Morgan Gray, a sophomore and aspiring musician at Saint Louis University, appears to be ascending through the echelons of music against the weight of gravity. Her humility and honest approach to what she does could very well be the culprit of her success.
Isn’t it a huge annoyance to read interviews where the musicians don’t even seem human because of their pretentiousness? It makes you wonder if their music should even be listened to, because they obviously aren’t too qualified to sing about the human condition if they are that pretentious. Luckily for me, I got to interview Gray, and she seems like the personification of the human condition-a refreshing reservoir of feelings laced with comfort. And luckily for all of you, Gray will be performing for free at 8 p.m. on Dec. 2 in the Billiken Club.
Gray plays the kind of music that would sound perfect in an upscale lounge in downtown New York. Either that, or it’s a perfect companion to coffee on a Sunday morning. All desperate attempts at the perfect setting for Gray’s music aside, lets just say that her music sounds like Sarah McLachlan or Fiona Apple.
Gray plays comfortable meditations on the throes, prose and joys of life. She pares everything down and is gentle on the ears. Instead of all the normal fluff associated with today’s music, Gray’s is characterized by the cadence of her piano keys coupled with her quivering and coy words.
I asked Gray about how she channels her inspiration into song form. She said that her better songs are usually the ones where she had an idea in mind before she set out to record it. The success of this plan of attack normally supersedes her other method, which is finding musical gems as she fiddles aimlessly on the piano.
However, the planned song approach has had its setbacks (albeit quite humorous ones) for Gray. “Once, I sat down at the piano specifically trying to write a song about something truly happy, and it ended up being a really cute song with some of the most personally devastating lyrics I’ve ever written,” said Gray. “So, it can backfire. I would like to someday write a song to convince someone to fall in love with me, but I’m scared of how that might backfire.”
Interestingly enough, her similarities in sound to Sarah McLachlan are not the product of emulation. Her tastes are marked by variety, and McLachlan was an interesting omission from Gray’s concoction of musical inspiration.
“I have more favorite bands than anyone would ever need, but if anyone were to talk badly about Copeland, Ben Folds, Sigur Ros, Stars, the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Fiona Apple, I’d probably write a mean song about them,” Gray told me slyly.
From speaking with Gray, I could sense an undeniable enthusiasm for music that transcends her words. Once I realized this, I knew that she was doing things the right way. Gray has a real lust for music-she plays because it’s what she wants. The most successful musicians never forcefully attack the parameters of the music business. For the most successful musicians, success and notoriety are the mere extension of what they are doing.
Gray said that five years down the road “I just want to be somewhere working happily, preferably speaking other languages while I do it.” If some sort of music career presents itself, I assume Gray will take it; meanwhile, she is letting her music speak for itself while she forges on with her life.
Gray’s opportunities to perform for people have not been forced. The way she describes it, the 25 or so shows she has performed have sort of landed in her lap. “My performance history still stuns me, because I just don’t imagine myself doing things like this. I have played as close as the Billiken Club, and as far as Akron, Ohio. I’ve played around 25 shows since I started a year ago (mostly in the St. Louis area), and that’s freaking awesome as far as I’m concerned. I’m super lucky,” she said.
Is she nervous in these endeavors? Oh, yeah. “I get super, ridiculous nervous. I mean, if I could write songs about people I didn’t know or events that never happened, I probably would not be as nervous, but in the end, these songs are my lame attempt at telling the audience my most personal thoughts, and that’s scary,” said Gray. “I cope with it by thinking negative thoughts, freaking out on other performers and shaking a lot.”
For Gray, music envelops her being. She can’t live without it. She becomes mystified by the clever nuances in songs-like “Easter eggs” in video games-it keeps her coming back for more. It’s this sort of scrupulous attention to detail that allows Gray to be able to instill similar breathtaking nuances into her own songs. It isn’t as though she combed through her recordings and added little shiny facets of brilliance to be unearthed only by audiophiles. Instead, her nuances are moments of possible brimming genius that unconsciously spill out and find their way into Gray’s songs.
If Gray were to ever become a star, she already has one prerequisite: she has a name that rolls off of the tongue-the name that can be uttered and spelled and viewed with great ease. It’s the classic stark punctuality of the name accompanied by its aesthetic value. Morgan Gray. If Gray’s name alone doesn’t scream “star material,” then her music definitely will.
So, there are two things you should do to prepare yourself. First, familiarize yourself with her songs (www.myspace.com/morgangraymusic). Second, mark your calendars for 8 p.m. on Dec. 2 so you can free up time for the Billiken Club and support an awesome musician who is a part of our own SLU community.