Distinctly Montana Magazine

W W W. D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA NA . C O M 53 THE MISFORTUNE TELLERS, MISSOULA CHELSI SOLEIL - VOCALS • PAUL NELSON – GUITAR MALCOLM MORGAN – DRUMS • JORDAN DEMANDER – UPRIGHT BASS www.themisfortunetellers.com e Misfortune Tellers are a self-described "Psychobilly Circus," with a sense of style that's somewhere between a 1950s horror comic and classic lounge. ey sound sultry and slinky, and, their "natural habitat", as they put it, are "car shows, theaters, and nightclubs." When asked what they thought the Montana sound is, e Misfortune Tellers, who had been "away from modern conveniences for a couple days," replied that "oddly enough, to us, the Montana sound is the wind whis- tling through the window gasket as you pass through the Livingston area." And here's their nominee for a Montana song that speaks to them: "Wilco's "Sky Blue Sky." More than one Montana town comes to mind every time. A melancholy tale of broken things and a 'sky blue sky' to hang some hope on." BRITT ARNESEN, MISSOULA VOCALS, GUITAR, STANDING BASS www.facebook.com/BrittArnesen Britt Arnesen's newest album is the Montana-inspired "Dream in Blue," which she recorded on an antique Martin guitar from 1891. She loves its sound, in part, because it exemplifies what is, to her, the Montana sound: "old woody magic" that can only come from acoustic instruments. It's a sound that makes her wax poetic: "in the soundtrack of my mind, I'm waltzing with a handsome cowboy to a great live band like Montana Rose". Having made Missoula her adopted home, it has also become her muse. And she associates the state with "strong women and vibrant live music". As for her favorite Montana song, she can't pick just one: "It's hard to pick a single song, but some of my favorites are 'Don't Ask the Wind' by Richie Reinholdt, "Up the Divide" by Martha Scanlan, and the instrumental "Summer of Regret" by Chad Fadely." MAIAH WYNNE www.maiahwynne.com e multi-talented Maiah Wynne is a singer/songwriter who plays guitar, cello, keyboard, ukulele, and dulcimer, a plucked string-instrument played on the lap. No less an authority than Ukulele Magazine wrote that her "lyrics, music and artistry show talent beyond her years." She is also in the movie business, acting in the recent indie horror flick Feral and working in the sound department for the acclaimed western e Ballad of Lefty Brown, shot in Montana and starring Bill Pullman and Peter Fonda, in addition to writing the music for the ending credits. e "Montana sound," she thinks, is "any genre of music: Bluegrass, pop, folk, rock, anything as long as it is an honest and personal reflection of the world… songs rooted in human con- nection, beauty, and personal stories." Which makes sense, since Wynne's picks for the songs that make her think of Montana are both inspired by memories: "e first one is 'Rivers and Roads' by e Head and the Heart. I sang this song with friends and strangers at shows in Missoula when I was 16 years old. It will always bring back memories of long roads, rivers, and good people. e second that came to mind was 'Bloom' by the Paper Kites. One summer, my friends and I made giant bubbles on a mountain side while listening to the song." She went on to remember seeing a forest fire on a distant mountain that summer afternoon, which "made the sky turn a purple-red haze I had never seen before. It was beautiful and ominous, and it summed up Montana in a really beautiful way: mesmerizing, with a hint of danger." I couldn't put it better myself. THE "MONTANA SOUND," MAIAH THINKS, IS "ANY GENRE OF MUSIC: BLUEGRASS, POP, FOLK, ROCK, ANYTHING AS LONG AS IT IS AN HONEST AND PERSONAL REFLECTION OF THE WORLD… SONGS ROOTED IN HUMAN CONNECTION, BEAUTY, AND PERSONAL STORIES." CONTINUED

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