Entertaining Maine #265

George Dvorsky:

highlights from this week's program and I think that actually eased my I was never starstruck by anyone. It's interesting to see some of these people, they get nervous around them though how to act. And it was an easier transition to work with these people because I wasn't starstruck by them. So it was more like we were. What's the word? Not companions, contemporaries. Thank you. And peers. More so than being nervous about working with someone and not doing letting those nerves affect what you're doing.

Carol Noonan:

We had our 10th anniversary in August, so it's pretty amazing. If I'd ever thought, you know, I would say Lyle Lovett and Eri Neville would be in my backyard, I would, you know, think you were crazy. But everybody else thought we were crazy. And we did do it, I guess.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

This is Dr. Lisa Belisle and you are listening to Love Maine radio show number 265, entertaining Maine, airing for the first time on Sunday, October 16, 2016. Maine is home to a broad diversity of talented artists, actors and musicians. Today we speak with two individuals who are not only accomplished artists in their own right, but have also made it their mission to bring other talented people to our home state. George Dvorski is an actor and entertainer who is also the creative director for Vinegar Hill Music Theatre, which is completing its first season. Carol Noonan is a national recording artist and singer songwriter who co founded and runs Stone Mountain Arts center in Brownfield. Thank you for joining us.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

People who are longtime listeners of Love Maine Radio know that I love music and it's always fun to have people in the studio with me who feel exactly the same way. And actually this individual, George Dvorski, has taken his love of music to a whole new level. George Dvorsky is an accomplished actor and entertainer who brings deep and diverse experience with him to Vinegar Hill Music Theatre. He was appointed creative director in March 2016 for the venue's inaugural season. George has starred in numerous Broadway, Off Broadway and regional productions across the country. New England audiences will know him from his extensive work at the Cape Playhouse, Mainstay Music Theater, North Shore Music Theater and the Ogunquit Playhouse. And there's so much more to talk about with you, but thanks so much for coming in.

George Dvorsky:

My pleasure. Good to be here.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So tell me what it's like to be really devoted to music and have your life be all about music and singing and bringing music to the greater public.

George Dvorsky:

My mom said I sang before I spoke, which is interesting because I stuttered as a kid. But when I sang it was kind of like the Mel Tillis thing. I would talk and stutter, but I would sing and it would be clear. So I've always. Music has always been a part of me. And it's funny because some people say my brother in law said, why don't you sing all the time? I said, because it's just so much innate and it's so much a part of me that I don't. When it's your job and a part of your life, you don't always just do it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So it's interesting that there's probably some singing that's going on internally even as you're not. Even as you're talking.

George Dvorsky:

That's a good point. And actually there is. I mean, I hear music all the time. I don't like to. If I sit still, I like to have some music in the background. I don't. Quiet doesn't really work for me. There's got to be some music in my life all the time.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Were your parents musical?

George Dvorsky:

My father sang in a barbershop quartet in the service. He was in the army for a while and I think that was basically it. My mom had. She would say she had no musical talent, but I would hear her singing. When I go home, I'd put some music on and I'd hear her singing, singing in the kitchen. She could sing, but my dad was the singer and I'm youngest of five and everyone has played an instrument and. Or basically sung, but I'm the only one that really took it and ran with it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So what part if you were going to be in a barbershop quartet, what

George Dvorsky:

part Would you be interesting, you ask? Years ago, I sang tenor, and when I first started out in this business, I wanted to be a pop tenor. And I was out in LA and doing demos and Warner Brothers Records was interested in me for the having the really high stuff recorded that they didn't have anyone else to do. Then I came back to New York and this coach I found said, you're really a lyric baritone. So I developed my lower register. I'm lucky that I have both to draw from, but I would say now, just because I'm getting older and as Ronan Tynan said, it's easier to be a baritone at this late stage of the game. So I'm a lyric baritone by. By name.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So tell me, what is a lyric baritone?

George Dvorsky:

You've got the heaviness of a baritone. Most tenor voices are. Have a lighter timbre to them and they can get up into those top notes. I can still get those top notes, but I want to sit up there. So if I can go up and hit them and come back down and then sit in the lower register for a while, it's much easier for those musician musicians out there.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I think it's an interesting conversation to have because I know there's enough people with enough musical background that many people will understand. Soprano, alto, baritone, I don't know. Tenor is sort of above baritone.

George Dvorsky:

Is that right?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Baritone in the middle?

George Dvorsky:

Yeah. You'll go bass baritone, tenor for the three, and then a counter tenor, which is kind of like a mezzo for a woman. The counter tenors are so high you sometimes confuse them with a lower mezzo voice for a woman.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So there's. But it's interesting what those of us who know a little bit about music, what we understand as the divisions, but you're saying that there's an even greater breakdown.

George Dvorsky:

Yes. Yeah. It's funny to watch the singing competition shows and you'll hear some of the quote unquote stars talking about a woman singing in falsetto. A woman doesn't sing in falsetto. Men have a falsetto. Women have a head voice and that's their natural voice. Falsetto means a false or a fake vibration of the chords. And that's what men, you know, if you go up here, that's falsetto for a guy, but a woman, that would be her head voice. So it's technical. But sometimes watching the voice in American Idol and go, that's not what really is.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How has it been for you to work with the Vinegar Hill Music Theater in a really different capacity? You've been A performer for such a long time.

George Dvorsky:

Yes. In musical theater. And a lot of people have called. When this was announced, I was doing it. A lot of friends of mine from New York and around the area actually sent me scripts for their musicals or their plays. And I said, even though it said it's a music theater, it's actually a concert venue. Growing up with so much music and being a child of the 70s, my listening is very eclectic. Growing up, I was a huge. I'm an Olivia Newton John stalker. So I truly. When I finally met her, I was so excited. But I've listened to her from the day she sang her first note until now. And she's actually recording things now that people don't even know about. But just the diversity of my family and what we listen to with five of us being so different. My parents had. I mean, we never. We grew up listening to movie soundtracks, not cast albums. So it was interesting for me when I went, moved to New York and met some of these legendary stars. I didn't know who they were so much because I knew, like, for instance, John Rate. I worked at John Rate at the Gunquit Playhouse. He was original Billy Bigelow in Carousel. I was used to listening to Gordon McRae, so meeting Gordon McCrae and Shirley Jones, those were the people that I listened to and tried to emulate. Whereas John was just a friend of mine. And I know he's a Broadway star, but he was just a good friend. So that's how. And I think that actually eased my. I was never starstruck by anyone. It's interesting to see some of these people, they get nervous around them and don't know how to act. And it's. It was an easier transition to work with these people because I wasn't starstruck by them. So it was more like they were. We were. We were. What's the word? Not companions, contemporaries. Thank you. And peers. More so than being nervous about working with someone and not doing. Letting those nerves affect what you're doing. It was an easier transition for me. However, when I did work with Gordon McCrae. I'll never forget this. We did Paint yout Wagon in Sacramento, Music Circus. And I sat on stage. I was Jake Whippany, and he sang Mariah. And I thought, here's this kid from Irwin, Pennsylvania, sitting on stage with Gordon McRae five feet away from me singing this glorious song. I thought, this is who gets to. I'm a lucky guy who gets to realize those kind of dreams in their lifetime.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You're talking about something That I think for many people can be very, almost transcendent to hear the right music. And by right, I just mean sort of the resonant music from the person who seems to be able to bring it to life most effectively. And it's something that we share with others really effectively. Is that one of the reasons that you like doing what you're doing now with Vinegar Hill?

George Dvorsky:

Yes. I was gonna say, I didn't answer your original question. So thanks for. Thanks for circling back to that. Having the background I do have, a musical theater, but also having the pop part of my life growing up, I think that's. That's why I was looking forward to taking on this job, because I could bring in the acts that I knew of or were familiar with or knew about just peripherally to bring them into Vinegar Hill and have them show the rest of the community what great talent and musicians that they are. So that's been the fun part, booking this talent and having people, a lot of people say, how did you get these people? A lot of them were friends. I called on favors. But there were some people who actually reached out to us because they heard about what a great venue it was. It's just been fun to have the diversity of so many different kinds of talent. And we have some speakers, we have some comedians. So it's just been fun to get as much. It's kind of throwing things at a wall and see what sticks. It's been fascinating and interesting and fun.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Vinegar Hill is literally a brand new venue this year. But before that, it's had a long, long history as something else.

George Dvorsky:

It was what it's on the Smith sisters farm. That's what this piece of land is. And the Smith Sisters, in the early 1900s, the barn was actually a mile down the road. They dismantled it, put it on horse and buggy, brought it down to the house, reconstructed it. And it's been there since the early 1900s. In 1989, AD Grant bought it to make it the Arundel Barn Playhouse. It was a non equity summer stock Theater for 19 years, 18 seasons. And then Tim Harrington and Deb Lennon bought it last fall. And now it's the Vinegar Hill Music Theater. And people ask how that, how it got that name, that part of land. There was a farmer further down the road that was on a grade. I'm not going to say a hill, but on a grade. And he had a bunch of apple trees and he put all the apples in barrels, let them sit too long, the apples turned to cider, they dumped them out and the Vinegar ran down the hill. Hence the name Vinegar Ill. That's a great story. That's the legend of it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It's not that far away from Kennebunk in Kennebunkport.

George Dvorsky:

Six miles.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah, exactly. When I think of the Vinegar Hill Music Theater, it seems like it would be kind of out in the country. And it is a little bit, but it's really. I mean, it's right there. It's right there.

George Dvorsky:

Yes. Kennebunk and Arundel make a triangle, basically. So they're all. There is no downtown Arundel. It's funny because John Michael Coppola, who was the Frankie Valli part of the four C notes, are opening act, his thank you said and I hope you support this theater. It's the jewel of Arundel. And the audience all laughed. And he said, what? What? What did I say wrong? And I explained to him later there was Arundel's, I guess more just like a township. There's no real downtown area as there is in Kennebunk and Kennebunkport.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

But it was also, I believe, that the author Kenneth Roberts originally wrote about Arundel and Arundel was the greater name for this entire area. So there's a lot of history.

George Dvorsky:

Yes. In fact, I wrote the article in our music notes, which is our playbill and I did some research about the. We wanted to do music or the arts through the history of Kennebunk and Kennebunkport and Arundel. And there was an Arundel Opera Theater and there was also the Kennebunkport Playhouse. So there was rich in history for the arts in that area. So I hope we're just carrying that on.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Who have you had this past summer?

George Dvorsky:

Ronan Tynan, an amazing sold out show. Linda Etter blew the roof off the place. Frenchie Davis from American Idol, she did an amazing show. And the biggest surprise, I will say, was John Davidson. I've known John for years and the he and I, our paths have crossed before we even knew each other. The only time I was in People magazine, John was on the COVID and I was cast in the I did the Best of Whorehouse in Texas national tour. That's why we were in People magazine. And I stayed in LA for a year after we had closed, my mom and my sister and my brother in law came to visit and for some reason I don't remember how we got tickets to the John Davidson show. He replaced Mike Douglas in his talk show. So I've always been aware of who John was and my mom always loved him and the whole Hollywood Squares thing. And then. That's incredible. Well, I got cast in the Off Broadway production of the Fantasticks. And they were advertising Aaron Carter, who was a pop. A teen pop idol. So I thought, well, it'd be fun to go into the show. Well, I'm sitting there watching the show before I went, started rehearsals and John Davidson walked out. And I thought, oh my God, I'm gonna be working with John Davidson. Well, when we started, I started rehearsal and you go into the show. A week later, he and I became fast friends. So when he found out I was doing this, he called and said, I'd like to do my show up there. And I thought he would stand with a guitar and sing. And so I booked him on July 10th, a Sunday night. I was so proud of him and so blown away by the talent. He's 75 years old now and we had about. I forget how many people were actually there, but there were people that just came thinking, let's just come and see what the venue is. I've had people say if they had to pick their top 10 shows, he'd be in the top three. It was one of those old stars that they don't make anymore. And I know that sounds cliche, but it's actually true. The whole studio system of people that they. John was at the end of that and to see him, he didn't just sing and he performed that night. And it was fascinating to see him hold the audience in the palm of his hand and be able to temper what he was doing and see the audience go with him. It was fascinating to watch. And like I said, people have said they would come back to see him in an instant. So he'll be back by popular demand.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It seems to me that the best performers, and maybe there aren't many of them, maybe you're saying that this is sort of. This is the old fashioned kind of performer are the ones who don't just go out and offer a show. They interact with the audience, they read the audience. There's an energy that goes back and forth and people leave feeling differently than when they came in.

George Dvorsky:

Yes, I did a show off Broadway in 2000 called Pete and Keeley, and it was. We were a fictional couple, but it was kind of like a Steve and Edie type duo. And Pete and Keeley were bigger than Frank and Judy and Steve and Edie. And then we got divorced because our lives did not gel like we thought. We had separate careers that tanked. So we were brought back together for one night. On NBC, sponsored by Swell Shampoo for the Pete and Keeley reunion spot special. That was the show. So it was kind of like Kiss me, Kate in the way that you saw us on stage and off stage during commercial breaks, we'd have fights and I'd say, you know, three, two, one. Hi, we're back. And this is my. So they thought to do to boost business to bring in three old stars and ask them to do their acts from 1968. The last one was Charo. I was excited to meet Charo only because of who Charo was. And growing up watching Charo, it was fascinating to watch her temper her act from 1968 to a matinee audience. She actually slowed some things because an older audience and she just. You could see her temper. What she needed to do. Got the same reaction for each show. For an older, more hip audience or an older matinee audience to watch her temper the same exact show, but get the same reaction from different audiences. It was fascinating. And that's what John did. Just to see him perform. And. And if he felt it was slipping, he would just bring them right back up. And because those people were so well rounded, they were trained in a way that schools are not training kids today. It's fascinating to watch kids coming into the business and see that they're not getting what the old stars did. That's a whole other can of worms.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I think it's actually. It's something that I think about a lot because I believe that there's this performance aspect of what's going on now. I think it's great that we have YouTube and we have ways that we can push ourselves out into the world. But when we are, instead of just pushing ourselves out there and saying, look at me, here I am. Here's my selfie. If we're able to actually have a back and forth with people, then that really raises the conversation to a different level.

George Dvorsky:

Right.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I think that that's the piece that if we could really get to that, that would make everything richer for all involved.

George Dvorsky:

And also, I think because of social media, where it is now, the show Glee, which I was a huge fan of, but I think everyone thought they could be stars. The old. The studio system wasn't that way. You worked your way up and you had to start from the bottom and pay your dues to get to where those people ended up. And I think a of lot. I think that's been inverted in some ways. People want to just be a star instead of doing the work. It's Funny, because people have said to me, you know what. What was your goal? I said, I wanted to be in my 40s and 50s and be respected and work all the time. Well, I reached that and thought, no, I should have had a. I should have gone a higher. Higher aspiration. But it's about the work and making the work speak for itself and not just being a star. A lot of people get confused by that. I mean, I went to Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh back in 1904. There were really five schools that would kick people into the business. It was nyu, Juilliard, Carnegie Mellon, Cincinnati Conservatory of Music was coming up, and Northwestern. Well, now. So there were five schools. There were only 10 in my class. Only four people graduated. So they would weed you out. It's fascinating now that every college has an arts program that they say is so great, and they're kicking all these kids. And now what used to be maybe 20 people coming into the business every May when they graduated, there's now a couple of thousand over probably tens of thousands. Because every school has these arts programs that think. And they can just come in. And so the jobs are not there for everyone coming into the business now. And that's why it's gotten so tough. And a lot of the kids don't have the training that is really needed to make it. But the business is so strange, too. They can get a break, have a hit show, and then they don't work for the next 20 years. So it's. It's such a fickle, bizarre business. You have to have it in your blood, unfortunately. And people say to me, what do you tell kids? I say, if you have an option, take it. You know, if you want to go into the show business, but you also want to be a doctor, be the doctor. Because you have to. It has to be everything in your system to want to do this. If you have any doubt, don't do it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I love what you're saying because it actually jives with something that I feel very deeply, and that is that anything that one wants to do, there is something that happens over time. Maybe it's the Malcolm Gladwell 10,000 hours. There's something that happens when you sit within whatever it is you're doing, whether you're a singer, whether you're a classical pianist, whether you're a writer, whether you're a doctor. Really, there's something that comes about by kind of, I don't know, I don't want to say, struggling with. Sometimes it's struggling with, but working with whatever it is and that. And you're right. Yeah, on one hand you could be the person who gets a break. But then even if you are the person who gets a break, haven't you maybe missed out on that, that opportunity to work with whatever it is that you love?

George Dvorsky:

And, and that's another thing I would say to someone. If you have a job, I think it was John Gielgud said, never turn a job down. Only turn a job down if there's a conflict. But if you're just. If there's nothing going on and it's a. There's no. And it truly is. There's no small roles, only small actors. Because you never know where doing a small role and something will lead to the next. Networking is huge in this business. And that's because I did work regionally and traveled the country and traveled the world actually doing concerts. Just having your name out there and getting people to know that they can call on you. A friend of mine had done A Chorus Line for five years and then Cats for seven and when his body was breaking down, said, I've got to leave the business. He said, I have no, I just did on Broadway for seven years now. What do I do? And it was interesting to think he didn't have the contacts that I had made traveling so much. And I could call people and say, you know, is something that I could do in your show or so networking is huge in this business. And I think the more that you do and the more that you learn, whether it be small or large, it really just builds in the momentum of your path.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What is it about, what main do you think that makes us want to come here in the summer and engage in, whether it's being in the orchestra up at Bowdoin College or doing summer stock or I know that there are ballet camps around the state or even just being an artist. Well, not just being an artist, but being an artist.

George Dvorsky:

It's funny. The arts community is huge up here and I was pleased and surprised to see that. My first experience up here was with the agunquit Playhouse in 1987 and to see how they have changed that theater because it was truly a two week summer stock theater when I started working there and now it's a viable great regional theater. And then working up at Maine State with Bowdoin College and seeing what it's just, I think the summer aspect of coming to a great place that is. And the vibe up here is just, it's palpable of all the arts and I think that's what attracts people? Does that make sense?

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Yeah. Yeah, it does. I mean, I think about some of the. I don't know, most meaningful times I ever had in the summer were actually at the main State Music Theater, for example, because that's where I happen to live, was Yarmouth. So we would go up there and we would watch a summer show. And I can even feel it as I'm talking to you now, feel what that was like to be there in the summer in that theater, watching the actors.

George Dvorsky:

It's a great energy, and people are thrilled to be here. And as simple as it does sound, to get out of New York City in the summer is a blessing. So to have this kind of these venues where you can come to a beautiful place, first of all, and do quality work, like I said, that the vibe is palpable. It's just. I've never truly. I've never seen anything I thought that wasn't very good. It always. Because you want to do it and you want to be here, it makes the show that much stronger.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Do you have anything exciting coming up for 2017? Do you have. Are you already working on that schedule?

George Dvorsky:

I've created a folder on my computer called Talent Search, because. So with the success thus far of the theater, a lot of agents have contacted me with new acts, and the people who have been here have talked already. So we. I'm not sure when we're reopening yet, but there will be a full season practically already. Just from the folder I have. People want to come here.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

How late in. How late in the fall does Vinegar Hill stay?

George Dvorsky:

We are closing October 8th this year. It's not winterized. And it's funny because people have come in and said, why aren't you going later? And I said, see that crack in that. That board right there? Snow will be coming in there. The new air conditioning system does have heat, but to keep it going, we're gonna go till October 8th and see how that works. Hopefully go longer into the year, further down the line. But for now, we're closing October 8th, and we'll reopen probably sometime next June. And I'm surmising that we haven't discussed it yet.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I enjoyed the time that I spent at the Vinegar Hill Music Theater, and I encourage people to go to the website for Vinegar Hill, which we'll have on our Show Notes page. I think that you've had a broad variety of really interesting people coming in for this season, and it sounds like 2017 will be no different. Really?

George Dvorsky:

Yes. It's funny because I talked to someone last night at a cookout about they said you could bring the people back you've already had because some of the shows have sold out and bringing them back by popular demand. There were so many people that couldn't get in. For instance, on Saturday night, the Drifters. We actually I had booked Larry Gatlin for the 20th of August and he has to have back surgery so his recovery time was right in his date. So we tried to find something in October. Didn't work with his side or our side. So I said we'll get him in 2017. But I had to find something that would have the same name recognition. And a friend of mine at one of the agents said, how about the Drifters? And I thought, oh my God, I have the Drifters here. Well, they sold out immediately as soon as I announced it. So even then we could and Ronan Tynan said, you should have booked me for two nights. I said, well who knew? I didn't. I was we were thrilled to have you one night. So I think maybe next year we can also do more than one night because people have been saying when you see a show you want to talk about it and then suddenly it goes away that next day. So maybe we will do two and three night engagements because a lot of people, it could support that.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

I appreciate your coming in and talking with me today. I hope that people will go to the Show Notes page and learn more about the Vinegar Hill Music Theater. We've been speaking with George Dvorsky, who is an accomplished actor and entertainer in his own right who brings a deep and diverse experience with him to the Vinegar Hill Music Theater. Thanks for coming in today.

George Dvorsky:

My pleasure. Enjoyed it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

to speak with people whose names I have known for quite a while, although they obviously don't know my name in this case. This is Carol Noonan, who is an American folk singer and songwriter who along with her husband Jet Flagg, a commercial fishing net builder, runs the Stone Mountain Arts center, which is a music hall behind their house in Brownfield, Maine. Thanks for coming in.

Carol Noonan:

Thank you for having me.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

And I first heard about you because you are the lead singer and songwriter for the band Knots and Crosses and you were a big deal. You are a big deal still. But that I remember this very vividly.

Carol Noonan:

I think I was a bigger deal then, I'm just bigger now. Well, I think yeah, it was a great time. We got signed to a big record deal and we had that kind of whirlwind thing that happens to musicians or what they hope happens to them. So it's been an interesting path to where we are now. But they're always short lived those label deals and I'm glad I always kept it in perspective and was always looking ahead to the next thing because you need to do that when you're a musician. Obviously most musicians know that. But having a music hall now behind our house is such a funny way to kind of. I'm probably towards the end of my career, I'm almost 60, so you know, I'm not going out on tour and you know, I did still just do a record but you know, I feel like I'm towards the end and I didn't want to be touring and, and just doing the same old thing. So I'm kind of taking everything I ever did in my life seems to be being used now in this job that I've got now, which is kind of interesting.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You're from an Irish family. Tell me about that family background. What do you know of your family?

Carol Noonan:

They're from the Cork area, County Cork. And my dad was a building wrecker and my mom was a stay at home mom with five kids. And you know, I went to Catholic school for 12 years and I had that kind of typical upbringing but I always could sing. So I went to a wing conservatory and kind of got that taste of the arts and the city life because I'd never really had that growing up. We really weren't an artsy family by any means. You know, we were very blue collar. But I was always drawn to folks folk music and my brothers and sisters had those records and I listened to them. So that was kind of how I got Started in it, but I was kind of this, you know, normal kid, but I could sing. So it was kind of a weird start, but. But I quickly decided I wanted to do music in some way.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

So. Were your parents from County Cork?

Carol Noonan:

No, no, my mom. No, we're American. Irish. No, I love when you say you're from Peabody. Yeah, we're from Peabody. And my grandparents came off the boat. But, you know, it was a very normal kind of Peabody. Peabody lifestyle. But I came to Maine when I was 19 at Kwisasana Resort, which is over in Center Level Maine, and fell in love with the area. And I ended up working there for 10 years and staying in the area. And I just fell in love with that part of Maine. It's a really beautiful part, the lakes and the mountains. It's kind of my favorite part of Maine. And I feel like sometimes it's the forgotten part, you know, everything's so focused on the coast sometimes, especially the arts. So it was really important that we opened a place that was year round so that we would have it all the time, not just in the summertime. So that was kind of where we ended up.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, I guess the reason I keep perseverating, if that's the word on the Irish thing, is because my mom's side of the family is Irish. And I have actually have a cousin Kathleen, who looks remarkably. There's a resemblance there. And it is her side of the family that really seems to have more of the musicality. And I know that Irish music, it has its own very different and very specific sound to it. And I wonder how much of that actually does translate into the music you yourself have performed written.

Carol Noonan:

Well, I think it's definitely in it. My dad listened to Irish music constantly. That's always we heard in the house. We heard the Irish Hour every Saturday and he had his Irish records down in the basement. And we heard that a lot. And of course I hated it as a kid, you know, I couldn't stand it, you know, and he belonged to the aoh and he was always dragging me down there to sing Danny Boy at some bean supper or corned beef dinner or whatever it was. And you know, I kind of hated it then. But when I started getting into music and writing my own, all those melodies and that redundant kind of way the music flows started creeping into my own music too. And I had been listening to folk music, which has tons of that influence in it. So it was definitely a strong influence, whether I liked it or not. And the older I got, the more I Embrace, you know, you embrace what you hated when you were a kid. You wish you would remember that. You usually would know that when you were a kid.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

But don't we all have to kind of reject where we came from before we can circle back around? Exactly.

Carol Noonan:

Although I don't think I'm gonna go back to Peabody. I'll embrace some of it, but not too much of it.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Well, this. I was listening to your album before you came in, Raven Girl. And the COVID art is beautiful. And the music itself is. It's sort of. It's interesting, it's haunting. There's something that's really. I mean, it's very lyrical, but there's something that's. I don't know, wistful, haunting. There's something about it that is different than many albums.

Carol Noonan:

Well, their music was very haunting. Richard and Mimi Farina wrote most of the songs that are on the album. And Tony Harvard did the COVID He's a local photographer that I love, and he's done most of my record covers. And I really wanted to capture that part of Mimi especially. I just felt like she was a haunting kind of presence. And their story is so tragic, and I just loved that. But when I was listening to it as a kid, I really never listened to lyrics. I didn't understand what it was about. I wasn't really drawn to that part of it. I was drawn to the melodies. And it definitely affected how I wrote my own music later on. And what I liked, I just loved. I love dark melodies. I love minor keys. And they just had this kind of beautiful, original way of doing harmony that nobody else was doing. It was hard to do the record and figure out where the melody was. They. They always sang together throughout the whole. It was never a backup part or a. You know, he would come in on the chorus or anything like that. They play. They sang together throughout the whole song. So sometimes it's really hard to tell what the actual melody was. And maybe there wasn't. Maybe they wrote it together. I just don't know. But. So when I did my versions of the songs, I did the best I could to. To pick out what I felt was the more dominant melody in the songs and changed it a little bit as far as how we approach the arrangements. But it'd be interesting if somebody knew what it was supposed to be. But I guess that's what's great about interpreting music. There's no rules there.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You've had some pretty big names out in Brownfield, and you've been doing this for how long?

Carol Noonan:

Now we had our 10th anniversary in August, so it's pretty amazing. If I'd ever thought, you know, I would say Lyle Lovett and Aaron Neville would be my backyard. I would, you know, think you were crazy. But. But everybody else thought we were crazy, and we did do it, I guess. But it's been great. It's. It's kind of a respite for artists, which was thing I really wanted to do. I wanted it to be special for artists and for the audience. So it's. It's definitely different. It's. It's a little frozen in time. We're not on Facebook. We're not connected socially like everybody else is. We're just kind of up there in the middle of nowhere. And when people drive up, I'm still shocked that they. They drive up the road and they come. And when the room fills up, it is kind of that. Oh, my. Oh, my God. What were. What were we thinking? And how lucky did. How lucky did we get that they actually did come? Because this could have been a really stupid idea. But. But I guess. But I think the bigger shows that's been in it. That was always something I wanted to do, was bring big artists to a small room. So you'd get to see them in that original way of seeing them perform when they used to play small rooms and small clubs, because you get to see their hands and their face, and they talk to the audience in a way they don't do in a big room because you just can't. So it's a very different experience to see those kinds of artists up close. And it's been awesome. And they really love it, and they love the way we've made sure that they have what they need. And there's nothing there. So we have everything from batteries to, you know, anything they could need, any, you know, Rolaids, you know, just everywhere they go, there's baskets of little pockets of things that they. They might have to stop at a store for, but we've got for them, and we feed them like crazy, and they come back, back, and that's the whole idea.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

It is. I. I've been out to Brownfield, believe it or not, many times. We. We used to go regularly to the. The Sakope Valley. We used to go on the Saco River.

Carol Noonan:

Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

That was where we. And. And you're right, there isn't really a lot out there, but it was really very beautiful. I remember it. You know, there's. There's a lot of fields and trees, and then there are These bodies of water that just kind of spring up and there's something very, I don't know, peaceful about it.

Carol Noonan:

Yeah.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

In a way that doesn't seem frenetic like the coasts can be sometimes.

Carol Noonan:

Yeah. And I love the coast. It's. It's not us versus the coast, but it is. It has got a. I think more people are living there year round. I think just the economy in those rural towns versus the coastal economy, it's different. You know, the people that are coming to our place are also working in our hospitals and our stores. And I always say there's a carpenter for every tree in Brownfield, everybody's a carpenter. Everybody, you know, everybody that works there is. That lives there is kind of the same class too. I think financially people are closer in their, you know, in their income bracket than a lot of towns in Maine. Is not that extreme like some towns in Maine. So there's a feel there that's kind of normal, you know, that's kind of constant. It doesn't get that changed by the. By the seasons or the tourist seasons. So it was really important to me. When I would come off the road, there would be nothing to do in the area unless we came to Portland or traveled. So I often would rent. I used to rent this church nearby and do a Christmas concert. And I thought, you know, I can't be so great that people are coming to see me every year for this stupid thing. They're coming because there's nothing else to do. It's Saturday night, it's near the house, and they're coming. And it just made me feel like in rural towns you have to make your own kind of world and your own entertainment. And they do. In many ways. That's what the Grange halls have always done and those kinds of places. But I did want to take it a step further. I wanted to really great music to come up to our area in a special way. So I hope I've done that. And I think we have. But it's really become a tourist place too. I would say 75% of our audience is coming from outside of Maine, which is kind of amazing. Lots of Massachusetts folks coming up for the weekend to see an artist they love in this way. So I'm hoping it also helps the local economy. It's getting people in hotels and restaurants and that kind of thing. So hopefully it's a trickle down place too.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

What type of feedback do you get from the artists who come out and perform with you?

Carol Noonan:

They really love it. They just. It's not like Anyplace else. And. And they know everybody, the artists, the big artists that have come back, remember people's names. They have a routine. You know, when Bela Fleck comes, he always knows. He always says, you know, did you make the veggie chili? Or, you know, like, they remember the food or they remember how they're taken care of, and they say it on stage, and I think they really mean it. You know, artists always say, you know, hey, we love Brownfield, you know, but there's a way that they speak about our place. It's. That's so moving. When we had our 10th anniversary, lots of them sent us little clips and little photos and just saying, you know, we love Brownfield and we love Stone Mountain, and it's just. It's. They're more involved with us, I think, than most venues. When Mavis Staples comes, it's like, our aunt is here to visit, you know, and she. Every time she comes, she calls me up on stage, and I end up singing a tune with her, which, if I died tomorrow, that would. I would have already done such a great thing in my life, and that would be it. That would be like, the thing. You just. Okay, I'm good. I can go now. Because is singing with her and being involved with her, and she'll come out on stage and say hi to everybody and thank everybody and remember my mom and remember my sisters that were only there a couple of times when she was there. So it's a very personal experience for the artists. When they come to us, they talk about it a lot. We hear other artists that come see us for the first time say, we've been hearing about this place for a year. We've been on the road, and that's all we ever hear about, you know, and so that's great. When they're talking about you all over the country, that's. That's pretty cool. When you're in Brownfield, it's very cool.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

Is there something about Maine that brings the music to life?

Carol Noonan:

I think there's something about Maine. Certainly, we could never have done this anywhere else. We always say that only in Maine could you do something like this place. Because there's things like this all over in Maine. You know, unique businesses, unique little spots that are unlikely. But I think Maine people are so up for anything, and they're independent, and if they decide they want to create something, they just do it. They don't. It doesn't matter where they are. I love that. That's my favorite thing about Maine. And I think that that Kind of independent spirit. Always brings out the best in the arts. You know, it always goes hand in hand. And I. I think musically, when you're treated well, when you have a good experience, a show is always better. I always say our shows with artists. I've seen a lot of the artists that come. I've already seen quite a bit or been on tour and seen them on, been on festivals with them or seen them out. They do different shows at our place. And I don't think it's just us. I think coming to this environment and feeling good about where you are just makes you play a great show. If you're happy, you're gonna do a great show. If you're not, the show is gonna be dialed in. No artist ever really does a bad show. Most of the time, I think it's a job like everybody else's job. And sometimes there are good nights and bad nights, but generally, I think when they're inspired, you know, the music shows, and they certainly do that at our place, and I bet they do it at a lot of places in Maine.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

In order to. To do the work that you do, you have to be willing to be really everything. You have to be the chief cook and bottle washer, as my mom used to say. And I'm wondering if, as a girl from Peabody who went to the New England Conservatory, if you ever had a sense that this would be your lot in life, to be a musician, a singer, a songwriter, who also took care of all of these other singer, songwriter, musician, entertainers who came to perform.

Carol Noonan:

Well, you know, like most musicians, I grew up working in restaurants, so it was a normal transition. You know, I was lucky enough to be able to have a music career after working restaurants. And that's always what you're striving for and. But it never leaves you. I always say I'm so uniquely qualified for the job I'm doing now because it's taken every single aspect of everything I've ever done in my life and put it in one place. It's where I live, it's who I married, it's everything. I do shows there occasionally, but most of the time, I'm the chef, I book the acts, I arrange everything. I do pretty much everything, and it's a lot of work. I didn't probably see myself working so hard at this age. It's probably the hardest I've ever worked in my life, but it's also. It's so great. I'm in my own bed every night instead of being away from home and I get to hear all this great music and we have the best staff and the world. So just being around them and having that experience of this family of people that we've had for a long time. Most of the staff has been there from the beginning. So just having that relationship has been so great. You know, at this point in my life to have all these young people around us that are so dear to us. We don't have children. Maybe that's the closest they, we will, we will ever experience as far as the children thing goes, because they are kind of like kids. But it's been a. It wasn't what I saw myself doing, but it was definitely a natural progression to it. And I was definitely getting tired of playing gigs. I just felt like musically I wasn't enjoying it. I didn't feel like the venues were presented music well anymore. That was another reason I wanted to do it. I felt like even the big venues weren't, weren't nobody was owner operated anymore. And that makes a big difference when outside promoters are presenting shows in rooms. It just changes the feel of it. Not that it's bad, it's just different. And I just felt like I wanted to. Wanted to do it a little off the grid and a little more human, I guess.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

As I'm listening, I'm really interested in this idea that you happen to be almost in the right place at the right time for this type of venture that I think people have really been hungering and thirsting for these authentic, intimate experiences with the people that create music that these promoters and the big acts, those obviously still exist. And it's kind of like the parallel universe. But we've now come to a place where people want to get their hands in the dirt again. They want to do their own gardening, their own cooking. They really want to live this richer life.

Carol Noonan:

Well, I think they want that in every kind of business too. I think that's you're finding people are more drawn to small businesses and mom and pop places more than ever. But the live music scene is really vital right now because performers aren't selling music like they did. It's a very crazy time in the music business right now. If you're a recording artist and the younger artists don't even know the times of selling music. But we did sell music, you know, that was kind of how we made our living and now it's just not there. So they're having to get out and play again and oh, I would have hated that. So it's a it. You know, when you put out a record. Now it's almost a narcissistic project to do it because you're probably not going to sell a lot of it, but you're, you need to do it for yourself. You know, I, I really wanted to do a project this last couple of years and I didn't have time. I didn't really need to do it. I wasn't, I'm not out on the road. I don't have really a good format to sell it, you know, to make, to make it worthwhile to do it. But I had to do it just creatively, you know, and that musicians will always do that. But if you're really trying to make a living now, you've got to get back out and play live. So there's a lot of music. When we opened, there were so many venues not open yet. You know, we opened the state wasn't open Raul's, which is an old, old place, but they were closed. All the, all the places in Portland that when I was coming up where there was a vital music scene was, were closed. So when we opened, it was a good time to start because people were hungry for a venue too, just in our immediate area, and artists were looking for a leg because there really wasn't one in Portland for that those first years. And then it started happening and then of course, the recession hit. So our timing was good and it was bad, but we got through it and, and we've got a lot more competition now because everybody, because artists are performing so much, there's a lot more live music happening, but people are still coming to us for a special experience and, you know, there's something for everybody everywhere, I guess,

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

for people who have been listening. I will refer you to our Show Notes page and we will direct you towards the website for the Stone Mountain Arts Center. I've been speaking with Carol Noonan, who is an American folk singer songwriter. She and her husband, Jeff Flagg, a commercial fishing net builder, run the Stone Mountain Arts Center, a music hall behind their house in Brownfield, Maine. Thanks for coming in today.

Carol Noonan:

Thank you. Thanks for having us in the big city.

Dr. Lisa Belisle:

You've been listening to Love Maine radio show number 265, entertaining Maine. Our guests have included George, George Tavorsky and Carol Noonan. For a preview of each week's show, sign up for our E. We love to hear from you, so please let us know what you think of Love Radio. We welcome your suggestions for future shows. Also let our sponsors know that you have heard about them here. We are privileged that they enable us to bring Love Maine Radio to you each week. This is Dr. Lisa Belisle. I hope that you have enjoyed our entertaining Maine show. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your day. May you have a bountiful life.

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