Mal Blum Interview, Tour Dates, and Music Video

Story By Star Beat 

Mal Blum is a quirky singer-songwriter who mixes the sweet with the serious. The guitar and ukulele songwriter from White Plains, New York also performs with Simon Littlejohn on harmonica, banjo, and keyboard. Her song “Ode to kulele” has gotten over 10, 000 views on YouTube and has received play on LOGO. Currently, she's writing her next full-length album and gearing up for a few east coast dates with Melissa Ferrick. We spoke with Mal about her new interest with piano, how to feel comfortable when writing about serious topics, opening for Kimya Dawson, and her upcoming tour.

Now 21, Mal has been playing music since she was a teenager and performing since 15. While her main instrument is acoustic guitar she recently started playing piano last summer. She plans on recording a song or two on piano for her upcoming album.

“It's really different for me,” she says. “I'm not as comfortable with piano at all, but it's definitely sort of a different direction. I also play the ukulele which is silly but I think it's really fun.”

Mal's songs are very heartfelt and sweet, but there's also serious songs about drugs and surgery infused in the music.

“For a long time I sort of hide or layered the serious content of whatever songs I was writing, with this funny, jokey edge, in order to make it easier to deliver to people,” she says. “Not because I thought it would be received better but because I felt less vulnerable. It was funny because I think half of the time people got it and half the time people didn't get it. Sometimes people would be like, 'you're really funny, you're hilarious' and some people would be like, 'that was such a sad song.' I think as I'm getting older it's getting a lot easier to sort of take away from the humor and just be like this is what I'm really talking about.”

There are common themes throughout her music like love, romantic interest, waiting, and food, she says. Some songs are witty and cute.

“If you're always singing about love, it gets a little old, so I think it's good to change it up but I also think you can't force whatever it is you're writing about.”

In the works is two videos for “My Name Is Earthworm” from her latest full-length Goodnight Sugarpop. One will be an animated video and the other is more of a film short directed by Ballard C. Boyd who also directed “Ode to kulele.” It's expected out by Spring.

Mal's had the chance to open for acts like Melissa Ferrick, Kimya Dawson, Amanda Palmer, and Hamell of Trial.

Here Mal tells us about two standout moments in her career.

She also speaks about getting compared to Kimya Dawson.

“I love Kimya Dawson. I think she's great, but I think it's inaccurate [to compare us]. I think people like to lump people into categories which don't necessarily reflect the music that they actually play.”

The two fit into the “anti-folk” genre but the comparisons might be easy to make. I think it's more appropriate to say that fans of Kimya Dawson, or even Paul Baribeau, Hop Along, or Emilyn Brodsky would enjoy Mal. That doesn't necessarily mean there's a huge comparison., maybe to you there might. Just listen for yourself.

In February, Mal has a few shows with Melissa Ferrick. Last year she played some dates with Ferrick and it went well so she got invited for some local dates this year.

“I'm excited to be touring with somebody who I completely respect and knows so much more than me, and is also really a nice person,” Mal says. “Her shows are really good and she's just a magical performer. I like everything about touring with her.”

The tour will hit up locally at Maxwell's in Hoboken on Feb. 12 and The Bell House in Brooklyn on Feb. 13. She also recently recorded some songs at Melissa Ferrick's studio in Massachusetts. You can join her mailing list here (see right side of screen). 

Mal Blum Tour Dates:

w/ Melissa Ferrick
Feb. 6 @ Driftwood Folk Cafe, Plymouth, MA
Feb. 11 @ Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA
Feb. 12 @ Maxwell's, Hoboken, NJ
Feb. 13 @ The Bell House, Brooklyn, NY

w/ Brittan Shoup
Feb. 24 @ Caffe Lena, Saratoga Springs, NY

Tom Tom Magazine Debuts First Issue about Female Drummers + Photos

(Gina-Marie Scardino of Guts for Garters)

photos & story by StarBeat

Tom Tom Strives to inspire!

Frankie Rose. Ali Koehler. Tobi Vail. Meg White. What do these four have in common? All these ladies play behind the kit, the drum kit that is, and rock the beat. Drummers Frankie (formerly of Crystal Stilts, now in Dum Dum Girls) and Ali Koehler of Vivian Girls are both featured in the first issue of Tom Tom Magazine, an endeavor spearheaded by drummer herself Mindy Abovitz.

Where there is a void, there is a need to fill that void and Tom Tom does just that. Mindy has created a magazine that focuses on the female drummer. Always keeping active and fighting for what is right, the self-proclaimed drummer of 10 years started the magazine to showcase the talents of many of the local drummers in Brooklyn, but to publicize female drummers from all over in the world in an accessible, printable format that is also supported on-line. It serves a tri-purpose in that it raises awareness about female percussionists, aims to inspire females to drum, and also provides techniques, information, and resources for them.

Who better to launch a magazine devoted to female drummers, than a female drummer herself? Abovitz has been playing drums for nearly a decade, consuming her life around music and also seeking to improve her craft. She’s currently in Taigaa, Hot Box, More Teeth, and Chica Vas, plus works with Vibe Song Makers and engineers at East Village Radio. With no prior magazine experience, but a drive to showcase the talents of female drummers, she confided in her close associate of contacts to get the magazine going.

Abovitz said she started the magazine because she’s a drummer and feminist who really wanted to see female musicians get more exposure.

Curious to see how much information on female drummers was on the web, I did a simple Google search. I typed in "female drummers." The top results included: A link to wiki answers asking are there really professional female drummers? Another question was asked from tribe.net on why are there so few female drummers. Wikipedia had an entry on female American rock drummers and Tom Tom magazine came up to. This is telling.

“There’s hardly any representation of female musicians in the media, period, mainstream or off mainstream, and particularly no representation of female drummers,” she says.

Starting from modest means as a blog site, the magazine evolved into an actual website, then a full-fledged print publication with its first issue released in November.

“I’m an ‘80s kid, so the Internet wasn't big when I was growing up- books and magazines were,” Abovitz says. “So I still have an affinity toward material objects. It legitimizes something when you put it into print. I can’t exactly explain why, but I wanted that legitimacy. I wanted it to be even realer than an online magazine.”

The magazine is also a way to empower and connect women and girls who might be interested in drumming, but are too afraid to otherwise.

“Ideally the magazine will fuel a fire in women and girls everywhere who feel 'less than' or 'unsure' to pick up a pair of sticks and bang," she says. "To hone their craft with confidence and determination. To play whatever it is, in their lives, with strength and to eventually lead others. Drummers are powerful timekeepers who need to lead their band. They are typically the loudest and their work is the most physically straining. The women and girls that embrace this position in the band, are to me, perfect examples of an empowered female.”

A very ambitious Abovitz has worked to involve herself in music and this magazine. If you want to help out in anyway, click here for more information.

Tom Tom hosted a release party at Bruar Falls in Brooklyn on Nov. 8 with Each Others Mothers, Zombie Dogs, Painted Faces, and a DJ set by Telepathe. There will be issue release parties four times a year and benefit shows through the year featuring female percussionists, so keep a watch out.

This year alone I saw a number of bands with female drummers, such as Shiragirl, Shellshag, Zombie Dogs, Each Others Mothers, Songs for Moms, Vivian Girls, Cheeky, Trophy Wife, The Curtains of Night, Matt & Kim, Demander, Ina Ina (now Guts for Garters), Taigaa, Black Wine, and Ben Franklin. It goes to show you that females drummers are out there, no doubt about that. It's good to see a publication focused on a market that has yet to be tapped.

Issue 1 is out now! You'll get 20 pages in color and interviews with Andrya Ambro of Talk Normal, Allison Busch of Awesome Color, photos, technique tips, and more! Tom Tom is available here. The magazine can also be picked up at St. Marks Bookstore and Bluestockings in New York, NY and Main Drag Music and Cinders Gallery in Brooklyn, NY, as well Buy Olympia in Portland, OR and Girls Rock in Paris, France.

Kathi of Hand Jobs/ Zombie Dogs (Brooklyn, NY)
@ Death By Audio, Brooklyn, NY

Katy Otto of Trophy Wife (Washington, D.C.)
@ Meat Town USA, New Brunswick, NJ

Lauren Fitzpatrick of The Curtains of Night (Chapel, NC)
@ Meat Town USA, New Brunswick, NJ

Tom Tom for Lovers!

Kevin Devine @ WSOU (Interview & acoustic set) 9/5/09

(photo by Christine Wagenheim

Brooklyn based folk-rock singer-songwriter Kevin Devine stopped by the studio of 89.5 FM WSOU in South Orange, New Jersey for an interview and acoustic set on Sept. 5. Here him talk about the Get Up Kids tour, playing, and his future plans and hear "Carnival," "Another Bag of Bones," a cover of David Bazan's "Hard to Be," "Just Stay," and "I Could Be With Anyone." Check it out here:

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