Mary Gauthier is heading down to West Coast Blues ‘n’ Roots, bringing with her the sounds of her new folk album The Foundling. OUTinPerth grabbed five minutes with Gauthier to find out what’s new and just what the folk is going on.
Do you have a particular favourite festival, at all?
I really enjoy the folk festivals a lot, because people sit down and sit back and listen to the words for the songs. I like to have an audience that will listen because I’m not a rock artist; I’m not going to jam and make people dance, I’m a storyteller, so I’m drawn to those kind of festivals.
How would you describe your music?
Well it’s a story, you know. I’m here to make up stories and the record is one big story, it’s a movie. The songs add up and tell a story as a whole.
What challenges do you as an artist face?
Sometimes it can be a challenge for a storyteller and a person who’s not in a big band to hold and audience, it can be a challenge if people wanna drop, they want to party and dance and it’s not my thing, you know; I want people to listen to the words and sit back and settle in, so that can be a challenge.
What are three things that you think people should bring when they come to see you at a festival?
A comfortable seat and bring your attention and just trust me. Bring your trust and your attention and a comfortable seat and I’ll take you on a ride.
What is it about folk music you find so appealing?
Mostly, it’s rooted in history so it doesn’t come out of context. It has a history to it that puts it into a context over time, so the songs should borrow from songs that came before them.
And how does your music reflect that?
You can tell that I’ve been influenced by many a songwriter and a lot of people find their favourites in my work, certainly I’ve been influenced from Hank Williams and Woodie Guthrie and Leonard Cohen, so forth.
Mary Gauthier appears at West Coast Blues ‘n’ Roots on Sunday March 28.
Scott-Patrick Mitchell
