Feature

What can’t be said about Marcia Ball? This tall and leggy lady has been shuckin’ and jivin’ since the early ‘70s with her own brand of “swamp pop” and gathering a legion of dedicated fans. She was there at the birth of the Austin music scene, which now rivals Nashville as a music capital. With many studio albums under her belt, Grammy nominations and an endless amount of awards, she is now on tour supporting her first live album “Live! Marcia Ball: Down the Road.” On Jan. 27, Marcia will join Dr. John on the Saenger stage for a sample of what is taking her to this year’s Grammy Awards Ceremony.

SC: You’re heading out on a four-month tour in a few days. How do you get ready for something like that?

MB: (Laughing) I pack, then I re-pack, and then I unpack. It’s not four months solid, so I get to come back and re-pack again. We’ve been rehearsing and learning new material, and that’s what keeps it fresh.

SC: You really got into the blues through Irma Thomas. What was it about her that led you to a lifelong commitment to blues and that Louisiana/Texas sound?

MB: Well, I grew up on the Gulf Coast. I grew up on the Sabine River near Lake Charles, La. So, it wasn’t that I discovered the blues through Irma but that she really made an impression on me as a woman at the center of the stage singing and taking charge. There was music in the air just like in Mobile or anywhere along the Gulf Coast. There was music everywhere that was good, funky, soulful, danceable music.

SC: You say that in 1970 you were on your way to San Francisco, and your car broke down in Austin. You said that you loved it so much you decided to stay. That was back when Austin was really beginning to flourish as a music capital. What was the Austin music scene like when you began to perform out there?

MB: Well, you’re right; it had just begun to flourish in a way. The spotlight was just about to come in. There were a few years between the late ‘60s and early ‘70s where a lot of important people in music moved to town for one reason or another to go to school or after awhile just because it was such a scene. In this four or five year period between 1967 and 1972, Angela Strehli, Lou Ann Barton, Jimmie and Stevie Vaughn, Jerry Jeff Walker, The Flatlanders (Joe Ely and Butch Hancock), Denny Freeman and many, many more people all seemed to be about the same age, and we ended up in Austin at the same time. So, amazing things happened. One of the real catalysts of that group was Doug Sahm, who sang around here and was from down in San Antonio. He had a real, wonderful sense of what Austin could do and what music could be when it didn’t really recognize stylistic borders in a way, and he had connections. He had hits from the ‘60s (“Mendocino”). So, he had connections in the record business and opened doors for all of us.

SC: It was eight years later when you released your first album. What was it like spending eight years in the Austin music scene before getting signed? Was it hard?

MB: (Laughing) No, it was not in the day and age when everybody expected to get a record deal right away. We were just thrilled that we were getting to play music every night, and I could quit my day job. It was an easy time and a relaxed time. Everybody was in their 20s and not taking life too seriously. We were a fortunate generation. We had the war (Vietnam) to contend with and that was one thing. In many ways, it was an easy time.

SC: Your first album has been considered in the country genre. As your sound evolved, you seemed to go back to that Louisiana bayou/Texas roadhouse sound. What made you decide to drift back into that genre?

MB: Well, it became more necessary for me to be a piano player. When I examined the possibilities for piano playing, it wasn’t going to be country music. Country music was something I enjoyed, but it wasn’t what I do naturally. So, it became necessary to play what I really understood, which was getting back to my roots with that same old Gulf Coast rhythm and blues. That’s what I wrote and played. There’s more room for a piano player in that style.

SC: After years of releasing albums, you have finally released a live album called “Live! Marcia Ball: Down the Road,” and that performance has also been featured on PBS. What was it about that particular performance that made you want to release it as an album?

MB: Opportunity, the quality of the performance, the fact that I thought that we had turned in a pretty good show with an enthusiastic audience. Then, timing had the interest of Alligator (Records), who was willing to put out a live album. That’s not always what a record company wants to do. They prefer you to do a studio album, but in this case Bruce (Iglauer) at Alligator knew that I wanted to do a live album. So, we made it work.

SC: It the bill wasn’t big enough with you playing, we also have Dr. John playing with you. What can the crowd expect from the show? Will you be playing some numbers together?

MB: Well, we very possibly will. He and I recently played a show together in Chicago, and now we know we can play some things together. It’s very possible.

SC: What’s your plans after this tour?

MB: Another tour. Immediately after the Mobile date, we’re leaving on a cruise that we do every year with Delbert McClinton. It’s a Caribbean cruise and always a lot of fun. Then, we have a busy February; we have a busy year coming up. Right after the Mobile date and the cruise, we have the Grammys, and I think I’m gonna go and see if that live album wins one!

Stephen Centanni is Lagniappe music editor. Contact him at scentanni@lagniappemobile.com.

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