Melanie Doane

by Alex Teitz

Melanie Doane is an oddity in popular music and rock. Her primary instrument is the violin. Her songs are challenging and innovative. It is because of this that she was chosen JUNO winner for Best New Artist in 1999. Her 1999 Sony release Adam’s Rib  was popular in Canada, and received a limited release in the United States.

FEMMUSIC was recently able to talk to her about her music, her departure from her label, and what’s coming up next. For more information on Melanie Doane visit her website at melaniedoane.com

FEMMUSIC: Can you describe your songwriting technique?

MD: I wish I could. It varies from song to song. I do a lot of preparation work all the time. I’m always writing ideas and working on lyric ideas which I feel, sometimes, is the only thing that I can control, even though, when it comes right down to it, the lyric pops out of nowhere and has nothing to do with me anyway. I do a lot of disciplined sitting down and working. Lyrically speaking.

When it comes to the music, sometimes, and if I try to go with a method, the minimal method that I do have, I will write lyrics first and then put the lyrics to music. Although I’ve done it the opposite way where music just comes than I’m stuck trying to write lyrics to music that exists. Other times I’ve simply written it all at once which is a bonus, but it is a rarity.

FEMMUSIC: Adam’s Rib  won you the Juno. Tell me about your new material.

MD: I think I’m still in the process. Because I’m writing and recording right now I can’t even analyze what’s going on. It really takes me somewhere. I think I learned a lot of it myself with the last record and a lot of the recording process and then by touring for a whole year solid with my band, and everything, I’ve really felt like there’s nothing I can’t do. Which is a wonderful invincible feeling that will elude me at some point but it’s really empowered me to go into this process with the doors even wider opened so I feel like I can do whatever I feel like.

Those first four songs aren’t a huge departure but they’re also pushing through some walls. Got a new song that we’re going to record today that is totally new again in new musical ways. I don’t know. I think there are no limits and that’s the beauty of it.

FEMMUSIC: How did you and Rick Neigher meet?

MD: He’s an amazing friend and collaborator and just one of those people who, if you’re lucky enough to meet them in your life, you just want to hang onto it because it’s right.

We kinda met by chance. He heard a record I made previous to Adam’s Rib  and it was kind of in nowhere land and people weren’t hearing it much and I was touring and I was wondering if I was going to continue on in the music business. I knew I’d always play music but whether I’d make another record for a label, or what would happen, I had no idea.

He contacted me and said, “I heard some of your songs and I think you’re really great and I’ve heard that you might be making a new record and I’d love to be involved in some way even if we just write a song or something.” And I thought, “Who’s this crazy guy? Who’s this LA crazy calling me up?”

Eventually he was in Toronto and we met, and I thought, “He’s not crazy that’s nice. He’s actually sane.” We decided if possible, if I could swing it, I might to come LA…It was very loose…Anyway it turns out that I was able to come to LA. We met, we started to write for a couple of days and I didn’t leave for almost two weeks because it was so amazing. We just realized how much we had in common. Our musical backgrounds are very similar. We’d both gone to college and studied music, but we also loved pop music and we had a real sense of old music and new music. We just loved singing together and all these things that we just couldn’t believe and he’s a good ten years older than me. That was really cool to find this mentor sort of person. We just started to write and I basically, at that point, finished Adam’s Rib  within a month. It was an on fire situation. I can’t help but want to write with him whenever I get the chance or just record with him. So right now we’re working on some new songs and in the meantime I write on my own at home and all that. We have a special thing and it’s really fun to get together.

FEMMUSIC: Your primary instrument is the violin. What qualities does the violin offer you that other instruments don’t?

MD: It’s kind of my special weirdo thing you know because it does make me different and I like being different. I like having a twist that’s kind of off center. I think that makes things worth listening to you know. So not just the same that’s always better for me. I write a lot on guitar and piano. I function well enough on those to be able to write. I love using the violin and mandolin to …actually I just brought a really cool electric mandolin and my electric violin down here so I could do some crazy stuff on these new songs.

It’s really neat to find ways to incorporate what I do instrumentally into the songs and to make it all fit. It’s such a musical challenge. And that’s the other thing about Rick. He embraced that. He said, “Wow! It’s so cool. You’re such a good musician you should be playing a ton on this.” And I wanted to do an instrumental on the last record. I had resistance from the label on things like that for who knows why. They thought it was too weird. Rick said, “Why wouldn’t you have a ripping instrumental tune on here. You can play for God’s sake!” All of those things make it a little different and make it me.

FEMMUSIC: What can you tell me about your break with Sony?

MD: That’s right. Sony Canada was my mothership label so in some ways that’s who I have left. Although Columbia US did a polite release. A nice nod to their Northern neighbors if you will. I’m free and clear of the Canadian ties which in all ways for me is a very good thing. Although they were good a label. They stood by me in lots of ways too. Without getting into all the grief behind it all, I’m feeling very excited. The possibilities for things in America have opened up to me now. That’s always exciting because you just don’t have a chance because of some political stupid reason to have your music be heard it can be very frustrating.

FEMMUSIC: What would you like to see changed about the music industry?

MD: You know what? I don’t think it’s possible to change anything about it. At least I don’t feel so empowered at this moment that I’m even at that fantasy place. There are good things and there are bad things and I guess for me I have to think of it on a day to day basis in my own little world. I hope someday I will have some sort of influence. I get a lot of inspiration from things like Lilith Fair and someone like Sarah who made an inspired choice to do something about a problem that she felt that was not right. I think that was very cool. To come up with a positive, not kind of a bitchin’ “I hate the music business” attitude but a “Oh! What about this? This could work.” A positive, taking responsibility for your own actions kind of attitude and I really try to live that way and as far as making any kind of changes, I don’t feel that I have any kind of ability at the moment.

FEMMUSIC: As a woman in the music industry, have you been discriminated against?

MD: Oh, I’m sure I have. It comes back to the same thing. It’s something I touched on in Adam’s Rib  a lot. It’s the reality of what we’re dealing with and you either focus on the discrimination and the things that are piled up against you or you just keep going and you be better, and you get stronger and you win in the end. And that’s all you can really do. And I think that’s the positive choice because the other one will kill you.

FEMMUSIC: What advice would you give to someone just starting out?

MD: I think you have to know why you’re doing it. Ah, that’s stupid. You don’t have to know. You don’t always know at first what’s going and why you’re doing things. I think if you’re looking for approval outside yourself, you’ll always be disappointed and you’ll never be happy. No matter what happens. No matter how Grammys you win. No matter what. Even though someone hearing that won’t understand it and it won’t mean anything ’cause when I hear it I don’t understand it half the time but that is the key I think because if you’re doing it form the music and you’re doing it because you love it than you’re doing it because you have to do it. You have no choice. You have to express yourself and you have to play music that’s where I’m at and that’s what allows me to happy person.

If you’re waiting for the accolades and you’re really hoping to be in it for the money and you’re hoping to be famous then , “Why are you a musician? What does it matter about songs?” You may as well be a weather person. You have to know why you’re doing it and if your aim is true you will be happy.