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Order Carolyn Mark and Tolan McNeil's the Tour Only CD
The Sound of the Tone - Echoes From the Last Resort

Carolyn Mark vs. Carolyn Mark
I was stuck. I was sat with fingers poised over the typewriter, open mouthed staring off into space, stuck for how to start. I wanted to do a whole philosophical thing on the "nature of collaboration" or some such crapola and then tie it all up with a big bow at the end and have everyone fall in love with me upon reading my sage words. And there'd be a parade! And fireworks! And gold records on the wall and true magical love forever!
That's what I wanted.
But I was stuck.
And then The Engineer (Jameson Elliott) called over to The Mastering Guy (Phil Demetro) to offer him the gig: "Hey. Yeah. Good, good. Yeah. Got a record for you. It's NQ Arbuckle...yeah... great, great... and they're making a record with Carolyn Mark. Yeah.... oh yeah... great... super great... yeah 1/3 his songs, a 1/3 her songs and 1/3 covers*....yeah. 12 tunes. yeah. great..."

And there it was. So simple. That's how it should start. With the facts. Just the facts ma'am. So I interviewed myself and see what I had to say:

CM- Wow. You are looking good! Have you lost weight?
CM- Oh stop! You're looking pretty great yourself!

CM- Shall we order some wine?
CM- I really shouldn't before noon but go on.

CM- So you've made another record...
CM- That's not a question. How am I supposed to answer that? I hate that when they don't ask you a question but then want an answer.

CM- Calm down. I was getting there before you interrupted me
CM- Sorry. Long day.

CM- I wanted to ask who's on the record?
CM- Oh. I made this record with NQ Arbuckle from Toronto.

CM- That's not a very rock'n'roll name- NQ Arbuckle. Is that a guy or a band?
CM- It's a band. The NQ in NQ Arbuckle stands for Neville Quinlan. He's the front man. He uses an alias because by day he works in music publishing and if the music business found out that he was an actual musician, they would be unable to take him seriously. True story.

CM- Interesting.
CM- Actually you probably shouldn't put that in. It could cost him his job and he's just about to have a baby.

CM- Who else is in the band?
CM- John Dinsmore played the bass. We recorded at his studio- the Lincoln County Social Club down in Liberty Village in Toronto. Peter Kesper played all the guitars. Mark Kesper-(Yes they're TWINS(!!!) but they HATE talking about it) on drums. Jameson Elliott was our fantastic engineer- He's got such wonderful board-side manner... sigh... he's like a lady singer whisperer. And tireless. I know it's cliche but on Let's Just Stay Here he's truly the sixth member of the band.

CM- Was it mostly your tunes or Neville's tunes, or what?
CM- Both. Neville sings lead on 6 and I sing lead on 6 and I played piano and sung harmonies on his tunes and he sang on mine. We're pretty much all over one another. Musically speaking that is.

CM- How did the collaboration come about?
CM- Oh Neville and I have been friends for years and his band's so fantastic... Basically it was an excuse to hang out and make something cool- a noble scaffold upon which to hang our drinking.
Also, I wanted to make a rock record because it scares me and I figured these were the right men to be my guides. Last summer we toured around Southern Alberta and one day in the van I noticed that the skull and cross bones on my pirate ring had almost faded right away.
"That's 'cause you're riding with the good guys now", said the drummer Mark Kesper, very matter o' factly. Though it was roasting hot, I got a shiver.

CM- Rock scares you?
CM- Kind of. I thought rock was about letting go and complete release and more emotional than intellectual... It's hard for me to turn off my brain. I always think the second I do, there'll be a lynch mob of my piers saying "Excuse me but you're a fat loser. Put down that microphone and let someone cool do the job" but it turns out that you're harder on your own self that anyone else would ever think to be. My friend Rad Juli told me that the important thing was not to think "Oh I'm making a rock record" but just to rock, which was helpful. Also, it turns out that to achieve that easy breezy rock'n'roll feeling on record, it takes lots of nerdy hours in the studio getting it right. I mean, these guys made me count all the way to four every time! (nervous laughter)

CM- Do you like recording?
CM- Obviously I prefer playing live. You know, Frank Sinatra would have bleachers of people at the studio to sing to keep himself interested. It's pretty hard to keep your spirits up when you realize that the highest praise you can ever hope to earn in a day is "Actually, that wasn't bad."

CM- Would you do it again?
CM- Absolutely. Now that it's over and I'm becoming nostalgic, I think that my easy-goingness and Neville's fastidiousness are good together, like they meet at the crossroads, make a deal with each other and get down to business.

CM- What cover songs are on the album?
CM- Down Time was written by Mike McDonald. He was in a band called Jr. Gone Wild from Edmonton that inspired me to want to play music and tour. They don't exist anymore so they don't need the song as badly as I do. Ironically, I think the song's about being sick of touring and wanting to go home.
Too Sober to Sleep was written by Justin Rutledge who lives in Toronto. He's great friends with Neville and the boys. I should admit that it has the word "God" and "Catholic" in it, which makes me uncomfortable, since I was raised free-range. Everyone tells me to get over it.
Passing Dream was written by a guy named Tony Evans, who fronted one of the first bands the Kesper Twins were ever in-Growler. I think Neville added the third verse.

CM- What's the significance of the title- Let's Just Stay Here?
CM- Oh! Marvellous question! I'm glad you asked!
(Pause) I don't know.
Mostly I thought it would be funny to do a tour and call it the "Let's Just Stay Here Tour" and then it started resonating in other ways, like picking a hotel when you're tired or how with any art you could keep going and retouching forever but then when you all agree that it's done, the let's just stay here consensus, if you will (Will you?) That's the real reason but since action begets purpose, all these other meanings started popping out.

CM-Are you happy with Mint Records as a label?
CM-Very. They are amazing. I feel lucky that anyone wants to put out my records at all but I wouldn't tell them that in case it got them thinking...

CM- What, if any, is the THEME of Let's Just Stay Here?
CM- I don't know. You tell me.

CM- I was hoping you'd tell me.
CM- I was hoping you'd tell me.

CM- (sighs) Okay, moving on... how many records have you released?
CM- Party Girl, Terrible Hostess, The Pros and Cons of Collaboration, Nothing is Free, The Other Women (Corn Sisters), Tribute to the movie Nashville, Just Married-an album of duets, so I guess this makes Eight. But this will be my fifth CM record. All on Mint Records.
And I just made another record with long-time collaborator Tolan McNeil in a trailer in Powell River, BC too. It was an accident. Turns out it's twins!

CM- Interesting. Do you think you make too many records?
CM- Love isn't always on time.

CM- Describe the sound of Let's Just Stay Here.
CM- Well unlike Nothing is Free, which was all acoustic instruments recorded live in a hall, Let's Just Stay Here is a studio album. Full band. Drums, bass, electric guitar, organ, piano, stacked harmonies.
There's guitar riffs! Much more of a rock sound by my standards. According to me. Not like AC/DC rock, like Lucinda Williams/Wilco/Tom Petty rock. There's some country too. It's basically our Rumours.

CM- Can you give us some highlights? What are your favourite parts of the record?
CM- John Dinsmore plays the wine glasses on the end of "Itchy Feet" which fills me with joy. He tuned them and everything. Peter's guitar solos at the end of Itchy Feet and Canada Off/Toronto make me wanna dance around the house. It's hard to pick faves because they're like my children. I don't want anyone to feel left out. I like how Neville's and my voices fit together.

CM- What's All Time Low about?
CM- It's about being trapped in the van for 18 hours with the Po'Girls dressed as a clown on Hallowe'en headed for Death Valley. We almost all quit playing music that day but hey, I got a song out of it! (nervous laughter) And the band totally nailed the deserty spooky sounds.

CM-Itchy Feet?
CM- Just a little Bob Dylanny song wherein "the narrator" takes a ferry ride whilst questioning the notion of monogamy.

CM-Sunday Morning?
CM- Now that's a country song for sure. I listened to The Rizdales (from London, Ontario- a husband and wife band who pretty much only sing about cheating) for about a year straight in hopes of being influenced and I think it worked. Why use the word 'rip-off' when you can say 'celebrate'?

CM- 2nd Time?
CM- A little Aretha, a little The Band maybe. I always wanted a song where there's a bass and drum break and then the band kicks in with a big sing along chorus at the end. Lately, at live shows, I've noticed that this tune seems to really resonate with civil servants. The part that goes:
"They all want jobs with good pay,
benefits and percs
I'm good at doing nothing at all
and making it look like work"
actually got a 'woo!' in Ottawa!

CM- I see. What do you think Neville's songs are about?
CM- I think they're all love songs. He's a romantic. But he's not a pussy.
When we were recording, Neville and I came across this Billy Idol quote where, summing up his career, he says: "Yeah we drank a lot of beer, fucked a lot of women and had a fucking great time!"
To which Neville responded: "Yes. We drank a lot of sherry, were in a lot of long term relationships and had a lovely time." That's really so him.

CM- Any funny stories from the sesh?
CM- Well this one day we were all in our respective glass booths about to lay down a track and one of the boys (Dinsmore, maybe?) asked if we could take a break to watch Bruce Springsteen play the Super Bowl half-time show on TV. My heart kind of sank. I took off my guitar kind of dejected and thought, "Bruce Springsteen?! The Super Bowl?! But those things are for NORMAL people."
I know I shouldn't, but I tend to categorize people: Either you're a pirate or you're normal. I realize this might be kind of a defence mechanism I maybe should have outgrown by now, like if you're pretty sure you're not invited to The Main Party, you start having your own party just to prove that you don't care, but of course you do care, so when you find yourself actually invited to The Main Party, the first thing you do is get paranoid.
Anyway, we all gathered 'round Dinsmore's television and watched The Boss and he crammed a whole six hours of "TONIGHT!"(Bruce Springsteen is all about the power of "TONIGHT!", like it could happen to you and me "TONIGHT!")
He crammed six hours of "TONIGHT" into a 12 minute medley. I thought his head might explode. He turned "TONIGHT!" into "RIGHT! FUCKING! NOW!"
The Boss got so riled up that halfway through, he ended up taking out one of the main cameras with his crotch when he, in all his leather-panted glory, overshot on a knee slide.

CM- Who are you influences?
CM- Lucinda Williams, Elvira, Pee Wee Hermann, The Muppets, John Waters, Patsy Cline, Dolly Parton, The Sadies, Peggy Lee, The Rizdales, Joel Plaskett, Mary Ford, The Handsome Family, The Show Business Giants, Bobbie Gentry. I think Neville would say The Drive By Truckers, Wilco, Bruce Springsteen, The Pogues, Sparklehorse, Vic Chesnutt and Richard Buckner. Actually, I know he would because I just asked him.

CM- Do you think you succeeded in doing what you set out to do with this album?
CM- Ah how does one define success? We'll have to see. My main goal was to piss off The West by hiring a bunch of guys from Toronto!

CM- Well do keep us posted. Thanks for you time today, Carolyn. Don't be a stranger!
CM- It's been a real pleasure, Carolyn. Stay in touch!

... * Actually, I wrote 6, Neville wrote 3 and there are 3 covers.

xoox
Carolyn
October/09