‘I’m a very spiritual person, but I wouldn’t call myself religious. . . . I can’t ascribe to one and then say all the others are wrong.”
NEWCOMER Mary Lee Kortes, front woman for Mary Lee’s Corvette, has one of the most compelling voices in modern rock. It has taken a lifetime for the transplanted Montana girl (who declines to give her age) to achieve her overnight success. Kortes’ keen observations of people and life can be found in the songs on her upcoming debut disc, called ‘True Lovers of Adventure,” landing in stores Tuesday. Introducing Mary Lee – here’s what’s on her mind.
Q: If you had to compare growing up in Montana with life here in New York City, what would be the most striking contrast?
A: One of the things I found difficult about living in the Midwest was people were so courteous and so nice all the time. Behind that were the other feelings they are hiding. That’s what I call ‘Midwest repressed.” I mean, people just don’t let you know if anything bad is going on . . . until they kill their family or something. So when I first moved to New York and I saw cab drivers getting out of their cars and yelling at each other, and people yelling at each other on the street, I though this place is so healthy. Everyone expresses their feelings so openly. Then I realized, no, everyone is just totally filled with hostility. Open expression of hostility – that’s the New York difference.
Q: Where does the inspiration for your songs come from?
A: There’s a lot of childhood and adolescent stuff in the music. That’s a real hard time in everyone’s life.
Q: On your debut album, there are a few tunes with religious elements. Is religion a big part of your life?
A: I’m a very spiritual person, but I wouldn’t call myself religious. I don’t follow an organized religion, because I can’t ascribe to one and then say all the others are wrong. I mean, that’s how wars get started.
Q: In your spirituality, what do you feel most strongly about?
A: In my hope there is a God. They say God is inside of everyone. It’s a nice idea, but I hope God is outside of me, and that God knows a lot more than I do . . .
Q: How about the name of your band: Mary Lee’s Corvette. Does it have anything to do with corvette as in ‘warship,” or as in the ultimate boy’s-toy car?
A: I could say, ‘Life is a battle for the warship connection.” Or maybe I could say, ‘I’ve spent so much time and money on my career, I could have bought a Corvette.” Or I could say, ‘I want to speed through life” – or even, ‘I want to be a sex object.” But none of that’s true. There’s no hidden meaning here. I didn’t want to perform under my name – that’s just boring – and the music I was making was more of a thing than just me. There were more people involved than me. So, one day, I got this thing in the mail, and it said something like ‘Mary Lee Kortes, you have won $75,000 or a free Corvette.” It also had three little pictures, of a red, a black and a blue Corvette. Under each picture there were the words ‘Mary Lee’s Corvette.” So I said, ‘Isn’t that cute?” I cut them out and made a flyer for my gig. People knew who it was and the name evolved that way, even though I never owned a car before.
Q: Before, you mentioned how the music is a collaborative effort. On the album, almost all of the songs have co-writing credits. What is your contribution to the music?
A: I usually write the melody and the lyrics. The other person usually is a musician who is very into a particular instrument.
Q: What instrument do you write on? And when you start a song, is it music or word that get you going?
A: Usually I write on piano, and sometimes on guitar. When I write by myself, I almost always have a lyric idea first. Sometimes I get the lyric and melody at the same time. I often have a song idea for a very long time before it’s actually done.
Q: When you sing, are we listening to Mary Lee or a character in her song?
A: I sing in character, and certain songs, like ‘Why Don’t You Leave Him” [about an abusive relationship], are definitely not autobiographical – it’s not about me or anyone in my family. I like people to know that, because I’m asked that all the time. I guess that’s testament to how authentically written it is.
Q: Are you saying there is a separation between you and the music you write?
A: Sure. I write a song about loss of love, and the feelings and emotion behind the song are tapped from deaths in my family when I was young. That’s how I make feelings vibrant in my music. I’m also pretty good at putting myself in someone else’s shoes.
Q: This is what you always wanted?
A: Yeah, music has always been part of my life and a part of my family’s life. My grandmother was my biggest influence. She played piano and had this big ol’ Hammond A-100 organ in her house, which I now have.
Q:Mary Lee, in a photo I have of you, there’s this terrific snake tattoo on your arm. Is it real?
A: Yes, it’s real; it just isn’t permanent. Tattoos should be like jewelry: They should be changeable.