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Interview by Marco Nicolescu
CONFRONT: Can you give us a brief history of how and when you began signing and become the artist that you are today?
MEGAN: I had some singing lessons in theatre school but never thought I would sing in front of people – certainly not as a career choice! I started to write songs when I moved into an apartment on my own, and was too broke to get a tv or a computer. I had a piano and a guitar. Eventually I’d put some songs together and was singing them once or twice a month at various events. I used to put on something called MyWord at the Cameron House. That’s where I met a lot of folks: Elana McMurtry, Peter Katz… My friend Mark Vogelsang came out and heard me one time and asked if he could record me. The rest is pretty much history – the day we first recorded stuff was the day I decided to really give music a go.
CONFRONT: What are some of the artists that have influenced you?
MEGAN: There are many, but Johnny Cash felt like a punch in my stomach once driving in the back seat of my Dad’s truck on a dark night. Then I couldn’t get enough of him, which lead to all of the Country greats – George, Tammy, Emmylou, Waylon, Hank… which lead to Gram Parsons and then Gillian Welch. I heard My Morning Jacket’s “It Still Moves” all the way through in my brother’s truck once, and that was a life changer. They became and have remained my favourite band. All the surfy, dreamy sounds – Beach Boys, Mojave 3, Mazzy Star. Early folk recordings – I got into those in a big way back in that apartment with no tv or computer. M. Ward, Joanna Newsom, Chad VanGaalen, Neil Young. So many bands in my city.
CONFRONT: Other than music, can you give us some examples of what has inspired you as an artist?
MEGAN: Anything that makes me take a second thought or glance or listen. I have a lot of visual images that, if for whatever reason they stick with me, get stored in my brain and will come out in a song. Sometimes the stuff that inspires me is important, and sometimes it’s fairly meaningless. It’s hard to say. I’m personally inspired by bravery.
CONFRONT: On May 21st you supported Royal Wood during an NXNE showcase. Can you tell me a little about that experience and how that relationship came about?
MEGAN: Well that had nothing to do with NXNE, it was Royal’s EP release. I met Royal a few years ago when we both opened for My Morning Jacket at the Guvernment. He asked me to play, and I was very happy to do so. Royal’s like a modern-day old-tymey movie star. I always expect him to open doors and offer ladies his jacket. It was splendid to play to a receptive and sold out crowd at Hugh’s Room – I’ve been numerous times with my Dad to see shows there, but that was my first time playing.
CONFRONT: Inspiration is the basis of good music. What is your muse?
MEGAN: Hmmm… well as I mentioned, I’m inspired by bravery. But truly, anything goes with me. Obviously romantic hardship is a strong trigger. But so is love. A tree inspired a song, once. As did a car ride. I mean, and I don’t want to get all ridiculous here, but anything can be inspiring if you’re paying attention. There’s a lot of greatness at any given moment.
CONFRONT: Music and the industry have changed drastically in the last ten years. What are your thoughts on this change and where do you see this trend going?
MEGAN: I’m taking some time to re-evaluate right now. For a long time the motto was “Whatever it takes – GO GO GO!” Now it’s changed a little. I don’t know where the trends are going to go. It seems to me that there is a certain type of person, and let’s call them a “music lover”. They get the fact that it’s important to support what you love. They understand that making music, especially these days, takes an enormous amount of effort and resources, and they support it without feeling like they’re “owed” it. Those are the people I’m aiming to reach out to the most. I’m never going to be a Top 40 kind of gal. But I might be able to continue making music if I can get enough music lovers on my team.
CONFRONT: Your second LP ‘See Your Midnight Breath in the Shipyard’ was released on April 7th on Familiar Music. Can you tell us a little about the creative process behind this album and what fans can expect if they haven’t yet heard it.
MEGAN: One of the most incredible and interesting aspects of this album is how it was mixed. Mark Vogelsang, who I always work with, and engineers and co-produces the albums, mixed it as though all of the sounds were placed on a ship. There’s a diagram that he drew – a cross-section of a ship – he researched all of the sonic qualities and properties of all of the rooms, and then applied them to the sounds on the album. 300 + sounds, and they’ve all been placed on a ship. Knowing that and listening to the album on headphones gives it, I think, a really vibrant experience. This album is somewhat of a departure for us, so folks are saying. I had the opportunity to record in a studio with the band, so right there is a major difference. But we still use the same principles of recording: use what you have, we don’t hide mistakes if they’re part of a strong line, be creative, don’t let the integrity of the song get drowned in production…
CONFRONT: You have been touring Quebec and Ontario to promote this new release. How has the tour being going and are there any funny stories that have happened during that time?
MEGAN: Well, I generally love touring. I like being on the road and meeting new people. We definitely had some hilarious moments. We had a bunch of punkrock kids moshing in Guelph. My music usually doesn’t provoke that kind of stuff, but it was totally rad. For the final 3 shows, Craig Browne (who plays guitar) suffered from a herniated disc, so I had to go out solo. We were playing a festival in Kingston, and I ended up going on after 2 very loud thrash bands. I got a wrong number phonecall from Amy Millan in our hotel room in Montreal. The van wouldn’t start just outside of a Tim Horton’s in Cornwall.
CONFRONT: On May 27th, you will be featured at this year’s ‘Take My Hand’ musical celebration – a benefit concert for Alli’s Journey (a charity which raises funds for a network of support groups that provide critical care, counseling and assistance to young adults, 18-35 years old, coping with cancer) during which you will perform alongside Canadian talent Rock Plaza Central, Ian Thomas, Peter Katz, Kellylee Evans among others. Can you tell us a little about why you chose to associate yourself with this cause and this relationship has developed.
MEGAN: Alli was my friend Shain’s sister. I didn’t know her before she passed away, but by all accounts she was a pretty great person. I take it she found it frustrating, as a young adult with cancer, that all of the stuff available for coping was geared towards older people. I think she wanted to still live her life and do the same kinds of things that other people her age were doing, without feeling like her life was over already. So she set up this charity in order to have resources geared towards people her own age. I think that’s very important. Coping with cancer, or any kind of serious, ongoing or life-threatening illness, is incredibly difficult, but it can be made so much easier if you have good resources and a strong support system. That’s really the same for anything we’re faced with.
CONFRONT 5
1) First and last album purchased: First, Joan Jett “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll”; Last, M. Ward “Hold Time”
2) First and last concert attended: First, Jackson V Victory Tour, Last, Tragically Hip @ Massey Hall
3) Complete the sentence: I would never…. say never.
4) Complete the sentence: I have never… (yet) been tattooed. But I aim to change that.
5) What do you want your legacy to be? I’d like to leave a strong body of work behind me. I’d like to be able to be a philanthropist and give money to deserving musicians – or creative artists in any medium. The current state of affairs of funding available to popular music artists is preposterous and insulting.
To learn more about Megan visit the sites below:
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