Janas Hoyt is late. \nIt is evening at the Soma coffeehouse, an eclectic scene of students, coffee-mongers, a variety of fliers and splashes of artwork. Seated across the table is Heather Craig, violinist of the Mary Janes, the local band that Hoyt says plays "American music from the Midwest" and is celebrating the national release of Flame, the band's second CD, this week.\nBefore adding a deep and stringy sound to the Mary Janes, Craig got her start in classical music. Beginning at age 4, she continued until high school at Interlochen Arts Academy, the somewhat famous school in Interlochen, Mich., where she discovered playing classical violin professionally was not for her. It is too competitive for a non-combatant personality. After attending IU for a year, Craig took time off and began to jam with friends and loosen up. Enter mutual friend of Janas Hoyt's and poof -- the two are now one. \nCraig took the place of Cathy Kolata and, later, Carolyn Balfe. After about four years of MJ experience, Craig recorded in the studio for the first time for Flame. The string section, also usually including violinist-violist Megan Weeder, is much of what separates the Mary Janes from other Americana type adventures. Not too many bands have violinists, and they add something unique to the sound, says Craig. \n \nCraig: "I think it depends on the music. I know that some of the definitions that have come up with this band, the strings are somewhere between rhythm and melody. I think they switch back and forth. There are a lot of really rhythmic parts. It's not really flashy. It's not supposed to be real busy and flashy; it's more of a tone and a shape. We don't have lead guitar, as a general rule … To me what's nice about the strings is that it adds depth. Sometimes you can play without bass, you can play without other instruments because of the fullness of the sound. That's interesting."
When she is playing, Craig looks as if she is emitting the intensity of a thunderstorm through her bow, brow furrowed and hips swiveling to the rhythm. Her eyes are closed and her mind is focused, although not necessarily thinking in words.\n \n Craig: "It's interesting. Obviously, people comment on that … It's really not a conscious thing. Kathy, the first string player, I don't know if it's the beat or the music or what, but we both get this hip thing going that's totally … an unconscious thing … I feel that way about music in general. When you get into it, I don't think I have any control over it. Like in a dance studio, your whole body gets involved."
Maybe Craig's movement stems from her love of the music, which she stands behind wholeheartedly. She says she hopes the new album will be recognized for what it is -- different from the first. Citing this as a good thing, Craig also hopes Flame will see more radio play because, usually, people won't buy an album unless they have already heard part of it. The Mary Janes will play at least 100 shows this year in support of the new songs, mostly on weekends and throughout the nation. The tour kicked off at the Cellar Lounge in February.\nAnd, with a flourish and an apology, enter Janas Hoyt. She was enjoying an evening of rest after a weekend of shows and was playing cards with her son when she remembered she was due at Soma. \nHoyt is the MJ songwriter, penning her experiences and ideals for her vocals and guitar. Craig also says Hoyt usually has an idea of what the strings should sound like, which is helpful. The Mary Janes have a rotating rhythm section, which recently included drummers Mark Minnick and Dan Deckard and bassist Dan Dolan. \nHoyt says Rob Westcott, her husband and press contact, says Flame is a trick album, because it starts out as one sound and changes to something entirely different.
About Bloomington, music and cultural degradation\nAfter introductions and a brief rehash of the topics discussed with Craig, Hoyt says what she thinks of Bloomington's music scene.
Hoyt: "I don't think the community supports bands the way that it could, especially from the University. Kids don't come over from the University at all. I don't know what it is, maybe it's just that they're so locked into a mainstream musical genre or a college radio musical genre they don't understand they've got real music right in their midst. That's a big deal to me. It's not really a huge complaint, it's just an observation. Because I've been here long enough to really observe it. I also lived here many years ago; it wasn't any different then. The only band that could do that was the Vulgar Boatman, because they have radio. I think college kids are just addicted to radio. I don't understand it. But … original music is not in its heyday; most of the heyday right now is music that's not super original.
Some college-age folks were in attendance at the Cellar Lounge in February, but the overall support of Bloomington, Hoyt believes, is less than it could be. She says WFHB has always been supportive. Jim, an employee at the volunteer-based radio station, is one of Bloomington's unsung heroes, Hoyt says. \nThe MJs haven't been very active in campus music activities lately, simply because the members think a band can't play Live from Bloomington or Cultureshock every year. \n Perhaps, the lack of support is less a Bloomington or IU problem, but more of a national one, Hoyt says.
Hoyt: "Unfortunately we're living in a time where, unless there's a large neon light above the bank, the great spiritual bank that says, 'Oh, this band is great, they're huge,' it's going to take something else. It's a difficult time, also because there's so many bands. It's like the Internet. We just have a lot more available to us, it's harder to make choices. I sympathize, but I also think that there's a great deal of ethics and values that are lost to the kids that are coming up today."
Craig warns, "Janas, this is for the college paper," before laughing.
Hoyt: "Well, you know, It's a postmodern society, and we're dealing with an art culture that's lost its sense of what is sacred. People don't recognize truth in its real form. It used to be when you went out to see performances, that's what you looked for, truth in a performance … You're looking for something that will elevate you and enrich your life. That's just not criterion anymore." \n \nYet, what if it has to do with the current success of the United States, particularly the economy? One idea circulating in the music degradation discussion ring is that when the economy fails, we will once again have a proliferation of high-quality music.
Hoyt says no while Craig agrees.
Craig: "Nobody's got the blues when they graduate from high school and have a $100,000 car."
Hoyt: "I kinda think that will come around because of boredom. People will eventually get fed up with everything being handed to them on a plate. Being able to click on a button and be quasi-entertained for four hours. I'm hoping eventually people will get antsy."
Laughter ensues, and Craig says the saturation and Internet availability of music also has something to do with it.
Business, music and more words that shouldn't be in the same sentence\nHoyt says another rather significant problem with music culture right now is, well, what's in it and why it got there. The industry, she says, is being sold to "some computer company in Japan" that doesn't think about what it is putting on the market besides that it will sell. She doesn't think 9-year-olds should be listening to Eminem and is "incensed" by the aspect of the business that doesn't care about the effect it is having on the culture and world. \n \nCraig: "That's unfortunate because we are a rock 'n' roll culture now. Everybody's a rock star, and it's because all the people who are power right now are the rock and roll generation."
Hoyt adds that with freedom comes responsibility.
Hoyt: "It's not Eminem's fault, who has the right to say or think or do as he feels to present himself as an artist, but it's who's choosing what's going to be mass-produced, because you can make someone successful, as we've seen.\nBut a lot of people see right through that. And there's your real music scene. And that's why it's great to be in an indie band because it's really grassroots and you really meet those people. You have meaningful relationships. We have great friends all over the country that are so cool. They know what music is and they see bands, they buy records and they dig it. They turn you on to good music, like 'hey, I heard this,' and it's not a contest, it's not this is better than that. \n"It's just all good."
And Craig agrees.\n"It is"
