SPILL FEATURE: ON THE PRECIPICE OF SOMETHING DIFFERENT – A CONVERSATION WITH TARA MACLEAN

ON THE PRECIPICE OF SOMETHING DIFFERENT

A CONVERSATION WITH TARA MACLEAN

There is an old saying: “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars.” This adage could certainly apply to Tara MacLean, whose star IS on the rise, again.

The Prince Edward Island-raised singer-songwriter has been enjoying a career resurgence of late. Perhaps best known for her early career work as a solo artist, as one third of the band Shaye, and as a performer in the Lilith Fair women’s touring music festival, MacLean has just published her first book: a memoir, entitled Song of the Sparrow. In it, she writes candidly about overcoming poverty, violence, and abuse. As a soundtrack to her memoir, MacLean is also releasing the album Sparrow, which features new songs and rerecorded works from the past, which connect to certain sections of her book.

Early reviews of the book are glowing, and it was added to The Toronto Star’s bestseller list, just one week after its release. Understandably pleased, MacLean says, “I feel unbelievable! … I’m getting a lot of feedback from the book, really quickly, from people who are reading it. It’s really making my heart just feel so good. It’s such a vulnerable share, so to be getting back that type of feedback, it’s making me feel like, ‘Okay, that’s why I did it. Now it’s all starting to make sense.’”

Writing about aspects of her formative years, and of her career in music, MacLean’s words are honest and direct. This proved to be difficult when it came to describing some traumatic events of her past. She notes, “There were some parts of the book that were so difficult to go back to, and I really wanted to be as real with them as possible. So I did have to return, in my mind, to those places. And, I would tremble as I wrote them. There are three or four in particular, that were just so, so difficult to write. When I would go back and read them, they would often be in the present tense, which was so interesting because it told me that I was really there. In my mind, I allowed myself to visit it, from a witness’ perspective, which is a pretty safe place to see it from, like I’m aware.”

SONG OF THE SPARROW BOOK REVIEW

“I couldn’t write about them, I don’t think, if I hadn’t metabolized those experiences. This was another level of catharsis, it was another level of healing, to write about them in this way, and then to share it. But I did feel like I must have chosen to share those things because it was time, and it felt right. So, even though it was difficult, I felt like I was on the precipice of something different, like sharing a new level of something that is almost unsharable. But I wanted to do it because I thought, ‘other people have been here, too’ and maybe they would feel less alone in that darkness.”

Song of the Sparrow is beautifully written, and MacLean’s descriptions of people, places, and events are incredibly vivid. So much so, that one might imagine the book as a feature film. Responding to this, the author says emphatically, “Oh! Well, that’s the dream, absolutely! Absolutely, I would love, love to see it made into a film. I would love to see Prince Edward Island painted the way that I tried to do in words, but in film. Absolutely! That’s the next dream, honestly!” To stay true to her book in any potential screen adaptation scenario, MacLean notes, “The hope would be that it could be someone like Sarah Polley, or someone who is really amazing at taking a book, and amplifying it, in a way. So many times a book gets squished, or contracted, in a film. But a really great filmmaker could actually make it come to life in a whole new way, and that’s what I’m really hoping will happen.”

It is interesting that the album Sparrow is being released alongside her book, as one art form seems to inform the other. Fans of MacLean’s music will be interested in reading about her life, and those who read her memoir may be inspired to seek out her music. The artist says that it was not a calculated decision, though: “I was just going to write the book. And then, about halfway through, the wonderful woman who is my marketing manager just kind of gave me the idea to write a song for the book. And so, the title track, “Sparrow” came out of me. In the book, I was writing these in-depth descriptions of writing the songs. It just seemed like such a great idea to rerecord them, by visiting them as the woman I am now. It felt really good to do it.”

SPARROW ALBUM REVIEW

MacLean’s trust in her record producer Daniel Ledwell was key to Sparrow’s brilliant outcome. She notes, “Dan is an incredible producer and a dear friend. I just trusted him so much and was way more hands-off with this album… Rather than me sitting there, saying, ‘Oh, I like that, I don’t like that,’ I would just wait, and listen, and let him kind of unfold into whatever magic he was looking for. He really is a genius, and I felt really blessed. And every time he would find the sound, I was floored. I was just blown away. It was way better than I could have imagined, every single time!”

This is truly a time to shine for Tara MacLean, but what of the future? She laughs and says, “Well…! I mean, world domination!”. Her big dream involves creating “a show that has the songs from Sparrow, and some of the stories from Song of the Sparrow, done with symphony orchestras around the world. Singing with a symphony is the pinnacle for a singer. I would like to take the little girl form the plywood stage in the prologue of my book, to the great stages of the world with the best musicians in the world.”

Although the first Lilith Fair festival happened over 25 years ago, the feelings of love and support from that time are never far from MacLean’s heart. As for the notion of that festival being resurrected, she says, “I would love to be part of that! There’s the old saying, ‘I’m carrying my grandmother’s picket signs’. We’re still here. We’re still fighting. I will do it with my art forever, but I’m honestly hoping that this book will help women speak out and use their voices. I use my voice a lot, and it’s time to amplify other voices. That’s what this book is: it’s an invitation to scream. It’s an invitation to sing. It’s an invitation for us to use our super powers to make change in the world. Clearly, there’s a lot of work to be done.”

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