continued from page 24
ing like broader metaphors at first – actual-
ly turned out to be quite specifically about
the lady herself.
Like the track “Mountain,” for instance.
“That song is so personal to me,” Martin
relates. “The lyrics came from such a sub-
conscious place, and at first I thought ‘Oh
– I’m singing about some girl and it’s just a
made-up story.’ But then I realized that I
was talking about me. And then I realized
that when I’m talking about me is when
I’m at my most unfiltered. I mean, I’m so
broken that I’ve made myself numb. I’ve
shut my heart down, I’ve shut my feelings
down, I’ve numbed myself with – and
without – alcohol. I was just putting up a
wall, so this song is me trying to break
through that. And the most fun thing
about the song was watching the band sing
the chorus around this big mic that Linda
had in the studio. It was the greatest
moment of all time for me – I was like, ‘Yes!
Take me to church!’”
Thinking back on that two-year-old Bay
Area gig, the vocalist swears she’s always
happy to see her coterie of copycats. “I love
taking pictures with them – it’s like we’re
sisters,” she says. “And red lipstick is a
classic. But I get a lot of young girls saying,
‘I’m a singer,’ or, ‘I’m in a band – how do I
make it?’ But I tell them that there’s really
no recipe, and I try to give them as much
sound advice as I can, like surround your-
self with people who have integrity, and
find the best musicians you can and start
working with them. Then you’ll find your-
26 illinoisentertainer.com may 2018
self gradually becoming an artist.” But
trendspotting kittens will have a tough
time keeping up with Martin. Her hair is
now streaked, and her clothes are vaguely
Joshua-Tree- mystical. “I’m the kind of per-
son who wants to change their hair every
week, so it’s hard for me to stick with one
look for very long,” she says. “I get a little
jumpy. So for this record, I switched things
up in every way – sound-wise, look-wise,
vibe-wise, everything.”
Don’t count on any new covers, Martin
adds – “I Put a Spell on You” was a fun,
one-off diversion, included because she’s
always been a creepy, cryptic person at
heart. “And I just love songs that have an
eerie tone to them. And I was like, ‘You
know what? Remember the time that Bette
Midler did that song in Hocus Pocus? Yeah
– that’s happening for Dorothy!’” But now,
with two rollicking albums under its belt,
the band has more than enough material to
fill a full set, plus encores. There’s only one
thing Martin has any quibble with – the
concept that she could have boldly
leapfrogged from dinky clubs to huge are-
nas in a scant 365 days. “There’s a lot of
things that go into breaking a band on that
level,” she says. “And I don’t think anyone
makes it there in a solid year.
“But I definitely think that’s the trajec-
tory we’re on, and that’s the goal. And you
definitely have to win the fans over, and
your audience grows, and that’s a long-
term commitment. But you know what? I
think the universe gives you only what
you’re ready for.”
Appearing: 7/7 Summerfest, Milwaukee;
8/5 Lollapalooza, Chicago.