By Rob Smittix.
RRX: You recently did some songwriting courses with Richard Thompson. That’s interesting because you obviously are a renowned songwriter, and to learn from someone who’s been doing it for so long is amazing.
MG: I really love working with songwriters and helping them to have confidence in their own voice, to take some risks, to be vulnerable, to be brave, to put it out there and see what happens. It’s one of my great joys to work with adult songwriters who’ve always had the call to do it but have kinda toggled back and forth between actually doing it and just wanting to do it. I’m super excited to have been invited by Richard to be a part of his songwriting camp this year.
RRX: That’s amazing. I’m a songwriter myself, but I’m always down to get some tips. I think one of the things I see nowadays is (and I think you mentioned it before about) … having your voice. I think there’s a lot of very talented musicians, a lot of people that have a lot of great voices. But I still think sometimes, especially with upcoming artists, they’re afraid to say what they really need to say. You know what I mean?
MG: I totally know what you mean, and that’s where I come in. When I say voice, I don’t mean singing voice. I mean writer’s voice. How do you sound like you? How do I sit down and write a song that sounds like a Mary Gauthier song? I’ve learned over the years how to teach that … not how to sound like a Mary Gauthier song but how to sound like yourself. It almost always involves taking a risk and saying something that’s a little scary to say and saying something that really matters to you. Putting some skin in the game, that’s gonna do it. Like you said, there’s a risk to that because we live in a cancel culture. We live in a world where people’s comments are immediate, knee-jerk, and often unkind, and so it’s scary. But the rewards outweigh the risks. There’s a service element to it. I think it’s a very valuable and useful thing to do the thing that’s hard.
RRX: That’s right, and you know what? You can’t satisfy everyone, but being true to yourself certainly is a satisfaction in itself.
MG: Yeah, the only person that needs to be proud of your song is you.
RRX: That’s right. Now you’ve been doing it obviously a long time, but how long has it actually been? Like when did you really get started and start performing and everything?
MG: I’d say 1995, 1996, something like that, which for most artists comparatively, I got started pretty late. I started writing songs when I was 35. I had been in the restaurant business prior to that. I went to chef school. I was in the culinary arts and loved it, but then I became really passionate about songwriting, and the culinary arts just didn’t compare for me. I liked being on stage with the song, telling the story more than I liked being in the kitchen cooking jambalaya. And so I enjoyed the transition around my mid-30s and came to Nashville when I was 40 to do this full-time, full-on.
RRX: So you’re right, you actually did get kind of a late start, but it seemed to work out for you, and I’m sure in your own kitchen, you’re probably still a mean chef.
MG: Well, honestly, kinda, but you know? I don’t have the time, I’m not home enough, and I don’t have the ingredients. I mean, I’m home for a week here, and I’ll do one good dinner, but I’m not the maestro I used to be in the kitchen because I got rusty. You gotta do it to keep it alive, and I’m better at booking flights, hotels, rental cars, getting on the highway, playing and singing songs than I am cooking these days, for sure.
RRX: Well, that’s a whole lifestyle right there. I’ve made this joke many times, but when anyone ever becomes Grammy nominated or a Grammy winner, that becomes your first name in everybody’s article. Never in mine, though, but Grammy-nominated is something that they’ve described you as for how long?
MG: 2018, and it’s an honor, you know? I think there is a legitimacy that comes with being Grammy-nominated because you’re voted on by your peers. That is something that has great value to nominees. Once you reach a stage of fame with household nameness, the Grammys don’t really matter so much anymore because you’ve already been legitimized, but in the smaller categories it’s huge. I would call it an energetic boost. The smaller categories aren’t on TV, and you don’t get to perform. It’s like two award shows; there’s one during the day, and there’s one on TV. I was in the category for best contemporary folk record of the year. So it’s the smaller category, not on TV, but it was a wild ride and man, I enjoyed it!
RRX: Absolutely, I know several musicians with the same deal, nominated for a category that wouldn’t be on TV. I’m over here thinking … these are the categories I’d actually wanna see because I’m not into the mainstream.
MG: Honestly, I’m not either. I like the outsider art, the stuff that’s not fundamentally commercial in nature but is fundamentally art. To me, that means it says something that creates an emotional connection with the listener that oftentimes can even be disturbing, but useful in a way that has deep value. That’s what art is, and commerce is different. Commerce is all about units sold. If I had a choice between a commercial restaurant, let’s say – McDonald’s, Burger King, Wendy’s, KFC – or a restaurant that’s owned by a human being in the kitchen who’s cooking and making sure the plates come out beautiful, and there’s love in the hand that made the food; that’s where I’m going.
RRX: I couldn’t agree more; I’m the same way. Well, again, I appreciate you taking the time with me. Was there anything else that you’d like to say to people, to the world, or anything that you just want to get off your chest?
MG: Gosh … no, not really, other than there’s artists out there just a little below the radar who are doing great work and bringing hope to audiences right now in this time of struggle, and that hope can come in a variety of forms, but it comes from being connected. And those connections that happen through art are really valuable always, but right now they’re intrinsically important because we’re so disconnected.
RRX: Well, couldn’t have said any better. Mary, it’s been a pleasure talking to you.
MG: Thanks for having me on.
