In the 80’s her L.A. band, Speed Bumps was very punky. In the 90’s she was Bethie, BMG’s kids’ recording artist. Bethie sang at the White House and wrote the music for the first ever educational software for children, Knowledge Adventure’s Jump Start Toddlers and Pre-School, winning many awards including Parents’ Choice Silver and Gold.
Today she’s living in San Francisco, writing, gigging and recording. Her 6th album, Blackbird, was voted one of 2014’s best albums, by the Readers’ Poll at No Depression. Lately she’s been tapping into the wisdom of early American folk singers such as Woody Guthrie, and writing in a style she calls Modern Americana…trying to capture the ups and downs of the human condition, and reflect upon the world today.
In this interview, we dive deep into the music and career of Beth Marlin discussing her time writing kids’ music as well as her new album Railroad, now available.
Beth also provides valuable insight into how the music industry has changed over the decades and how streaming services are impacting that transformation.
Full Q&A as well as several streams from the new album can be found below.
Let’s dive a little deeper into You, the artist and your music. What attracted you to this genre(s) or style(s)?
My career has spanned a few decades and my music has crossed genres as well. I started out as folk artist, the mid-70’s living in Columbia, Missouri and then I got wooed to L.A. by A&M Records, where my band Speed Bumps was rock/punk.
Then came my kid’s music years, while I was raising two of my own, and now I’m circling back to folk/country, returning to a songwriting place that feels organic. I’m digging into the roots of American music and that feels right…for right now.
Who knows what’s next…reggae maybe? I think I’ve got a few more genre-bending years ahead of me!
You’ve released several albums and spent some time creating kids music for BMG. Can you tell us a little about that and some of the cool projects you worked on?
During my rock’n roll years in Los Angeles, from 1977-1984 my band was taken into the studio to make demos for several major labels. Those songs have just been re-mastered and will be released in album form in 2017. That will be my 8th album overall.
At the end of that time, by 1984, the music business had chopped me up and spit me out- pretty comprehensively.
The promise and then retraction of a label deal that was in negotiation was the final straw. I spent years holding down a music licensing day job, and showcasing with my band at night. We hit all the clubs including The Troubadour, Madame Wong’s, etc. I decided I was done, married the coolest guy on the planet (we’re still together after 31 years!) and had a baby. Then I had another.
In 1990 after having won the Parents’ Choice Gold Award for my first indie kids’ album, ‘Sam The Snake’ followed by the 1991 Silver Award for ‘Tied Together With Love’, I went to play at L.A.’s big music convention. I sang 2 songs and on the spot was offered record deals by Sony and BMG, both anxious to dive into the supposedly lucrative genre of childrens’ music.
I signed with BMG. I made 2 albums for them, ‘Bethie’s Really Silly Songs About Animals‘, ‘Bethie’s Really Silly Songs About Numbers’, shot a movie called ‘Bethie’s Really Silly Clubhouse’ and went touring around the country. I sang at The Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, The White House in ’94 for the Easter concert on the White House Lawn.
During that time, I worked on many other projects with my long-time partner in music, producer Jon Baker. We did the music for the first ever educational CD-ROM products for kids, Jump Start Toddlers, Jump Start Pre-School…at the time people said you would never get a child to sit at a computer and do anything!
I was hired by Disney TV as a staff writer on a live-action show called ‘Sing Me A Story’, wrote for the Olsen Twins’ videos, and Sesame Street Live, the touring arena show. My years in childrens’ music were awesome, especially since I had two of my own. What better career is there for a working mother???
Who or what influences your playing and/or writing? Also, what motivates you to keep going?
I live in San Francisco these days, totally immersed in a vibrant singer/songwriter community. Our local promoter in that genre, KC Turner, is our glue. He brings touring artists to town of a very high calibre and I am frequently inspired by their writing and performing.
Revered folk artists such as Ramblin’ Jack Elliott inspire me with their longevity and continual love for what they do. Artists such as Steve Poltz remind me to keep reaching down into that creative well. You never know what will surface. I have to thank KC for drawing me into the circle and honoring me with sweet bookings.
Motivation for me, comes from the great joy I still experience, when I sit down in my writing spot and start singing. And of course, with venues such as The Fillmore and Doc’s Lab here in SF, there is an endless supply of inspirational artists to see live!
My first and largest inspiration came from the pen of Sir Paul McCartney. When ‘Meet The Beatles’ was released I was pretty young, but knew immediately that I wanted to write and play music. I named my 2014 album, ‘Blackbird’, and that is the title track.
Were you trying to accomplish anything specific on this new project? Creatively or otherwise?
My new EP is called ‘Railroad’. I set out to connect with my folk roots, to find the place inside of me that was first awakened by the folksingers of the 60’s. I wanted to write a batch of songs, delving into affairs of the heart in a heartland kind of way, hence, ‘Hillside‘, a song about a dog, a man and a hill.
And I wanted to make a statement about the state of world affairs, as in ‘Juliana Valentine’. That song gives homage to one of the young victims of 9/11. She was on her way ultimately that day, to Disneyland and never made it.
Then I gave myself the challenge of taking a traditional folk song, embracing it and making it my own. I did that with ‘I’ve Been Workin’ On The Railroad’. Like all good folksingers, I even added my own contemporary verse! An official video of that song is being shot with Pint of Soul video production.
What was the last song you listened to?
I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry by Hank Williams.
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? CDs? MP3s?
Vinyl is so vintage/retro cool…love that resurgence! Most of my music gets disseminated through streaming and although I do buy CDs and manufacture them myself for my own albums, those transactions happen at live shows mainly. I also give away a lot of CDs for promotional purposes and to friends.
How about this one…. Do you prefer Spotify? Apple Music? Bandcamp? Or something else? Why?
Argggh, don’t get me started with the streaming services. How does one justify paying an artist a part of a penny per play? This is a hard pill to swallow, especially after having had a commercially successful career in kids’ music, when labels gave sweet advances to artists and royalties were generous.
So although my music is up on Pandora, Spotify, and other services, and although I print out pages of fees surveyed and collected by CDBaby at tax time, I don’t make enough in royalties these days to buy a year’s worth of office supplies.”
Other than the digital era overwhelming us with access to an abundance of music, what are one or two of the biggest challenges you face when trying to attract listeners to your music?
THE big challenge is touring. I’m a homebody. I’ve toured and seen the good the bad and the ugly out on the road. There is nothing glamorous about it. What happens out there? You drive 300 miles to play a club which didn’t do any p.r. and 10 people show up. Besides writing, recording and promoting local gigs, an artist is expected to be a traveling salesman as well.
Yes, there are great nights of music when it all seems worthwhile, but it’s a roller coaster of a life for the touring artist. One is expected to sacrifice relationship-building and a stable home life, in order to build a fan base. That sucks.
Do you gig, tour or perform? Do you ever live stream? Where can music lovers see you live?
The past 3 years I have been gigging mainly in the San Francisco Bay. If you go to the “shows” page on my website you can see my gig schedule, which in 2017, will encompass some touring as well. http://www.bethmarlin.com/shows
Where is the best place to connect with you online? Discover more of your music?
I have lots of albums, kids and singer/songwriter, up on Soundcloud.
You can buy here.
Any last thoughts? Shout outs? Words of wisdom?
Buy ukuleles, not guns. And a big shout out to my long time collaborator and partner in music, Jon Baker. I bring him songs. He turns them into albums. Here’s to 30 years of making music together!
