For
the first time in more than a decade, Mary Lou Lord is taking a
break. The sweet-voiced singer, hatched from the subway tunnels
of Boston where she practiced her craft for spare change, is mastering
a new skill: How to be a mom.
On New Year's Eve, Lord and longtime boyfriend Kevin Patey of the
Raging Teens gave birth to Annabelle in the couple's hometown of
Salem, MA. Now, five months into parenthood and riding on the success
of her first major label record, the former indie-rocker finds herself
packing the stroller for a walk in the park more often than penning
a new tune.
"I haven't focused on music at all," she said in a phone interview
last week. "It's strange ... I mean, I'm figuring out who I am without
that musical part of myself."
Annabelle's arrival has brought many changes beyond parenthood.
Two weeks after her birth, Lord's mother passed away. And at 34,
a good twelve years into a career that led her deeper and deeper
into alcoholism, Lord says she is finally learning to live sober.
So, after spending most of her twenties scrounging in true indie
fashion here and in London, Lord says she is relieved to ride a
while on the success of her 1998 release "Got No Shadow" (Sony/Work).
Success is sweet when you've paid your dues.
More than a decade ago, Lord took her guitar to the streets and
subways of Boston, spending her Saturday nights playing Joni Mitchell,
Bob Dylan, Sandy Denny and Shawn Colvin tunes. Long before Colvin
had any notoriety, Lord saw a great musician and peddled Colvin's
songs between train cars.
Meanwhile, Lord was developing her own style, which she describes
as a mixture of folk and low-fi. While she is not a prolific songstress,
she did CO-write half the songs that are on her latest album along
with Nick Saloman of the Bevis Frond. She also covers relatively
obscure current songwriters Elliott Smith and Freedy Johnston, adding
her unique flair.
Her guitar-strumming and breathy, girlish voice first struck a chord
with indie label Kill Rock Stars. One night at a party in Boston,
Lord befriended a woman named Tinuviel with Kill Rock Stars. That
summer, Lord recorded a few quiet, folksy tracks on a boombox and
sent it to Tinuviel in Seattle. One of her songs found its way onto
a Kill Rock Stars compilation. Sandwiched between punk rock tracks
by Bikini Kill and Team Dresch, Lord's under-produced work stood
out.
Shortly after the compilation came out, Lord picked up and moved
West, recorded a seven-inch with Kill Rock Stars and immersed herself
in the club circuit. By then, her influences had expanded to folk-punk
artists like Lois, Daniel Johnston and Sebadoh.
One night after opening for Sebadoh, Lord was approached by Margaret
Mittleman, a music publisher for BMG who was about to sign Beck
to Geffen. Lord signed with her as well and when Beck's first album
sales skyrocketed, Lord found herself besieged by record companies
hunting down Mittleman's latest hopeful. Confused and overwhelmed
by the offers before her, Lord held them off for a year, finally
signing with Work. "Got No Shadow" hit record stores early last
year.
As Lord settles into motherhood, she had this to say about being
a woman, a musician, a mother and a recovering alcoholic:
Q: What was your attitude about major record labels when you were
with Kill Rock Stars and has it changed since you've signed with
Work?
Lord: I didn't have a major attitude about it. It was confusing,
yes, and there were so many of them. When they were all approaching
me, I figured, hey, this is my chance, and it may never come around
again. I didn't want to not take advantage of it and then someday
regret it. The timing was right and I went for it
Q: Do you think your image has changed since you signed with Work?
Lord: Well, my indie stuff definitely sounded less polished, and
the new record sounds more adult. But people grow up, their tastes
change. Some songs on there are downright country, and it's a very
different thing than "His Indie World." But it sounds so different
because it's seven years later in my life and I'm different.
Q: How has having a child changed you?
Lord: Well, it wasn't planned, but I went with it, and I really
love her dad and stuff. Having a baby brings you back to your own
childhood; it's a heavy thing, but a really beautiful thing. And
it's made me take a break. I've never taken a break, not since I
started playing in the subways years ago. I'm finding that all these
things come up and you sit there with yourself and think about your
own childhood. It's a little scary ... music is a great thing but
it's also an escape mechanism for me. If there's something you don't
want to deal with you can run to music. It's very cathartic and
all, but you can really lose who you are. You escape from the everyday
junk instead of dealing with it.
Q: How do you think a baby will affect your career as a musician?
Lord: I know there will be sacrifices regarding things like a tour.
I won't be touring for any big stretch of time unless I get a nanny
or something, and I don't see that happening. Now I have to think
about who's going to watch her when I have a gig. We play mostly
in clubs and it's all smoky and late when I finally go on. I'm petrified
to bring her, so that part I haven't figured out yet.
Q: How did you come to deal with your alcoholism?
Lord: It's really hard to be a woman and a musician and not fall
into this type of behavior because you're in clubs all the time
and if you have any sense of insecurity, it's like, oh, just give
me a drink and I'll be fine. But if you do it for a long time, and
combine it with all the added pressures of everything else, it's
really difficult to not drink, especially if your have a predisposition
to be an alcoholic. All of a sudden 10 years go by and you're like,
shit, I have a problem. I've really been dealing with it hard this
year. I was in rehab for a month through the Musician's Assistance
Program (MAP). They paid for it. Thank God for them, those guys
are so great. My sobriety is the most important thing now. I got
a ton of support from other musicians. Bonnie Raitt called me on
the phone one day and just said "How ya doin'?"
Q: When did you first know you wanted to be a musician?
Lord: I always loved music. I associated it with happy times, good
times. Things were OK when people were playing music in my house.
So I bought a book, Dylan's Greatest Hits, and taught myself how
to play the guitar.
Q: And then you started busking in the subways. Was it scary being
a woman and doing that?
Lord: I think it's easier for a woman, really. Men tend to get harassed
more by other men. I think women singing in the subways is more
of a novelty. You don't see it as much so people pay more attention
to it.
Q: Would you recommend it to a young female musician as a good way
to start a career?
Lord: Definitely. It's reality down there. It's one of the most
real things I know. I've got a few gals around here I'm showing
the ropes to. I hope they stick with it. It's been great for me.
I still do it on Newbury Street. Now, for me, it's a great way to
practice and see old friends.
Q: What advice would you give a woman trying to get into the business
these days?
Lord: Learn as much about music as you can. Listen to everything,
not just one genre, and expose yourself to all kinds of different
female musicians. Don't just listen to the radio. Make friends with
DJs so they can make tapes for you of stuff that's going on out
there. Don't ever sign anything without an attorney. And learn an
instrument and don't be afraid to play in kooky circumstances. I
played in the street and I've sold more than 60,000 records that
way, without any air play or MTV. I think it's because I did the
footwork. I stood in the subways and on street corners for 8 or
9 years. Sure you can get some hit on the radio and do everything
I've done in three months, but hey, I'm proud of it. I did it. Also,
don't wait for anyone to call you back. Learn and take it out and
play anywhere you can. It doesn't have to be in the best clubs.
You never know, if you're on some corner in Boston, maybe Seymour
Stein will be walking down the street.
Q: Why didn't you write more songs by yourself on "Got No Shadow,"
and will you be writing with anyone on the new album?
Lord: It was scary for me to go it alone on my first album. I was
like, I need a friend! That way, if it stinks, I can blame it on
him. Nick (Saloman of the Bevis Frond) helped me so much, and it
was a dream come true to work with him. But now I'm not so nervous.
If people like it, they like it. I don't give a shit. I gotta take
my kid to the park!
Q: Are you playing out anytime soon?
Lord: I have a tentative show coming up at Maxwell's in Hoboken,
N.J. in July but nothing definite.
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