Megan Slankard
Country of origin:
U.S.
Type of music generally:
Acoustic new folk/pop with a hint of blues
Status:
Most recent release, Running on Machinery (2015)
See also:
Megan Slankard's site
Comparisons:
Take 1960s folk, add Muddy Waters, Ani DiFranco, and a touch of Jewel and you might get close to Megan, but nothing like her. (tjshadb@voyuz.net)
Covers/own material:
For a number of years, Megan's gigs were populated by 2-3 hours of covers. Over the past few years, as her following and personal portfolio has grown, her gigs are now primarily original tunes with one or two choice covers.
General comments:
A native of the San Francisco Bay Area, Megan began guitar lessons at age ten, had her first paying gig at 15, and has since that day honed her skills as a song spinner and performer. Her original compositions are far more mature than her years. Her voice is well-suited to the blues style she prefers. As a performer, Megan's instrument of choice is the guitar, and her skills and voicing are impressive. In a live setting, Megan performs solo, with bass or guitar backup, or with the Megan Slankard Band depending on the venue.
In 2001 she and her brother Tom released Lady is A Pirate with bass line support by Rich Talley. Now in its 5th printing, those looking for a purely acoustic performance will enjoy these original songs.
2003 saw Megan expand her musical tapestry with the formation of the Megan Slankard Band and the release of Freaky Little Story which has sold over 10,000 copies worldwide and features her Pantene Pro-Voice finalist "Flying Backwards" as well as the infamous "Too Bad You" heard on TLC's "What Not to Wear" which has now featured Megan in two episodes.
For 2005, Megan makes another giant step in maturity with the release of A Little Extra Sun, a 5-song EP featuring professional musicians and her first use of a real producer. All songs continue to be solely written by Megan.
So, as you listen to her lilting voice meander in and out of the melody line, sit back and enjoy. As Megan quotes from Shakespeare, "If music be the food of love, play on." (tjshadb@voyuz.net)
Recommended first album:
Lady is a Pirate if you prefer solo acoustic sounds, Freaky Little Story if you prefer a full band sound.
Recordings:
- Lady is a Pirate (2001)
- Freaky Little Story (2003)
- A Little Extra Sun ep (2005)
- A Token of the Wreckage (2011)
- Running on Machinery (2015)
Lady is a Pirate
Release info:
2001—Megan Slankard Music—MS2966
Availability:
See website for availability
Ecto priority:
Highly recommended
Group members:
Megan Slankard—guitars, vocals
Guest artists:
Rich Talley—bass
Produced by:
Megan and Tom Slankard
Comments:
This collection of original songs, written between August 2000 and April 2001, is Megan's first commercial release. Very new folk in style, with a definite blues tinge, Megan is the center of this collection on her guitar. Her voice wraps around her subject matter, which is far more mature than one would expect from an eighteen-year-old. Rather than try to describe the variety of subject covered on this release, I will limit myself to two "songs, "Fly Now (I Have Decided)" and "Second Best".
Fly Now (I Have Decided)" is an introspective piece from the viewpoint of someone that has left behind their entire life to try starting over again waiting for the plane to take off. Megan's interpretation is not of utter despair, but it does not pretend to be overtly hopeful. "I took my favorite CDs and everything that's golden; In other words, 14 dollars and that apple I had stolen. I really had no idea this tomorrow happened a full year ago; Time flies like an arrow but sometimes arrows fly so slowly." This is a truly heart-wrenching song in its sparseness and power.
"Second Best" was a "project" Megan assigned herself—to write a song which contains as many oxymorons as possible. This is a fun song, still tinged with the inherent sadness of Megan's blue style voice. A great bass solo by Rich is a high point in this song. "I'm being hopelessly optimistic—you're an honest crook; The poor reputation your love gets should make you look. It gets pretty ugly; I'm clearly misunderstood. I'm second best and that's pretty good." (tjshadb@voyuz.net)
Freaky Little Story
Release info:
2003—Megan Slankard Music—msb2386
Availability:
CDBaby or see website for availability
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Megan Slankard—acoustic guitar, vocals
Mike Hsieh—electric guitar, acoustic guitar on "Nearly Almost Always"
Dave Moffat—bass
Ian Stambaugh—drums
Guest artists:
Anthony Cole—scratching & sampling on "Mocking Bird"
Chris Holmes—electric guitar on "Give Life", shaker on "Addy's Tattoo"
Sam Leachman—cello on "Addy's Tattoo"
Produced by:
Megan Slankard & Chris Holmes
Comments:
This is the second release by Megan Slankard, and she has made gigantic leaps in her musical skills since the 2001 release of Lady is a Pirate. With the addition of a full backup band (guitar, bass and drums) Megan has expanded her musical language by taking full advantage of these instruments and the talents of the musicians. Fourteen original songs written between 2001 and 2003 are featured, of which many are radio friendly in their melodies and hooks. However, the lyrics are much more involved than anything you would expect on commercial radio. This album will remind most listeners of Sarah McLachlan's "Solace" except that is guitar-driven rather than piano-driven and there's nothing wrong with that. (tjshadb@voyuz.net)
A Little Extra Sun ep
Release info:
2005—Megan Slankard Music
Availability:
CD Baby or her website
Ecto priority:
Recommended
Group members:
Megan Slankard—acoustic & electric guitar, vocals
Mike Hsieh—electric guitar
Steve Bowman—drums
Peter Canton—bass
Adam Rossi—keyboards, programming
Guest artists:
Dan Vickrey—acoustic & electric guitar
Nelson Braxton—bass
Brian Collier—drums
Yair Evnin—cello, electric guitar
Michael Fiorentino—violin, electric guitar
Produced by:
Adam Rossi
Comments:
Continuing to mature musically, this EP is Megan's first truly professional release and returns to being billed solely as Megan Slankard. Megan pulls in some heavy hitters of the San Francisco music scene including studio drummer par excellent Steve Bowman (Counting Crows, John Wesley Harding, Penelope Houston, Luce), Counting Crows' guitarist Dan Vickrey and SF Producer Adam Rossi (Luce, Viv) to really bring this lush vision to life.
If unintentional, the underlying theme of Little Extra Sun is relationships, the giddy start ("Riley") the warm fuzzy middle ("Planets", "You Love Like"), the disintegration ("My Hallelujah") and the aftermath ("Sails"). While some of these songs have been honed over a few years, both "Sails" and "You Love Like" are recent and have bounded from Megan fully formed.
With production values better than most commercial releases, this EP may well be the calling card that gets Megan signed to a major label on her terms finally. (tjshadb@voyuz.net)
Thanks to Troy Shadbolt for work on this entry.
