(Obligatory artist marketing message: you should buy some copies of my album for the holidays, by the way, or for future all-purpose gifts, or for yourself!  At CDBaby.com you get 30% off if you get more than one; at Bandcamp.com you get an instant download even if you order the physical CD, at Amazon.com you can get super saver shipping.  Plus it’s on iTunes and other places.  Help an indie artist out and DO IT!)

And now that my album’s released I’m confronting this problem that I think a lot of artists face.  Other artists might not know they face it, but since I talk with my fans all day on social media I’m acutely aware of it.  Here’s how it goes:

ACT I SCENE I

Int. Marian’s computer, glowy and full of JPG’s of gingerbread AT-AT walkers.  A fan is chatting with Marian on Twitter.

Longtime Devoted Fan: OMG MARIAN I LOVE YOUR NEW ALBUM! It’s everything you promised!

Marian: Here, buy a copy!  I made it for you since you’ve been so supportive and friendly and awesome!

L.D.F.: Um…..well….I am gonna do that FIRST THING when I get a job again.  Or pay off my ridiculous health care costs.  Or get my kids shoes that don’t hurt their feet.  Or I’ll beg for it for a gift.  Because…. [L.D.F. switches to private message or e-mail] …..I kind of really can’t afford it right now.  Or anytime soon.  At this time my money is for food, not music.

Marian: But……but I made it for you.  Take it for free!  You’ve always been there for me!

Chorus of the Ghosts of Indie Musicians: But isn’t that devaluing your art? Not to mention contributing to this awful Race To The Bottom that will undermine our economy and bankrupt hardworking artists?  Where will this end?  With all of us giving up our dreams to become insurance adjusters? Shaaaaame ooooon yoooooou.

Credit Card Company + Hospital, in unison: Hey, Marian?  About these monthly bills –

L.D.F.: They’re right!  Your music is worth money and I support you!  So I refuse to download it like a piratey pirate!  Also I’m gonna go cry into my ramen now.

Marian: Me too.  Into my ramen though, not yours.

EXEUNT L.D.F., Chorus, Bill Collectors. Marian is left alone; she crosses DSC. Lighting cue: follow spot.

Marian: [heavy sigh] If only I could give away my music to folks who are out of work or strapped for cash – without contributing to the problematic modern mindset that art for free is OK!

ENTER Donors’ Circle, fast & awkward, Kramer-style, wearing superhero costume. D.C. Leaps into follow spot with a flourish.

Donors’ Circle: I’m here to help with that!

END SCENE

It’s a fact that a lot of people I love are struggling financially right now.  And asking them to buy my music feels kinda crass.  But withholding music from people I love also feels yucky.  I have been there, and I needed music then more than ever to get through it.

SO! On the recommendation of a brilliant member of the Donors’ Circle, I thought I would try something a little different.  Below you’ll find an application for a sort of scholarship program — I’m calling it the Pseudo-Scholarship Fund, since I’m not sure what the legal ramifications of actually calling it a scholarship might be.  This program means you can get a legit digital copy of the album for free if you can’t afford it — but an anonymous donor will be paying for it.  SO!  Free to you, but still paid for, and therefore not without value.

Does this make sense?

I hope it works, at least for a few of you.  We’ll run it through December 31st, and if there’s more interest, possibly longer.  We’ll need two groups of people: folks who want to get/give the album but can’t afford it, and folks who want to fund the project.

If you apply, you’ll get the music & liner notes at no cost to you, but I will ask you for something — I’ll ask you to join the mailing list, tell someone about the album, leave a review, or come to a concert.  And I’ll try to make it really easy to do that.

*Note: you are welcome to apply and give the album as a gift. I know some of you said you would give the album as a holiday or birthday gift, but you can’t afford to buy it (or buy an extra copy).  And you’re too honorable to rip & burn it for free — you blessed few — so here, this is your chance.  Get the download code, write it on a paper heart, put it in a little origami box made out of brown bags and gold stars, and give it to someone for a holiday/birthday/specialness present.  (Ooh, and use googly eyes.  You can never have enough gold stars and googly eyes on a present. It’s all about presentation, and good presentation can be cheap.)

I’m into solutions and this seems like a solution. Thank you, Donors’ Circle, for coming up with this one.  And thanks to you who are funding it, either one album or dozens – this is the coolest thing ever.

DETAILS AND STUFF:

If you’re interested in applying for an album, to keep or to give away, just fill out the Pseudo-Scholarship Fund form below — you can also find it at this link here. You should hear from us within 2-3 business days to either give you your download code & congratulations, or to let you know you’re on a waiting list.

If you’re interested in funding an album for someone like L.D.F., you can send money via Paypal to mariancall@mac.com and make a note that it’s for the Psuedo-Scholarship Fund. $15 pays for one album; you can send that amount right now if you want by clicking here.  Or send an e-mail if you want to pay by some other method than Paypal, I’m more than happy to arrange that.  We’ll be in touch within two or three business days to confirm we’ve applied the money where it’s supposed to go, and to express our thanks.

Acceptance of applicants will be at our discretion, but if you apply (and you’re not rude and you answer all the questions) you’ll probably be accepted, and if you’re accepted and there are funds in the account, you’ll be sent a digital download of the album, which includes a PDF of the gorgeous liner notes.  And we’ll add you to the Marian Call e-mail list, and possibly ask you to share/review the album or do some other small thing like that to pay it forward.

This is a very simple test program, still in beta, so let us know if you encounter any hitches. Questions & observations can go to mcminion42@gmail.com.

Go to it!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Because boys got to be geeks and nerds.  Thirteen-year-old me knew this from movies, adults, my peers, and especially from cartoons, ads, and shows on TV.  Boys got to have comic books and LEGO and play D&D and video games and wield plastic lightsabers.  And the truly geeky boys got beat up and ostracized and mocked for it (like my little brother), so they formed small outgroups proudly identifying more and more deeply with the activities they enjoyed.  Me, I admired those groups from afar – and retreated deep into books, drawing, writing, the land of imagination, where I could write my own adventures.

I quickly learned not to bring up the things I loved, or how much I loved them, around other girls.  I definitely learned how uncool it was to like my homework and my teachers and computers.  I grew practiced at hiding my talents in spelling and math, hiding my love for tests, so as to have any friends.  (It’s still damn near impossible for me to say out loud, “I went to Stanford,” because it’s alienating.  (But I can tell you, because you’re the Internet.)) So childhood was a wonderful but solitary journey.  I have no complaints about this — I don’t see it as a serious problem — it was just my formative experience.  A lot of people nurtured me and my interests, especially my family and certain teachers, and for them I will always be grateful.  But this part of my childhood defines me, it’s my central narrative: hiding my books and my drawings and my test scores.  That was me.  And I wouldn’t change that.

Fast forward to 2006.  I came to Myspace (a little late).  And as I filled out my “interests,” as an adult, with no peer group watching and no pressure to edit myself, I found that the list looked very, very geeky indeed.  And when I started meeting my very first few online friends — through Nathan Fillion’s Myspace page, of all places — I was surprised.  Surprised out of my shoes.  SO MANY OTHER GIRLS LIKED THE STUFF I LIKE.  Including old friends of mine with whom I had played Barbies when I would have rather built pirate ships.  We had been hiding from each other when we were young.  And here we were, all exposed by social media.  And I learned just how many other girls had also secretly been having an experience like me growing up.  I learned how many other girls are embarrassed by their academic accomplishments and love of sci-fi.

I cannot tell you how amazing it feels to find you belong to a community when you thought you were alone.

By joining the “geek” community I have met female friends who enjoy what I enjoy, and who had childhood experiences like mine.  I’ve also met plenty of awesome women who were unafraid to be themselves all along, who boast about their accomplishments and their nerdiness, and I admire the heck out of them.  Geek girls are nothing new, but our openness about it is.  Lightsaber battles are not just for the boys anymore.  And I’m so happy to finally be able to join in the fun as an adult.

These days, geek girls are finding one another and showing up at conventions and comic shops, faster and more vocally than the boys were prepared for, I think.  And it’s a good thing.  But it’s tough.  In a way we’re invading a safe space that once belonged to boys who, at least in their youth, were most comfortable away from those bizarre female aliens.  And I know what it’s like to have a safe space, and to have that space invaded by people who make me uncomfortable (not because they’re evil, but because I’m socially awkward around them, and I’m suddenly a little less free to be myself, bound by awkwardness). So I can empathize with the confusion of this new world for the boys and the suspicions that accompany it.  I’m not surprised this demographic change comes with its rubs and scrapes.

And honestly, certain parts of geek culture are slow to catch up to the fact that we’re here — women have suddenly altered the makeup of the audience, but women are only beginning to become a significant percentage of content creators.  So there are lurches and bumps and internet flame wars along the way to learning to live in a larger community, a community that was a male-dominated outgroup and is now much larger and more diverse than existing social constructs are prepared to grapple with.

GeekGirlCon this weekend in Seattle aspires to be a positive, open, fun celebration, inclusive and accessible to all types (men welcome! kids under 10 free!).  I look forward to seeing how it goes.  I have reservations, but I have a lot more hopes.  I especially hope it empowers people to be who they are and like what they like — perhaps some young girl like me who feels she’s alone in loving school work and Star Trek will learn there’s a larger community she can grow into.  Perhaps some young boy might learn it’s OK to invite that cool tomboyish girl to his D&D table even if he feels pressure not to.  Perhaps we can empower younger folks to reach across the gender divide and find pride in who they are.

The practical stuff:  GeekGirlCon passes are very accessible, starting at $20 if you pick them up in person at local businesses. The con will address some serious issues, like cattiness and sexiness and gender in comics and gaming — but most of the panels and topics are just the same geeky fun you find at any convention.  It’ll feature amazing guests like Jane Espenson, Bonnie Burton, Amy Berg, and Chase Masterson.  And me!  I’m on a Sunday panel about creating community.

And I’m playing in the awesome kickoff event!  It’s open to all, not just con attendees! YOU SHOULD COME!  I recommend tickets in advance as we’re close to sold out/standing room.  BUT IT WILL ROCK.

Seattle, WA // Fri. 10.07.11 – Geek Girl CONcert with Molly Lewis & the Doubleclicks
Tickets now on sale! Molly Lewis out of Seattle, and The Doubleclicks out of Portland.  This very special concert will be held at the Great Hall in Green Lake at 8pm – it’s an all ages show and younger folks are more than welcome.  Tickets $10-15, reduced for students and GeekGirlCon pass holders.  Facebook event here.

I have lots of thoughts about the various geek/gender battles that have broken out on the web lately, but mostly, I see all of it as a sign that we’re undergoing the birth pangs of creating a better community.  I want real discourse, healthy discussion, some education and hard listening, and that’s damned difficult to come by (especially on the internet).  But it’s beginning to happen.  We’re learning to play together.  It’s better than it was, not as good as it will be.  For my part, I want to stay positive and I want to hear some of the opinions that are difficult for people to voice.  I want to hear personal stories more than diatribes that generalize about gender.  There’s a lot of gunk we have to just get out of our systems (and out in the open) to make this community work, and let’s face it, it’ll probably be rocky.  I see myself as a peacemaker and an artist generally.  So I’m reluctant to get too deeply involved in controversies, myself.**

Because mostly?  I just want to have fun.  I want to get back to geeking out about awesome stuff.  And I want a safe community to geek out in.  That’s possible.  We can make it happen.

**********************

**Odds on the comments/response to this post winding up in controversy are entertainingly high.  I will be taking bets as to the topics that will inflame people about a relatively non-inflammatory personal narrative.

Batten your hatches.  This is simple.  I’ll try to use small words.

Listen to the album for free:  http://mariancall.com or http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce

Buy the CD cuz if you buy the CD you get a complimentary immediate digital download: http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce

Buy just the digital:  http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce

View the really fun music video collaboration with Awkward Embraces:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRxNUvbygLA

Read all the lyrics: http://marianmarginalia.wordpress.com/something-fierce-lyrics-and-liner-notes/

View the liner notes the way they ought to be, with tons of extra photos by Brian Adams:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mariancall/sets/72157627571585902/show/
(Protip:  select “slideshow”)

Embed a player on a website:
<iframe width=”400″ height=”100″ style=”position: relative; display: block; width: 400px; height: 100px;” src=”http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=530393067/size=venti/bgcol=FFFFFF/linkcol=702333/” allowtransparency=”true” frameborder=”0″><a href=”http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce”>Something Fierce by Marian Call</a></iframe>

Tell your friends on Twitter: post about @mariancall, hashtag #somethingfierce

Tell your friends on Facebook:  http://facebook.com/mariancallmusic

Tell your friends on G+:  http://plus.tl/mariancall

Have a question for Marian about the album, anonymous or otherwise:  http://formspring.me/mariancall

Need help with anything:  mcminion42@gmail.com

I hope you like it!  *nervousface* *also thankfulface*

I’m off to revise the entire interwebs about me now.  ‘Bye.

IT’S HERE IT’S HERE IT’S HERE!  AFTER TWO AND A HALF YEARS SOMETHING FIERCE IS HERE!

I’ve been yelling about this a lot so I’ll try to calm down, quit spinning, and give you all the details.  And I’ll briefly stop saying thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.  (Though I can never ever be grateful enough for your patience and support.  I’m gonna make like an NPR station during pledge week pretty soon and compulsively send you all tote bags out of gratitude.)

The record will drop on OCTOBER FIRST TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN!   According to Google, October first is also Julie Andrews’ birthday, the anniversary of the creation of Mensa, and the Texarkana Egg Fest.  An auspicious day.  The record will be available to download on that day, from anywhere in the world, through Bandcamp.com.  Physical CD’s will start shipping that week, so you should receive them shortly after that.  If you pre-order the album, digital or physical, you’ll get an e-mail the moment it’s released with the entire record as a download all ready to go!

Wanna know how it sounds?  The tracks “Anchorage” and “Good Morning Moon” have already been released as singles, and I’ve posted some samples of a few more on Soundcloud for your listening enjoyment.  And I’ve written a few vulnerable artsy thoughts about the record, too.  I hope you like it so much!

Here is how you can pre-order Something Fierce.  And you should, so that I can afford to print it for you.

Digital pre-orders!  For you modern types.

If you pre-order your fabulous digital double-album through Bandcamp, you’ll get a little bit of music now — if you like — and on the first of October you’ll automatically receive your tracks and shiny digital album art to download!  So go ahead and pick it up now.  Price is about $15.00 or whatever you feel beyond that.  If you have any issues at all, e-mail me or Katie at mcminion42*at*gmail.com.  Thank you!

CD pre-orders!  For you who need something to play frisbee hold.

I’ll be signing 500 copies of the physical CD for you early birds!  So if you order now, your album/s will come autographed (no dedications, sorry.  Bring it to me at a show and I’ll sign it to you).  If you buy the CD, you’ll also get the album as a download that will be delivered on October 1st — so however long the postal service takes to your corner of the world, you can still join the CD release party that day!

The double disc costs $25 autographed, a little less ($20) if you want to wait until the release and get a not-autographed copy.    I’m absorbing a little of the cost of international S&H because I really want to keep overseas shipping affordable for my friends across borders!

I’m a CD person still — I buy physical discs and play full albums in my car and in my house.  But I know there’s an environmental cost, and I’d like to minimize that where I can.  So this is a carbon-neutral run of CD’s, or as close as we can get to it — they’re printed with soy ink on post-consumer recycled materials; the trays are made of recycled water bottles, and carbon credits are purchased to offset manufacturing and shipping.

**Donors’ Circle Members:  remember that you’re entitled to two free copies of the record if you like!  There are other goodies for you as well.  Be sure to fill out the form I sent you in order to receive your benefits.  But if you want to order more copies, these links above are for you.  Any questions, just e-mail me or Katie at mcminion42*at*gmail.com!

And thank you thank you thank you thank you for your order.  I fantasize about this all going very smoothly.  (But it never seems to go completely perfect.  So if you have any issues along the way, just let me know, mcminion42*at*gmail.com, and we’ll do our very best to get it sorted.)

Bounce bounce bounce bounce bounce.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you want to know more about the record itself, here are some details. Something Fierce is a double album with two parts — vol. I: Good Luck With That and vol. II: from Alaska.

I announced the album and formed the Donors’ Circle in March 2009, and I began writing songs and booking musicians for the project around that time.  Recording began in November 2009 and has continued up to last week — at intervals between touring — we did studio work in Seattle, Los Angeles, Brooklyn, Austin, and Anchorage.  About thirty people made noises for the record, and over a hundred fans helped to fund it.  I did all the editing myself before, during, and after the 49>50 Tour, and this spring I even added some songs written on that journey.

Here’s a track list so you can see if your favorite song from the live shows is on Something Fierce (track order not necessarily finalized):

Something Fierce, vol. I:  Good Luck With That

1. Good Morning Moon
2. The Avocado Song
3. Highway Five
4. Dear Mister Darcy
5. All New (Heart Shut Tight)
6. Temporal Dominoes
7. Press or Say Three (your call is important to us)
8. Ina Flew the Coop
9. Free Bird

Something Fierce, vol. II:  from Alaska

1. Whistle While You Wait
2. Early Is as Early Does
3. I Wish I Were a Real Alaskan Girl
4. The Underground (One Bird at a Time)
5. Coffee by Numbers (Faon’s Song)
6. Equinox
7. E.S.B.
8. Perilous Road
9. Aurora Borealis
10. Anchorage

Things I’d love for you to know about this record:

• Some lines and songs are in fact inspired by friends on Twitter and Facebook.  Usually they know if/when they’re to thank.
• I consumed enough fruit snacks while editing this record to feed a crowded day care center for a month.
• For this record my mother played the turkey baster, my sister banged on her cello all over like a drum, my brother clicked a mechanical pencil and played his trumpet valves with his nose, my stepdad played the harp and jaw harp, Brian Adams shot his Hasselblad, and I played goat toenails and shook my dead cat’s ashes in a tin.
• You can perhaps hear a number of musical and lyrical compressions honoring Zelda, Dr. Horrible, Elizabeth Bennett, and a number of other fictional characters.
• I dare you to figure out which songs I wrote before, during, and after my divorce.  You’ll probably be wrong.  But there’s a lot more relationship stuff in this album than I’ve previously included, and it’s more vulnerable than what I’ve written in the past.  I take a lot of musical/stylistic risks and I hope they pay off and move someone.
• One of the songs sounds like it’s about a breakup or an unhealthy relationship, but it’s actually an ode to a beer I fell completely in love with on first taste.
• There are really a lot more drums and a lot more noisy hollering of the sort I do on tour.
• The typewriter and rainstick can be heard on about half of the tracks, though they’re subtler than in the past.
• Several members of the Donors’ Circle sang and whistled along with the chorus of “Good Morning Moon” from their homes all over the world, and their voices are part of the record.
• Some songs and characters and scenarios were completely fictional, as in “Dear Mister Darcy,” until they came true to the letter.  Spooky.

The physical product will be very pretty, I think.  The two discs will come in a carbon-neutral matte digipak, and it will include a 16-page book with all the lyrics and gorgeous photos by my friend Brian Adams and illustrations by my amazing Mom, Karen Luke Fildes. My favorite part:  no UPC code on the outside of the artwork.  When the disc is sold retail (very very seldom), we’ll put the barcode on a sticker outside the shrink wrap — so once you open your music it will be simply that, music, with the UPC business hidden away in an inside corner with the credits and copyright information where you’ll hardly see it.  Fans funded this project, and fans are mostly buying it straight from me, so the economic scope of this project is a little too simple to merit interfering with the artwork by adding a barcode to the outside.  Somehow that feels right to me.

Here are some of my thoughts on the record from a little earlier this year.  It’s a little different than what’s come before.  The vocals sound a lot more like what you might hear at a live show, because I’ve done hundreds of live shows since I last went into the studio.  Something Fierce is truly my own voice, and the voices of my community (including you guys!).  And it represents a lot of growth musically and personally since Got to Fly, my last full-length album.  It’s less overtly nerdy (remember Got to Fly was a commission about Firefly and BSG) and yet still laced with geekiness throughout.  I hope hope hope hope hope that you like it.  I hope it makes you feel something once in a while.  I hope it’s art worth loving for a few of you, and worth enjoying for the rest of you.

Okay Marian, quit talking and get some rest.

P.S.  If you think you’re going to like this, tell the world to get on board.  http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce is the link to share around the web.

And people: if you’ve never been to a house concert, you really must try it.  I find folks are reluctant to RSVP and go to a stranger’s house, but here’s the thing — they’re a GREAT experience.  You’ll never forget a house concert, it’s far better than a show at 80% of the venues I play.  And if you’re not into talking to strangers, just bring a book or your smartphone and sit quietly in a corner — no one will bother you, and you’ll have the musical experience of a lifetime.

Even if you’re not a house concert person though there are plenty of shows.  Come out!  Tell a friend!  The lineup:

San Francisco, CA // Thurs. 09.01.11 – House Concert
House Concert, open to the public, please contact eujean2 *at* yahoo.com to RSVP and receive the address. All ages, free, $10-15 recommended donation.

Saratoga, CA // Fri. 09.02.11 – Blue Rock Shoot
A set in an all ages show at cute and funky café Blue Rock Shoot. 8pm, free to all ages, $5-10 recommended artist donation. 14523 Big Basin, Saratoga, CA.

Redwood City, CA // Sat. 09.03.11 – Little India Restaurant – Browncoat lunch meetup
This is an informal appearance more than a concert, a hangout with amazing food and fun people.  Music will happen if it’s requested to be sure! But lunch and a chat and Q&A are the order of the day.  Little India Restaurant, 917 Main Street, Redwood City CA.

San Mateo, CA // Sat. 09.03.11 – Space Cowboy Ball
Marian performs at the annual Space Cowboy Ball in San Mateo. Dancing and general merriment are guaranteed. Tickets are $15 in advance by August 28 and $20 at the door. For more information, see http://peers.org/space.html. San Mateo Masonic Lodge, 100 N. Ellsworth Ave., San Mateo, CA.

Oakland, CA // Sun. 09.04.11 – Afternoon House Concert
Afternoon House Concert (and jam session! Bring an instrument!), open to the public, please contact thealawson *at* gmail.com to RSVP and receive the address. All ages, free, $10-15 recommended donation.

Santa Rosa, CA // Mon. 09.05.11 – Afternoon House Concert
Labor Day afternoon House Concert in Santa Rosa, open to the public, please contact ms_lorelei*at*hotmail.com to RSVP and receive the address. All ages, free, $10-15 recommended donation.

San Rafael, CA // Wed. 09.07.11 – Artworks Downtown
The fabulous arts center Artworks Downtown hosts Marian in the courtyard at a family-friendly concert. 7-9pm, free to all ages, $5-10 recommended artist donation. 1337 Fourth Street (corner of of Fourth and D Streets, San Rafael, CA.

Yes you want to!!!!

Here, I made you some cookies.  You looked like you needed one.

Here I am on a record called Mink Car Cover and it’s now on sale! http://minkcarcover.bandcamp.com/album/mink-car-cover

If you are a fan of They Might Be Giants I hope you know their great album Mink Car.  It’s canon for me and my family.  I was thrilled to be invited to record a cover of the song “Hovering Sombrero” (with extra accordion) for this officially approved album cover project. All proceeds go to the FDNY Foundation.  You can read more at http://minkcarcover.com/ and see all the other amazing artists involved!

The story goes like this:  ten years ago They Might Be Giants happened to have an album slated for release on September 11th, 2001.  As you know, they didn’t have quite the release they were planning on.  This is a fundraising project surrounding the tenth anniversary of 9/11, celebrating the music in a positive spirit.  And it’s aimed at supporting the FDNY Foundation, the official not-for-profit foundation of the Fire Department of New York.  Money goes to support and train emergency responders.  (I repeat:  this is a fundraising project; nobody benefits financially from this except the FDNY Foundation.)

I had to record this track while I was on the road.  It was quite the endeavour.  I snagged the guitar (courtesy of Scott Barkan), scratch vocals, percussion, banjo and accordion parts in Seattle in my brother’s sewing room.  My brother is a tailor, and also a completely awesome artistic partner in crime.  (More photos here!)

Brother played accordion for a long time.

Closet recording gives you Indie Cred.

I sent the track to my Dad in Austin.  He played me some pianos and sent them back to me.  I intercepted them in San Diego, edited the whole piece together during San Diego Comic Con in my hotel room  And then — foreseeing no chance to get into a studio anytime soon — I recorded the final vocals in the closet with some coats, after a signing at the California Browncoats booth and just before I had to check out of the room and go sing a concert in hall 32A-B.  (It was dark in that closet.  It took me a few takes to remember that I had a music stand light in my luggage so I could quit bumping into the closet rail in the dark.  Every take of the vocals began and ended with the sound of the closet door opening and closing.)

I uploaded the session to my engineer, Bryan Ray (in Austin) from the home of some artists I was meeting for the first time in Pasadena.  He worked on it while I disappeared into the Sierra mountains for a couple days, and we met up to do the final mix on the track when I came to Texas to play some shows.  We submitted just hours before the deadline.  Now you know how a song gets put together while I’m touring: without sleep.

Mink Car happens to be one of my favorite Giants albums ever.  Now that the final product is here I’m VERY excited.  Also appearing on the album are MC Frontalot, Molly Lewis, The Doubleclicks, Mike Lombardo, Ryan North, Devo Spice, Hank Green, and lots more awesome folks who feel (like me) that Giants albums are to be revered a little more than your average record.

It also felt right to me to do this, because sometimes the best response to a big bad world is to make art.  Sometimes it’s the only response, actually.  So I hope you’ll give the album (or my track) a listen or a download at http://minkcarcover.bandcamp.com/album/mink-car-cover.

Hovering Sombrero!

Here are all the details of how stuff works!!!

• Watch the live stream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/marian-call-live-from-thinkgeek-hq starting a little after 7pm EDT.
• Want an awesome incredible poster from tonight’s show, drawn by John Tyler Christopher?  You can order them tonight only at http://mariancall.com starting at about 7pm EDT!  The first 100 will be signed by me, but everyone who orders will get one — we will print as many as you guys order.  But only tonight!!  Sales close about midnight EDT.  All proceeds go to keep Art of Akira, and the artist behind it, thriving.  Keeping art alive is up to us, and it’s the best.  International friends: you can order too!  If your shipping is lots extra you might have to work out an extra little invoice, but you’ll be contacted individually.  Order just like normal!
• There are lots of prizes, both for folks here in person and listening/watching online.  The rules are below for folks who want to win stuff from @thinkgeek!!!
• If you are enjoying the show from a distance, especially the whole show, please tip so Marian can keep making music!  Or buy some lovely songs.  Or come to a show in Arlington, Annapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Cambridge, Portland, or Seattle!  And more cities coming soon.

HERE ARE RULES AND PRIZES FOR YOUS!  From the Thinkgeek monkeys.

ARE YOU PHYSICALLY HERE?
Four ways to win if you’re at the show tonight!

1. Tweet with the hashtags #TGMarianAkira AND #meatspace (in the same tweet!) by 8:30pm ET and be entered to win (by random drawing) a $50 ThinkGeek gift certificate.  Must be present at the concert in person to win!

2. Submit a t-shirt idea in the brainstorm box by 8:30pm ET and randomly win a $50 ThinkGeek gift certificate. Must be present to win!

3. One random ticket purchase-r who is here tonight will win these items at the end of the show:
Zombie Shooting Gallery, Magic d20 of Destiny, Fawkes and Codex Highland Sextasy Poster, Lights and Sounds Delorean, and an Atari Pixel Logo Beer Stein

4. One person who tweets #TGMarianAkira AND #frakabanjo AND #meatspeace (in the same tweet!) by the end of the show, about 10pm ET, will win a #frakabanjo stainless steel engraved dog tag.  Only 10 exist in the ‘verse!  Must still be present to win.

THESE PRIZES ARE FOR TEH INTERNET.
Three ways to win if you’re not here IRL!

1. Tweet with hashtag #TGMarianAkira AND #internetz (in the same tweet!) by 8:30pm ET and randomly win:
LEGO Hoth Wampa Set, Canned Unicorn Meat, My First Bacon, and a #frakabanjo stainless steel engraved dog tag.  Must still be viewing to confirm via Twitter that you accept your prizes, so stick around until 8:30!**

2. Marian will announce the rules of the second challenge via the webstream during the first half of the show.  Enter our challenge as broadcasted on Ustream and randomly win at the end of the show:
Enterprise Pizza Cutter, Bazinga Lunchbox, Critical Hit LED d20 Die, and a #frakabanjo stainless steel engraved dog tag.  Winner will be announced at the end of the show, about 10pm ET, so stick around!  You must still be viewing to confirm via Twitter that you accept your prizes or we’ll pass them along to someone else.**

3. One person who tweets #TGMarianAkira AND #frakabanjo by the end of the show will win a #frakabanjo stainless steel engraved dog tag.  Winner will be announced at the end of the show, about 10pm ET, so stick around!  You must still be viewing to confirm via Twitter that you accept your prizes or we’ll pass them along to someone else.**

**When we choose our online hashtag winners, we’ll need to confirm within 10 minutes that you are still viewing and that you want to claim your prize, or else we need to pass it along to someone else.  So be watching your stream around 8:30pm and again at the end of the show if you’re interested in prizey stuff!

But I’m thankful.  I’m sitting here thinking how much a collection of friends and strangers online has come to mean to me — lots of individuals, but the whole community too.  I’m about to finish a project you guys have helped see me through, some of you for more than two years.  Some of you gave money, tons of you gave encouragement, thousands have come to shows now.  I’m sorta blown away.  I am really thankful to you.  And I take my responsibility to you very seriously.  I’m happy to come see some of you again, I wish I could see you all.

(Sorry, sleep-deprived headachey Marian = sappy serious 3am blog post I may regret.  Feel free to skip and return when I’m wittier & more amusing (and that’s a sincere, not a sarcastic invitation).)

I’m finding this album tough to finish — it’s called Something Fierce, and release announcements and pre-sales are imminent.  I mean, it’s hard to finish for the usual reason: the total amount of “Stuff Marian Takes On” over “Time Marian Actually Has” always winds up with a remainder, at the moment probably about 7/5.  But it’s also hard to finish because it’s just…big.  I feel the weight of how much people have helped me with this and invested in it.  I wonder how it will be received.  I know I’ll get some of my first proper critiques.  I know some people will like other versions of things better.  And I know I’ll always be vaguely amazed that it’s not sitting on my shoulders anymore like a big cat, the way it has been since early 2009.  It’s heavy but it’s also kept me grounded.

Let’s go back in time a bit, since few of you are clear on the chronology:  I launched this album project with a fundraiser in early 2009 when I had just separated from my husband of 6 years and I was in Seattle, far from Alaska, alone with no car or home or income.  It was quite a shock landing there.  After sitting on the curb for a month wondering what to do, announcing Something Fierce was my first step forward.  It was a thing to walk toward so I could get up, get moving, and either become an artist or give it up and go be a secretary or waitress.  A lot of you guys took care of me back then, as I launched into about a year of having nowhere to live and no income except what I earned singing for my supper and fundraising for the record.  And all that help is hard for an independent lady to stomach.  But I tell you what, for every time you have ever tipped a street or bar or online musician, dear reader, I am thankful.  For every dime you’ve launched into a kickstarter project, I owe you one.

I bought a car with no money in Seattle — not sure why they let me have it — and I drove and drove until I got back to Alaska.  I had never driven long distance before, I had always been driven around by others.  But for the first time I was behind the wheel.  When I made it back to Anchorage I started laying groundwork for the record, and I began laying down audio in November 2009.

It’s 2011 now, and I’ve recorded with nearly thirty people in New York, LA, Seattle, Texas, and Anchorage, with a hiatus to play all fifty states + 5 provinces.  And in the end I don’t know whether all that will be worth it for the audio that comes out.  But it will be worth it for the meaning.  The process means a lot to me.  The people mean a lot to me.  For example, the project was missing a few folks who came to be part of my music community after the bulk of the recording was done.  But I got a few chances this spring to record pickups, and I jumped on the chance to get Bryan Ray, Brandon Cockburn, Errol Bressler, Aaron Benolkin, and Nick Petumenos in the studio.  And I’m so happy I did, because now their voices (drums, guitars, bass, pedal steel, engineering) are on the record.  It feels more complete with them than if I’d released it sooner.  When I hear a song recorded in five different cities, all these musicians I love are in the same space for a second.  And that’s more home than anywhere I’ve been since 2009.

Something Fierce is not as funny or geeky as the last few things I’ve released.  Got to Fly was commissioned to be about geek stuff, and I like to release funny singles, but this record is just straight Marian, recalling my first record, Vanilla.  Marian happens to be a geek, so this art happens to be a geek’s experience of a long stretch of road.  But instead of fiction it’s fact;  it’s a couple years of couch-crashing, debt, penance, illness, insane travel, recession, divorce, and reinvention.  That’s not to say it’s dark.  But it’s not sunny.  It’s dappled light — with interesting clouds, the thick substantial ones that might and might not become weather.  Like “Anchorage,” if you’ve heard it.

Why say this now?  I have no idea.  3am headaches while working on your last song will do that to you I suppose.  And perhaps I feel a need to confess and disclaim as I finish.  Not because I think the product is unworthy, but because it’s honest, and honesty evokes a little confession and a little context, even when it’s not required.

I’m not sure what happens after this record is not on my shoulders anymore.  I don’t know where the compass will point exactly, this record has been my Polaris for so long — I might spin for a bit.  But mostly I don’t know how I could ever have enough days or words or songs to hug and thank all of you.  It would require more sustained gratitude and sincerity than I think most humans are capable of at my age.  I try, but I keep lapsing.

Perhaps the sheer number of you folks out there (you awesome amazing folks) is starting to frustrate my impulses for deeper connection; it’s hard as this group of fans changes from “y’all” to “all y’all. ” I find myself protesting often how deeply I feel for my online community, and I think that’s mostly because I don’t have the time anymore to pay you each as much attention as I feel is fair for all the investment you’ve put into me.  That imbalance bothers me, though it can’t be helped.  Anyway I’m so thankful to you, if you’re reading this, for getting me through the last two years and into the next one.  Even if you never paid a dime, your attention for a moment ultimately helped/helps to make this record I’m about to finish, and your attention is precious.  You didn’t have to spend it here.  I’m grateful.

Oh Marian, be quiet and get to work making a kickass record.  It’s 4am already, time’s a-wastin’.

(But seriously.  I hope you like it.)

M

As I suspected, the topics divided themselves neatly into the same material that seems to fill my Twitter and Facebook feeds most of the time. Enjoy, these are fantastically fun:

on Sci-Fi and Space

When Marian one night dreamt/
of Han Solo, hair all unkempt/
of Wash crashing a Volvo/
and Starbuck singing a Solo/
she smiled and slept on quite content.
- Andreas Ista (Facebook submission)

Mmmmmm scruffy Han…I’ll be in my bunk.

The worlds of the Twelve Tribes of Man
Were nuked in the Cylon’s grand plan
So jump did the Fleet
Toward Earth in retreat
And all this will happen again
- @dunemuaddib

He walks with a strut in his stride
His chest will be puffed up with pride.
He sleeps with his gun
starts bar fights for fun
But it’s good to have Jayne on your side.
- @realityfree

One last opportunity soon
Atlantis is flying in June
The astronaut’s choice
Is Marian’s voice
They ‘d rather hear “Good Morning, ____” [Moon!]
- @bird2brain

This poet pulls the neat trick of making the last three lines a haiku(ish). A limerick-haiku hybrid. Sounds dangerous:

There was a warlock, Zaboo,
Who wrote the following haiku:
“I really love Cyd
I’m kind of obsessed’d
What’s a gnome to do?”
- @alalcoolj

And a show cancellation lament, which could be its own poetry genre among geeks:

SGU was sub-par, we all knew it.
 / Just at first; oh, my gosh, David Hewlett! 
/ Season two’s gotten good / 
…Wish I’d known that it would / 
It’s too late; Syfy, why did you do it?
- @DiscotrashUK

on Marian

In Alaska, the largest of all
There are sounds guaranteed to enthrall -
If you listen at night
And you’re lucky, you might
Hear a loon or a Marian call!
- @tokenskeptic

We have a successful Alaska rhymer! Voilà:

There once was a girl from Alaska,
A musical multitasker.
She’d play melodies,
On typewriter keys,
And rainstick whenever you’d ask her.
- @treelobsters

A couple of Trusty Rainstick odes I loved:

A rainstick was fearful of flying
for TSA sure wasn’t buying
the whole instrument gig
and they don’t give a fig
that poor Marian would be left crying
@geojlc

There was a musician named Marian,
Whose rainstick was carried as carry on.
but she waved it and cracked it,
so she auctioned and packed it,
and now she can go get another one.
- @monkeysailor

Since I was going on about Waffles all week…

My breakfast this morning is awful
So bland it should be unlawful
Give me some fruit
And sweet syrup to boot
My kingdom I’d give for a waffle!
- @programmerman

And a bragging poem from my bestest girl in NYC and the author of @_CityStories and other fine blogs:

Are you waiting, dear Marian, on me?
I’m a talented poet, you see.
But I won’t win the contest,
for I’ve known you longest,
and I get your voicemails for free.
- @thefauxgourmet

Self-Deprecating and Self-Referential Poetry on Poetry

Some of you were stuck for rhymes:

‘pon eating a huge Baked Alaska,
My girl said she’d dance if I asked her.
Her moves were so fine,
I said “Do be mine!”
What the frak rhymes: Madagascar.
- @RichardBuckle

Of redheads I have to opine,
A particular penchant of mine,
I love hair that’s ginger,
Especially when oranger,
Oh bugger, I’ve run out of rhymes.
- @treelobsters

There once was a hipster in Homer
Who turned out to be quite a world-roamer
She drove everywhere
And sang for her fare
And I can’t come up with another rhyme for Homer. But she could, she’s really clever at lyrics and stuff.
- @edrafalko

Flattery will get you everywhere, Ed.

A limerick for Marian Call?
But I’m no good with poems at all!
The words come out wrong,
they’re usually too long
and in the end they don’t even rhyme. Damn…
- @Fengschwing

Every once upon a long time
I attempt to compose a nice rhyme.
But I’m rather afraid
That I’ll never be paid
And I’ll end up becoming a mime.
- Shoshana Bailar (e-mail submission)

Mimes aren’t paid so well either, Shoshana, you might want a Plan C…

A complaint I must bring to our host.
At another time, this I would toast!
For the hour is quite late,
to add this to my plate.
Bad timing, you have, for the east coast.
- @jbrodman

Thank you Yankee Yoda. And a complaint about the PG-13 restriction:

There once was a man from a land
Which sounds like a masculine gland
Sure you know what I mean
But to stay PG-13
Requires this punchline be bland
- @dunemuaddib

Finally, commentary on Twitter limitations, for those of you who didn’t know you could submit via Facebook or my blog:

A Limerick contest is fun,
but twitter’s a son of a gun.
I had an idea,
but it’s painfully clear,
I’m going to run out of charac
-@monkeysailor

A Twitter limerick
Is quite a nifty trick
You have to cut
The lines all short
To get them all to fit
- @omir55

Limericks are fine
But Haiku is much better
To write on Twitter
- @arwenanang

A SPECIAL MENTION FOR BEST PRESENTATION: @ALASKAROBOTICS
and a terrific limerick too, on my very favorite topic:

A woman so eager and pure
I went like a fish at the lure
We shouldn’t have kissed
But I couldn’t resist
Special Hell awaits me for sure
- @alaskarobotics

(You MUST see the image at http://akrobotics.com/2011/04/27/saffron-limerick/. Also, all his other comics which I am now reading with gusto.)

AND THE WINNER IS!!!

For good scansion, rhymes, a clever line wrap, humor, and topical pertinence:

I thought Marian’s lovely young tone
Would sound perfect upon my cell phone.
My wife gave me a wallop
After hearing “some trollop”
Leave a message. Now I sleep alone.

- Jonathan Strickland (blog submission)

So sorry, Jonathan, but you will be sleeping alone. Although I can sing uglier if you like — the karaoke song, perhaps, wouldn’t put your wife off so much? E-mail me to claim your prize, mariancall*at*mac.com!

Thank you all SO MUCH for entering. You are fantastic and I want to give you guys every fun and good thing. Thank you for the community and the fun!

Today and tomorrow I am calling folks who bought singing voicemails from me in my fundraiser for my new album Something Fierce, and I was a tiny bit sad because not every fan who desired a voicemail got one.  I wanted to give more one away for free just for fun, but didn’t want to devalue the messages folks already paid for.

Then @joethepeacock swooped to the rescue and generously purchased one more voicemail to be awarded to the lucky winner of this contest!  Rules as follows:

• Submit a limerick (or as many as you like) to me via Twitter, Facebook, or e-mail (mariancall*at*mac.com)!!
• Material should be PG-13 please as I’m going to post it on my blog!!
• It doesn’t necessarily have to be about me, it can be about anything that might amuse us all!!
• I’ll pick a favorite with no guarantees of impartiality or fairness, and the creator will win a voicemail from me!!
• Several non-winners will be posted on my blog for fun!!
• Contest begins now and ends whenever I wake up tomorrow, likely to be about 10am AKDT!!

The Voicemail portion of my annual fundraiser is of course inspired by the radio show Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me! in which contestants play for Carl Kasell’s voice on their home answering machine.  Which is pretty much one of my favorite prizes I ever heard of.  So in addition to winning a voicemail, the winner gets the fun of being announced as winner on Twitter by @PeterSagal.  (If this means nothing to you, well, you should listen to the radio more often, because then you’d know how frakking awesome that is.)

Why limericks? Because I love to rhyme and scansion is my life.  Points for working with/against the form.

Go!

Marian