MaryAnne Marino: Ghost of You
April 10, 2009 by poprockcandy
BY AMANDA BRUMFIELD
Pop- Rock Candy Mountain
“A native New Yorker, MaryAnne Marino has been performing as a recognized vocalist in the Big Apple for many years. She has become a seasoned favorite of the New York City music scene, including the likes of The Living Room, the Bowery Ballroom, and Joe’ s Pub, just to name a few. She has developed a very dedicated fan base, starting with her first commercial performances with the October Project, leading to her becoming the lead vocalist for the group, and then renamed the November Project. In the following years, she continued to develop her craft, studying jazz voice at SUNY Purchase, and also performed in theaters in the Northeastern U.S., until she teamed up with producer Peter Zizzo, known for work with artists such as Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion, and Vanessa Carlton. This partnership spawned Marino’s release of her first solo album, titled “Ghost of You”, which beautifully combines ambrosial melodies and rock edginess with her smooth and sultry vocals.”
I had the pleasure of speaking with MaryAnne about her music, her inspiration and found her to be delightfully kind and emotionally giving. After having spoken with her, I felt lighter- the same way I feel after listening to her sing. Her voice is hypnotic, pure and her songwriting obviously comes from a place of self-searching and creativity. MaryAnne’s songs are beautiful and they are intimate, without a hint of “will this one be a hit?” about them.
MaryAnne Marino is simply an amazing artist. Her new EP is entitled, “a little something” and will be released this summer.
Pop- Rock Candy Mountain: First of all, you have a tremendous voice. Tell me about your album, “Ghost of You”.
MaryAnne Marino: “Ghost of You” was recorded when I was signed to a record label and then I ended up just putting it out there on my own at shows and on iTunes. Now I’ve finished a new EP with 5 songs that will be released soon. I think “Ghost of You” has all of these big arrangements and is almost ethereal. This new EP, “a little something”, is a lot more organic and stripped down. I like both but right now I’m concentrating on that sound.
PRCM: Your songs are very unique- very different from one another which keeps the album intriguing for the listener I think.
MM: I think so too, I hope there’s enough connectivity there, I think there is in the songwriting. I think it’s the classic rock influence that I have listening to people like Carol King, The Beatles, Bob Dylan but with an obvious pop influence.
PRCM: Your songs are very personal and intimate- tell me about your willingness to be so open in your songwriting.
MM: I think that it’s just where I go naturally and I”m somehow OK with that because by the end of it the songs are something that people can relate to. After you’ve written a song and recorded it, you feel differently about it than when you first wrote it. When you first start maybe you feel like you are revealing a lot but after you go through the recording process and all of that you can sort of detach yourself from it a bit and look at it differently.
I do like just writing from where I’m at and what I’m inspired by.
PRCM: How do you feel about performing live?
MM: I love playing live. I really do. It’s a different energy. I love being in front of an audience and interacting with them. I really have a lot of fun performing.
It’s also fun to bring a song to the stage and change the arrangements, sometimes the bands even change- just to add different elements to the songs.
PRCM: You’ve been signed to a major label and you are now working independently. What is your opinion about the current changes in the music industry?
MM: I think there are advantages and disadvantages on both ends. When you have a record deal you have financial resources and support behind you, but then you have problems if the label doesn’t understand you and want to take you in another direction or don’t pay the right kind of attention to your album.
Same goes for doing it yourself, the advantages are that you are in control, you can make your own decisions, your own music, do your own promotion but then it can be very hard to get your music out there and to build an audience.
PRCM: You are living in New Orleans right now, correct?
MM: Yes, well I recently got married and my husband is from New Orleans, so we are splitting our time between here and New York. I love the idea of, post Katrina, helping to revitalize the city both musically and my husband owns his own business so we are hoping to maybe help stimulate the economy a bit.
We really wanted to take a chance a spend more time down here. Also I felt that there was a hole in the singer/ songwriter niche in New Orleans. There’s of course a lot of brilliant jazz and blues and funk which make New Orleans such a cool and unique city, but I think there is a movement of young entrepreneurs and artists coming down here to take a chance on the city as well. It’s such a cool place.
PRCM: New Orleans is unlike any other city in the US. It’s like the Utopia of Cultural Diversity.
MM: It really is, and no it’s not like any other US city, it’s almost like being in Europe.
PRCM: Are you going on a larger scale tour with this EP?
MM: That is part of the plan, to go out and support both of my recordings and then see what’s next. It’s helpful to have friends in a lot of cities.
PRCM: “Hi, can I borrow your couch?”
MM: Exactly.
Tour Dates:
Wed, Apr 1, 2009
Molly Malones, 9:00pm
Los Angeles, CA
Mon, Apr 6, 2009
Hotel Cafe, 7:00pm
Los Angeles, CA
Wed, May 20, 2009
2009 Wednesday
at the Square Concert, 5:30pm
New Orleans, LA
May 27th, Wednesday: Ones to Watch Wednesdays! Hosted by Lee Koch and Mary Anne Marino 8:00 PM 451 E Main St, Ventura, California 93001
May 30th, Saturday: 2:15pm to 2:45pm at BuFest Music Festival (w/ Lifehouse) - ALL AGES!
Paramount Ranch, Malibu, California 90265
Cost: $45
June 1st, Monday: Dakota Music Lounge 8PM tickets $7 1026 Wilshire Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401
phone: 310-393-8200
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