Marlowe Grey is an alternative band based in Brooklyn, known for passionate vocal expression, sensitive soundscapes, and meticulous songwriting. They’ve just released “Sugar Plum Fairy,” a preview track from their EP, Midnight in Brooklyn, which will be released this fall. The band will be following the EP with an LP in the next year.
Recently Pietro took the time to answer Wanda Waterman’s questions about movies, creative inspiration, and the production of their upcoming full-lenth album. (See Part I of this interview here and Part II here.)
If your band’s life were a movie, what kinds of scenes would fill it?
We aim to be imaginative sonically, coloring with our sound the way Waking Life (by Linklater) colors and animates with its imagery. Chinatown by Roman Polanski, shot in the early 70’s, always reminds us to take our time, be classic, and pay homage to the great creativity of that period.
Life moves so fast now. To think there were no cell phones when I was a kid, and no internet, is weird and incomprehensible.
I also love movies that bring truth and awareness to the foreground, like All The President’s Men. Speaking up and daring to talk about stuff that’s hard to talk about?that’s what that movie is about.
In a world of what seems like endless music, where it’s challenging to even be heard, I realize it’s not about being heard, but being consistent and honest about what you’re trying to share.
What conditions do you require in your life in order to go on being creative?
Like I said earlier, we make this up as we go. We have a five-year plan, a 10-year plan, and so on. But I try to remember that I’ve never been here in this moment before, so there’s always going to be something I’m dealing with that’s threatening to distract me from being here now and now and now. So, I guess the short answer is to remember to be as present as possible.
What do you feed your muse?
I live as much of a full life as I can. I try to do everything I want to do, all the while knowing it’s impossible to do everything with the short amount of time we have on this planet. It’s obvious that we can’t take anything with us when we go, so experience feeds me, which of course transfers naturally into our music.
Are there any books, films, or albums that have deeply influenced your development as an artist?
I love dark shit, so I could list a million things; however I’ll spare you. I view myself as inherently cynical and can go to that dark place really fast and easy, yet, as an adult, I now realize how one-sided and boring that is, especially if it’s all the time. I gravitate to art that’s sad and dark and serious but with some hope or light in it somewhere. For example, I have no proof of an afterlife, yet I hope there is one. I want to sit and talk with my dad again.
If you had an artistic mission statement, what would it be?
We are here to have fun, kick ass, drink beer, be aware, speak up about what we stand for, and to remember that everyone has their own view that should be respected.
Tell us about your current and upcoming projects.
We’re finishing our next full-length, The Vanessa Bell, which is coming out next spring. We have a handful of videos on the way and some shows this fall and winter in NYC. Next year we might just tour a bit and play a few festivals. We are working, working, working . . . Too many songs to record!
Wanda also writes the blog The Mindful Bard:The Care and Feeding of the Creative Self.