Our Interview with Marilyn Carino

Marilyn Carino is a rare breed of singer who can also produce quality music for herself, without lacking the ear or skills in either field. Every note and drum part on the album have a perfectly balanced chemistry. One never overpowers another. It's minimal and full all at the same time.

When she sings, I always envision a majestic dragon, flying over an army of Matthew McConaugheies (plural), Reign of Fire style, burning them all to death. As a producer, she just has a knack for making a funky-ass bass-synthline over a thumping-bumping kick drum that forces you to shake your head to dat groove (EXAMPLE BELOW BRO!). Then, she adds that layer of firey breath on the track that melts anything in front of it. Much like the hearts of all those hot dudes in the back of Joel's Instagram pics.

Marilyn Carino is a sultry, red-hot coals of a singer and producer. She was part of the electro-soul band Mudville. The duo were like a cross between Massive Attack, Portishead, and Nina Simone with a pinch of Annie Lenox. They also happened to be one of my favorite bands. When I found out she'd made a solo album, I reached out to Marilyn to talk about Leaves, Sadness, Science, unicorns, David Bowie and grandmas.

Now, we begin our interview with the queen, winged demon herself...

SYFFAL: What's the number one best thing about having a conversation with Lang Vo ?

MARILYN CARINO: I once had this dream I was being chased by a unicorn. It was an angry unicorn, hell-bent on blood and vengeance. I realized that the unicorn was just sad because it realized it wasn't real, unless 9-year-old girls believed in him, and even then he still wasn't real. When I woke up, I had a strange feeling, like maybe I should just go back to sleep and so I did. A conversation with Lang Vo is kind of like this, but also not.

SYFFAL: That's a fair assessment. Unicorns are adorbz, so i get what you're saying about his adorbzness. You are getting ready to hit the road soon, Where is this tour taking you in the world?

MARILYN CARINO: I have been playing some fun shows, but staying in the US and mostly East Coast for now because touring is very expensive. When people steal music from the Pirate Bay or think musicians are whiny when Spotify pays them $.00056 per stream because they think they make up the money in touring are just plain WRONG-O. Please support independent musicians by paying them for their music. Or else we have a really hard time making more music. Thank you.

SYFFAL: If you had to choose between a monkey as a pet or babysitting my six kids, which would you rather deal with as far as diapers? My oldest is ten.

MARILYN CARINO: I once had this other dream that David Bowie wanted to make me a grilled cheese sandwich. I told him, "Hey, that's cool, but I don't eat cheese. Can you make me something else?" He went down a list of stuff, would I like a hamburger? Some nice carbonara? Pizza rolls? I don't eat any of those things either and it made me frustrated that he didn't understand my needs. I laughed at his foolishness and went home.

SYFFAL: You have a lot of dreams. All mine have been crushed by life. I also love Davide Bowie, but only in the Labyrinth. What inspired the words and music for Leaves, Sadness, Science?

MARILYN CARINO: I didn't know what the album was "about" until it was finished and I listened to it a bunch of times. I realized that it's all about me encouraging myself to feel free, to change and also to appreciate who I am, who I have become. Like, the song "Tell Me" came from me thinking about what I would have loved to have said to this guy I used to sleep with, who acted so cool like we were just doing it free-like, whatever, and that was fine with me but he was not honest with himself or me, I know he wanted to go into a deeper relationship with me but he was too attached to seeing himself as this evolved-type individual with no emotional ties, but I know he was actually afraid to "ruin" it by letting me get to know him better. It wasn't something I felt badly about because I didn't feel the same way about him, but it surprised me that I noticed this long after the relationship ended. Something in me changed so that I could observe and understand to see through someone who was so not self-aware. It made me proud of myself.

Each song is a sort of epiphany I had about something about myself. And the thing I love so much about the album as a work of art is that it perfectly captures my state of life at the time I made it, it's like a perfectly answered question. Very satisfying.

SYFFAL: He sounds like the kind of guy who wears sandals with socks. Do you miss being in Mudville ? Or is it something you are still involved with ? Do you prefer recording solo?

MARILYN CARINO: I really enjoyed Mudville, but it made me lazy! Benny Cha Cha did all the production, booked the gigs, ran the rehearsals, handled the press, etc., all I had to do was write the songs and show up to sing, although I made a lot of the production decisions as well. Waaaaay easier than doing it all yourself (thanks Benny, sorry I was a bitch sometimes!) I did love being in a band with those people, and I play with Mudville's drummer in my current shows. Even though those songs are great and it would be a nice thing to hear that music all around me while I sing, I am not sentimental about it in the slightest. I hate nostalgia. This music is what I do now. If I did a Mudville project I would have to see it as something attached to an idea of moving forward. Benny and I recorded a new single for a feature film that came out this year under the band's name and that was fun to do, but a tour or whatever is not in the cards I'm holding now.

SYFFAL: Do you prefer holding hands via interlocking fingers or the cupping type version?

MARILYN CARINO: When I was about 13 I went walking with my grandmother, I remember she took my hand not in the grandmotherly cupping version but interlocked my fingers. I'll never forget it, it still gives me the heebers. Why shouldn't you hold your gam-gam's hand like that? I don't know, but you just shouldn't.

SYFFAL: Grandmas are gross, so i understand what you are saying here as well. What's next for the great Marilyn Carino?

MARILYN CARINO: Mudville did a tour of Finland in the month of December. It was dark 22 hours every day. Everyone was drunk all the time. The Finnish government paid for everything, we even had a driver. And I came home with actual money in my pocket. Finland. Totally.

SYFFAL: The only thing I know about people from Finland is that they don't have fins. I'm an American. It's UN-American to care about other mythical lands, because there is only America. Only. How awesome do you think it would be to do an album with me and fly a kite while it's storming? There's no way to separate these two questions. They are one in the same. Much like delicious swiss cake rolls.

MARILYN CARINO: My best friend when I was a kid was this boy Richard. We used to play spin the bottle when we were like 8 and he was the first boy I ever kissed. I lost touch with him for a few years after high school and we ran into each other on Haight St. in San Francisco when we were both living there. He was a full hardcore leather gay guy. I like to think my kissing spoiled him off women. What was the question again?

SYFFAL: Thank for sparing my feelings. Last words of wisdom before we go?

MARILYN CARINO: Louis Armstrong said, "There are only two kinds of music; good and bad" I live by this wisdom.