'making it up' : the blow's first new record in 7 years

If you caught one of The Blow's back-to-back PICA performances at TBA:13 last month, you may have wandered out of the Winningstad Theatre feeling a little bewildered. In a word, the performance was odd—and not in the intriguing, thought-provoking way that the Time-Based Art Festival often strives for.

Although the excitement was palpable as Portlanders gathered on a Sunday night to catch The Blow's first performance in their former hometown in more than two and a half years, the extensive and sometimes awkward monologues—for which The Blow's Khaela Maricich is known—were too long and too out there. It was soon clear that there was no distinguishable storyline, and the cohesive thread that somehow manages to tie everything together in a Blow performance was lacking. In short, the performance was punctuated by long pauses rather than catchy electro-pop.

And, it was that electro-pop that the audience so craved, seeing as The Blow was set to release their first album in seven years on October 1st. Although these initial Portland performances left the audience feeling a bit unsatisfied, the truth is that The Blow is much loved in this town. So, an empty appetite also leaves Portlanders desirous for more, craving a decidedly different, and hopefully more musical, show at the Doug Fir Lounge on Sunday, October 20th.

Now, in The Blow's defense, Maricich did tell OMN prior to their PICA performance:

Performing at the Winningstad is the chance to do something unique because it’s like a lovely little nest of a theater. It’s sort of the opportunity to make an “unplugged” performance, since there is a sense of space and reflectiveness there, which is distinct from the amped up vibe of a sweaty music club. We are looking forward to revealing ourselves in the delicate environment there.

But post-PICA, Portland's expectant of the “sweaty music club” experience. That said, the handful of tracks The Blow did reveal at the Winningstad sounded spectacular—we, maybe selfishly, just wanted more.

And of those revealed, Maricich, alongside partner and collaborator Melissa Dyne, blasted a taste of their self-titled effort in the form of the record's first single, "Make It Up"—a love song that talks about breaking the rules, which seems to be a bit of a mantra for The Blow in general. Whether making lo-fi, electro-pop songs or presenting the band's narrative style of performance, does The Blow sometimes feel like they're making it all up as they go along?

"Yep," is the succinct response from Maricich.



Going "hand in hand into the blackness... making this album was an odyssey of experimentation," Maricich says. (The first part is also a lyric from the album closer "You're My Light.") In their official press release on the album, she continues:

We divided the tasks of making the album between us pretty much according the the differences in how we dream at night. Khaela dreams about people and conversations and juxtaposed feelings: She wrote the lyrics and melodies and many of the compositions. Melissa dreams of being a beam of light bouncing off a Ferrari: Anything that gave the songs dimension (arrangement, engineering, synth programming, sample perfecting, half of the composing) was done by her.

OMN already explored a bit of what it's like to go "into the blackness" before The Blow's PICA performance, and now Khaela Maricich continues the conversation about her collaboration with Dyne on The Blow's new record.

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the blow : 'putting together and taking apart' a new record and performance at tba:13

The Blow’s Khaela Maricich and Melissa Dyne. Photo by Kyle Dean Reinford.

"We go hand in hand into the blackness" is how Khaela Maricich describes The Blow's new self-titled record.

The hand she's holding is that of collaborator Melissa Dyne, who, for the first time, has expanded her role in her partner's project, taking their relationship to a new musical level. But even with this trusted collaborator by her side, Maricich still feels like the pair are leaping into an abyss—or at least completing the trajectory of their fall.

That leap started with The Blow's first album in seven years, which will be released on October 1st, and the performances that'll support this record will follow a yet-to-be-charted arc.

If making the album was an "abstract and complicated process"—"an odyssey of experimentation" and exploration "where we went out on a massive journey and went through a lot of other worldly adventures"—then we should be excited for the result because, as Maricich says, "we have returned with a crystallized object from the other dimension."

Returning with new ideas, sounds and sights to share and stories to tell, the pair will start mapping the rest of their expedition in a familiar place: PICA's annual Time-Based Art Festival. The former Portland residents, who now call NYC home, actually met at the festival in 2004 and feel privileged to be performing a piece entitled "We Put It Together So We Could Take It Apart," which, in appellation alone, suitably illustrates the evolving nature of their work, during a two-night stand at the Winningstad Theatre on September 15th and 16th.

The uncertainty of The Blow going "hand in hand into the blackness" certainly bodes well for us—the audience, listener, and concertgoer—as we bask in their inventive, narrative-based performance-electro-pop.

And even though there's the uncertainty of a new collaboration and material, The Blow will demonstrate that they thrive in this exploratory environment, starting at TBA:13 before kicking off a nationwide club tour in October that will revisit Portland at the Doug Fir on Sunday, October 20th.

For now, Khaela Maricich took some time to answer a few questions about The Blow's return to Portland and their TBA performance, her collaboration with Dyne, and the new record—which OMN will explore in more depth after it's October release.

Listen to The Blow's second single from the upcoming self-titled album:

The last time you played Portland was in early 2011. It'd been a while—like two and half years—since the last time you'd played Portland prior to that, in 2008. Now, another two and half years down the line, you're back! So, welcome home, I guess… does it still feel like a homecoming?

Yeah, our last show in Portland was in early 2011, and strangely, it seems to us like it wasn't very long ago. But I guess two years is enough time to create two entire human beings (in succession, by the same reproductive system), so that's actually a pretty long time. Yes, coming back to Portland totally feels like a homecoming. The air is so fresh and you can get beer and pizza in a movie theater, and we've really missed that.

This return to Portland must be special for The Blow, especially considering that you and your partner and collaborator, Melissa Dyne, first met at TBA in 2004. Tell us what you have planned for your back-to-back TBA 2013 performances.

The TBA performance is definitely special for us. PICA have kind of been like extended family. Melissa's sister worked there for a long time back in its early days, and they've been supportive to both of us for a long time. Performing at the Winningstad is the chance to do something unique because it's like a lovely little nest of a theater. It's sort of the opportunity to make an "unplugged" performance, since there is a sense of space and reflectiveness there, which is distinct from the amped up vibe of a sweaty music club. We are looking forward to revealing ourselves in the delicate environment there.

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the blow’s celebrity fantasy

“Do I look like a pop star?” queried The Blow’s Khaela Maricich after her third song–the first new track, “Make It Up”–of the evening as she dug herself deeper into her tale of celebrity collaboration. “Do I look like a world-famous lesbian?”

The answer to both those questions is: Yes. In Portland at least.

The Blow didn’t reveal too much about her current live show–a combination between a solo, electro-pop act and a monologue–when we spoke to her in December so we just had to wait patiently for her first return to Portland more than two and half years, selling out the Doug Fir on Wednesday, February 2nd.

Immediately silencing a packed house with a simple tapping on the mic with her index finger, The Blow opened the show in a hushed, a cappella whisper before easing into her narrative: a fable of big city, Big Apple, can-do-anything romanticism where an eclectic Northwest pop artist gets mixed up with the most feminine of feminine New York/Hollywood celebrity and is asked to collaborate, to write the story of her lesbian love.

It’s already been well reported that The Blow is not working with Lindsay Lohan, and although her name was not mentioned a single time on Wednesday night, we all knew the celebutante in reference was Lohan, from fashionable to disastrous to the same-sex fling.

Completely alone on stage, save for a mic, stand and several conscientiously placed lights, and with narrative help from her “coach” and numerous voicemails along the way, The Blow told the story of the album she’s been writing for her celebrity partner. Sharing “demo” versions of the album that will never be released, The Blow alternated between new songs and old hits like “Hey Boy,” “Come On Petunia,” and “Fists Up” as she worked her away through some eleven “songs” in 60+ minutes.

Asking a lot from her audience to stay so attentive between three-minute electro-pop blasts, The Blow had no problem captivating the willing bodies even during the intentionally awkward moments–like the extended sequences where she fashioned a side pony into comb over or the attraction to the pulsating, life-invigorating light.

The music, new and old, lived in abstraction amongst a world of NYC cafés and soirées, supposed voicemails and secrets shared, sun bathing on an inflatable mattress...

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q/a : where has the blow been?

A gig by The Blow is never just a musical endeavor. Rather, the show’s of Khaela Maricich blur the line between concert and monologue. From irresistible, lo-fi, laptop dance-pop to laugh out loud or awkward encounters, she is a true performing artist; one who can control the stage with no more than a mic and a MacBook.

So what happens when she adds a visual partner to the mix?

In the past we saw how a musical partner in Jona Bechtolt (YACHT) propelled The Blow to new heights, and now The Blow is collaborating in a visual manner with installation and conceptual artist Melissa Dyne who will be “working with lighting and sound to manipulate the environment and to kind of play with the possibilities of whatever space we are performing in,” says Maricich.

That means a unique experience in every venue, every night. As her on stage narrative develops so will the visuals; at least that’s what we’re led to believe. But we honestly won’t know until we get the chance to see The Blow in concert. And Portland will finally have the opportunity to do so when The Blow returns home for the first time in more than two and half years performing the Doug Fir on Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011.

By keeping a low profile online, The Blow has only allowed access to her new material at her live gigs, and as the girl of NW origins but residing in NYC since 2008 gives OMN the run around, she’s enjoying the “chaos” of a city of 7 million, being inspired by Joan Rivers, Tina Fey and Beyoncé, and “getting pregnant” (?!), yet still misses a Portland full of friends, Powell’s, river swimming, and The Asian Reporter.

You’ve been working with Melissa Dyne, what’s her role?

Melissa Dyne is an installation and conceptual artist, and she is collaborating with The Blow. We are working together on the live performance; she is treating the venue each night as one would treat an installation, working with lighting and sound to manipulate the environment and to kind of play with the possibilities of whatever space we are performing in. We have been touring a fair amount this past year, so there has been time for our collaboration to grow and develop over time, and as we keep touring, it keeps growing. We’re also working on other elements of the greater performance project together...

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