BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info
David Mac (DM): Greetings Marina and congratulations on your new album Never Too Soon which has been put out by The Little Village Foundation. It has been a wonderful surprise for me, as I hadn’t been aware of you or your music until I heard the CD a few weeks ago. We will talk more bout this record later in our conversation, but I wanted to start off by asking you a little about your background.
Marina Crouse (MC): I was born in the Los Angeles suburb of Culver City, but grew up mostly in the bay area. My family moved back to LA during my high school years, but I moved back to the Bay area after graduating from high school and have been here ever since. I currently live in the East Bay.
DM: Let’s talk about your relationship to music growing up.
MC: I can’t remember a time in my life when there wasn’t music playing in my house, in our car, on the TV and in our neighborhood. My mother had a voracious appetite for music, books, and old movies, and she liked to play her music loud at home and in the car. We were the kind of family that sang at the top of our lungs along with the radio every time we got into the car, and not just on road trips. We did this literally every time we got into the car. Plus, it was the 70’s and early 80’s, so I feel like music was everywhere; boom boxes on the streets, car radios blasting, and people playing at the Bart stations downtown. There was music at picnics in the park.
DM: Music was a much more communal experience back then.
MC: That’s right. It wasn’t people just listening on their own music on a personal device. We listened to the radio a lot as well and not just in the car.
DM: Radio was so eclectic back in the day.
MC: Oh yeah… you could hear everything…soul, funk, jazz, blues, all kinds of Latin music, classical, lots of oldies, rock, pop music…all of it.
DM: As it relates to the blues field, what were some of the early recordings that you got hip to blues and that you remember listening to which had an impact on your approach to music?
MC: I really can’t say that there was one particular recording or artist that made me think…’Oh that’s how I’m going to sing.’ To be honest, I rarely think too much about what I’m going to do in a song, other than think about what I am trying to communicate. I rarely sing a song the same way twice; I’m most interested in feeling the song in the moment. I guess maybe that’s what I always picked up on with blues music. It always made me feel something and it gives you so much space to express those feelings in a soulful way. I think it has that affect on a lot of people.
DM: Who are some of your early vocal influences?
MC: I would say the voice I paid the most attention to during my younger years was my mother’s. I always thought she had a beautiful voice. I would watch her in the car as she sang, seemingly without a care in the world, a smile from ear to ear, and I wanted to feel that way…so I would sing too. There is such a freedom in being able to let your voice out from deep down inside. Above all, that is the reason I sing. I want to feel that way and then share that feeling with someone else.
DM: You mentioned that you grew up in the East Bay. Let’s talk a little about those formative years.
MC: When I was a little kid we lived in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, which was a working-class enclave and very diverse. It’s not the affluent neighborhood it is now. I had this little gang of friends in the neighborhood and we spent just about every day together. Those were still the days when your parents kicked you out of the house in the morning and only told you to be home by dark. One of our favorite things to do was put on musical shows. We came up with the idea after buying these great records at a yard sale. There were a couple of Four Seasons albums (those were our favorites), a Captain and Tennille album, some Diana Ross & the Supremes and a lot of 45’s of “oldies”. We knew every song on every record by heart and would sing them over and over to get ready for our “shows.” I still think it’s kind of crazy that we were so little and knew the words and music to so many songs. I grew up immersed in a wide variety of music. It was and continues to be a big part of my everyday life.
DM: That sounds like a very good informal training ground which sent you on your way…even if you didn’t know it then. Let’s talk about your more formal musical training.
MC: I didn’t really start singing seriously or formally until high school. I was a really poor student, so my counselor told me to take a choir class because it would be an easy “A” and would probably help my G.P.A. Since I could sight read and was good at harmonizing, the teacher made me an alto. I don’t think my teacher ever thought I was a particularly great singer…that seemed to be reserved only for the sopranos. Then I took a voice class at East Los Angeles Community College and met Barbara Hasty, a teacher there, who was the first person to ever tell me that I had a great voice. Long story short, she convinced me to compete in a local music competition funded by Nati Cano, of Los Campero’s Mariachi fame.
DM: How did you do?
MC: I won. I used the scholarship money to study classical voice with Barbara until I moved back to the Bay Area the following year.
DM: Were there any other teachers or mentors besides Barbara that you would like to talk about who were of particular importance to your development?
MC: This is a hard question because I’ve been really fortunate to have so many generous and influential people in my life. This is especially true in the area of music. Since coming back to singing after being away for more than twenty years, the most influential person in my musical life has been Pamela Rose. Not only has she been an extraordinary teacher and mentor to me, but has also become a very cherished and dear friend. Very early on, she let me know she was in my corner and wanted to help me any way she could. I’ll never forget when she looked me dead in the eye and said, “Marina, if you want to do this you really CAN do this.” Then she opened up her heart so wide and so deep to me that it sometimes takes my breath away.
She also is the person who brought me into the Bay Area music community. It is impressive to find out how many bay area musicians really admire, trust and respect Pamela. Her support allowed me to have almost immediate access to that community. For that I continue to be grateful.
Although I haven’t had a vocal coach in decades, I do have many other “teachers” in the music community and they all continue to contribute to my musical growth and development. The many musicians that I have worked with are the people who have, in the last four years, not only taken a chance on a totally unknown singer but also and more importantly shared their vast knowledge, experience, and talent with me.
DM: Let’s name names…
MC: Guitarist Danny Caron who was the musical director for Charles Brown and who is the accompanist in Pamela Rose’s class, gave me my first three professional gigs. Ruth Davies, Steve Willis and Bobby Cochran from Elvin Bishop’s band invited me to sing with them after that. We continue to play together regularly. I have learned so much from each one of them, and they are some of my favorite people on the planet.
DM: Bassist Ruth Davies used to play with Danny in Charles Brown’s band back in the day. These are some real musical heavyweights who I happen to hold in the highest regard.
MC: I’ve also worked on several projects with the extraordinary pianist Tammy Lynn-Hall, who has also given so generously of her time, experience and energy, and has always encouraged and supported me. About two and a half years ago, keyboard player Tony “Macaroni” Lufrano from the Whisperers and the Anthony Paula Orchestra and I approached guitarist Garth Webber who used to play with Miles Davis about putting together a band. Lucky for me (us) he said yes. We invited bass player Ted “Blyss” Gould (Zigaboo Modeliste) and Derrick “D’mar” Martin (Little Richard) to join us, and it has been pretty glorious ever since.
DM: This has to be quite an experience for you.
MC: Playing with these deeply talented and experienced gentlemen has been quite an education. They teach me so much each and every time we are on stage, and they are the best kind of mentors. They look out for me, give me room to grow and breath and always, always have my back. Tony Lufrano has been especially generous with his time, and friendship. Early on he encouraged me to start writing music. Tony is also my good friend, my mentor and my song-writing partner. My education is an on-going project. I learn as I do.
This album is just another chapter in my education, and Jim Pugh and Kid Andersen are some pretty inspiring and deep musical mentors.
My childhood wasn’t always happy, and was often very unstable, but music made me feel free, and safe. It still does. It was my safety net.
DM: I read in The Little Village Foundation “one sheet” that you have a background in opera. Let’s talk about that.
MC: For years I was obsessed with Leontyne Price, Mahalia Jackson and Jesse Norman. I have always felt such similarities between Opera and Gospel. They both are so powerful and soulful. Even if people don’t think of Opera as “soulful”, you really can’t sing it without pouring your whole soul into it. I remember the first time I saw Jesse Norman perform live, I literally became weak in the knees and couldn’t stop crying. It was so powerful. Those are the kinds of experiences that have “influenced” me, because certain performers and performances, live or on a record, have moved me so deeply.
DM: Is there, by way of example, any that come immediately to mind.
MC: Absolutely…just listen to any one of Etta James’ live performances of I’d Rather Go Blind. – Man could she make you hold your breath and hope it never ends.
DM: What is it that you enjoyed about opera music?
MC: The music is undeniably gorgeous, and while it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, I can tell you that to be able to sing at that level is like being in a trance sometimes. The first time a teacher made me use my entire voice in that way I almost fell over. I had no idea I had it in me. I loved that about it. The training was so solid and really allowed me to tap into something deep. I had very mixed feelings about giving it up.
DM: Why did you give it up?
MC: I ended up abandoning my operatic pursuits mostly because I was living on my own and completely supporting myself at a young age. I had to find a way to take care of myself. I grew up poor and when I moved away from home I was still pretty poor. I worked so many different jobs just to pay rent and eat my top-ramen and white rice. Having very little money, and no financial help from my parents, as many of my fellow opera students did, it made it impossible for me to compete with the other people in that area of singing. It was expensive and so all encompassing, and I was working so hard just to survive.
So, I decided to take a break and worked two and three jobs and saved up for a couple of years. I then went to Europe for seven months. I mostly traveled alone for all that time, with my backpack, trying to make my money last. It was the best thing I ever did up to that point in my life.
When I came home, I decided that I had to find a way to make a “real” living, so I started going to San Francisco City College. It took me a few tries to make it through, but I finally did and transferred to UC Berkeley. That’s a crazy story...how an almost high school drop out ends up being a college professor.
DM: Would you like to share this crazy story with our readers?
MC: When I moved back up to the bay area after high school I was living in San Francisco and supporting myself. That is when I started taking classes at City College. I took a Spanish class because I always wanted to learn that language. Being a fourth generation Chicana, I spoke English only. Growing up around our house Spanish was for adults to tell dirty jokes and secrets.
DM: (laughs) Then of course you had to learn it. I mean, who wants to miss out on a dirty joke or a secret?
MC: (laughs) Good point…I should tell you Dave that my mother, grandmother and my great grand parents spoke Spanish around our house yet they discouraged us from learning the language.
DM: Why?
MC: Because they were discriminated against, here in their own country, for speaking Spanish.
DM: That’s interesting, but let’s get back to City College for a moment.
MC: I started taking classes that were interesting to me and I eventually became a good student. My English teacher said “What are you going to do next after city college?” I told her, “I don’t know.” She said “Have you ever heard of Harvard, Princeton or Yale?” I told her, “Yes, I have heard of those places, so what?” All I knew is that those places were not close by. So, I applied to the University of California at Berkeley. I graduated and did my post graduate work there as well.
DM: That is every bit as good a school as any of those Ivy League institutions you mentioned and it is just across the bay from San Francisco not across a continent. Now you are a college professor.
MC: That’s right. I teach at a community college. I love to teach students who like myself are given a second chance to succeed. I am also a single mom who is raising two kids. All of this is why I had to walk away from the business of making music for so many years.
DM: Let’s talk about the new album. How did Jim find you or was it the other way around?
MC: I am not sure how or when Jim Pugh found out about me. I suspect that my friend and mentor Pamela Rose might have pointed him in my direction. They are long-time friends. I had met Jim a few times at different music events, but since I am fairly new to the scene I am not sure if or what he knew about me. I did know about The Little Village Foundation because I was already a fan of several of the artists on the roster and I loved the whole idea behind it. I have a very eclectic taste in music and so I really love that the artists represent so many different musical traditions.
DM: Let’s talk about the song selection. From War to Dylan to Bobby Bland and Little Milton…
MC: Ah…the song selection. Well, that was a true collaboration between Jim and myself. We both came up with lists of songs trying to really stay true to songs that would show my different interests, styles and influences, while avoiding anything too predictable or overdone. For me, I need to be able to feel deeply connected to the song in order to do my best and that can be challenging. This is especially true if there are songs to be recorded that I haven’t been performing. In fact, most of the songs on the album are not songs I had been performing. Many I’ve been listening to for many years, a couple I had already performed, and others were totally new to me. What I love about the songs we chose is how soulful they all are, each in their own way.
Singing blues feels natural to me, so the Bobby Blue Bland (who I absolutely adore), Annie Laurie and Little Milton songs were also right up my alley. The Syl Johnson song was Jim’s idea. I love that song, and love the message especially. That attitude of ‘any way the wind blows’ is really how I’m trying to live my life these days. Holding things lightly and staying calm and centered. It’s a challenge sometimes, especially with all the craziness in the world. The Arthur Conley and James Carr songs are some of my favorite “oldies” and I never hear anyone doing these songs. They are gorgeous.
DM: To me, one the album’s defining moments comes with your Spanish interpretation of the War classic Cisco Kid.
MC: Cisco Kid was totally Jim. I absolutely love that song. It holds so many memories for me, it’s like the Chicano anthem, but I wasn’t sure how it would go…it’s not necessarily a ‘singer’s’ song. But I trust Jim, and said, “Ok let’s do it.” It might just be my favorite track on the album.
DM: I love the additional lyrics. Let’s talk about those lyrics and why this subject is important.
MC: Thanks, I’m glad you like them. The lyrics are not a translation, rather a new take on the story. It was Jim’s idea to translate one verse into Spanish, which I did for the first time around, and it sounded cool. But after we laid the basic tracks, I kept thinking about how I wanted to find a way to make more meaning for myself in the song. Between recording sessions, I was in New Orleans, and had been talking to someone about the proposed border ‘wall’ one day at coffee.
Discussing this issue always makes me think of the countless people I have known in my life who have crossed that border, legally and illegally, and what a complicated, contradictory and dangerous place it is. I myself have crossed it many times, and it has always left an impression on me. I was born in the US, as were my parents, grandparents and some of my great-grandparents, but the border always made me nervous.
In New Orleans, I found that most of the people I spoke with had little to no interaction with anyone who had come over illegally. That is just so different from my own personal experience as a native Californian and a Chicana. I can’t imagine not having ever met someone who has come here from Mexico or Central America somewhere, somehow. When the person I was talking to said it was all such a mess, I said jokingly “Yeah, too bad there’s no super hero to save all those people down there...in that land that was once theirs, once ours.” The new lyrics popped right into my head.
DM: I know we have talked about this before, but it is always important to have a little historical perspective when thinking about this subject. As you pointed out, for a lot of people the border crossed them not the other way around. You also do a song on the album by Roberto.
MC: (laughing) Oh yeah...that guy. In the same vein, the Bob Dylan song in Spanish is a way to revisit a classic song and message, but from the perspective of a Spanish speaker. For me Dylan is a poet first and foremost, so the imagery he creates is the most powerful part of his work.
DM: This really is one of my favorite aspects of the album is that you sing in both English as well as Spanish as we have been discussing. Let’s talk about the decision to do that.
MC: I have to give credit to Jim Pugh for that. The decision to sing Sabor A Mí happened in the studio, on a whim. Jim didn’t have to ask twice. That was one of my grandmother’s favorite songs, and I absolutely love it. I think of that song as the Spanish language version of Summertime. It’s a timeless song, a song everyone knows; your grandparents, your parents and your friends. Singing that song was one of the real highlights for me.
I had already been singing in Spanish and English, but not with my main band, and not as often as I would have liked. And I never thought Jim would want me to do that. But one of the first conversations Jim and I had was about my connection to Spanish.
I am a 4th generation Chicana. I did not grow up speaking Spanish. In fact it was always a source of shame for me that I didn’t, even though my mother, my grandmother, and my great-grand parents spoke it. I was so resentful that no one taught it to me, because even though I didn’t speak it, I felt so connected to it. I knew it was a part of me and my identity. All that music, all those people I was surrounded by growing up spoke Spanish. I was so determined to learn it that I ended building my whole career around it (I’m a Spanish professor by day). So to be able to sing in Spanish is such an important part of who I am.
DM: Let’s talk a bit about some of the musicians you worked with on Never Too Soon.
MC: The band on this album is fantastic, and I feel so lucky to be backed by this incredible line up. I had never performed with Kid or Jim before this project and I was so thrilled and I admit, a little nervous. I was so amazed at all the things Kid could do so effortlessly. When we decided to do Sabor a mí, on the fly as I mentioned earlier, I think Kid listened to the song twice and then played it like he’d been doing it all his life. Everything he played was just amazing, and all this while engineering at the same time.
Jim Pugh played his heart out on this record; on piano, organ, and on a couple of instruments I cannot even name; he even played vibes. I had so many moments where I had goose bumps from his playing. I have to confess I really loved watching Jim play through the little window in the studio. He seemed to be having so much fun. It was infectious.
This was also my first time working with Randy Bermudes, and he killed it over and over, plus he’s a really nice guy. It has been a real pleasure getting to know him. Steve Evans played bass on a couple of tracks as well. I have known Steve for a couple of years, and well…he’s a beast, just plain and simple. Derrick “D’mar” Martin and I have played in a band together for the last two and a half years and he is not only a fantastic drummer, but also a really spectacular human being. I have a lot of love and respect for him, and I always feel privileged to be able make music with him and to call him my friend. Backing vocals were done by Pamela Rose, Lisa Leuschner Anderson and myself. Those ladies are an inspiration. There are several other musicians who contributed to the making of this record and they all played beautifully and I appreciate all the love and joy they poured into this project.
DM: From visiting with you this morning and from my experience working with Bay area artists through the years, I sense there is a real palpable camaraderie which is present amongst the musicians in that part of the country.
MC: Thank you so much for bringing that up Dave. There are times when someone might ask, “How did you get such great musicians to play with you?” I tell them, “I asked….” It is really a very special thing. It is like a warm embrace.
DM: What would you like folks to know about you that they might not know?
MC: I would like people to know that I’m just so humble and grateful to be able to do what I do. I’m also very genuine.
DM: Thanks for sharing your story with our readers. I have enjoyed it very much.
MC: Thank you David. I appreciate you taking an interest in my music.
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BLUES JUNCTION Productions
7343 El Camino Real
Suite 327
Atascadero, CA 93422-4697
info