By Roger Kuhns for Door County Compass

Karen Mal is from Plainville Connecticut and went to college in New York, but she says she considers Door County when she thinks of “going home”. Karen first arrived in Door County in 1992, and for seven years spent the summer seasons in performance and music, mostly with the American Folklore Theater (AFT). Winters were often spent traveling and performing, as the ability to find suitable income during Door County winters is often a challenge. Two summers ago she made the difficult decision to move to Austin Texas with her husband Chris Irwin to pursue a larger music performance career. Karen says, “I really learned to call (Door County) home, and I guess it stuck. I feel a strong calling to get back at least a couple of times a year.

Karen has a new album out entitled “Mercury's Wings”, which is a song about her friend, colleague and AFT founder, the late Fred Alley. I'm pretty excited about it; says Karen, Chris (Irwin, husband and music partner) engineered the CD “with incredible patience and skill”. The CD was recorded at the Boars Nest Studio in Austin, a few blocks from their home. The CD features nine original and co-written songs, including three collaborations with Fred Alley.

Karen says that it is a little more produced than the first record (the husband-wife team’s first effort in 1999). “I was really careful to keep my voice and guitar the core of the song. I've got some of Austin's greatest players on the record.” The roster of talent includes guitarist Marvin Dykhuis (a Racine born musician who played with John Redman in the band ‘Marvin and the Dogs’ in Door County), percussionist Paul Pearcy, Jeff Plankenhorn on dobro, Eamon McGloughlin on fiddle, and Kelly Willis singing vocal harmonies. Karen says, “It's really tempting when you have players this stunning to want to use every note they played on each track, but I tried to keep the lyrics and the integrity of the song out front, which meant trimming back some of the instrumental tracks. Chris plays some really terrific tracks on the record too; in fact he plays four different instruments: bass, acoustic lead guitar, electric guitar and banjo. He also sings quite a bit of harmonies, as well as one duet with me.”

The album, and Karen’s upcoming tour represents a departure from the duet style performances she and Chris were doing in previous years. Karen says, “We used to play a lot more as a duo, and we still do, but it's been really great to feel so free to explore our individual identities too. For instance, I've been doing a lot more writing these days, and also getting lots of work as a sideman.” Meanwhile, Chris has become a pilot, which is a life-long dream, and will be recording his own solo album in the next few months as well. Chris has also been doing more acting; something hid did quite a lot of with AFT (where he and Karen met). Karen says of Chris that, “he's been incredibly supportive of my pursuing a solo career.”

Roger: “So how does it feel to finally go solo?”

Karen: “I feel as if I've been waiting my whole life to feel this driven, to feel this much of a sense of direction. That really is new for me, yes.

Roger: “You were with AFT for a long time. How did that prepare you for where you are now?”

Karen: “Working for years at American Folklore Theatre had a big part in shaping my "voice" as a performer and songwriter, and really helped lead me to folk music, which was more or less inevitable, I think. In some ways it's more a question of de-evolving, of stripping things away until you get to the truth of folk music. I love acoustic instruments; I love music that comes from the deepest and at the same time simplest part of a culture or tradition. I just love the sound of a human voice singing soulfully with just a guitar or a small collection of acoustic instruments. I love the potential for emotion and truth and vulnerability that's there. It's EVERYBODY'S roots.”

Roger: “Who is influencing you past and present, who are some of your favorites?”

Karen: “I listen to a lot of songwriters these days; you are what you eat. People like Joni Mitchell, Cheryl Wheeler, Nanci Griffith, Eliza Gilkyson, John Gorka, Ellis Paul, Slaid Cleaves, Bill Morrissey. I also listen to a lot of bluegrass music and traditional Irish singers like Cathy Ryan.”

Roger: “Is living in Austin having a big affect on your music?”

Karen: “There's a lot of country music in Austin, but there's a lot of everything else too, which is one of my favorite things about Austin. I can't say enough about the acoustic music community. I very much hope that I'm influenced by the music I hear in Austin! I don't know any other city where original music is so encouraged and appreciated - although underpaid!”

Roger: “You have written some beautiful songs. How do you do it?”

Karen: “I'm still wondering how I write songs! I'm half-kidding, but I really am still searching for a method to it that works consistently for me. Everyone does it differently. Maybe every song will arrive differently; they have so far. I generally have to have at least some words before I start writing music.”

Roger: “A major part of being a musician is taking the music to the audiences and fans; this means ‘road time’, how has being on the road affected you?”

Karen: “My time on the road has really made me into who I am in a lot of ways, along with the people I've known. After I graduated college in 1990, I didn't live in one place for longer than a few months at a time until I moved to Austin in 1999; I'm hoping that since I traveled so much and knew so many friends before I started writing, that I can tap into that well now that I'm writing more. I've got a lot of stories stored up - I hope!”

Roger: “Last year you brought a really great talent with you on tour – Bill Passalacqua. Bill is back this year. Tell us about him.”

Karen: “I met Bill Passalacqua about 2 years ago in Austin. He is one of the hardest-working singer/songwriters in Austin, or anywhere, He is completely dedicated to his music and to getting work. I like his songwriting a lot; it's bluegrass-influenced but it's not bluegrass. He's got wit and poetry in his songs, and he has this great skill for working a crowd and turning in a great performance under any kind of conditions. I've discovered it's a really great idea to tour with another songwriter: besides the fact that I think Bill's music is a great compliment to mine, it makes so much sense that we can split the workload and expense of booking and planning a tour.”

Bill Passalacqua has released his critically acclaimed album (by the Austin music scene) entitled “Jack Rabbit and Other Love Songs” (available on www.musictoears.com). Bill says his last name is the common spelling of Passalacqua.

Roger: “You’ve said that coming to Door County is your ‘coming home’. Tell us about some of your thoughts and memories about the county.”

Karen: “I don't know where to start to describe my fond memories of Door County. As I mentioned, my time there sculpted me in so many ways, I think. I made and kept some of the best friends of my life there; I miss walking into the post office in Fish Creek and knowing everyone in line. I miss going into a shop and being called by name. I miss Peninsula State Park and the Cohn cottage on Gibraltar Road. I miss the Skyway, and Norwiches, late nights picking on the back porch at Camp David, the northern lights, Maple Grove Road in the fall, packer-mania. And I miss AFT very much. Performing under the stars with good friends in roles and songs that were written for me, for people who really care--those are wonderful memories. I miss that very much. I'm hoping it will work out from time to time for me to come back to do a show. It's a very rare and special group of people that make up AFT-- both the company and the audiences.”

Roger: “You’ve made the big move to Austin to mingle in the larger pool of talent and music. What do you see in your future?”

Karen: “I'm not sure what's in the future; my experience has been that it's better for me to keep working hard at what I've chosen; work harder than I ever imagined I would have to, and it will lead me to the next place. Basically I want to be able to make a living playing music for people who really care.”

Roger: “I’m glad to hear that; performances will continue. Are the connections getting easier?”

Karen: “I'd like to have a list of venues to call and they’d say: ‘great to hear from you, Karen? What date do you want to play?’ I'd like to play festivals, house concerts, I'd like someday for people to call ME to offer me work. I'd like to have an agent and a publicist, but not necessarily a record label. Working independently lets you keep control over your own music, and lets you keep the profits. But if I never played to more than one hundred people at a time, if the people were there just to hear the music and take a journey with me into their deepest places--- I would call that success. I would say I'm doing my job.”

Karen Mal and Bill Passalacqua will be performing May 5 at the Ephraim Town Hall building. The doors open at 6:30. Tickets are $7.00 at the door or can be purchased on line through www.musictoears.com . Door County musicians Jeanne Yingst and Roger Kuhns, will open the concert with some original music.


Discography:
Mercury’s Wings (2002) (Karen Mal)
Chris Irwin and Karen Mal (1999)