Marisa Anderson brings her guitar to Northside

Chris Varias
Enquirer contributor
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Marisa Anderson.

Marisa Anderson’s live shows draw fans of instrumental guitar playing that are there to study her technique as she explores blues and mountain-music traditions.

The shows also draw fans of Anderson’s sound in general, which, on Anderson’s new album, “Into the Light,” explores a different portion of the American musical map – the Southwest. Sharon Van Etten is among those fans; Anderson played guitar on Van Etten’s most recent album, “Are We There?”

Anderson, who comes to town for a solo performance in the cozy setting of the Northside bar the Listing Loon, described the sound of and inspiration for “Into the Light” during a telephone call from the road while on tour.

Question: Is there a relationship between the traditional American music you’ve made on previous records and the music on the new record?

Answer: The new record is a westward turn. I was trying to move away from Appalachian music and blues and more toward a western sound.

Q: Why?

A: I don’t want to repeat myself, for one thing. I’ve made three records in that vein and wanted to stretch out a little bit. And also, I’m from the West Coast. I grew up in California. I live in Portland, Ore. I’ve spent quite a lot of time traveling in the Southwest and living in the Southwest. My music is a reflection of my life experiences.

Q: Blues and Appalachian aren’t forms of West Coast music. What’s your connection to those styles?

A: I live in the United States, so when we talk about American music, we’re basically talking about Southern music. That’s pretty much culturally the jumping-off point for much of what we talk about or listen to. The blues is kind of everywhere, you know?

Q: Would you agree that music on “Into the Light” shares similarities with the cinematic, Southwestern sound of Calexico?

A: Yeah, sure, not that I’m mining a Calexico vein, but maybe that some of those influences that they’re mining are similar to ones that I might be mining.

Q: Are you comfortable with “Into the Light” being described as Western-soundtrack sounding music?

A: Yeah, that’s totally fine.

Q: Is that what you had in mind when you made it?

A: When I was making the record, I started listening to what was being put down. It started forming itself for me as a soundtrack to an imaginary movie, and that movie is a science fiction western movie, so it is cinematic and western.

Q: Are there any Westerns or Western soundtracks from which you took inspiration?

A: There’s a movie called “The Hired Hand,” and the soundtrack is by a guy named Bruce Langhorne. The movie was made by Peter Fonda. It’s about 1972, and that record was something I was listening to quite a bit, and another record that was influential in a really different way was “Red Headed Stranger,” the Willie Nelson record.

Q: Did your decision to explore this type of music have anything to do with your proficiency on guitar, as if you needed to switch styles in order to challenge yourself, because you had blues guitar figured out?

A: No. I always want to challenge myself. The horizon keeps getting bigger and farther away. In terms of playing guitar or any instrument, you’re never finished.

If you go

What: Marisa Anderson with Pete Fosco

When: 9 p.m. Tuesday, May 17

Where: 4124 Hamilton Ave., Northside

Information: 513-542-5666

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