Once in a while a musician comes along who reminds listeners how precious and marvelous the song-writing process is. In a world where mass-produced, formulaic music dominates, occasionally someone emerges from the well of insincere artists to restore faith in the candid lyricist.
On the evening of April 24, Michelle Zauner, of Little Girl, Big Spoon, stood on the WOW Hall stage with a Taylor acoustic guitar, a bottle of water and a box of Kleenex to remedy her cold. Before she even began playing, the crowd was enamored with Zauner’s refreshingly unpolished stage presence and presentation. The petite, dark-haired, 17-year-old girl powered her way through made-up chords, restarted songs and forgotten lyrics, while the crowd held on to her every word and guitar strum.
Zauner isn’t a seasoned musician and doesn’t pretend to be. In fact, she’s been playing guitar and writing songs for less than two years. Her first guitar, a $100 Yamaha from Costco, was bought after much begging and pleading with her parents. Her next step was to learn to play, but without professional instruction she didn’t get far.
“It’s hard to sit down and be motivated,” she said about learning from a guitar book.
Zauner’s been taking lessons from Jason Moss at the Lesson Factory for more than a year now.
“They’re really cool teachers who don’t take themselves too seriously. They don’t think they’re going to make rock stars either,” Zauner said.
Zauner wrote her first song when she was 16 after leaving a concert at Fool’s Paradise. Zauner and her best friend left the show feeling superior, lively and blissful. As they walked home holding hands, Zauner’s head flooded with ideas for a song.
“It just came really fast,” she said. The next day she wrote “BFF,” a song to which she holds a strong sentimental attachment.
In the early stages of her songwriting, Zauner was insecure about her unusual voice.
“In the very beginning I think I sounded a lot like Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches because that’s what I was going for,” she said. Zauner adapted Dawson’s way of talking-while-singing and spun it into her own style.
Although she is comfortable with her vocals now, Zauner remembers the first time she heard her recorded voice. She recalled screaming, “I sound like that?!” But the more she recorded and the more people complimented her, the easier it was for her to embrace her unique vocal abilities.
“If one person likes it, then it’s something,” Zauner said.
Zauner’s song-writing process is simple. She figures out what she wants to write about first and then pieces melodies and riffs together. Most of her songs are about the things in her life that affect her emotionally.
“That’s why most of my songs are really sad. Whenever I’m sad, it serves as an outlet,” she said.
Many of Zauner’s early songs discuss light, fluffy topics like vegetables, boys and best friends. As Zauner has grown emotionally and lyrically, she sometimes misses writing about the less complicated facets of life.
“Either way I’m just a teenager trying to write about my life,” Zauner said.
Lyrics from her song “Para Nekos” are a good example of her style: “Someday you’ll ask for the clothes you lent me back. Someday these songs won’t feel the same. And all these things that I wrote for you, they will cause me pain to sing. But for you they were written and for you they will remain. For even if I wind up bitter, you inspired me to sing.”
Although Zauner has progressed musically, she feels limited by the amount of guitar technique she knows. She regrets not playing music at an earlier age because her skills would be further along.
“A lot of the time I want to make cooler melodies than I can,” she said. But at the same time, Zauner is surprised by her abilities compared to only a few years ago. Lyrics she thought were trite and clichéd two years ago, have now matured into emotionally laden songs.
“Once I learned guitar, it was just amazing how easily everything fit together. I never thought it would be as easy as it is to write a song,” she said.
Zanuer toys with the idea of forming a girl-rock band but can’t quite make the transition from acoustic to electric guitar.
“I just love the sound of an acoustic guitar. … It’s just so raw,” she said. While some artists prefer to use distorted vocals and instruments to muffle their musical expression, Zauner would rather have nothing to hide behind. “There’s just such beauty in its simplicity,” she said.
Zauner’s music is intimate and so are her shows. Whether she’s playing for a group of friends or complete strangers, she enjoys delivering her songs toa receptive audience.”It’s a nice thing to share,” she said.
Tonight Zauner plays at WOW Hall with M. Ward and Mike Coykendall. Tickets are $13 in advance or $15 at the door. Doors open at 8:30; the show starts at 9.