At Playground Boston!
At Boston Band Crush!
& at Bandcamp!
Some dude in a pink shirt, upon hearing a solo set by Magen Tracy at The Armory, once said, "If you didn't just fall in love, you weren't paying attention." I feel like anyone who's seen Magen perform - and anyone who's ever known her at all - would have to nod in agreement with that. She's like that. Loveable - onstage and off.
A lot of performers (myself included) undergo a kind of transformation when they get onstage. There's a persona, and maybe the persona is a magnification of certain aspects of their personality or maybe it's all the outrageousness they keep in the shadows the rest of the time.
With Magen, this rare lovely thing happens when she takes the stage and the only perceivable change isn't in her at all. Rather, the kindness and grace and world-wise sparkle in her eye that characterize all of her interactions are now, well, center-stage. And the way she put you immediately at ease when you were talking with her just a few moments before is now extended to her bandmates onstage and then out across the room to the audience as a whole. You're right there with her. And when she starts to play, well. Like Brendo said. You'd have to be actively working to ignore her not to be smitten. Or swoony.
(Which may or may not be how she came to become part of the extended TBH fam -- and I am not limiting that possibility to any particular member.)
MAGEN TRACY, ST HELENA
What kind of "shows" did you put on as a kid? Any favorites?
I'm a big sister, so I made my little brothers dress up and put on shows with me all the time. I definitely made them perform an entire album of New Kids on the Block songs with me for our parents and grandparents in Florida one time. I think they blocked it out, but I remember it vividly.
Who/what are some NON-musical influences on your music?
Exes. Social politics. My mom.
If you had to choose another genre of music to learn/perform, what would it be?
Dirty alt-country. Potential side project with the fabulous Ashley Willard pending - stay tuned!
What about a career path you haven't pursued, but might later or would if you had time or even another lifetime?
I'd love to work in film scoring/music editing for film. I keep saying I'll pick this up as a side project once I have some free time (read: whenever I get bored with this band stuff...)
Do you ever have pre-show moments when you wish you didn't have to perform?
Everytime. Performing gives me crazy agita. I mainly do it for the high right after I'm done, like with a long run or hike; it's painful while you're doing it, but you feel so damn good after you convince yourself to do it again and again.
Describe your band dynamic, in two words.
Deliberative Democracy
If you could open for anyone (let's say in all of history, 'cause that's more fun), who would it be?
Tori Amos
Describe the perfect scene of solitude for you.
Empty house, baby grand piano, bottle of wine.
Where would you like to travel?
My next trip will hopefully be to the Pacific Northwest; I've never been north of Sacramento. Ideally, I'd love to drive out there, since I've driven the southern route to California a few times, but never the northern route.
How to whistle.
What're you reading or watching, lately?
Reading: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Middlesex, The Magicians.
Watching: True Blood, Mad Men, Coupling.
When do you find yourself aware of yourself *as a woman* in the band context?
Only once in a while; those rare moments when the boys will stop mid-joke with that "Magen's going to quit" look on their faces. Though that probably has less to do with me being a woman, and more to do with my opinion on scat humor. The boys in St. Helena know the drill by now: sex talk is encouraged, but poop talk is prohibited. I'm a lady, dammit.
Describe your favorite audience in one word.
Swoony.
Upcoming stuff?
We're currently recording our first full-length at 1867 Studios in Chelsea. Sounding great so far; look for it this fall!
(This is my favorite (recorded) St Helena tune! Be sure to get to Saturday's show (UPSTAIRS. MIDEAST. SATURDAY.) in plenty of time to hear their set at 8:45pm!!!)
Beneath the calm, collected exterior of the INFJ lies the horrible reality of someone who has seen The Truth. The INFJ knows what other people are too naive or too brainwasted to admit: the Conspiracy is real. Mistrustful and suspicious, the INFJ is not easily fooled, and does not take the word of the government-controlled medico-military-industrial complex for anything. Whether it's uncovering the plot by butter-eating Jews to clog the arteries of Christian folk with artificial margarine or discovering the secret laboratory in Tibet that's producing legions of Jimmy Carter clones that will be sent out to seize the manufacturing facilities in the Guangdong Province of China under the pretext of inspecting chickens for influenza, there is no lengths the INFJ won't go to in order to blow the lid off the whole thing.
INFJs can often be found holding down jobs as AM radio talk-show hosts. They can also be found driving taxis in the greater Washington, DC area. Other common jobs often held by INFJs include vagrant, loony, whacko, and writer/director/producer of the television show "Seinfeld." INFJs can also be found feeding that crucial bit of information to determined FBI agents just before they are brutally murdered.
RECREATION: INFJs often come home from a hard day's work exposing conspiracies about how the government is poisoning us with mind-control agents spread by passenger airliners and unwind by spending all night writing Web sites exposing conspiracies about how NASA faked the Bush election.
COMPATIBILITY: INFJs are usually happiest and most successful in relationships with Julia Roberts, though the relationships may not end happily.
Famous INFJs include...well, if I told you, I'd have to kill you.
