Mary Lou Lord | |
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Background information | |
Born | Salem, Massachusetts, U.S. | March 1, 1965
Genres | Folk, folk rock, pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, busker |
Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar |
Years active | 1990–present |
Labels | Kill Rock Stars, Work Records, Rubric Records, Loose Music |
Website | maryloulord |
Mary Lou Lord (born March 1, 1965) is an indie folk musician who started out performing as a busker in Boston.
Mary Lou Lord first gained attention playing acoustic guitar and singing in and around Boston's subway stations, particularly on the Red Line, as noted by the name she chose for her music and lyric publishing company, On the Red Line Music, administered by BMI.
Lord became friends with Nirvana front man Kurt Cobain in the fall of 1991, before the group's rise to mainstream fame; there has been much speculation about their relationship. In 2010, Lord published an explanation from her point of view. [1]
She met Elliott Smith through Slim Moon, the owner of Kill Rock Stars and her boyfriend at the time. [2] Lord toured three times with Smith during the 1990s. Smith also wrote and helped Lord record a song called "I Figured You Out" in 1997.
Lord signed with the Sony subsidiary Work in 1997 and released the album Got No Shadow in 1998. [3] On December 31, 1998, Lord and Kevin Patey, from the band Raging Teens, had a daughter, whom they named Annabelle Lord-Patey. [4]
Her recording of Daniel Johnston's "Speeding Motorcycle" (which originally featured on her self-titled 8-song Kill Rock Stars release) was featured in commercials for Target stores, after which her label reissued the song as the lead track of a CD single which also included two demo recordings from the sessions for Got No Shadow.
In 2001, Lord released Live City Sounds . This was a self-released disc of Lord playing live in the Boston subway. The disc was re-released after she signed to Rubric Records.
Baby Blue , a CD recorded at London and produced by the Bevis Frond leader Nick Saloman, was released by Rubric Records in 2004. Saloman played guitar, bass and harp and wrote most of the songs.
Lord announced in 2005 that she suffered from a rare vocal cord affliction known as spasmodic dysphonia. She thereafter became more involved in A&R work and started a new management company with Kevin Patey, Jittery Jack Management.
In 2011, Lord used Kickstarter to record a new album titled Backstreet Angels, which was self-released in 2015. In 2012 she began performing regularly once again.
In 2019, Lord and fellow musician Maryanne Window began a podcast titled "How The Hell Did That Happen?" The podcast attracted attention from mainstream media, as Lord provided details of her romance and friendships with Kurt Cobain and Elliott Smith during the 1990s. [5] [6]
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American musician. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana. Through his angsty songwriting and anti-establishment persona, his compositions widened the thematic conventions of mainstream rock music. He was heralded as a spokesman of Generation X, and is widely recognized as one of the most influential rock musicians.
Kill Rock Stars is an independent record label founded in February 1991 by Slim Moon and Tinuviel Sampson, and based in both Olympia, Washington, and Portland, Oregon. The label has released a variety of work in different genres, but it was originally known for its commitment to underground punk rock bands and the Olympia area music scene.
The Bevis Frond is an English rock band formed in 1986 in Walthamstow, London, England. The band is fronted by Nick Saloman and has recorded many singles and albums on various independent labels.
Incesticide is a compilation album by the American rock band Nirvana. It consists of their 1990 non-album single "Sliver", B-sides, demos, outtakes, cover versions, and radio broadcast recordings, and as such is not the official follow-up to the band's breakthrough album, Nevermind. The album was released on December 14, 1992, in Europe, and December 15, 1992, in the United States. It eventually reached number 39 on the Billboard 200.
Kathleen Hanna is an American singer, musician and pioneer of the feminist punk riot grrrl movement, and punk zine writer. She is the lead singer of feminist punk band Bikini Kill and fronted the electropunk band Le Tigre in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Since 2010, she has recorded as the Julie Ruin.
Patricia Theresa Schemel is an American drummer and musician who rose to prominence as the drummer of alternative rock band Hole from 1992 until 1998. Born in Los Angeles, Schemel was raised in rural Marysville, Washington, where she developed an interest in punk rock music as a teenager. She began drumming at age eleven, and while in high school, formed several bands with her brother, Larry.
"Aneurysm" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic, and drummer Dave Grohl. It first appeared as a B-side on the band's breakthrough "Smells Like Teen Spirit" single in September 1991. A second studio version was released on the rarities compilation Incesticide in December 1992.
"Negative Creep" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist, Kurt Cobain. It is the seventh song on their debut album Bleach, released in June 1989.
"Polly" is a song by the American rock band Nirvana, written by vocalist and guitarist Kurt Cobain. It is the sixth song on their second album Nevermind, released by DGC Records in September 1991.
Donna Dresch is an American punk rock musician, perhaps best known as founder, guitarist and bass guitarist of Team Dresch.
Some Velvet Sidewalk was an experimental lo-fi rock band from Olympia, Washington on the independent label K Records.
Got No Shadow is an album by Mary Lou Lord, released in early 1998 on Sony Records/Work Records, a division of Sony Music. It is Lord's only full-length release on a major label.
Sean Na Na is the guitar pop project of Sean Tillmann. The project started as a solo outlet for Tillmann's songs that did not quite fit with his noise band Calvin Krime in 1993. Since then, the project evolved into a full band with a rotating cast of characters from all over the musical map. Tillmann's debut single under the moniker of Sean Na Na was "Two of the Same Name", released in 1998. In early 2000, Kill Rock Stars released a split EP with Mary Lou Lord and his full-length debut album Dance 'Til Your Baby Is a Man. He released My Majesty in 2002. The band released their third album, Family Trees: Or CoPe We Must, in 2007.
Hovercraft was an American instrumental experimental rock group that formed in Seattle, Washington in 1993. It was co-founded by its core duo of guitarist/samplist/tape-looper Ryan Shinn and bassist Beth Liebling. Shinn and Liebling would use the pseudonyms "Campbell 2000" and "Sadie 7", respectively, throughout the duration of the band's history. Hovercraft has been cited as one of the most abrasive, non-commercial sounding bands ever to receive major-label distribution for its albums. Though somewhat overlooked and sometimes heavily criticized because of the band's early association with Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder, the group was largely well respected and well received by critics and developed a cult following.
Yip/Jump Music is the fifth self-released music cassette album by singer-songwriter Daniel Johnston, recorded over the summer 1983. The album was re-released on cassette in 1986 by Stress records, and in 1988 released on CD and double LP by Homestead Records. The album has been re-released twice by Eternal Yip Eye Music: once in 2003 on CD and CD-R, and once in 2007 as a double vinyl LP.
Molly Neuman is an American drummer, writer and publisher, originally from the Washington, D.C. area who has performed in such influential bands as Bratmobile, the Frumpies, and the PeeChees. She was a pioneer of the early-to-mid '90s riot grrrl movement, penning the zine which coined the phrase in its title. She also co-wrote Girl Germs with Bratmobile singer Allison Wolfe while the two were students at the University of Oregon; that title later became the name of a Bratmobile song.
Kurt & Courtney is a 1998 British documentary film by Nick Broomfield investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Kurt Cobain, and allegations of Courtney Love's involvement in it.
Yoyo A Go Go, usually abbreviated to Yoyo and often typeset in various ways, was an independent music festival in Olympia, Washington, first held in 1994 and followed by successor festivals in 1997, 1999, and 2001. Five- and six-day concert marathons featured dozens of punk and indie rock acts stacked back to back, as well as a variety of associated entertainment and small-scale local retail. The concerts took place at the historic Capitol Theater and showcased performers from the local Olympia music scene, while also including national and international artists.
Live City Sounds is a live album by the American musician Mary Lou Lord, released in 2001. It was a return to Lord's busking roots.
Baby Blue is an album by the American musician Mary Lou Lord, released in 2004. The album is dedicated to Elliott Smith. Lord supported it with a North American tour, while maintaining her tradition of busking in various cities.