabeth made a video of a song from my first record called Goddamn HIV. We shot a lot of the video with a little flip cam HD on the road this year, in Provincetown,MA., Santa Cruz, CA., and up in the redwood forest in Northern California. She edited it on her mac book and I think it came out great. It brings me back to the place I was when I wrote the song in 1995.
When home I’ve been hanging around the set of a new TV pilot/series shooting in Nashville called Outlaw country. It’s my first time on a TV location, and I’ve learned a lot, mostly that a TV series is very hard work and it takes hundreds of people doing their jobs in unison to pull it off. Here’s a shot of me with the star of the series, Mary Steenburgen. After watching her sing the same song over and over again for days as the camera’s shot her from every conceivable angle, it dawned on me just how hard acting really is. Doing a scene over and over and over again is just how its done. I had no idea.
on the set of Outlaw Country with Mary Steenburgen
Watching the beautiful and sad ‘Goddamn HIV’ video was a very moving experience. I thought back to friends who had passed and to the aching grief. The visuals and transitions were very good, and drew me to aspects of the song that hadn’t come to mind listening to the album. It was important to be reminded of the tragedy of HIV and the heavy toll it’s taken. All of society’s hate and rejection seemed to be expressed in that one terrible, horrible illness.
I ran into my friend Tift Merrrit in London, we were both on a publicity tour for new releases, and we were staying in the same hotel, right next to the BBC Broadcasting building. We managed to find a time to go out for Chinese food, and she asked me if I’d join her in her room the next morning for yet another interview, this time, with her. She has a fine radio show, and I was happy to able to work this interview with Tift into my schedule.
Mary, what a great interview. I enjoy listening to you because you don’t hold back. You tell things, your story mainly, like it really is. You express your feelings so well. Guess that’s why you’re a great songwriter. Thanks for sharing your words and music.
I hope you can find your father. My hope is that he would be a kind soul and want a relationship with you. Let me know when you find out about him.
Take care,
Jennie
Tania and I played this morning on historic WSM radio, home of the Grand Old Opry Radio show. They are broadcasting from the original home again these days, because the flood took out the new building. It felt like a short walk thru the history of Country Music. WSM is the reason Nashville ended up as the Business center of country music.
Last night, Buddy Miller performed another installment of his three part series/artist in Residence at The Country Music Hall Of Fame, and my friend Darrell Scott invited me to come down..here’s a shot of the band. Buddy Miller, Darrell Scott, Patty Griffin, Regina and Ann McCrary and Byron House and Brian Owens.
Tonight we play a benefit concert at the Loveless Barn for the Nature Conservancy. What an honor to be part of such a great group of artists, activists and industry folks who care about each other and the world and are working to improve it! Living in Nashville can be wonderful, and today is one of those days!
Musicians can create whilst alone and then come together to share and learn and create new works. This benefits the musician or artist, the music community and the larger community such as the beneficiaries of the Loveless Barn for the Nature Conservancy [what an ironic name].
Our communities, whatever shape they take, or wherever they are on our planet can learn much from the example of these gifted and generous artists.
Here is an interview with Here and Now, from NPR station WBUR in Boston. Scroll down a little, and hit the play button, and there it sits. Till it doesn’t anymore. LIVE ON HERE AND NOW
Mary’s music breaks my heart and then mostly lifts it up again.
I agree with Mary about the drum break. When I heard it at the Enmore Theatre, the reality of separation was made real and personal, it stopped being about someone else whose experience I could maybe try to distance myself from. The drums crashed, and it took everything for me not to vomit up, even though I’d heard the song before and loved it for its painful truth.
My government is soon to make a formal apology to children who have been left in care, and to their relinquishing mothers. I am both yearning for it hoping for healing, and dreading it for the pain it will bring.
[Truly, I am never satisfied].
Thank you Mary for your honesty and truth, and thank you for your bravery in taking that first step, and the thousands of scary ones after.
Played tonight in Charlotte, at The Evening Muse. A split bill with Peter Case. The weather was wild, lightening thunder, wind and plenty rain. A summer squall roared thru, with a pretty big back end punch.
It was wonderful to see Peter again, he looks great and sounds great, he had a fantastic little rock band with him and he was jamming out on an electric guitar. YEA!
I met several adoptees tonight at the show, and some folks active in the AAC ( American Adoption Congress).
Also, my mother drove up to see Tania and I play. She sat beaning from the third row, and it was fun to have her there. Of course she held court after I was done and told people stories, and several people told her their stories. It was a good night. I think the weather worked in my favor. I never did have the right songs for a sunny summer day….my songs sing better in the rain. The bigger the storm, the better my songs sing. it’s always been that way.
Off to the airport in the morning for my first trip to the Michigan Women’s Music Festival. Looking forward to the adventure!
Just last week I discovered Mary Gauthier; it was through her NPR interview. After hearing that broadcast and a few of the songs they played from THE FOUNDLING I was converted. I went home and straight to ITunes to download her music. I immersed myself that evening…looked up her lyrics and read “her story” and almost felt like it was some divine intervention that brought me to that NPR interview. While THE FOUNDLING songs were beautiful and chilling, PRAYER WITHOUT WORDS struck me the most…it was so Dylanesque…but it wasn’t merely her profound and/or witty lyrics that stirred me. It was also her voice, her melodies…the blend of it all was so superb. And only a few weeks after discovering Mary, I had the fortune of hearing her live in Charlotte, at The Evening Muse. What an ideal intimate venue. She and Tania E. were as crisp and clean as a studio recording; they were the perfect complement to one another. What beautiful lyrics, harmonies, strings and chords! I hope our paths cross again.
I was at there last night — and Mary, I hope you’ll see this… I just want to say how great the show was.
Yes, Peter was as good as ever — in his adorable, somewhat fumbling way. I wasn’t sure what to expect, to be honest, after his health issues, but was pleasantly surprised at how strong his voice and attitude were. (‘Course no real surprise about the attitude…
But the stars of the show as far as I’m concerned, were you and Tania E. I must confess that I just “found” you when I learned that you were co-billed last night… Oh, I had heard your name, but hadn’t heard your wonderful music until recently. As a bit of a writer myself, I am blown away by your wordsmithing and cadence — makes what you say all the more touching interesting.
I sat with tears in my eyes during several of your Foundling songs. What a poignant, searching, powerful and hopeful story of redemption!!! Your story touched me deeply in a way that was unexpected and oh-so-thought provoking; in fact, I’ve lain awake half the night thinking about it. I am now a fan forever and will be at your next show here… and the next…. etc. Most of all, I hope this album has given you whatever answers you needed — or at least the beginnings of them. I can’t imagine living your life; I’m sure it’s had its rough patches and deep holes.
But I surely am glad you’re here to tell the story — and all the others you tell!!! Cheers to discovery and hats off to you and T.E. for an OUTSTANDING show!!!
Thanks also for taking the time to play Mercy Now. Best and safe travels………..Terri
Today NPR ran another interview with me, this one on Here and Now. I like how they edited it, we taped for about a half hour and they edited it down to a manageable 10 minutes or so. I am thrilled to be on the show, it’s a first for me. Two NPR interviews in a short period of time is unheard of, not sure how the heck my publicist pulled it off, but I am grateful.
Also, The Advocate came to my hotel in Santa Monica and shot some video of me and Tania playing The Orphan King sitting on the bed in my room, and we videotaped a Q and A session as well out in the Courtyard. I think both sessions came out well.
We’re working our way up the coast, playing shows all the way up. The West Coast is fantastic this time of year, cool at night, beautiful during the day. I played in San Diego, then two sold out shows in LA at McCabe’s Guitar Shop, the a couple days off at my friend Lana Lewis’s great little inn on the water outside of Santa Cruz in Capitola The Monarch Cove Inn, then up to San Francisco and then Eugene where we played a great house concert hosted by Michael Strain. To get there we drove thru the Redwood Forest, up the Avenue of the Giants, where we witnessed the giant redwoods, just amazing.
The beautiful artwork from The Foundling that Lilli Carre created (under the art direction of Gail Marowitz) was recreated by Lisa Beyer for our in-store at Millenium Music in Portland, OR today. NICE!
My friends in the Adoptee Rights Coalition are holding a protest in Louisville this July, as they continue working hard to get our birth certificates unsealed. Adoptees in the US in all but 6 states are not allowed access to our original birth certificates, and we feel it’s way past time to open up the records. More info HERE. It affects me personally, cause I wanna know who my dad is. I want a copy of my original birth certificate, but the state will not give it to me.
Ever wonder about the article that inspired me to write the song The Last Of The Hobo Kings? Here it is in theNY Times Archives. A great story on Steam Train Maury, even if it is his obituary.
Here’s a video link, live footage from the Joe’s Public Theater gig Tania and I did in NYC a few weeks ago. I don’t look too old or too fat, and I am not singing too flat. These are the things I look for in Mary Gauthier Video’s..LOL!
I just got an e-mail from my friend Jason Wilbur who plays guitar for John Prine that the radio interview I did with him is now edited, up and running. He’s not only a great guitar player, he’s a great radio host. Here’s the link to his show, In Search of A Song
On another note, it’s they day before we head out West, and I am ready to roll. I’m starting the next leg of the tour in San Diego July 9th, then two shows in LA on the 10th and 11th, then I work my way up the coast for a couple weeks, ending up in BC at a little folk festival in Duncan, on Vancouver Island. I’ve been home for about two weeks, and thats enough for me. I wanna get going again, get on the plane and go do what I love, play songs for people.
It’s a great time of year to be on the West Coast, and i am looking forward to three days in Santa Cruz and a show there..walks on the beach, great vegetarian food, and re-connecting with friends along the way. I love my job, I love knowing people all over the world, I love being a citizen of the world. I’ve just found out that i be be returning to Australia and Europe in the next few months, and that’s good news to my ears.
I’m trying to be better about taking and posting pictures…here’s a shot from a festival we played outside of LA called Stage Coach. We played the same day as Brooks and Dunn and Toby Keith. I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, me playing that festival…but it worked out great. They ( the big famous Country music Stars) played at night, we played during the day, and everyone got along just fine. Every day is an adventure on the road to God Know Where. It even got me a big feature write up in the LA Times.
More soon…..
Mary
Ed, Mary and Tania Elizabeth/ Stage Coach Festival 2010
Excellent! I look forward to seeing you again soon. I innocently suggest The Koerner Hall at the royal conservatory as a venue for such a show in Toronto. Make it BIG!
Toronto would have seemed like a place to play already for this Bastard Love tour. And me being from T.O., I have sat back just assuming that you will be making your way here soon. Hugh’s room seems the obvious venue but a nice folk festival was also in my hopes or even a show with the Junkies somewhere………but nothing……
The 11th Annual Roots On The River in Bellows Falls VT took place June 11,12 and 13, and for the 6th time I was honored to share the all acoustic Meetinghouse Show with Fred, in the old Meetinghouse on the hill. Tania Elizabeth and I had a great time performing in the church, as the rain softly fell outside keeping the temperature down and the mood perfect for songs from The Foundling.
Fred was his usual amazing self, and put on a heck of a show, then was off to NYC to tape Letterman, which I watched last night, he nailed it. I am more than a little proud of him. I met Fred when Charlie Hunter invited me to play the first annual Roots on The River event 11 years ago, and he’s been my mentor for a decade now. YEA FRED! Rock on!
mary,
i can’t begin to express my gratitude for your friendship and kindness over the years. you own the meeting house show and this year’s set was almost beyond description. as many times as i had listened to “the foundling” again and again, i was unprepared for the raw, unplugged version you and tania elizabeth offered us on the sunday show. i sat transfixed on the floor of the 225 year old rockingham meeting house, completely unaware of my surroundings. the tears began to flow from the opening a capella keening of the album’s title to the incredibly powerful “mercy now” closing song. of the hundreds of sets i have heard over the last 11 years, this will live in my memory as my favorite for a long, long time.
love, ray
My run of dates in Europe have been wonderful, the venue’s have been amazing, the food, the audience’s…all lovely. The show in Stockholm made a giant billboard picture of me for promotion, it has to be the biggest picture of me I’ve ever seen. We teamed up with a Swedish group called Society’s Stepchildren, who are working for the rights of foster children of Sweden, and working to get restitution for people who were abused in the system. There is an ongoing investigation into the governments practices around fostering and children’s homes in Sweden, and one of the government investigators came to the show. I had a good meeting with him, and I had an amazing evening overall, I met so many people who moved me with their stories.
We then went to play in Holland, and the first gig was in an old church/nunnery that was used as an orphanage and home for children with special needs, for a hundred years or so nuns took care of children in the building where I played, the marble stairs were worn down from all the years of nuns and children going up and down there. The Nazi’s bombed the orphanage during the war ( it’s only a few kilometers from Germany), and the building was in disrepair for many years. It’s been build back up, and they hold many different kinds of shows there every season. Playing The Foundling in that church was spooky and electric for me, we had candles burning on stage and throughout the room, and I could feel the history of the place inside me.
The next night we played a church in Amsterdam from the 17th century , Amstelkerk built in 1666. The show was produced and promoted by The Paradiso, and they did a great job for us. Once again, the room was perfect for The Foundling songs, from the stage we faced a beautiful old organ with huge pipes on the wall, it was fantastic AND walking distance from the hotel, which is always nice. After soundcheck we went to drink coffee at an old bar that had a jazz band, we sat in there by an open window and listened to music and watched the rain for a couple hours, then went and played our show. What a wonderful day, I loved it. Amsterdam is one of my favorite cities in the world, it’s so diverse and welcoming and open. I love the crooked buildings, the cafe’s the shopping, the food….and the Dutch people. I can’t wait to come back again.
I was in the audience in Stockholm, and it was just a great night! It felt like you looked straight at me — you have such presence. Please come back soon!
I’ve decided that the tour for The Foundling should be called the Bastard Love Tour. Sounds right and true to me. So from here on out, as the bastard love tour rolls in circles around the circular globe we all live and love on, I will try to update this blog and share highlights of my experiences as I present my new songs to folks around the world in places big and small. My first round of shows for this record were in Australia with my friend Ed Romanoff. We spent a month running around the land of Oz without much time to stop and think. I played bars, theaters, rock clubs, folk listening rooms, dozens of radio shows, record stores, a performed a song with the house band for a TV game show at a huge sold out legendary theater in Sydney for a TV show called RockWiz LIVE. Flew across the continent(5 hours) from Melbourne to Perth with only three hours of sleep to play a festival for 50 minutes. Got our feet wet in the Indian Ocean.
Taj Mahal, Me, and Ed Romanoff at the Perth Blues and Roots Festival
Everywhere I went people had their own stories to tell. It turns out Australia has a long troubled history around adoption but has gone to extraordinary measures to make up for prior wrongs. Adoption activists there actually got the government to apologize for practices that removed Aboriginal children from their birth families. Over and over again people told me their stories, and it was amazing for me to witness the same emotional processes in people on the other side of the world I’ve gone thru in the good old US of A. We humans are all so much alike the world over. Whats the old cliche? People are people. Turns out, we are all exactly that. The same.
I got back to Nashville jet lagged and weary, but soon enough I was ready to take on the next leg of the tour, which brought me to the east coast of America, Boston, NYC and upstate New York. Tania Elizabeth, the amazing Canadian fiddle player/vocalist, joined us at The Iron Horse in Northampton,MA, and is now an official part of my touring group. She played all over the record, and having her on the road with me is a huge treat. She’s a road dog of the olympic gold metal variety, having been on the road non-stop for the last 8 years with the Canadian band The Duhks. She knows her way around soundchecks, airports, festival stages, hotels and CD tables, and she is mesmerizing on stage. It’s a thrill to have her up there with me. Tania, Ed and I opened several shows for The Cowboy Junkies, and played our own shows in upstate New York ( where Woodstock locals Rachel Yamagata and Tom Pacheco came by to say hello, two of my favorite singer songwriters writing songs today).
We then went on a three show run with Mindy Smith, played Minneapolis and Chicago and Cedar Rapids Iowa (near the hallowed halls of the Iowa writers workshop where Flannery O’Connner studied writing as a young woman).
Mindy Smith, Lex Price, Ed Romanoff, Me, Tania Elizabeth in Cedar Rapids Iowa
Tonight I am in London, where I will be for the next week doing radio and press interviews. It’s cold tonight, they say a frost is possible, but Ed and I are going to walk to Chinatown for some hot and spicy food no matter what.
The bastard love tour is not afraid of a little frost…..in mid May. Not afraid at all. If I can get my feet to Chinatown in any town for some spicy salty squid and sauteed Chinese green veggies, I always will.
Hi Mary,
When you come back to Australia it would be great if you could time it to be here for the Cygnet Folk Festival in Southern Tasmania in early January each year. Lots of music here and Tassie is sensationally beautiful. It would make a lot of fans very happy. I saw you in Brunswick and was so moved that I only let myself play The Foundling when I am very still and can be completely focussed on the music.
Hi Mary,
Just wanted to say a huge thank you for a terrific gig at Bury Met the other night. From the moment you came on stage with Tania it was electric, soulful, funny and above all mesmerising.Your music and the words has such a depth its like being drawn into a story one that everyone can relate to. The violin/fiddle playing by Tania Elizabeth makes the sound amazing as well as adding a new dimension to it. The whole evening including Ben on support was brilliant
Thanks for a great night in Groningen.
I think you ” Tape one of these live shows!”
This is great stuff, just you and the violinst.
Hope we can meet again.
Fank
Hallo Mary,
It was so good to listen to your music in this theatre in Groningen last night.
2006 I was in Chicago and heard your music.
I bought all your CD,s with your sign.
Thanks and have a nice tour.
Missed your visit to Australia, but heard your cd The Foundling playing in a music store and I was told it was you. I bought the cd and continue to play it as the words and music resonates with me.
I was watching Rock Wiz last Saturday night and you were on it, pity you did not get to sing your own song.
It is difficult to buy your music here, I checked out Amazon in uk is where it is available rather than Us.
Look forward to your return to Australia so I can come to a live show. Enjoy your music
HI Mary,Heard you interviewed on BBC and heard you play. Touched me deeply. When you said we are all orphans, and that you didn’t know what pulled you out of addiction – something called ‘grace’, I felt my heart respond. It would have been so easy for you to see your story as a special case justifying bitterness and hatred. When we can see our troubles and our pain as shared by everyone, and linking us to the human race, we are nearer to bringing heaven on earth. We need more like you. Thankyou.
Saw the show in Chicago at Old Town School of Folk Music. It was a truly amazing masterpiece. I was pulled into the music and felt like I was living Mary’s life. Thank you for sharing…I hope it is a healing experience.
I have spent the last two years working on a project that is now in its final stages, a concept record I am calling the FOUNDLING.
For years I have wanted to write a collection of songs that tells a story, and I’ve finally done it, using Willie Nelsons the Redheaded Stranger as my compass. I’ve loved that record for 30 years, it’s a masterpiece that sings the story of a preacher who shot his cheating wife. Blue Eyes crying in the rain was the big song. (more…)
I have been playing Mama here, Mama gone repeatedly for months. It’s my favorite track of the year. If I ever make a film, this would be the best score ever.
[...] one and was rejected, and who came thru the other side of all this still believing in love,” she writes on her web site, in conjunction with the recent release of the new album (link opens in Spotify, available in [...]
It is very difficult to surf your site with buying in mind. Also some of the pages load so slowly that some people might say screw it, and just shut it down. If you could get a mobile link? Other than that your site has emotional impact that is over the top. Especially for me as another bastard. Maybe Spock said it best. Live long and prosper.
I recently caught your interview on Sirius satellite radio. Last year I found my birth-mother and made contact. Hearing your songs from the Foundling and the stories behind them was a moving experience. Thanks for sharing what for some is a very private and personal experience. My quest turned out much different than yours and there are still many stories and songs that have yet to come of it. As a guitarist and occasional songwriter you have inspired me to sit down and once again put pen to paper. Thanks so much.
Just heard “The Foundling”. I don’t know what to say because the word “brilliant” just doesn’t do it justice. You are the greatest songwriter of the 21st century.
I saw your show at Old Town tonight and was so moved. I essentially cried for 1.5 hours straight. Your performance was gracious, charming and the songs from The Foundling were devastatingly painful. I didn’t know of you before tonight, and came to see Mindy, but wow, you were wonderful.
What an amazing show in Cedar Rapids! Thanks for sharing your story and talent. Never have I been so moved at a concert! Your writing reminds me of Nelson Algren’s work. (best book to start with is “Neon Wilderness”, in my opinion)
It was also great to hear that you’ve been involved with prison inmates and recovery. It would be a treat if you could expand your contributions with some musical performances. If you are ever in Iowa again, I’d be glad to arrange a visit to one of the women’s prisons.
Have fun in Stockholm! Great city and delightful in June. Wish I could make the trip too. I will tell my Swedish friends to catch your show.
I saw you earlier this evening in Cedar Rapids. The whole audience was BLOWN AWAY. I am in awe of how you can give so much in your performance. Thank you so much.
What Kari said, yes! I saw you for the first time last night, too, and didn’t know what to expect. You drew me right in, though, and you’ve got a new dedicated fan. I loved the songs you did leading in, but was completely captured by you playing The Foundling start to finish. What an incredible work, so powerful. It’s obviously an extremely personal story in which you’ve invested enormous energy, thought and emotion, but it’s universal in its reach. I’m so glad I bought one from you last night and have listened it through again since. It’s fabulous.
Okay, so a small complaint: I want to buy more and ship them off to a couple of friends, but the store lonk on your site is broken. I hope you can get it up again soon.
Mary,
Awesome show last night at the Cedar in Minneapolis. You rocked that small intimate venue and at the same time had us mesmorized by your powerful “Foundling” project. Suffice it to say, your better known co-bill couldn’t keep up. It may have been my first time listening to you, but not my last. Thanks!
Kari
Dear Mary,
A few years ago,I went with a girl-friend to your concert in Tilburg(Holland). It was for fun,but when you start singing,we stopped talking. And were listing,haertle breathing.
We became big fans and bought all your music.
Last year we saw you again in Breda(Netherlands).
Now we hoped to see you at 10 april in Eindhoven(Neth).
But you didn’t come because of the later release of your new cd.
We regret it. One week later,I regret it much more.
Because my girl-friend Tineke Vinje died.
Your music was a part of the Funeral.
Thank you for coming in our life with your beautiful music.
Hi Mary! just downloaded “sideshow” and as always honesty in the words, greatness in the vocals and music. Stay strong and try to get to the East of Canada soon!
Saw you tonight at the Iron Horse and I really enjoyed your show. It was my first time seeing you, but it won’t be my last. Your songs really moved me. Thank you.
Dear Mary,
In a lot of your songs, I feel you’re singing the story of my life, too. Your voice addresses my heart directly. Good luck with new album and tour.
Ray
Hey Mary,
Paul and I flew from Brisbane down to Newcastle to see your show on the 19th of March. It was a dream come true to actually be there, to meet you, and to witness your almost unbearable loss being expressed and transformed through your songs. Poetic grace, alchemy, crucifixion and ressurrection, bravely venturing ever onwards into the terrifying uncertainty of new life and new hope. Your gift of singing and writing is helping to heal my soul. Thank you Mary…May God make his face to shine upon you. Love from Fiona
After listening to all five of your CD’s inside and out, I am anxiously awaiting your next one, The Foundling. It sounds like it just might be your most personal record yet. Please let us know on this website what would be the best way to pre-order the CD. Hope you make a point of coming back to the NY area in your own concert soon!
Hi Mary
We saw you in Bathurst this week and loved the show.
Thanks so much for including us in your tour.We haven’t
stopped thinking about you and your performance since.
You are a brilliant performer and songwriter and we loved
meeting you and chatting to you,thanks for being so down
to earth. We love the new album and think all the love
you missed out on for so long has manifested itself into
a wonderful gift that you give to us,thankyou. Come back soon.
Well I saw Mary tonite at Hepburn Springs Aust. what a show that was, got a copy of the new CD cant wait for her to come back to Oz. Cheers and thanx Mary for signing the CD
Hello I am from Sweden, and I heard about you today and looked after you at Spotify. I love your music and lyrics, I think you are one of us, kids who has growing up in fosterhome, orpens and institution. Pleas work on, and make a better life for people in your country by your music.
love from Anne, chairman of organisation of stepchildren of Sweden. http://www.styvbarn.se
This coming from 61 year old grandfather. Can’t get enough of Mary’s music. Can’t get DRAG QUEENS off the cd player. Talked with Mary afterwards at Bellows Falls a year or so ago. Sign me up for info on FOUNDLING. It is sure to become a treasure to me.
Speaking for myself and those around me at the Freight in Berkeley, we were very moved and felt honored to hear you tell your story with songs from The Foundling. Looking forward to the new CD – and to your return to Berkeley.
I’m thrilled to find out that you have a new release due out soon. I love your music and now own all of your CDs. You are indisputably one of the greatest songwriters ever. I look forward to THE FOUNDLING and hope to catch you live soon.
Cant wait to see you at Mossvale Park Music Festival! Have been a fan of yours for a few years now and excited to be finally seeing you live. Its the best venue with the most beautiful huge trees and a great bunch of people who put the event on. See you in a week
Kerry
Rrecently Began listening to your music and I must say I haven’t been so touched by a singer, song writer in a log time. Looking forward to the new album.
I just discovered your music today! I’ve been listening mercy now the whole day. And being also a fan of the cowboy junkies, i was thinking how great it would be for margo timmins to do a cover of mercy now. Then i stumbled on your site and reading that you’re working with Mike Timmins from the junkies. what a great pleasant coincidence. My 2 favorite musical talents working together! Can’t wait to see you on tour!
Bravo Mary. It is magnificent to have realized it, the way that you traversed in the true life and this project of record which matured every these long years. Your course touches me and I like much your songs. Then I await this new disc impatiently. A few of you. Do I hope you one day in tour in France and maybe in Toulouse? (I was registered on the mailing list). Thank you really. Thank you.
Pascale
Hi Mary, I’ll be 54 Friday 2/26. You’re an inspiration. I’ll spend that night at your show in Sebastopol. I hope some day I can get my song out of me, like you.
Can’t wait to hear your new album. I was a young teen when the red headed stranger came out; it was one of my first musical treasures; love the cowboy junkies, too.
I was thankful that my sister in Dallas introduced your music to me a few years ago; we brought in this last New Year listening to some of your songs, which I always find really moving and wonderful.
Thanks.
Hope to see you in the Boston area someday!
Celeste Falcone
Since hearing Mary at Common Fence last year, singing one song from this new album, I’ve been dying to see it come out. Just can’t wait, Mary. Australia, take good care of her, eh?
Nancy Anderson 
Dawn 
Darlene P 
chefdixie@mac.com 
Ken Talbert 
Melanie 
Ruth Lister 
Roy Scherff 
Jack 
Evie Clark 
Linda White 
M. Gordon LaRusic 
Renate 
Arjan Post 
Plien Brouwer 
marja 
Michael Peltier 
Gary Cooper 
Ben 
Rob Herman and Carla van Rooij 
vivienne 
maryellen harrison 
James Ingle 
Msry E. Gauthier 
Meredith 
anna fontenot 
Steve Allsobrook 
David Stalcup 
Nancy Brown 
Andrea 
Albrecht 
Melinda 
Lisa 
Becky Horton 
ArenK 
Terry McArthur 
Deb 
Janet 
JudeObscure 
Hazel 
Red Dirt Girl 
Mike Cervantes 
Squash Rackets 
Mary Murphy 
debbie jane 
rusty 
Jo 
Peter 
Alessandro 
Bob Croce 
Nick in Spain 
Ase 
Sage 
Jane Vaughn 
Beth Lee 
Jim Condon 
Suzanne Simpson 
Jon Teague 
Jennie 
Denise 
Brett 
Lori 
Terri 
Mark Noonan 
anne skaner 
Annika 
Helen Murnane 
Tony L 
Frank Z 
Bert J. 
Joy Phillips 
CathyO 
kokhong 
robert terry 
Greg 
Scot Plemmons 
Liz Dillon 
Christine 
Kevin 
Kari 
wilma marugg 
annie 
Sandy 
Ray 
Dave 
Luk Luts 
Cliff 
fiona and paul brisbane 
Brad / New York 
PAUL AND TRISH 
Mark 
Tom Mehan 
Maureen O'Bryan 
Bonnie Bone 
Duane Brown 
Peter 
mike 
Irwin 
Von 
Pascale 
Maurean 
Celeste Falcone 
Pat Logan 
You’re not wrong about Lori McKenna.
* new fan
Fred is an old favorite!!!! Can just see the Canadian plains. And thanks for the Lori McKenna clip. Never heard her before…..love women with “different” voices. And Ruthie goes without saying.
What I’m looking forward to hearing is a wonderful singer and songwriter who has just pooled talents with Joe Henry for her latest album. When will it be out? I hope you were able to keep things ‘fun’, despite Joe’s unerring focus…
Big fan of all of then except Lori McKenna, but only because I keep meaning to listen to her but have never got around to it. I know, I know … excuses, excuses.
Gretchen just did a twinterview with me, which was really informative http://bit.ly/ywA0zp