Friday, October 8, 1999 Interview on WYSO FM (Yellow Springs, Ohio) with Vick Mickunas, Music Director

["IT NEVER CROSSED MY MIND" plays]

Vick Mickunas: And that was Laurie MacAllister from her album "These Old Clothes". And she tells me that was the first song that she ever wrote. Is that right, Laurie?

Laurie: That is true. Are your listeners aware that I'm here on the phone?

Vick: Well, they are now.

Laurie: They are now. Yes, that's the first song I ever wrote. I had been playing guitar and singing covers, other people's music, for a while, and then it was one of those moments where inspiration struck, one of those rare moments. And it came right out of me, which has never happened since then, actually. The only time it ever just came right out and it was done.

Vick: But you've managed to put nine other songs on this album, so obviously you were inspired again, in some way.

Laurie: I was inspired in different ways for every song. But that was in 1996, and I'll never forget it, I sat down on my bed, and I was just playing around with the guitar. And I just started singing my own words, which was, as you can imagine, a big deal, because I'd only been singing other people's words up until that point.

Vick: Laurie MacAllister has joined us. We've been enjoying her album "These Old Clothes" for the last couple of weeks here on WYSO. It's an interesting story: I was at a conference in NYC a few weeks ago, and I was at a panel discussion group, and there were some folks talking about music and lots of other related things, and a woman sitting across the other side of the room asked a question about how a singer-songwriter can get the attention of radio stations, how this all works, how do you get your songs played on the radio, and that woman was Laurie MacAllister. And after the panel I went up to Laurie and I said, 'Can I hear your album?' and here it is, we're playing it on the radio. It's not always that easy, is it?

Laurie: No, well, this is my first experience with it, so it's a really nice way to get introduced to it. I was surprised when you came up to me, and pleased, very pleased, and also pleased that I had a bunch of CDs in my bag, and handed one over. And then I got a voicemail from you less than a week later, which was really wonderful. And like I said, this couldn't be a better introduction to the world of radio for me.

Vick: Well it's always good if you're hanging around a bunch of people from radio to have a few extra CDs in your pocket, just to hand them out.

Laurie: Yeah, well, now I'm carrying them around with me wherever I go, because you never know where opportunity might arise. The conference was interesting in so many ways, but this is one real concrete and wonderful thing that came out of it for me.

Vick: Now Laurie, how did you get your start? How did you decide you were going to put out an album? Tell us the story.

Laurie: OK, well, I'll try to condense it somewhat because it spans over many years.

Vick: Well, we've got a couple of hours.

Laurie: We have a little time? How many minutes? You want the one-minute version or the two-minute version? I guess the main thing that I can say is that I love singing, and that's the foundation of this whole thing for me. Singing has always been THE thing that does it for me. I think everybody has one, or two, or three things that just really get to them, things that they love, and for me, singing has been IT. Since I was a baby. My mother even wrote in my baby book about how I would be not just talking to myself but kind of singing to myself when I was two and three years old. So anyway, I'll fast forward a little ...

Vick: Yeah, come on, we're at the baby stage ...

Laurie: (Laughing) Right, I'll go a little more quickly now! So then came junior high school, and I got a pretty serious case of stage fright. I was very comfortable in normal situations, like in front of my friends and so on. But when it came to performance, such as doing an oral report in grade school or junior high school, I got very nervous. So even though my family and my friends were encouraging me to be in talent shows and sing in the chorus, and so on, I couldn't do it; I was too nervous. And that was hard because I love it and I want to share it with people, and fast forwarding a little bit more, I was in college and I finally decided that I was going to try to sing in public, and kind of overcome this fear. So I joined the university chorale, I was at Tufts University, and there were about 70 people singing in that chorus. It was a great experience, but it only told me that I wanted to be solo. I didn't want to be singing with 70 people, even though that was a wonderful thing to do. I was jealous, basically, of the soloist, and I wanted to be able to be a soloist myself. So I was in graduate school and was pursuing a different career and path, in a field called Industrial Psychology, and it wasn't satisfying to me. I could do it, and I was getting good grades and all of that. But it just wasn't fun, it wasn't interesting, it wasn't exciting. And I want my life to be exciting! And singing was exciting to me. I started playing guitar, and I slowly realized that I needed to overcome this stage fright and pursue music. And I did it by singing in subway stations, and singing in parks, and going to open mics. And I was in the right city to do that, because there are lots of opportunities.

Vick: Now is that Boston?

Laurie: No, I was in New York by that point. I was in Boston for college, and then for graduate school, I had come to NYU. So I was fortunately in a great place to pursue music, because there are venues, and there are subway stations, and there are crowds that will listen to you. And people tried to give me money, and I wouldn't take it ...

Vick: That's a first.

Laurie: Yeah, I wouldn't take it because I felt really shy about that. Of course I would never refuse any money now (laughing). I was basically trying to give myself opportunities to be in front of people and get comfortable. Because that's when I can really sing, and that's when I can share with people what I have to offer. So I did it that way for a couple of years, and then one of these places where I did an open mic liked me, and they wanted me to do a New Voices Showcase, and I did that, which was my first official gig. Then the biggest thing that happened that really changed everything was that I was going to listen to music at a local coffeehouse. I was trying to get a feel for what the scene was like in New York, and I went to hear this guy play, and his name is Eric Hansen. Eric is a very, I don't know how to describe it, but to say that he is a generous person is an understatement. He was playing a gig at a coffee shop, the Grey Dog's Coffee in the Village, and he invited me up to do a song in front of a big crowd of people, he had his Friday night crowd. And I was petrified, and it took me maybe a half an hour to agree to do it. But he said something, something important, to me, and I don't remember the exact quote but it was that "what makes great people great is that they take an opportunity when it's given to them". He said it in a much more eloquent way, but I heard what he was saying, and my friends were encouraging me. So I got up there and I did a song, I did a cover song, it was Sinead O'Connor's "Three Babies". And they loved it, and the owners loved it, and they offered me a regular gig at that coffee shop. And I'm excited just talking about it, because it was the most thrilling moment of my life because a regular gig is a big deal. Then within a month, literally, I had decided to quit my job, which, by the way, I was very unhappy with.

Vick: So you were an industrial psychologist?

Laurie: I was.

Vick: Does that mean you talked to machines and solved their problems?

Laurie: Almost (laughing). I mean, they were people, but they were kind of like machines (laughing). Technically, I was a Management Consultant, that was my title. And I've made a concerted effort not to bash that field now that I'm out of it, and I don't want to say anything negative about it.

Vick: That's good, because we have thousands of management consultants listening right now.

Laurie: (Laughing) Well, let's just say that I hope they like it. And if they don't like it, then they should get out. Because it was painful. For me, personally. I can't speak for anyone else. But these 9 to 5, or 7 to 7, or 7 to midnight jobs suck the soul right out of you. If you don't like what you're doing ... it's the last thing I want to do is to preach to people ... but I have to say for myself that the best thing that I ever did was to decide to go after what really made me happy, and not to settle for something that didn't, you know? Money really doesn't matter in the end because I wasn't happy, and now I am. And that's all that matters. And I sound so corny saying that.

Vick: No, you don't.

Laurie: But it's so true.

Vick: Laurie MacAllister has joined us. Laurie, I think walking along the beach in Nantucket is highly preferable to working 9 to 5 in a job that you can't stand. I'd love to play a song off your album for our listeners. Can you give us an intro on this one?

Laurie: Certainly. I have a big list of ideas for songs. Like many songwriters and artists of various kinds, I keep a little notebook, and when something strikes me, I write it down, because I don't want to lose it. So I've got this enormous list, and it's very daunting, and once in a while I get up the courage to look at it. And this one idea kept popping out at me, and that was an idea to just write a song about one of the people who has affected me as an artist, and as a singer, and as a person.

Vick: What's his name?

Laurie: His name is James Taylor.

Vick: The one we know?

Laurie: The one you know. THE James Taylor. I can't really put it in an eloquent way, but I just love his music. I love the way it makes me feel. I put on his album and I feel good. Even if it's a deeply sad song, you know, even if it's "Fire And Rain". I love it. It makes me feel good inside. And what the hell else is music for?

Vick: Such language.

Laurie: Sorry!

Vick: That's OK. Just kidding.

Laurie: So I decided that I would give in to this idea of writing a song for and about James Taylor. And I think he probably lives on Martha's Vineyard, but I don't even know. But I know he has a house up there or something, and I think he played a concert on Nantucket, and anyway, I kind of imagine him up there in New England. And I wrote this song about a little daydream that I have.

Vick: Here's Laurie MacAllister, with her ... fantasy about James Taylor (laughing).

["NANTUCKET MILE" plays]

Vick: And that was Laurie MacAllister, from her album "These Old Clothes", and that was called "Nantucket Mile" and we've been joined over many miles of fiber optic cable by Laurie MacAllister from New York City. How are you doing, Laurie?

Laurie: I'm great. I'm actually really enjoying this. I don't know if your listeners are aware, but this is the first time I've ever done this. So it's a pleasure.

Vick: The first time you've been on the radio?

Laurie: Uh huh.

Vick: That's great!

Laurie: The very first time.

Vick: That's wonderful. There's nothing difficult about it.

Laurie: Well ... no, it's actually a lot easier than I would expect. If someone had said to me a month ago, "Hey, you're going to be on the radio in a month", I would be beside myself. But somehow these things become less daunting when you actually just do them.

Vick: Well, Laurie, here in radio, we're always looking for songs to play, and there are so many artists out there putting out music, and a lot of it just doesn't hit you, but this album really hit us when we played it here, and we wanted to share it with our listeners, and we don't care if an artist is on a great big label or whether they've put out the album themselves. If it's something we want to share with our listeners, we feel that we need to do that. And in the case of your album, you've put this album out yourself, and I'd love to give our listeners the information on how they could contact you if they're interested in adding this album to their library. Is that OK?

Laurie: That's wonderful. That's more than OK.

Vick: She's got a number in New York: 212.592.3708. If you miss it, you can call me at the station. Or you can e-mail her, and it's LaurieMacA@aol.com. Well, you know, Laurie, you have a song that you've selected as your title track on this album. And I must say, for an album that was independently released, you've taken great care on the artwork and everything else about this album. It's just really well presented. The song "These Old Clothes" is the title track. What's that about?

Laurie: Let's see. It's about various women I know, including myself, who in one way or another are in a situation that they need to get out of. And we spent a little bit of time earlier talking about the situation that I was in, that I need to get out of, which was the job that I hated, and bigger than that, the life that I hated. That of course is a very meaningful big thing to me, but then I was thinking about other women I know, and to make it even broader, just other people I know. It's not really a woman's song, even though whenever I play this song, at least one woman comes up to me after the gig, and speaks to me about a woman's organization that she's part of that she'd like me to join, or she'd like me to come and perform at her woman's organization. And it is a positive song for women, but the thing is, it's got a bigger message, and I meant for it to have a bigger message, which is just that if you need to make a change, don't be scared. Or be scared, being scared is fine, but don't let being scared prevent you from making that change. So I kind of weaved a fictional story of a woman who I imagined living in the midwest somewhere, being unhappy in her marriage, and being unhappy in her life, and deciding to do something about it. And that's really what it's about. But this song really is based on my experiences, and my mother's experiences, and even television shows that I've watched where I've seen people talking about how they're unhappy and they want to do something about it, and they don't know where to begin. This song is just about saying, "Begin somewhere." Find the courage somehow to do something.

Vick: And it's easy when you're used to wearing those old clothes, or being in that relationship, or being at that job where you're not entirely happy, but it's just so easy to be complacent and just kind of keep wearing those old clothes.

Laurie: Absolutely, that's what it is. If you listen to the lyrics, that's what the woman is saying: "These old clothes, this old hair, these old shoes, and that old man have gotta go." And she's kind of just thinking about the various aspects of her life that are old and worn, not in a good way. She needs some freshness and some newness. And that's, in my opinion, what life is about, is new things, especially if the old things are not satisfying.

Vick: Well, we've got a new thing for our listeners, and it's your album. Thanks, Laurie MacAllister, for joining us.

Laurie: Vick, I want to thank you so much. I don't know what to say except thank you, because this has been an extremely generous thing on your part to give me this attention and this exposure. Things like this mean the world to me, in terms of getting my career off the ground.

Vick: Well, you're very welcome. Here's Laurie MacAllister with "These Old Clothes"

["THESE OLD CLOTHES" plays]