An Evening With Mary Gauthier

An Evening With Mary Gauthier

by Lone Star Mama

Mary Gauthier & Dana Jones

February 2002

(click image for larger view)

Due to some chaos around our place the past few months, I was delayed terribly in getting this interview/review written. My sincerest apologies to Mary for this and to our readers as well. I think a part of me was also afraid to write this one, afraid that I wouldn’t do this artist the justice she deserves. I hope I have done so.

When the thought first came up of interviewing Mary Gauthier (pronounced "Go-shay"), it was only a day or two before her first solo appearance in Dallas at Poor David’s Pub. I sent a note to her, knowing she was on the road and probably wouldn’t get my request in time. Part of me was relieved when I didn’t hear back. I had been waiting almost two years to see her LIVE, and she is one of my favorite female artists (I have VERY few female favorites). The depth of her music has captivated me since I first saw her on a video tape. I had found myself REALLY nervous at the prospect of meeting and speaking with her in depth, so I figured I’d just say hello at the show and interview another time.

Miss Lana, Bad Andy and I decided to grab a bite to eat before the show. We went to a place called “The Firehouse”, right next door to Poor David’s. We figured it was a burger and wings kind of place, but quickly learned differently when we walked in and saw fancy folded napkins on the tables. Oh well, the three rednecks decided to have a nice dinner, and so we did. While dining on our fine, fancy cuisine, I saw Mary walk past the window with a couple of folks. I suddenly found myself almost giddy and nervous and felt like I looked like those early Elvis fans. Once again, I was relieved that I would be doing an interview another time.

Dinner finished, we headed to Poor David’s and met friend, Tom Geddie, at the bar. He had spoken with Mary and she mentioned possibly doing an interview with me. She wasn’t back yet, and I really didn’t see it happening. About twenty minutes before show time, she came back in. I introduced myself, and she said she’d be happy to do the interview…let’s go. I will be honest, I was as nervous as a cat in a dog kennel. I didn’t even have pen and paper with me. I had finally met someone I have completely admired for a long time, and she was gonna realize how truly unprepared I was for this interview. I grabbed my beer (for comfort of course), and Tom asked if he could sit in. I gladly told him to come on, thinking he could possibly bail me out if I panicked. He and I walked into the small, makeshift greenroom (actually an office) just before Mary, and he encouraged me to jot down a few questions.

As Mary came in and sat down, the first thing that struck me was her natural beauty. Sitting in the close quarters with her I was able to see what incredibly beautiful eyes she has, and how her personality seems to show in her face. There’s a special aura about her. Just gotta meet her to see it.

Secondly, she put me at ease. I’ve met a lot of artists, male and female, in the past two years, and she is among the most honest and genuine I have met. Her Louisiana accent is still there regardless of all the travel and time away from her home state. It was somewhat comforting to me. As I sat talking with her, I realized I was also getting a lesson in journalistic integrity. If I directly quoted what she said to me, with no other context around, she could come off as the exact opposite of the person she is. Perhaps this also delayed me in writing of her. I’d want to die before I misrepresent anything she had to say. Mary is one of the most honest, most candid people I have ever met in my life, and I’ve met a lot of folks.

We began talking about the internet Yahoo group of Mary fans. She seems quite flattered and honored that folks from all over the world have a place to talk about her and her craft. This amazing artist, though not particularly well known in the Southern US, is selling out 600-800 seat venues in Europe. She feels that she’s captured a lot of the Townes Van Zandt fans overseas, sharing music with a darkness and bittersweetness, much like his. In fact, she has an agent over there who handled Van Zandt, and has even spent some time with the Walkabouts. She said he is masterful at building his audience and seizing it, which she also aspires to do. Part of that entails embracing diversity, and that is something Mary does quite well. I agree with a friend who said he felt she had more of a “Leonard Cohen” feel than a TVZ…yet, in a nutshell, she’s her “ownself”!

The conversation turned to Slaid Cleaves, and I could see the fondness she has for him come beaming through (as much as I had seen in him when mentioning her). They essentially hit the “music lottery” at the same time, debuting at the Newport Folk Festival and Kerrville Folk Festival. Being the “two unknowns” in the same year was somewhat an immediate bonding for them. I had seen Slaid only a couple days before, she seemed quite pleased that he sent his regards to her. In turn, he was pleased to know we were going to see her, and has a true appreciation for her music.

When I asked what she likes to do in her “free time”, crafter that she is, she immediately took me to Florida, where she would be heading soon for some time off. Mary was so descriptive in her mention of spending time with a friend who has a charter fishing boat. I could almost hear the water and feel the breeze. I thought of how tourists probably fished on that boat, not realizing they were in the presence of such an incredible songwriter. I thought of them telling their friends someday, “I swear we were on a fishin’ boat with that gal a few years back. Man, we coulda had a private concert, we just didn’t know.”

The wonderful interview was over. I only wished I could have recorded Mary’s every word on tape. I had just had one of the most incredible conversations of recent memory, and would have savored being able to replay it over and over. I headed back to Andy, Lana and Tom, got a fresh beer, and was ready to finally see Mary perform LIVE.

I immediately noticed something was missing……PEOPLE ! There were only 25 of us or so. It mattered not to Mary. She took the stage, and I have no doubt our show was just as incredible, if not more so, than the ones those folks in Europe get with 799 of their closest friends. It was an emotional show- I laughed, I sang along, I cried, I reflected, and I was overjoyed to finally see Mary Gauthier up close and personal. I think I was even happier that I had shared it with my husband (who had waited as long as I had to see Mary), with Miss Lana who also loved her, and with Tom Geddie, who was impressed with her as well. I could have listened to her sing all night.

It wasn’t until I saw Mary again at a show at the Rockingham Meeting House (where there is no electricity and incredible acoustics) in beautiful Vermont that I felt confident enough to share what I wanted to say about her. She stepped to the front of the lovely, old, historic building with her guitar and began to weave her magic before us. I had the peace of mind I was missing. I had also come home and read an article on her. I saw her “bio” summed up in about 4 or 5 sentences, and thought, "Oh my gosh, they missed the whole damned boat!”. I knew then, I could do it.

To watch Mary in person is an experience I’d hope every true music fan would appreciate or could experience. One can read a bio, one can hear word of mouth, but to experience the artist first hand is to perhaps understand. Maybe...perhaps not. To understand her is to perhaps see her and absorb the interpretation of her music first-hand. Maybe it’s not a Donna Fargoesque “happiest girl” attitude, but to really listen to her music is an experience someone who appreciates honest songwriting won’t soon forget.

Mary is a TRUE artist, she exposes her true self whilst on stage, on that stool with that guitar. To understand her, and her music, is to allow yourself to step into the shoes of someone different. Oh yeah, it’s dark. But if you have the balls to see it for what it really is, you’ll find it’s insightful into the life a human soul. And how lucky we are that she decided to share that soul with us.

All three of her CDs are HIGHLY recommended by me, including her newly released “Filth and Fire”. Check her out at www.marygauthier.com for a website that includes much of what you want to know about Mary, and one of the best, most interesting musician’s travelogues I’ve ever read.

Lone Star Mama

Written by Dana Jones, 2002

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Editor's Note: Mary, if you read this, please come back to Dallas soon. We will be there for ya! Thanks for such an incredible show at the Rockingham Meeting House in June. Your new CD is dynamite! - Miss Lana