The Michigan Daily-Friday, November 17, 1978-Page 7
Burning up the cofeehouses
By ERIC ZORN
Martha Burns has a fetish for old
things. "I believe when something is
old, then it's worn in and solid," she
s.ays. On the walls of her third story
State Street apartment she has old
fashioned portrait photographs along
with pasted up samples from her
collection of 78s, and on the floor is a
corner-full of old musical instruments
and books. "To me," she says, "a good
new song isn't as inspiring as a good old
song."
In some dim corner of her bedroom,
hold credits, that sort of thing. I take it
all one step at a time."
MARTHA STARTED hanging out at
the Ark almost immediately and
playing at hootenanny nights. "David
and Linda Siglin (the mhanagers of the
Ark) deserve a lot of credit for taking
me under their wing and giving me
encouragement. They have been good
with a lot of folks from this area." In
1972 she has her first paid concert-at a
women's center in East Lansing-and
soon after we became involved with
solos can overpower the words. And,
too, I enjoy a direct, personal
relationship with an audience. Just me
and them.
"The whole point for me is to get,
across what I like about a song and
make the audience relate to the same
things. Some people in this business
make the mistake of taking it for
granted that everyone is tuned up to
what they're communicating. I like old
cowboy songs and songs with historical
plots, for instance, and maybe a little
detail will intrigue me and 'make' a
particular song. People sometimes hve
to be clued in to notice these things, and
then the performance can mean as
much to them as it does to me.
"I'M NEVER making a statement
when I sing," Burns continues. "I'm not
a political singer, but I do like a lot of
old topical songs. When I sing a ballad,
I'm just a storyteller. People
sometimes come up to me and say,
'Wow, I really like you voice,' but it's
more to the point for me when they
comment on the songs I've done. Then I
think maybe I've got them on the same
wavelength."
Martha Burn's first solo night at the
Ark went very well for her. "I even got
an encore," she smiles, "and that was
back in the days before they were
obligatory." Since then she has played
four times solo at the Ark, and will
appear there again on Thursday
evening, December 7th.
MARTHA HAS gathered her vast
repertoire of old songs from many
different sources. "I've been heavily
influenced by the Carter Family," she
says, "both their singing and their
ecclectic taste in songs. They not only
sang old mountain ballads, but also
gospel songs, hymns, railroad wreck,
songs, sowboy laments, topical songs,
and anything else that caught their
fancy.
"I look for good tunes anywher,
including turn-of-the-century popular
songs and parlor melodies like 'When
You and I were Young, Maggie.' I've
always got to have my ears open."
Like many of us, Martha can't and
doesn't want to see ten years into the
future. "I'll be playing at Cafe Lena's
in upstate New York, and at the Kent
State Folic Festival, both during
February," she says brightly, "but
that's as far as I want to look. Music is
fun, both singing and meeting and
playing with people. I look forward to
doing more of it."
SHE'S WORKING steadily these
days, singing all over, and writing her
legacy in the Midwest. Her arsenal of
instruments now includes the mandolin
and the fiddle, and she's experimenting
with the banjo. The guitar was
essentially her only instrument until
she picked up a stray mandolin while
waiting to teach a lesson at Herb
Davids. "From there, the fiddle sort of
follows."
Success will just as surely follow
Martha Burn's quest to make her
passion a full time profession. She's too
talented and determined to have things
go any other way. Until her popularity
snowballs or she gets that big break
that sometimes comes out of nowhere
to give a performer a big boost, she'll
keep on singing and keeping her ears
open for new songs. Or rather, new old
songs.
November
HUMAN RIGHTS FAIR
5:30 Potluck
6:30 Worship Service using
"Oh, Freedom"-a human
rights liturgy by Don Luce
7:30 Resource Fair-a sharing
of information and
resources
8:30 Film & Discussion-"The
Church in Korea"
WESLEY FOUNDATION
602 E. Huron at State
Everyone is invited to attend all or part of the Fair.
4- _
A FULL SERVICE MEXICAN RESTAURANT
with DANCING NIGHTLY
presents
Ann Arbor's Premier Discoteque
611 CHURCH ST.--NEAR SOUTH UNIVERSITY
995-5955
I'
I
Martha Burns
Martha has an overstuffed binder filled
wth these inspiring old songs. The
twenty six year old native New Yorker
Is trying to make her career singing
these songs in coffeehouses, small
1suditoriums, and at folk festivals
ciross the country. "Martha Burns is a
real entertainer," says David Siglin,
jyinager of the Ark, "and that keeps
her'from being at all dusty. She really
iakes those great old songs sound
TO BE SURE it's not easymto pay the
bills with old time music in these days
of top 40;pp ,and heayy metal. "My
singing pi ed me here in .Ann
jrbr,'' she says. "It only supplements
y income. One has to work
.ridiculously hard to make a living at
folk music." Currently Burns drives a
schoolbus, works the Bookmobile, and
teaches guitar at Herb David's Studio
between music jobs. "The Midwest is
not where the real market is for folk
performers, and I find myself
commuting to the east coast. When I go
out to Connecticut for a weekend job
like I did in the end of October, I'm
lucky if I get paid enough to cover
travel expenses. At some point I may
end up moving out East, and that would
mean starting again building my
reputation."
Burns doesn't recall exactly when it
was that she started being interested in
folk music, but remembers well the
V impact when her brother brought home
some Ramblin' Jack Elliott and Cisco
Houston records to their West Village
home in New York City. Soon after this
exposure, she packed up the guitar and
'tarted singing folk songs.
After graduating from high school in
1970, she enrolled in the University of
'Michigan. "I just came here," she
explains. "I didn't know about the Ark
'Or the reputation Ann Arbor had in
'those days for attracting fine
musicians." She has been in and out of
'chool for the past eight years, and is
still finishing up an Honors thesis on
Henry Ford and the Revival of the
American Dance Movement. "School is
no longer high priority," she says. "I've
got a lot of debts outstanding, loans,
TONIGHT1
People
are Living
There.
A Play by
Athol Fugard
Universityn
Production
'Nov. 15 -18
8p.m.
several old time stringbands, including
an instrumental group, The Pigtown
Flingers, and, most recently, the Argo
Pond String Band, which for a long
time played every Sunday at Mr.
Flood's. r
"Strings bands have been very
influential in my career," Martha says.
'"They've been fun and I've learned a
whole lot. Over the years, though, I
found myself getting more and more
interested in the old songs and wanting
to have the control that being a solo
performer allows. I've come to Ike a
minimum of instrumentation on songs
because too many. harmonies and hot-
Mediatrics
Presents
THE GROOVE TUBE
(Ken Shapiro, 1974) The all-time favorite Boobe Tube spoof. CHEVY CHASE, BUZZY LINHART and
CHRISTINE NAZARETH lead the pack and the ratings in Dealers and the legendary International
Sex Olympics. Irreverent and obscene commercials that would make any TV junky blush.
Fri, Nov 17 Nat Sci Aud 7,8:30&10
ALFRED HITCHCOCK NIGHT
MURDER (1930). One of the rare whodunits from !the master of suspense MURDER shows
Hitchcock already in command of his style. "It was an interesting film and quite successful in
London, but it was too sophisticated for the provinces."-AH
Sat, Nov 18 Not Sci Aud 8:40 only
SUSPICION (1941). Perennial hero Cary Grant is cast in the role of the villain who's wife
(JoanFontaine),is ofraid that he is a murderer. Hitchcock constantly upsets the audience's expec-
tationsthat he really is a good uy.
Sat, Nov 18 Notti Aud 7:00 &A:
-I
FRANCOIS TRUFFAUT'S
1968
Admisstion $1.56
$2.50 double feature
i
STOLEN KISSES
A failure in the military, he eventually wound up in after THE 400 BLOWS,
Antoine Domel (alias Jean-Pierre Leaud alias Truffaut himself) strikes out to
find romance and success in civilian life. His wildly humorous search leads
him from jobs as a detective, a hotel night watchman, a shoe salesman and a
T.V. repairman with lots of comic relief (and love interest) along the way.
In French and in Color.
SAT: Divine in PINK FLAMINGOES
tonight at old arch. aud.
CIN7MA GUILD 0.5:30a10:00 $1.so
II '
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