Musicians Margot MacDonald and Jonathan Ifergan Jam at EXPO, Support Artists’ Rights

Thursday, November 19th, 2009 by Lucinda M. Dugger

An impromptu jam session ensued on Tuesday at the Copyright Alliance’s EXPOnential between two musicians: Jonathan Ifergan and Margot MacDonald.

 
Photo credit: Renee Bouchard

The two had met for the first time just the day before to deliver the artists’ letter to the White House. Upon meeting, they found they had some areas of common interest. Besides their love of music and the range of talents each possesses, they chatted extensively about the challenges of building a solid fan base and how that affects decisions regarding giving music samples away versus selling music.

Margot belted out the first song while Jonathan played backup guitar for her. As her powerful voice carried through the Cannon Caucus room, heads turned and many of those chattering stopped to listen. Even the catering and event staff pulled out their phone cameras to snap a picture of the young, talented musician. And, I heard at least one person say, “Wow. Where is she from?”
 

“Right here. DC,” was the reply.
 

That’s right, Washington, DC’s very own rising star who writes her own songs, has produced three albums, and designs her own cover art and publicity materials. As she signed autographs at the BMI booth throughout the evening, attendees called her the “red-headed Taylor Swift.”

As Margot ended her tune, Jonathan took up the lead guitar and sent chuckles throughout the crowd as he performed an improvisational Bob Dylan-style song. As a first time visitor to Washington, DC, Jonathan sang about his impressions of the city, the events over the two days, and all the people he had met.

Jonathan is co-founder and lead singer for the band Color Radio out of Chicago. The unsigned band, whose influences include Radiohead, has already put out two albums. They have played in gigs all over Chicago and the Midwest and are in the process of booking an East Coast tour. Wherever you might be in the country, keep an eye out for this band on the rise.

While Margot is mostly a one-woman show, from writing to composing to creating graphics, Jonathan tends to focus on where he knows his strengths are best. He writes each song’s lyrics and encourages his band members to help write the musical composition during practice sessions.

While listening to the duo on Tuesday, one would have never guessed that they approach creating music differently, and that they hadn’t always played together. As Jonathan launched into Yellow Jackets, Margot easily matched the guitar chords and the chorus harmony. As the session drew to a close, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the room wishing they could continue playing late into the night.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end, including this blog. (That is, if you’ve been enjoying it). Before I sign off, however, I’d like to emphasize that I have come to know both Margot and Jonathan through my work at the Copyright Alliance. They are both hard-working, talented musicians who are trying to make a real living at writing, playing, and recording music. They aren’t rolling in the dough. And though they have a lot of good times doing what they do, I’m sure there are moments of doubt and uncertainty of what the future might bring.

They are passionate individuals who care about the rights to their work and look to maintain those rights so they can live off of what they do best.

A lot of people have this misconception that artists are these alter-beings out there who can somehow survive off of some intangible thing. As if all artists couch-surf, strum mindlessly on the steps of clubs in Greenwich Village, and eat crumbs left for the pigeons.

That false picture is what helps people justify the desire to reduce the rights of artists to virtually nothing or to take their music illegally. Yet, if you’d spend the time to talking to artists like Margot and Jonathan, you’d begin to understand why they support the Copyright Alliance and why they signed our letter to the President. You’d see that they are just like most everyone else: they work hard, produce great work, and want to be compensated for that.

So, if you haven’t talked to an artist recently, I encourage you to do so. It might help give you a good perspective as to why their rights are so important to them.

Copyright Alliance

      Of all the awards ever devised to honor the purveyors of musical excellence, the Wammies are without question the most local, not to mention the most recent.
      Last night at the State Theatre in Falls Church, voters of the Washington Area Music Association gathered for the 23rd annual Wammies ceremony, doling out highly genre-specific honors to the hometown heroes of the vibrant local music scene. Mercifully, only about three dozen of the more than 100 Wammies were actually presented onstage; the rest were read roll call-style at the end of the three-plus-hour pageant.
      The night's big winners were the self-explanatory Chopteeth Afrofunk Big Band, foursquare rocker Billy Coulter and Wammie veteran Jon Carroll.    
      Chopteeth, a 14-member intercontinental ensemble, was voted artist of the year in addition to taking home awards for best world music duo or group, world music recording, and debut recording. (The latter two were for "Chopteeth.") 
      Coulter's "Dose," meanwhile, was honored as album of the year as well as the year's best roots rock recording. WAMA members voted Coulter's "Party of One" song of the year and named Coulter best roots rock vocalist for the second year running.
      Carroll performed two songs at the ceremony with his son Ben and his band Love Returns, including his Solomon Burke-esque R&B number "Just Relax." Caroll won a couple of Grammys with the Starland Vocal Band back in 1976, including one for arranging the immortal "Afternoon Delight." Last night, he netted his second consecutive songwriter of the year Wammie (his third SOTY overall), in addition to being named musician of the year. Carroll may have to invest in some shelving: He also won the pop/rock vocalist category, pop/rock duo or group, pop/rock instrumentalist and pop/rock recording, for "Live Returns," recorded at the Barns of Wolf Trap. His six-Wammie haul might seem disappointing only compared to last year, when he won seven.
      If the list of nominees and winners can appear to be somewhat insular, with copious year-over-year repetition, at least the selection of performers offered a fair reflection the region's mix of styles and demographics:
      Folk duo Cletus Kennelly and Lori Kelly funked up their "Love on the Metro" with electronic percussion courtesy of Arthur Loves Plastic (nee Bev Stanton), recipient of the electronica emeritus award.
      Beat-boxing rapper Christylez Bacon, the 22-year-old honored in the hip-hop artist and recording categories, gave us a bouncy "Welfare Check."
      Early '80s new wavers 4 Out of 5 Doctors reunited to offer a surprisingly brawny take of their "I Want Her."
      Singer-songwriter Margot MacDonald, winner of 2007's New Artist Wammie and this year's Modern Rock Vocalist, sang one of her plaintive ballads before leading her band through a gritty cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song." MacDonald, who despite her onstage poise and maturity is both 17 years old and a girl, sang it in a register as high as Robert Plant's.
      There was also a go-go number from Familiar Faces, the torch standard "A Sunday Kind of Love" from Esther Williams, and some mid-tempo indie-rock with mostly inaudible vocals from Juniper Lane.
      Performances aside, the event remained much the same amiably unruly affair as in years past. As one presenter observed from the podium, "We're here for the booze, and the schmooze." There were back-slaps and hugs, presenters trying mostly in vain to quiet the boisterous crowd, and admirably terse acceptance speeches from the winners who showed up to collect their trophies. (Many didn't. Can't pay the rent with a Wammie, after all.)
      Some winners used their moment in the spotlight to honor the also-rans: Collecting his Wammie for country instrumentalist of the year, Ira Gitlin protested, "With all due respect, this just ain't right. I am not worthy to pick [fellow nominee] Chick Hall's pick up off a beer-stained barroom floor."
      But since Carroll scored more visits to the podium than anyone else, perhaps it's no surprise that he managed the evening's most gracious acceptance speech. After being named songwriter of the year, he encouraged his fellow musicians: "Don't be intimidated by a song you think you could never have written. Write your own song."
-- CHRIS KLIMEK

Margot MacDonald

Strathmore transforms talent and careers through its prestigious Artist-In-Residence program. Local emerging artists are invited to partner with seasoned professionals. The talented young musicians create vivid, organic and energetic performances to present at the Mansion at Strathmore. Graduates of the program include Laura Burhenn, LEA and Frédéric Yonnet. Strathmore is excited to present rocker Margot MacDonald as the Artist-In-Residence in September. The singer-songwriter is the recipient of the "New Artist of the Year" Washington Area Music Award. The Sept 10 Artist-In-Residence performance will showcase Margot's softer side with an all-acoustic show at Strathmore. Guest musicians will include Jennifer Cutting, Jon Carroll, Dan Cohn, Sydney Delmar and Danny Schwartz. Sept 24 Margot will rock out the Mansion! This all-electric show with her band -KC Hatton, Ken Barnum and Nik Hughes- will include the world premiere of a new song commissioned by Strathmore. The other 2008-09 Strathmore Artists-In-Residence are Jaime Salazar, Tosin Aribisala, Herb & Hanson, Tracy Anne Smith and John Kocur. Bob Israel, Jennifer Cutting and Jon Carroll will serve as mentors. www.strathmore.org

New Artist of the Year goes to Margot MacDonald who receives her award onstage.

Richard A. Lipski - The Washington Post

By Teresa Wiltz

Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, February 18, 2008; Page C01