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A Little Help, Please: The Something Fierce Pseudo-Scholarship Fund
Posted by on December 9, 2011
So I made this new double album and it rocks.  I am totally proud of it. You can be listening to it for free while you read the rest of this blog by the way, just click here and hit play. (Obligatory artist marketing message: you should buy some copies of my album for the holidays, by the way, or for future all-purpose gifts, or for yourself!  At CDBaby.com you get 30% off if you get more than one;… (read more)
Geek Girl Con! And why it matters to me.
Posted by on October 6, 2011
I never would have called myself a geek as a kid.  I was just a girl who spent every waking hour reading and exploring computers and drawing and learning and buried deep in the land of imagination.  I was just a girl who spent every recess in the library or the counselor’s office, who was socially awkward around people, who fantasized about being a robot or an alien to explain my differences from… (read more)
Something Fierce is here!
Posted by on October 1, 2011
IT’S HERE IT’S HERE! Batten your hatches.  This is simple.  I’ll try to use small words. Listen to the album for free:  http://mariancall.com or http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce Buy the CD cuz if you buy the CD you get a complimentary immediate digital download: http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce Buy just the digital:  http://mariancall.bandcamp.com/album/something-fierce… (read more)
Something Fierce this way comes
Posted by on September 3, 2011
IT’S HERE IT’S HERE IT’S HERE!  AFTER TWO AND A HALF YEARS SOMETHING FIERCE IS HERE! I’ve been yelling about this a lot so I’ll try to calm down, quit spinning, and give you all the details.  And I’ll briefly stop saying thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.  (Though I can never ever be grateful enough for your patience and support.  I’m gonna make like an NPR station… (read more)
Bay Area Conquest 2011!
Posted by on August 24, 2011
Watch out Bay Area, here I come!!!  It will be a bit of a whirlwind, so brace yourselves.  No matter what part of the bay you live in, I’m doing my best to get to you! And people: if you’ve never been to a house concert, you really must try it.  I find folks are reluctant to RSVP and go to a stranger’s house, but here’s the thing — they’re a GREAT experience.  You’ll never forget… (read more)
In Which I Officially Cover They Might Be Giants
Posted by on August 23, 2011
THERE IS NEW MUSIC FROM ME!  TODAY! Here I am on a record called Mink Car Cover and it’s now on sale! http://minkcarcover.bandcamp.com/album/mink-car-cover If you are a fan of They Might Be Giants I hope you know their great album Mink Car.  It’s canon for me and my family.  I was thrilled to be invited to record a cover of the song “Hovering Sombrero” (with extra accordion) for this officially… (read more)
Thinkgeek concert nerdy details! Nerds.
Posted by on June 24, 2011
Hey Geeks!  I am live streaming a concert tonight!  Provided we get the audio sounding good!  Which we hope and think it will!  Yay last-second trips to radio shack.  Make humble sacrifices to the tech spirits; I am. Here are all the details of how stuff works!!! Watch the live stream at http://www.ustream.tv/channel/marian-call-live-from-thinkgeek-hq starting a little after 7pm EDT. Want an… (read more)
One Song Left.
Posted by on June 18, 2011
It’s 3am, I have a headache from HTML and ProTools, and I leave on a jet plane Sunday to start my traveling again (DC!  NYC!  Philly!  Cambridge!  Look Lively!).  Glory Moses I’m tired.  Feels like I just got done with the last tour, even though I’ve mostly been home for six months. But I’m thankful.  I’m sitting here thinking how much a collection of friends and strangers online… (read more)
Limerick Mania! In which you are All Terribly Clever
Posted by on May 2, 2011
I asked you all for limericks, and wow, was I inundated! About a third are featured here, though I read and loved every single one. Even the ones that weren’t quite limericks. As I suspected, the topics divided themselves neatly into the same material that seems to fill my Twitter and Facebook feeds most of the time. Enjoy, these are fantastically fun: on Sci-Fi and Space When Marian one night dreamt/… (read more)
Limerick Contest!!!
Posted by on April 27, 2011
Impulses are fun! Today and tomorrow I am calling folks who bought singing voicemails from me in my fundraiser for my new album Something Fierce, and I was a tiny bit sad because not every fan who desired a voicemail got one.  I wanted to give more one away for free just for fun, but didn’t want to devalue the messages folks already paid for. Then @joethepeacock swooped to the rescue and generously… (read more)
Fundraiser 2011: Releasing Something Fierce!
Posted by on April 12, 2011
As of about 3am yesterday morning, I’ve finished one of two discs of Something Fierce, the new album that’s been in production for over a year and a half now.  Still more work to go, but I’m racing to the finish and want to release it VERY SOON. When, you ask?  I’m so, so afraid that if I name a date before I have a master, I’ll jinx it.  But VERY SOON.  I’m planning so hard. That… (read more)
Special Shows: all about community
Posted by on April 6, 2011
There are some special-enough shows coming up that they deserve more than 140 characters.  Because I’m sensing a theme. First, the show details, then the important-ish things I’ve been thinking about for months: 4/14/11 Vagabond Blues in Palmer AK – Marian Call Poetry-Themed Solo Show I only have one serious solo show in Southcentral AK this month, and it’s at one of my favorite venues in… (read more)
The Hot Place: Texas
Posted by on April 5, 2011
(Photos to go along with this blog are at Flickr.com/mariancall.  Earlier blog posts linked & listed in this entry here.) For an Alaska-dweller I spend lots of time in Texas.  I have a lot of fans there, I have family there, and I must admit: I love Austin.  I know I know, loving Austin is passé and uncool already, but know what?  I don’t care.  Avocados are 5/$1, they sell hot sugared pecans… (read more)
Compiling…Compiling…Rebooting the 49>50 Blog
Posted by on January 20, 2011
Home.  I’ve been living in my own house nearly eight weeks now.   It’s still weird. I gave myself a couple weeks to recover, but guess who’s bad at vacationing?  I failed to properly relax on Oahu, and I failed again at home in Anchorage.  Meanwhile my business trundles on with or without me, and the nature of the work is very hand-to-mouth, so if I rest too long I don’t eat.  (Marian… (read more)
Just Taking Inventory
Posted by on November 30, 2010
The time has come, the Walrus said, for summaries and lists.  I have some math to do later, but for now, here’s the list of cities that partook in the 49>50 Tour: Fairbanks, Tok, Anchorage (5 shows) AK Fort St. John, Tsawwassen, Vancouver BC St. Albert (2 shows), Edmonton  AB Fargo ND Minneapolis (2), Savage, Roseville (2) MN West Bend WI Chicago IL    (3) Saugatuck, Ferndale MI Indianapolis… (read more)
Calling Cards: Road Movie to the Yukon
Posted by on November 11, 2010
I have finished playing shows in 49 states out of 50.  And I am driving back home.  Through the Yukon.  In winter.  #survivethedrive I had lofty aspirations of blogging and photoblogging this trip, but that will have to happen retroactively.  Because, the thing is, when you travel to all 50 states — you spend an awful lot of time driving.  I have been collecting notes for some badass blogging,… (read more)
New York! Boston! Dallas! Austin! Wake Up and w00t!
Posted by on October 28, 2010
It has come to our not-so-royal attention that some of you in some of these very large cities still do not have your golden tickets to the Singular Inc0mparable Bizarre Nerd Revue Spectacular known as #w00tstock. The valid excuses that come to mind are Three, and I shall name them: 1. Perhaps you fear the side effects of being in such close physical proximity to so many of the gods and demigods of… (read more)
Thinkgeek Broadcast How To’s
Posted by on October 6, 2010
Hey! Some of you have so many questions, we thought it would be easier to answer them here! First of all, I’m Marian Call, http://mariancall.com, and accompanying me tonight is the incredible inimitable Scott Barkan, http://myspace.com/scottbarkan.  We’re playing at http://thinkgeek.com’s Secret World Domination Headquarters! If you have a live, real-time question, address it to http://twitter.com/magicswordking… (read more)
Nashville and DC Concerts, or, I Owe You Guys One
Posted by on September 28, 2010
I think by the end of this insane 50 states tour I will have to rename it (or at least subtitle it) The Kindness of Strangers tour.  It’s insane, obscene, overwhelming how the small nice things a thousand people do add up.  Next time you’re discouraged about something, just call me and I’ll tell you that there are still good things about humanity, even good things about America, and potential… (read more)
A Critically Important Announcement and a Special Event
Posted by on August 29, 2010
I think most of us know (or remember) how it feels to be a little low on funds. But it’s much worse to be a little low on funds when other people rely on you. I’m doing an event in two days that means a lot to me, even though it’s only one of many stops on this crazy 50-state tour, for an organization that needs a little support right now. In Biloxi, Mississippi, on Tuesday night, I’m playing… (read more)
Places I Meant to Never Go: IL, MI, IN, IA, MO, KS, OK
Posted by on June 21, 2010
I know I’ve split an infinitive, but in that secret corner of my brain where un-funny things are funny it’s a Star Trek reference. I HAVE AN IDEA.  I don’t want to forget all the amazing things happening on this trip, but I can’t blog about everything either.  In fact, having ambitions too lofty for my blogs has prevented me from writing them at all, and then I have to lump several states… (read more)
So. Big news. w00t w00t w00t!
Posted by on June 20, 2010
Some of my following are geeks, and some are not.  But I hope that all of you will rejoice in this frabjous news: If you don’t know what w00t means, it’s the sound a Geek makes when it’s happy about something.  Or when you squeeze it.  If you don’t know what w00tstock is, here’s a bit of a primer.  And here are details on MY w00tstock, edition 2.4, including ticket info.  It will be… (read more)
YMMV*
Posted by on June 15, 2010
Asked of me tonight on http://formspring.me/mariancall: How many miles have you covered so far? How many meters? How many cubits? [I run to check car repair paperwork from my #frakagasket incident [in which my car's headgasket went, along with a number of other things, days before this trip began]…] Miles driven since #frakagasket repair in Anchorage: 7,581 That’s in exactly 4 weeks — well,… (read more)
Uncharted Territory: ND, MN, WI
Posted by on June 12, 2010
This blog entry goes with the photoblog taking shape over at http://flickr.com/mariancall. The photos are less great photos, more a way to tell the story, which is in the captions.  The experience I’m referring to in this blog entry is chronicled in this photoset. Of everywhere I visited in the upper Midwest, Fargo was the only place in the middle of the country I’d ever really been (except for… (read more)
Lost
Posted by on June 6, 2010
The most significant accolade I earned at Stanford was a shiny certificate that declared me “MOST LIKELY TO BE LOCKED OUT” my freshman year. Twenty-two times or more, if I recall. My friends earned Phi Beta Kappa and Fulbrights, and I misplaced my bike seat. Losing things is a gift of mine. An art, really. In fact, the day before I rolled out on this monstrosity of a tour, I managed to lock myself… (read more)
From Fairfield, IA
Posted by on June 3, 2010
I love house concerts. Last night I played on a deck in a backyard in rural-ish Iowa, surrounded by fields, frogs, birds, and fireflies. It was a rapt audience and a magical night with an amazing sky of stars overhead. After the show we stood about the living room and sang Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell and Greg Brown songs. My 16-year-old concert host, @hawthornegalen, played a bluegrass tune he’d… (read more)
49>50: the Unobserved Life is Busy
Posted by on June 2, 2010
Currently in state #5.  And Canada — you are so very large. 6 days x 10-14 hours of driving = Anchorage to Fargo. Nearly everyone I know says they like travel.  But I find that once I’m on the open road with them, or in a stuffy airplane with them, or trolling around some strange downtown with them, 85% of those travel-lovers really mean something different: they mean they like the idea of travel… (read more)
Annual Spring Fundraiser, or, I Got Your Number Baby
Posted by on April 29, 2010
Let’s talk, darling.  As in — let me call you up and leave you a custom voicemail, including any snippet of any song I’ve ever released, on your phone.  If I catch you in person, let’s chat for a couple minutes!  A singing telegram from Alaska.  This is my idea of a client meeting.  I’ll sing for you over the phone. Announcing the Marian Call 3rd Annual Tour Fundraiser Extravaganza… (read more)
Instructions in Excruciating Detail: Booking Shows Near You, or, Fan Power!
Posted by on March 28, 2010
This blog entry is your complete guide and FAQ to making a Marian Call concert happen in your area on the 49 to 50 tour.  Odds are I sent you here so we can make a show happen!  Below you can find links for the forms you’ll fill out and answers to a number of questions.  Please read the applicable sections before requesting a concert. There are two kinds of shows: House Concerts and Venue Concerts. … (read more)
Coming Soon to a Backyard Near You: the 50 States Tour. 49>50
Posted by on March 26, 2010
Somebody stop me.  I’m about to do something nutty again. Of course, nutty can be good. Like a rich deep brown locally brewed ale on tap. …..What were we talking about? Right. When I release my new album Something Fierce, I’m going on a very long driving tour of the U.S. and Canada, as musicians are wont to do.  And on this tour I shall attempt to play a show in each of the fifty United States… (read more)
Mortality's a Sticky Wicket
Posted by on October 16, 2009
Resolutions Marian makes when reminded of her own finite lifespan: Wear skirts more often Send thank you notes Cook stuff from scratch and eat it with red wine Spend all my time with friends who are easy to be with Call my Mom Write some less silly, peppy, juvenile songs, for goodness sake Forget about Inbox Zero Do something about health care reform If its pretty outdoors, go outdoors, immediately… (read more)
Two Poems for Autumn
Posted by on September 7, 2009
Here are a couple old poems that want to have a permanent home here.  Plus I miss having time to write at you guys!  Im working for The Lion King and planning for some recording this winter.  Fingers crossed that the money, the time, and my sanity align. I have had poetry on the brain this month; Ive gone to several readings and shared a concert with Anchorage poet Keith Liles, which was… (read more)
20,000 Mile Playlist
Posted by on July 12, 2009
I used to be not-a-great-driver, hiding in the ranks of those humble, honest few who rate themselves below average behind the wheel.  A Facebook quiz would show my driving style to be cowardly space cadet, because frankly, cars scare me.  All of them.* Not any more. Last year I drove more than three hours solo for the first time ever, from Seattle to Portland (with traffic of course). I stopped… (read more)
The Slow Tour of 2008-2009
Posted by on June 2, 2009
My poor blog is looking so neglected that I am putting off more urgent work for a quick entry thats been percolating in my head. Not sure if its finished yet, but half-baked cookies taste better, so heres a half-baked blog entry. Its dawned on me over the last nine months (**nine!**) of traveling and playing that this is not a normal tour.  By normal I expect I mean what a booking agent… (read more)
Marian Offers You More Than Ever Before
Posted by on March 25, 2009
To finish off my 6-month western U.S. tour successfully, and to help compensate for some unexpected very hard times, and because so many of you asked how you could help: heres the game plan.  I asked you what you wanted, and you told me, so here it is: T-shirts, stickers, and other merch are finally in the pipeline.  There will be some terrifically funny ones  in fact, folks at the new (&… (read more)
The wild blog migration
Posted by on March 10, 2009
My official blog is moving here from http://xanga.com/mariancall. Ive posted about ten relevant and recent entries from the other blog, just for fun, but previous posts can still be found at the original xanga site. Thanks all!  Questions or comments, just let me know here, or via e-mail or Twitter.  See you on the road! (read more)
Welcome to LA! No, you can't park here
Posted by on March 10, 2009
[This is a re-post of portions of an older blog from http://xanga.com/mariancall.] I think a brief reintroduction is in order, since so many good people  the sort with fabulous taste in wall decor and cool sunglasses  have been dropping by my messy virtual pad lately. Im trying to use fewer words to say more, so Twitter is my medium of choice lately.   Brevity is the soul of twit, as @brentspiner… (read more)
Jan 09 ' I'm #1! At least somebody thinks so'
Posted by on March 10, 2009
I am top of somebodys list! O frabjous day! Wildys World, a blog that reviews 600+ indie releases per year, decided that Vanilla merited the #1 slot for 2008. Im more than a little flabbergasted. Heres his original review and heres the entry he posted today to finish his top 40 countdown. I really, really needed this encouragement right now. Things are looking very good for the New Year. Joy!… (read more)
Nov 08 ' New Album!!!!1!!!! Special Project for Geeks Like Me
Posted by on March 10, 2009
I HAVE A NEW ALBUM! And its a very special one, for a group of very special fans who have fed and housed me and given me many, many stickers, T-shirts, and lanyards, and even my treasured rain stick.  But everyones invited to enjoy it, because its non-exclusive.  Its just a little geeky is all. Details about the album are at QuantumMechanix.com, because Quantum Mechanix and Black Market… (read more)
October 08 ' Final Song of the Month
Posted by on March 10, 2009
[This is a repost of an older blog from http://xanga.com/mariancall.] This is a one-topic blog so that I can link to it.  There, youve been warned. (But Marian, shouldnt all your blogs have been that way?) (thpppppbt.) Its already been a year since I released my first hastily-recorded, oddly-mixed Song of the Month.  Here is recording number twelve, the very last song in this project. … (read more)