Published: September 13, 2010 2:04 AM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight September 2010 Edition
Margie Baker
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Margie Baker and Friends
Margie Baker is a wonderful and inspiring Jazz/Blues artist with such a powerful musical presence that music fans are going to easily gravitate towards her music. In this spotlight with the artist, she expounds on her musical journey that has led her to where she is now. Here is the entire online conversation for your reading enjoyment.
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music? Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Margie: From the day that I was able to comprehend what sound was all about, I became interested in music. I must have been about three years old, sitting at the piano in my grandpa’s living room. He was a Methodist minister and religious music was all around. I learned to play gospel music “by ear” at a very young age. However, I lost interest in learning formally to play piano.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Margie: I would say, releasing my first national album, “Live at Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society” and having it so well received and reviewed -- that was a high point that “blew my mind.” Before that, I never even thought my voice would sell CDs.
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Margie: The one and only disappointment that I have encountered in my singing career is when I found out that my “Live At Bach” was not “radio friendly.” But now I understand why. In live shows, we communicate with the audience both verbally and musically. Radio doesn’t like the verbal part. That was a learning situation.
Isaac: Interesting. I never knew that one Margie.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Margie: I am comfortable with the type of music that I do. When I sing I can be myself. I don’t have to struggle to sing in a way that doesn’t fit me.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Margie: It takes loving and enjoying that type of music. It takes singing songs that my humble talent can handle. It takes being familiar with a few technicalities such as keeping time, setting tempos, listening carefully to instrumentation, etc.
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Margie: If I were interested in standing out in the music industry, I would probably be a failure. I just want to sing songs that I love in the best way that I can so that people will enjoy them. If a natural urge comes along to make me feel, I want to write a song, then I write a song such as I did with “Dizstory,” and hope people like it.
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do only one more cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Margie: I would sing “Please Release Me’ in three-fourth time and with a gospel blues feel. I’ve never done it but I think I could.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Margie: Since I don’t consider myself a songwriter, I wouldn’t know what it takes. However, when I feel the urge, I think “lyric” or “poem” first. Then I experiment with melody which leads to harmony.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Margie: I would presume it would be challenging if you are interested in becoming a fulltime music professional. It was a bit easier for me. I had another career which paid well; a husband whose career paid well; children who were teenagers when I started singing at 35 years old, and a singing job “dropped in my lap” by the Hilton Hotel Corporation.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Margie: My definition for being an indie artist with a band is that I can sing what I want, wherever I want and terminate any gig on my terms. I love singing the blues at my ritzy hotels and I love singing country western music on jazz gigs.
Isaac: Where can fans access your music online?
Margie: My record company, Consolidated Artists Productions, sells through Jazzbeat.com and CDbaby.com.
Isaac: Where do you see yourself in five years?
Margie: Gee whiz Isaac, I’m in my seventies. I’ll leave where I’ll be up to my Lord. Thank you for the honor of being interviewed.
