AltWeeklies Wire » Music » Profiles & Interviews

Carolyn Mark Enjoys Infamy

By Greg Pratt
Monday Magazine | August 7, 2004
Moms all over the place may think otherwise, but local country croonin’ gal Carolyn Mark ain’t no superstar yet. “See, moms listen to the CBC,” Mark laughs. “I’m big with the mothers.” Listening to the tunes on her latest album, The Pros and Cons of Collaboration—her third collection of drinkin’ tunes, sad about not drinkin’ tunes, and other related themes—it’s almost hard to imagine you can still catch Mark every Sunday hangin’ at her Hootenanny at Logan’s Pub. “Well, I come to the Hootenanny in a limo now,” mocks Mark. “The dressing room has to have only white flowers, and I run in with my New York Yankees hat and my track suit. No, I mean in Victoria, everyone knows each other. You’ll see me buying my toilet paper at Wellburn’s—how can anyone have any illusion that they’re famous here? Plus, personal happiness is the only success there is. Just because I’m in the paper doesn’t mean anything. If you are in the paper, there’s this illusion that you’re wealthy, but they don’t pay you to be in the paper,” she laughs. And if anyone’s worried that we might lose Mark to a big city as her popularity continues to rise across North America (I mean, who else from Victoria is performing at five events at this year’s South by Southwest music fest in Texas?), no need to worry: it sounds like she’s not going anywhere. “If you play music, people are constantly suggesting that you move to Toronto, which is funny,” she says. “I don’t think there’s any other field in the world where that happens so much. It’s not like, ‘So I’m opening up a plumbing business.’ ‘Well, you should move to Toronto, they’ve got more toilets there!’ Victoria is a great place to be local.” Next up is pushing the new release by touring, which, according to Mark, will be “on and off all year. But I’m trying to be home for the Hootenanny every Sunday,” she chuckles. Further evidence that Mark ain’t no stuck-up star: about 10 minutes after our conversation ends, she calls me back and leaves this message on my answering machine. “Hey Greg Pratt, it’s Carolyn Mark again! I thought of a better answer to one of your questions, about my being famous (laughs). I just wanted to leave you a little quote from the film The Three Amigos: ‘I’m not famous, I’m infamous—that’s more than famous.’ That’s what El Guapo would say (laughs). Alright, bye!”
Tags: alt-country, South by Southwest, Carolyn Mark, The Pros and Cons of Collaboration, singer-songwriter

Monday Magazine

Founded in 1975 to provide a critical voice in Victoria's political and cultural communities, Monday Magazine continues to shake British Columbia's conservative capital city with tell-it- like-it-is features and reviews. Targeting educated, active adults and Victoria's growing youth market, Monday...
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