Mary Lorson

In 1991 I was living in Brooklyn, writing songs, making demos with my friends, and planning to assemble a band which I hoped would bridge the gap between Chrissie Hynde and Lucinda Williams. I had a few good songs and was beginning to sense a direction, when a friend introduced me to Billy Coté, who said he’d written some songs and had a vision for a band called Madder Rose. I decided to try it out for a while. We made some demos, played some gigs, and had an offer from Atlantic Records. Things almost never transpire in this way! Releasing four albums, Madder Rose toured the US and Europe many times, enjoying special attention in the UK, where we recorded two Peel Sessions and headlined the Melody Maker stage at the 1993 Reading Festival. Critics hailed the band’s dynamics, propelled by Billy’s inspired pop songwriting and venomous guitar work, a crackerjack rhythm section (Rick Kubic, aka Johnny Kick, on drums, Matt Verta-Ray and/or Chris Giammalvo on bass), and my own somewhat innocent approach to the lead vocal role. I learned a great deal about singing and playing guitar, and found myself in some memorable and interesting situations, including being hired by Tanya Donelly as a backup singer, and touring as the support act for Hole, Juliana Hatfield, Yo La Tengo, Bush, The Goo Goo Dolls, and the Sundays, among other notable artists.

Time went on, our lives changed and we dissolved Madder Rose in 1999. I had amassed a collection of songs and, remembering Billy’s early good planning, developed a plan for my own band, Saint Low, which I hoped would bridge the gap between Scott Joplin and Joni Mitchell. I returned to my friend Adam’s studio and we made some 16 track demos which ended up released as a 7" single on the UK label, Easy! Tiger, and got enough good press to garner a record deal with London’s Cooking Vinyl. I met up with some amazing young players in Ithaca, New York, where I live, and we put out the first Saint Low album, eponymously titled, in 2000, and I toured the US and Europe promoting it, some of that time employed as backup singer and keyboardist with the Willard Grant Conspiracy. Songs from that album have been placed in TV shows "Alias" and "Felicity" and "The Real World." I followed up with a sophomore full-length, "Tricks for Dawn," in 2002. Billy Coté and I began scoring films in around 2001, and our credits include Grace Lee’s "Barrier Device," starring Sandra Oh. In 2003 we released an album of pieces culled from that work, titled "Piano Creeps."

My third solo album, "Realistic," will be released on The Kora Records in February of 2006. Also in 2006: the release of the HBO/BBC film, "Sally Mann: What Remains," featuring an original score by Billy Cote and myself. Please visit my website, www.saintlow.com, for more info.

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8/10/05: Mary Lorson

Mary Lorson has a groove-loving take on the confessional pop song, referencing the kind of songwriter revered in the 1960's and 70's.

Mary Lorson

Mary Lorson has a groove-loving take on the confessional pop song, referencing the kind of songwriter revered in the 1960's and 70's.

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