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Brian Adams, http://baphotos.com
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I knew before I spoke with Marian Call that I was in for a fascinating conversation. She's a Stanford alum with a background in classical music who moved to Alaska after college. What's more, she's her own general manager, booking agent, and press contact. So why did this budding folk funk musician decide to call her first album Vanilla when she's the farthest thing from it?
"Bad girls are more exciting. I wanted to convey that you can be polite, pay your bills on time, and be old fashioned and still have a place in the music industry. My virtues are vanilla at best," Call says.
And Call's fans have embraced her vanilla image with open arms. Songs like Nerd Anthem proclaim that there is nothing wrong with being intelligent and, well, interesting. Call proclaims that "she'll still be a geek until she's utterly antique."
She has built her own business from the ground up realizing that she could capitalize on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
"I'm very DIY and my business model reflects this," Call says. "When I saw my first MySpace page I started to think that this was all possible. Social media allows me to be deeply connected with my fans. My fan base is entrenched in two communities: my music community in Alaska and my community of listeners nationwide and in Canada. Both are very important to me."
She believes that music is about community and that's what drew her to house concerts in the first place. These concerts can be held in homes, parks, or small venues around town. And she's played for anywhere between five and 80 people.
"It's similar to the way the village fiddler used to be paid," Call says. "House concerts make it possible for music to be a working profession where you don't have to be discovered in the traditional sense."
Call has no aspirations for fame and fortune. She simply wants to sing and have enough money so that she can pay her bills and continue to do what she loves. If you would have told this classic music major that today she would be recording popular music, she wouldn't have believed you. But social media made it all possible.
"I feel like the music industry is changing and I hope it's a trend that continues. The corporate music industry seems to be deflating. House concerts make it possible for me to interact with my fans and make a little money here and there so that I can continue."
While Call's initial draw to house concerts wasn't directed toward conservation, it's no doubt a welcomed side effect. She disputes the need for a corporate music industry that puts on massive shows with ticket prices so inflated that many of the fans can longer afford to go.
"We're undergoing a radical cultural shift. Corporate no longer works for everyone and this applies to both music and the environment. We need to change the current music model and move toward sustainability. House concerts don't use near the energy, fans don't have to travel long distances to see me, and I can sleep on people's couches or in my car. This is the new music economy, based on my community at home and my community of listeners. Both communities are valid."
And more than anything else, she wants artists to approach the music industry in the way that she has. Some of Call's most beloved artists like Kris Delmhorst, Ani Difranco, Danny Schmidt, Anais Mitchell, and many others are already doing this, but she hopes that many more artists will start. Artists feel crippled by the current state of the music industry, but many aren't doing anything about it.
Because of her location in Alaska touring has certainly been an issue. That's why she's about to embark her 50 states tour, where she'll hit all her fans at once in one big tour because going back and forth from Alaska is logistically very difficult. The tour allows Call to be an ambassador for Alaska and deepen her fan's perceptions of the state. The best part is that Call is still choosing where she'll go next based on where her fans want her to go. Contact her directly and tell her you want to host a house concert.
Choose Where Marian Call Goes Next here
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