Martha Wainwright

Martha Wainwright

FAMILY TIES
Martha Wainwright Answers to Her Musical Lineage
Bearing the name Wainwright has been a double-edged sword for Martha, who makes her album debut at age 28. On one hand, being the sister of Rufus and the child of Loudon and fellow folk singer Kate McGarrigle gives Martha something of a built-in interest factor. On the other, it sets up expectations that might be a little unfair, given the fact that her dad and brother, in particular, have such -- shall we say -- unique perspectives on life, making them anything but ideal role models. Well, on Martha Wainwright, the clan's newest musical entry manages to stake out her own territory in a manner every bit as singular, tossing around salty language and vulnerable tales with equal élan -- and driving both home with a voice that's a little bit loopy, a little bit earthy, and a whole lotta sensual. She gets some help from her big brother -- he adds his voice to the eerie "Maker" -- but for the most part, she's flying solo, a journey she explains to Barnes & Noble.com's David Sprague.

Barnes & Noble.com: Which came first for you, singing or songwriting?

Martha Wainwright: I sang as a kid with my family, and also singing along to the radio or to old musicals. When I was five or six, I realized I could hold a tune and we would sing during the summer at folk festivals with Kate & Anna, my mom and my aunt. Songwriting is something I approached later when I saw my brother getting a lot of attention for it. [laughs]

B&N.com: Did you feel like it was inevitable for you to go into doing this full time?

MW: I liked the stage and I liked the attention and I liked to sing. I've always wanted to have people to notice my singing, and I was always trying to elbow my way into the spotlight in a way. There's part of you that wants feedback, but when you're young and it's, say, your mom, it was also like, Screw you, leave me alone, I'm gonna do it my way.

B&N.com: Is it a loving competition with Rufus?

MW: We always beat the sh-t out of each other when we were kids, but it's been loving since then. I'd call it a healthy rivalry. I think by being as good as he is, Rufus really made me work harder to figure out what I wanted to do and made me spend that extra time working on things. Having members of my family have such a high bar in terms of quality of music made me conscious and aware of doing the best I could do.

B&N.com: Do you still have notebooks of the first songs you wrote?

MW: Oh, I still play the first songs I wrote. I only started writing when I was 18 or 19, not 12 or 13, so the first song I wrote was pretty well crafted, even if it only had three or four chords in it. I also made sure I could play a little bit so that I could accompany myself on guitar, but I think the first songs I wrote were just as good as the ones I'm writing now -- maybe a little simpler, but that has its benefits, too.

B&N.com: Does the guitar help with your confidence onstage?

MW: The guitar is actually necessary, because the band has to follow me, and the structures of the songs are kind of complicated. I'll play them in different tempos and I want them to be able to follow me. I don't want to fall into the trap of having to follow the band.

B&N.com: Some of the songs on the album are very earthy and some are just the opposite, very ethereal. Do you feel like you gravitate toward one or the other?

MW: I like to think that I'm a person who has the ability to be both. I think that's my personality -- sometimes I'm very down-to-earth and sometimes I'm really flighty. Rather than be in the middle, I like to go back and forth between the extremes. On the album, there are songs that are very direct, like "B.M.F.A.," and songs like "Far Away" or "These Flowers," which are more behind a scrim of imagery.

B&N.com: "B.M.F.A." has quite a kick to it.

MW: You know who that's about, don't you? That's about Loudon. I mean, it's about everyone's dad -- the person when you're young who questions your worth, asks what are you really doing with your life. It's about that person in authority who doesn't have faith in what you're doing.

B&N.com: Do you think it would have been different if you were a boy?

MW: Totally. I think when you stand up there with a guitar, it's a very male world, especially because I try not to play the female card. I'm not trying to draw on female subjects, like someone like Ani DiFranco, who goes out there and says, I am a chick with a guitar. I've always wanted to be compared to everybody and be considered a songwriter, which is difficult if you're not out there going, "I am woman, hear me roar."

B&N.com: In your mind, is there a lot of autobiography on the album?

MW: Every line is based on fact, based on something that happened to me. The only things that aren't based on fact are a couple of references to suicide, and I'm not at all suicidal. I just thought it would be an interesting topic, and really dramatic. Quite literally, every line is based on something very specific in my life.

April 2005