Mark Rogers and Mary Byrne Interview
Mark Rogers and Mary Byrne Interview for Wicked Spins Radio
Husband and wife duo Mark Rogers and Mary Byrne have just released their debut album I Line My Days Along Your Weight on Important Records. Their music is rich and wonderful and they use a wide range of instruments within their music. Wicked Spins Radio caught up with Mark and Mary and here is how it went.
WSR – Thank you for giving Wicked Spins Radio this interview, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourselves?
Mark & Mary – We’re a duo based in Brooklyn, NY, and we just released our debut album on Important Records, I Line My Days Along Your Weight. We’re a married couple and have been a musical project for about 2 years. We just completed a U.S. album release tour and are getting ready to hit the road again in spring 2015.
WSR – For I Line My Days Along Your Weight you used a range of archaic instruments, why did you decide to use these instruments and what instruments did you use?
Mark & Mary – The instruments on the album are tricone resonator guitars, baritone and standard-tuned acoustic guitars, mandolin, lap steel, some electric guitar and piano. We chose these particular instruments because we loved how they sounded on their own as well as woven into the fabric of the music.
WSR – Are there any truly obscure instruments that you know how to play?
Mark & Mary – We live in Brooklyn; it seems that no instrument is truly obscure anymore. You meet a musician who has something up their sleeve and you soon realize that your clawhammer banjo or your vintage Casio keyboard is…meh. (Mark) Once upon a time, people confused a lap steel with a pedal steel. Those days are long gone. That said, I play two metal-bodied tricone resonator guitars with slides I made myself. People at shows often ask me what they are and what they’re made out of. The design for resos has been around since the 1920s and heard on countless recordings. Maybe steel bodied guitars are considered obscure? They’re certainly unique.
WSR – What was it like playing a hundred year old mandolin, did you feel any euphoria and was the sound an element of your feelings?
Mark – It was Mary’s father’s instrument and he gave it to us when we got married. There is not a time that I am not charmed by that mandolin. The notes are sweet and full; they blossom and there is always a satisfying “thwomp” to lower registers. It is not a bluegrass cannon; it is a sweet-voiced folk instrument. There is a story that Neil Young says things like “this one has a lot of songs in it” when he gets a new guitar. I feel that way about this mandolin; it always inspires and I’m looking forward to what it has to offer our music.
WSR – What are the advantages and disadvantages of making music together being husband and wife?
Mary: There are so many advantages I couldn’t name them all. Having the common purpose, sharing the same level of care, collaborating closely. I can’t come up with disadvantages.
WSR – To me music comes from the heart, what are your views on all these reality TV shows like America’s Got Talent?
Mary: I’m not too familiar with these shows. But it doesn’t seem surprising that they’d be popular, because the drama, suspense, and backstories all likely make very good TV. I can’t imagine how these shows could possibly encourage creative risk and innovation. But good ratings, not risk or innovation, is probably these shows’ goal anyway.
WSR – You have toured recently, one thing that artists miss when they tour is their partner. Being husband and wife that is something you won’t feel. But what is the one thing you miss from home when you are on tour?
Mark: Sleeping in your own bed. Shopping at your favorite bodega. Real bagels. The energy, pace and sheer size of New York City.
Mary: Being able to walk everywhere — and taking the subway when you can’t. Cooking on your own stovetop.
WSR – What is the meaning in the title of I Line My Days Along Your Weight?
Mary: I hesitate to assign meaning to something that likely resonates differently with different people. But it has always struck me as one way to express “I am with you,” perhaps a more precise way.
WSR – Clare sometimes joins you, what is it that makes Clare the perfect accompaniment on the same bill as you?
Mary: On our fall tour, we played two shows with my sister Clare Byrne, a Vermont-based folksinger and songwriter. Her music is evocative, rich, and poetic. It was a joy to share a bill with her!
WSR – What message is contained in the artwork of I Line My Days Along Your Weight?
Mark – The artwork of the album came from a number of sources. The front cover is by Natalie Fragola of Obra Obscura (www.obraobscura.com). I’ve heard people say what they think it looks like, but much like Mary’s comments above, it is difficult to attach a message to the cover art. We chose it because it struck us as elemental and stark, both of which remind us of the music we create. I see the cover art as a Rorschach test: open to interpretation but never really a wrong answer.
WSR – One of my pet hates about modern society is the use of text speak in everyday language, do you have any pet hates about society of today?
Mark: Honestly this does not happen very often to us so I can’t quite elevate it to the level of pet hate. But I think anyone who is checking their smartphone during a performance is selling themselves and the performers short.
WSR – The most magical moment of my life is when I first kissed my girlfriend, it was the mixture of emotion and feeling that made it the greatest moment of my life. What has been the most magical or memorable moment of your life?
Mary: As a musician, magical moments happen pretty frequently, and all the more so in such a close collaboration. When things are really working well onstage — where we’re listening and responding to each other, we and the audience are in an intimate space together, and the sound is just right — that feels magical to me.
WSR – Making a living as a musician is sometimes near impossible, so much that most musicians have day jobs. Do you have day jobs and if so what do you do?
Mary: Our project together is front and center in the schedule, but I do freelance copy-editing and proofreading work on the side.
Mark: I teach one-on-one music lessons on anything with strings: guitar, mandolin, banjo, lap steel, you name it.
WSR – Where I live it takes me four and a half minutes walk to get to the beach and the sea, so what is the best thing about living where you live?
Mary: New York is never in the least bit boring — and often offers up more for the senses than can be processed. And living in a place with so many other artists is a constant inspiration and challenge to work hard and make good work.
Mark: Everyone is here. They’re hungry and as passionate about what they do as you are. That pushes an artist to do the best work they can. I’ve been challenged and I’ve had my disappointments as a working musician in New York City. It’s been said that if you fall down, New York picks you back up. That’s not been my experience; my experience, however, is that if you pick yourself back up, New York rewards you in some small way. Sometimes the enormity and the anonymity is comforting; there are just so many people doing their thing. You make a contribution and people recognize you for just showing up and doing your best.
WSR – Thank you so much for giving Wicked Spins Radio this interview, is there anything you would like to add?
Thanks to Wicked Spins for being the first in England to interview us!
http://www.markrogersandmarybyrne.com/
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