Michelle Malone brings Georgia ‘red clay soul’ to Snohomish

Published 1:30 am Thursday, August 29, 2019

The musical drive Michelle Malone is known for was foreshadowed early in life.

When she was 12, she taught herself Richie Havens’ “Freedom,” which he famously performed at Woodstock.

“I must have listened to it 100 times,” she said. “I do a lot of things by rote and that’s how I learned how to play the guitar.”

Her interest in musical instruments began with the saxophone, ignited at age 8 when her mother, a singer, took her to see a band. The saxophone player had “all these rings on his fingers,” she said.

“I thought he was the coolest thing. I didn’t know what a saxophone was, but I wanted to learn. That began the journey. Then I found the guitar.”

The full-throttle verve of her life includes entering college intent on becoming a doctor — only to drop out to pursue music.

“I wasn’t going to class anyway, I was out in the bars every night playing music.”

Off she went, first with a record contract, then founding her own record label. Over her 32-year career, she has cut 18 albums, the latest of which is “Slings and Arrows,” produced last year.

Malone, whose genre-spanning music includes blues, rock and Americana, will perform an acoustic concert at 7 p.m. Friday at Looking Glass Coffee in Snohomish. She’ll be joined by guitarist Doug Kees.

The coffee house has begun booking live music events every other Thursday and Friday.

“It’s really fun to have Michelle. I think she will be the biggest name so far,” said Laura Page, who co-owns the coffee shop with her husband, Tex Page.

“It’s a great treat for her to come up to little ol’ Snohomish,” Page said. “It’s an all-ages venue so people can bring their children. It will be fun.”

Rick Bowen, drummer for the Stacy Jones Band, said among Michelle Malone’s talents is her ability on slide guitar, which he says is unusual for women.

“I can only think of a couple others,” he said. “She’s right up there with Bonnie Raitt and Melissa Etheridge. That’s who I would compare her to.”

The Atlanta native performs in a style that’s often called red clay soul, named after the soil in Georgia.

“She’s high energy, roots and blues,” Bowen said.

Michelle Malone’s stop in Snohomish is part of a West Coast tour that includes gigs in Oakland, Grants Pass, Oregon, and Tacoma, where she will perform with the Stacy Jones Band at Jazzbones. It will be the first time Malone and Jones perform together.

“I’m really excited about it,” Malone said. “We’ll do a little (solo) acoustic and a little bit of band. I imagine it will be a rip-roaring show.”

Malone said most of her songs can be modified for solo acoustic or band performance because she sits with an acoustic guitar as she writes them.

“Generally I make the set based on my mood and requests from the audience,” and requests are welcome, she said.

“I’ve been coming to the Pacific Northwest since 1990. I don’t have millions of fans but I do have some who have kept up with me for decades and decades. That’s amazing to me.”

Asked about a performance with the Atlanta Symphony in 2015, Malone said it began with a call from the keyboardist Chuck Leavell, who played with the Allman Brothers Band and is currently on tour with the Rolling Stones.

Leavell was putting together a tribute to Georgia music. “He called me up one day and that freaked me out enough,” she said. “He tells me about the show, with a tribute to (Georgia native) Otis Redding within the show.”

Leavell told her he would like her to do a duet with Gregg Allman. Malone said that she was so surprised she didn’t know whether to hang up or just say no.

She recorded the performance on her phone, and said she has never played it for anyone.

The song they performed is Redding’s “I’ve been Loving You Too Long.” A hand-held video taken by an audience member preserves the moment, which ended with a standing ovation.

“It was another milestone in my life,” she said. “No matter what happens from then on out, I’ll always have that moment.”

The show deeply influenced her “Slings and Arrows” album.

“It reminded me of my roots and I wanted to get back to my roots of singing songs I can really sink my teeth into and really feel deeply,” she said.

The album includes another version of Redding’s song, one on which she had hoped to reunite with Allman, but he died in 2017, before it could be recorded. It’s the only song on the album Malone didn’t write.

“At this point in my life I enjoy singing songs that bring people joy and that bring me joy,” she said.

Malone said she’s looking forward to returning to the area. “My bottom line is I hope people are aware that I’ll be there and they can make it out to the show.

“We’ll have a good time,” she said. “You just have to get off the couch. That’s the hardest part. Get off the couch and come enjoy it.”

Sharon Salyer:425-339-3486 or salyer@heraldnet.com.

If you go

Michelle Malone will perform at 7 p.m. Aug. 30 at Looking Glass Coffee, 801 First St., Suite 201, Snohomish. Tickets are $10 in advance at tinyurl.com/MichelleTkx and $15 at the door. More at tinyurl.com/moreaboutmichelle or 360-863-3557.