If you are wondering what the next big thing to emerge from the Chicago music scene might be, you would be wise to take a listen to the band Mabel Mabel. In a review I wrote of their self-titled debut disc in 2000, I said "Mabel Mabel's instrumentation ( accordion, Moog, viola, dobro ) is ... on the exotic side, adding to their uniqueness. Lead singer Reyna Larson's smoky vocals give her songs the necessary backbone to get them across. "House Of The Blue," the gorgeous "High Days and Holidays" and "Hopelessly," the Euro-cabaret "Satisfied," and "Me Slowly" ( which reminded me of Cathy Richardson ) , are more than half of the reasons to pick up this disc. I still feel the same way, more than a year later. With the addition of a brand new, self-titled four-song EP which includes the refreshing pop song "Trying To Make A Living" and the bluesy punk roar of "Tripping Over Delilah," Mabel Mabel is a band to watch closely. You will have a chance to watch them perform at Northalsted Market Days when they perform on the Belmont Stage at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 5.
Gregg Shapiro: I'd like to begin by asking about the name of band. How did you come up with it?
Reyna Larson: It's from a John Waters movie...Female Trouble. Taffy, the little girl ( in the movie ) is jumping rope, and she's saying "Mabel, Mabel."
GS: Something that sets Mabel Mabel apart is the unique instrumentation. In addition to more traditional instruments, you also have a viola, a Moog ( synthesizer ) , a dobro, and an accordion. Can you say something about that?
RL: I don't know if it was so much a conscious choice, but rather that we're lucky to have players that are so versatile. Katrina happens to play viola and when we first brought her on, she came in to do a track on something had we recorded... "House of The Blue"...and we were like, "Wow, we like that." So, she came on board. Scott happens to play the accordion and just kind of seemed neat to be able to use all this stuff.
GS: Because the instrumentation is so unusual, it made wonder who you would consider to be musical influences.
RL: ( Laughs ) That's a tough one. Everybody. It sounds crazy, I think.
GS: Well, what are you listening to?
RL: I'm listening to Coldplay, Radiohead. I'm a big R&B fan...I like a lot of Jamiroquai. I'm a huge Dave Matthew's fan. I'm a huge Van Morrison fan. So, it comes from everywhere. It's a blessing and a curse.
GS: What about what you listened to when you were growing up?
Katrina Lenk: The Village People were who my parents listened to, and then classical music was really all we had in the house. But that's my own little bubble.
RL: My mom was a disco queen...we listened to a lot of Gloria Gaynor. I have a love for every different style of music, so I can't help but write in so many styles.
GS: Mabel Mabel's self-titled debut album came out in 2000. How long were you working on songs before you were able to compile them for the purpose of recording them for a CD?
RL: Not too long. It was kind of a hurried decision. Just from playing out we thought we were getting a lot of pressure to release something. We set out to first make a glorified rehearsal CD for ourselves. We started recording and ended up really liking what we had. We laid them all down and decided to release it. It was kind of weird decision. We're working on a new one now.
GS: What was it about the eight songs that made you choose them?
RL: At the time there weren't a lot of tunes to pick from. Besides those, there were probably just a small handful more.
GS: What can you tell me about the songs on the new four-track self-titled EP?
RL: They're pretty much standing on their own. We're working with a producer now, starting on the new album. A couple of the songs on the EP will be on the full-length, but they'll be remixed...so they won't be same versions. The EP will be available at Market Days and also online.
GS: Who is the producer that you mentioned?
RL: His name is Brian Deck. He's on the first album actually. He produced three tunes.
GS: How much have got completed of the new album?
KL: Just two good basic tracks. They take awhile. You wouldn't think that it takes that long, but you could spend 12 hours in the studio and just get one thing done. It's like a pleasureful kind of laboriousness.
GS: What is Mabel Mabel's writing process like?
RL: Usually, I bring in the tune and present it. I'll play it for them and then everybody kind of jumps in. Each member's responsible for their own parts. I just write the melody of the tune. [ It's ] rehearsal, rehearsal and rehearsal and those parts get set and that's what they are.
GS: Both the full-length album and the EP are independently released. Have you had any major-label attention?
RL: A little bit here and there. It's been like baby steps. We're getting there. I think, ultimately, our goal is to get a label behind us. Not necessarily a huge one, but something that suits us. Even if it's a smaller independent label, to keep the control within the band artistically...to keep doing what we're doing.
GS: You've got such a distinctive identity, you don't want to lose that.
RL: Right. It's funny because it tends to freak people out a little...the versatility. People's first instinct is to put us in a box and say, "No! You have to establish a sound." I think that's what makes us special, that's what makes this band so cool.
KL: That is our sound.
GS: You mentioned that the CD arose from playing in clubs. What's the best part about live performance?
RL: The best part is the people that keep coming back. They make the show exciting, more than we could ever ( laughs ) make the show exciting. It's true, it's that energy of the fans that we've established.
GS: Have you played out of town at all?
RL: We're starting in September. We have a bunch of stuff lined up in Indiana, Wisconsin...stuff like that. We're starting to go to places like Austin.
GS: Do you have a preference for live performance versus being in the studio recording?
RL: I don't know. I like both. They're so different. Part of me would like to not play out for awhile and just lock us up for about a month and just keep recording and really honing that album.
GS: Because you have a reputation for being a good live band, do you ever foresee releasing a live album?
RL: I would love to.
KL: If we could get good sound ( laughs ) .
RL: If we could get a good sound man.
KL: That's the most frustrating thing. The nicest thing about recording is that you can hear every part of it. With a number of bands, a lot of it gets lost live, so that's one of the nice things about the studio.
RL: On the other hand, it's so perfect that it doesn't capture a lot of what we do live. I think I'd like to do an acoustic album. We just did an acoustic show at the Elbo Room. It was really well received and we had a ball. It was kind of neat...no electric instruments, no keyboards, it was very cool. The acoustic guitars, upright bass and our keyboard player also played handbells.
GS: Did he wear white gloves?
KL: ( laughs ) No, he didn't. We thought he would.
RL: Scott also played hammer dulcimer and accordion.
GS: I'd like to take a moment to talk to Katrina about her role in Hedwig and The Angry Inch. What can you tell me about the experience?
KL: It's been very good for me, I think. It's really hard. It's one of those parts where you have to rise to the occasion...you think you can't do it and then you push yourself.
GS: Last year, I interviewed songwriter and singer Bruce Roberts regarding the album on which he worked with Cher. When he realized that I'm in Chicago, he asked me if I knew about Mabel Mabel. How does it feel to have a Grammy Award-winning songwriter know about your band?
RL: It feels good. He's so down to earth. He reminds me so much of a very close friend of mine. A lot of that stuff doesn't really sink in. Being friends with Sean ( Hayes of Will & Grace ) , kind of helped. He's just a great guy. The coolest part about it was, when we were in London, I went to a club and all these tunes were playing. They were all these songs that Bruce had written like, ( sings ) "Enough is enough is enough..." ( "No More Tears" ) . All this stuff was coming on and he would sit there and tell you about being in the studio with Donna Summer and working with all these people. He's so laid back. He's very cool.
GS: You mentioned Sean Hayes. Did you go to high school with him in the Chicago-area?
RL: Yes. We met out sophomore year. I had transferred to that school. He was the first person that I met. We've been best friends ever since. And the rest is history.