MEGAN REILLY
INTERVIEW
by Jeremy Grites

I must admit I’ve wondered what made you want to come to NY (where there’s so much competition) before your first cd and, upon arriving, manage to fall in with a crowd of absolutely amazing musicians!? What great company you are in! It seems like it would have been a very intimidating prospect , was it? Do you ever miss Memphis or get sick of the northeast?
Well, I think I was too young to realize what the move really meant and it was definitely a reaction to a suffocated life in the town i had spent all my life in. It's lovely----but for me was always temporary and my sister was already living up here, which made the transition much easier. Everyone asks how i got this band!!! i try to not answer in the formulaic or dreamy response i usually give, but....i first met Steve G thru a mutual friend who was smart to suggest we play together. we played as a duo til Tim joined up, after meeting him thru Steve Shelley, who i met thru Doug Easley, who recorded my first stuff at his studio in Memphis-------then, in wishing to record, we met Tony, who has a studio in Williamsburg, who then said, "how'd you get steve goulding to play with you?! i want to, too!" they have a mad love affair----i think i have the best rhythm section that maybe ever was. And Eric ended up recording us at his studio in New City (an hour away) and put piano on it and the rest is history! and yes---i miss memphis, but some of my family is there, so i still visit.

Nearly all of those musicians return for your sophomore release (not to mention the addition of Sue Garner producing!). Do you all play together regularly or do you get together mainly when it’s time to make a record? Was there a lengthy tour for the last record and (if so) did they all go with you? Is there a tour planned for this year? How did Sue end up doing the record with you?
this band is my band. we rehearse when we prepare to play a show. but mostly i do the songwriting and we get together and figure it out. they're so good that we just don't need to rehearse a lot. it would be a blast to tour with them. obviously the more records i sell i'll afford to take them with me. at the moment i'm planning solo excursions, or as a duo. and certainly i'll get them on as many NE gigs i can. sue and i met thru emily hubley, the animator/filmmaker whom my husband has worked with. she is one of the few people i have met where we were laughing it up within five minutes of meeting. i love her. and have admired her for a long time, being a big Run On fan. i asked her to listen to some demos and she told me what she thought and i liked her input, so i asked her to be more involved. it's tricky inviting someone to "produce" b/c you're basically giving them a big responsibility. but it was the smartest decision i made. her input has everything to do with the sound of this record.

What is your process like with the band and the songs? Specifically: do you usually come to the band with finished songs and concrete ideas for what they should sound like, or is there a lot of discovery and experimenting along the way to the finished product. It sounds very cohesive, natural and live Ð just wondering if that’s how you go about it.
i have never played with people like this. where there is an unspoken, natural language of sorts. they are really good. i am not a jammer, though. it's sort of like drum circles in the park...it makes me uncomfortable! so far i have always showed up with a pretty defined idea of what the song is and then it just is catapulted to the cosmic universe!!

Who would you say are some of your big musical influences Ð both in songwriting as well as in the way you sing? Ê(past and current) I find that you can be very quiet and pretty as well as really belt it out Ð were you trained vocally? Is there anyone that you ever try to emulate? Do you find yourself being compared to any people in particular and (if so) how do you feel about that, and the comparisons made?
i'm self taught....i sang along to edie brickell and lots of soul singers when i was younger. i love gladys knight. she is beautiful. i loved the whole mazzy star vibe. psychedellic and whispery. kristen hersh is an amazing poet. love her. um.....who else?? tarnation. the raincoats. i've gotten a lot of neko case references with this record. i definitely love the torch singer thing and that's a huge compliment! but i would never take on sticking to that. i'm still figuring it all out, you know.

As I alluded to in my first question, This record seems to be very personal. Is it a personal record, or are the songs simply stories?
no, it's me. my sister says this record is reeeaaly all me. i feel like a portal. they are all affected by my thoughts and feelings about all these different things---love, sadness, death, admirations.....

What’s on your stereo right now?
bill withers

What have you read recently that you would recommend?
Anna Karenina. it's beautiful. but be prepared. i have been on pg 300 for 3 months. i keep falling asleep! i'm simultaneously reading Bird by Bird by Anne Lamont---it's a creative writing handbook of sorts.

What was the first record you can remember buying with your own money?
Led Zeppelin II. oh god. 7th grade.

What was the first concert you ever saw?
Heart with Autograph at the Mid South Colesium. I got a special leopard print shirt with black leggings. I went with my parents. my sister was in the front row she was always back stage!!! which is why my parents were there!!

That is completely awesome. Thanks so much!
thanks Jeremy! xo M

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