CHRISTYMERRY
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Doree and the Dishes is the latest project of Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter Christy Merry. A four-track EP of vintage-style hot jazz, the project represents a stylistic left-turn from Merry’s usual work in alternative rock and poetry. Here, Doree and the Dishes finds Merry weaving together various strains of old-school vocal jazz music - including hot club-style jazz, swing, brass band music and bebop - to create a slow-burning set of seductive tunes that are simultaneously hot and cool.
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Over its run-time, the EP uses a limited palette - pattering drums, lush horns, muted guitars and rumbling upright bass - to explore a number of styles and feels, all of which would be at home in an old New Orleans watering hole. Opener “It’s Like Rock” quietly slinks along, building up to a quiet explosion of brass fanfare. “The Great Juggler” features a dramatic vocal performance and an instrumental that pivots on a theatrically swinging acoustic guitar figure reminiscent of the work of Django Reinhardt. “What I Was Taught” returns to the big band ballad feel, this time with a hypnotically rolling drum part in tow. Album closer “Crazy” picks up the pace with sprightly drums and a driving guitar part that brings home the song’s lyrical motif of frustrated longing.
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Throughout, the EP mixes the new with the old. Overdriven vocals and vintage-style arrangements are combined with lush mixing and modern production touches. The music itself pulls equally from classic Dixieland artists like Fats Waller and more recent artists dabbling in old-time music such as Tom Waits or Hurray for the Riff Raff. That particular combination seems to be the essence of the EP.
Merry says: “The EP is named after my maternal grandmother who went by ‘Doree’. Legend has it she used to sing over the dishes like one of the greats. I don’t know that she ever performed in public or whether anyone ever heard her, but I feel like the world is probably full of unseen talented people doing mundane daily tasks.”
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- bio by Ali Jaafar
THE LATEST​​
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I am working to publish my first perfect-bound poetry book soon (first one to exceed saddle-stitch chapbook size): Don't Kiss the Messenger (miscellaneous love & loss). I'll post more here and on the socials once we have a release date/event!
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Recently I started a bit of an email list to keep folks up to date on upcoming events and releases (both poetry & music) - if you would like to be added, please let me know!
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Attending an upcoming writer's conference, which is a first (if not counting the League of MN Poets conference I attended years ago when I was really too sick to be fully present). Very excited to go.
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Poetry reading at Eat My Words Bookstore on 2/3/24 was great! Have not posted the full video yet, stay tuned (for a peek, see poem 'Old Man Arthur' on Instagram!
PRESS QUOTE:
Christy Merry’s soulful voice carries with it years of experience in life and lays it bare for the listener. Her work is reminiscent of generations past and transports you to an underground speakeasy where the whiskey flows freely. “It’s Like Rock” is a blast from an ill-defined past, but don’t let it fool you, this song is all charm.
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- Mpls.St.Paul Magazine, May 2023 (Minnesota Playlist: May, Best New Minnesota Songs)
