Hail Mary

Rossoni shines on Downcity

by Bob Gulla

Rhode Island has its share of singer-songwriters. It's a cozy, modest group of talented aesthetes, too psyched-out to get embroiled in the competitive Boston scene, not quite confident enough to strap a guitar to their collective backs and hit the highway.

You know it: It's a courageous thing, and a little stupid, hitting the road like that, believing (or not) that the people you meet, the ones who'll hear your songs, will believe in you. When you pull out of town, you leave your comfort zone, you're literally in search of, like the Moody Blues said back in '72, "new horizons." But let's be realistic. Most promising singer-songwriters, no matter how creative and talented, don't have enough fortitude to fly the coop. No matter how brave (or foolhardy), leaving a life behind for what could best be described as an elusive future, some kind of mirage of perfection, is not sensible, pragmatic, even reasonable. Of course, that's not why musicians write and play songs in the first place. They do so because they love it, they can't live without it, no matter how impractical or unreasonable or ludicrous it may be.

Bandleader, songwriter, and singer Mary Ann Rossoni, who'll be playing her new album, Downcity, at her record release party this week, knows the "should I stay or should I go" dilemma pretty well. On that record's opening track, "Conversations," she articulates it nicely. "I listen to the train rumble on the track/I know where I've been, don't know where I'm going/And there ain't no turning back." It's a powerful sentiment, one recalling the ol' blues hobos, or at least gritty writers like John Hiatt or Steve Earle. The breathless, Springsteen-esque song is complimented by a distant, wailing harmonica and chugging electric and acoustic guitars. Nice.

"I've done a lot of traveling recently, playing shows in Philadelphia and DC, Virginia, and Ohio," says Rossoni, who runs a graphic design firm by day. "So I know what it takes to go out and get in front of audiences. It's been great so far, and a lot of fun. But a struggle, too." Over the next few months, instead of continuing to venture afield to promote Downcity, Rossoni will be staying closer to home. "We're gonna try and work New England for this record," she says. "We haven't spent much time playing around here in quite a while and I'd really like to play more, and play closer to home."

Besides writing eloquently about issues like separation, distance, and departure, Rossoni also has a way with melody. The folk-rock sound that dominates Downcity is, like the songwriter's eye for detail, keenly realized and skillfully fleshed out. Recorded at Jack Gauthier's Lakewest Studio and mixed by talent at her record company, Wall Street Music, the record emphasizes Rossoni's accomplished strumming and fingerpicking in addition to her evocative tenor.

"One of the things that was important to me while we made this record," she states, "was that I wanted my guitar way up in front. I don't mean to say I'm a great player, but the rhythmic sound of the guitar drives the music I write and that's the way I hear it in my head. That fingerpicking is the sound of what I do."

Rossoni's organic approach serves her well, especially on "Safe Zone (Sidewalk Girls)" (the first single), "Lately," with its plangent acoustic tones and sweet vocals, and the poignant "Tears Fall Dry." Newcomers to Rossoni will find Downcity a diverse bounty of accomplishment, while those who know her work will appreciate the giant strides she's made since her last release, the acclaimed 1998 solo debut, Half Slips and Garters. That album earned praise from the likes of People magazine, Performing Songwriter, and Dirty Linen, as well as a handful of awards, including Best Female Vocalist honors in the Phoenix's Best Music Poll.

Rossoni has come a long way since bowing onto the singer-songwriter scene with her original performance partner John Fuzek. Though they made some memorable music and a significant folk recording in Waking Up from the American Dream, Rossoni has moved away from that classic, issue-oriented sound onto Downcity's more pop-rock terrain. Live, at least locally, she'll have help achieving that sound from an all-star cast, which includes Joe Potenza on bass, Dan Hann on drums, Betsy Dake on background vocals, DJ Lauria on lead guitar, and Vince Pasternak on viola, mandolin, and violin. And not only has Rossoni enjoyed the ensemble feel of her new endeavor, she has also learned to put her music and her artistry into perspective along the way.

"I'm a lot less anxious about the business part of it than I was," she says. "So often, you get this creative thing going with songwriting, then your head gets cluttered with the business side -- the side we all hate -- with things like promotion, booking, business decisions. This deal with Wall Street Records has taken a lot of that off of me. I'm regaining my creative roots -- I've been watering them and got them growing again. I feel very good about the place I'm in right now. I'm not thinking about money as much any more. Not that I have much of it! I'm just intent on writing music that reaches people like myself, who want to share good times. I'm really not thinking about selling. I'm just doing what I wanted to do in the first place: write music that people can relate to."

The CD party is on Sunday, November 5 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Century Lounge, 150 Chestnut Street, Providence. A $15 admission buys the new CD and food, too (admission without disc purchase is $5). Call 751-2255.

WANDERING EYE. The sixth (and final) annual Mountain Music In the Ocean State festival, featuring Jean Ritchie, takes place at Stone Soup in Pawtucket on Saturday. The details, descriptions, and event schedule can be found online at www.mountainmusic.org/. Festival creator and producer Aubrey Atwater hosts the event, which is sponsored by the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, the Stone Soup Folk Arts Foundation, and the Rumpler Foundation, which will spotlight workshops during the day and performances at night. Along with Ritchie, there will be master fiddlers, dulcimer players, storytelling, clogging, jam sessions, and all sorts of things you'd be likely to hear if not in the Rhode Island mountains, the mountains somewhere north, south, or west of here.

Bring your instrument if you are so inclined and join in on the jams and workshops. Check the schedule: certain events are kid-friendly, and hot food will be available. The fee is $15 for the workshops (from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.), and $15 for the 8 p.m. concert (all-day tickets are $25). It's a lot of bang for the entertainment buck, f'yask me.

Bob Gulla can be reached at b_gulla@yahoo.com.

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