Twenty years ago, Martha Wainwright released her stunning debut album, Martha Wainwright, and on May 23 it will be released on vinyl for the first time. The Current’s Morning Show host Jill Riley talked with Martha Wainwright about what the process was like back then, 20 years ago, and what we can expect for this upcoming reissue and tour. Use the audio player above to listen to the interview, and find a full transcript below.

Interview Transcript

Jill Riley: You're listening to The Current, I'm Jill Riley. Martha Wainwright is a singer-songwriter who was born and raised with a musical bloodline, the daughter of the late, lovely folk singer Kate McGarrigle and Loudon Wainwright III, and sister of Rufus Wainwright. Twenty years later, a lot of life has happened. More albums have followed, kids, memoir, telling her stories, “Stories I Might Regret Telling You.” I'm so happy to welcome Martha Wainwright to The Current's Morning Show. Welcome. How are you?

Martha Wainwright: I'm good. I'm good. Thank you.

Jill Riley: Well, this has been a lot of fun to revisit your self-titled record from 2005, as I know that you are celebrating the 20th anniversary with a spring vinyl reissue and a tour. Now, Martha, I wonder if you could spend a little time reflecting on that time of your life. It really seems like there was quite a bit of build-up to that first album.

Martha Wainwright: Yes, and also, what's fun with this release is that we're releasing it on vinyl for the first time, because that never happened at the time in 2005, I guess it was a period where not everyone made vinyl. We also have a separate CD that has all these songs called OUTLIERS, which is this stuff that I found in, as you say, these years building up to this first record, because it did take me a long time to get signed for all sorts of different reasons, but I was finding my way, finding my voice, doing shows. Living in New York City, but traveling all across the country, and also to Europe a little bit, just trying to find who you know, what genre you know, coming from folk music, coming from these parents and this brother. I had to sort of kind of weed through a lot of stuff. And that you really hear on the first record, you really feel that it's someone finding their way. I was so uncertain of myself, so unsure as many, oftentimes, girls can be. And listening back, I realized I was not bad, I was pretty good. I could sing pretty well. But I really think that my path was the one that I had to take. And it was a little bit bendy, but it got me there.

Jill Riley: Talking about some of the bonus material that you must have been going through when preparing for the reissue of the record on vinyl for the first time, what was it like going back into the archive, or listening to some of these songs that stayed on the shelf?

Martha Wainwright : Well, some of them I've included, even though they are a little cringy for me to listen to. There's one called "The Sex Song," and it's been like, "Oh, God!", you know. But at the same time, I find it charming. I will say that there are a few songs that did not make it onto the CD because it was just like, oh, there was a reason why we never pursued that route. But I think I was harder on myself than I could have been back then. I did find three or four things that have never been heard, which was really fun, plus some outtakes. And even though now it's almost 25 years later from a lot of this material, you can still hear me in there. And that's what's so interesting, is that the subject matter hasn't changed that much either. I find myself still today writing songs about usually men, my dad. Obviously, I've added my children to that as a subject matter, but there are some things that just sort of remain and stay true. But also, I think things that are hopefully universal. The more personal the song, oftentimes, the more universal. And these songs really are autobiographical.

Jill Riley: For sure. I mean, that was you coming into your own as a songwriter, and we were talking about looking at photo albums and so many people that are no longer here. I wonder if that was kind of some same feelings there, as your late mother was featured on your debut record, and Garth Hudson from The Band, who we lost at the beginning of this year. Did you really feel like you were just having some really bittersweet feelings?

Martha Wainwright: Well, I think both. I think that there are people who are no longer with us, and I'm really glad I went to go see Garth in December in Woodstock just to say hi, and also to let him know that I was going to be putting out some songs that we worked on, because I found another song that will be released of just him and I, and because he was really with it till the end. He knew who I was, and music was always a point of connection. I'm glad I got to see him. And there are some people that are no longer with us, like my mom. But also, what's been fun, I went back and did some shows in New York recently, and it was great to see the people that are still there. You know what I mean? I'm seeing guys and girls from that era, and they're coming out, and I expect to see them on the road too, showing up. I still play with my piano player, who's on this record. I'm not dead yet. I mean, you know what I'm saying, right? We're not there. That's what's also interesting about this process is that I am looking back, but I'm looking back in my middle age, not at the not at the end of my life. So there's also a feeling of, there's still a lot more to do, and I feel proud of that early period, and I'm excited about it, but it's also motivating me to kind of go to the next thing, and I'm writing new songs, and so it feels positive.

Jill Riley: One of the songs on this record is one that I would play as part of what I would listen to as I'd get ready to go out for the night. The song "G.P.T." I never really knew what those initials stood for, but what I knew is that it had this feeling of anticipation, of what's to come. You mentioned being back in New York, and I understand it now that that's kind of an homage to a location. I wonder if you could tell that story for us.

Martha Wainwright: The whole first record, I find that New York is really a subject matter on it. With songs like "When the Day Is Short" as well, where a lot of those hours were spent in night hours, I will admit, and bar-hopping and meeting people and going to these great bars on the Lower East Side, but also in Williamsburg [in Brooklyn], where I was living at the time in the late 90s and early 2000s. “G.P.T.” was this dive bar right on the corner of Bedford, between North 7th and North 6th, an area that a lot of your listeners will know is now basically as being like Manhattan. It has really exploded, that neighborhood. But at the time it was still pretty popular, but there were still a few dive bars left in it, and this was one of those, and it was a favorite, and it was oftentimes where we would maybe start the night, because we lived in the area. And there was the thing called the Big Gulp with these giant glasses of beer that you would get in a giant Styrofoam cup. And there was a woman behind the bar named, “Say Goodnight to Irene.” Her name was Irene and she had her hair done up in almost a ‘50s bouffant. There were still some jukeboxes in the city back in the 2000s, — there might still be, I don't know — but we would definitely spend a lot of time putting money into that jukebox. And the song that I'm referring to in “G.P.T.,” when we talk about playing our song, is the song "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division. And that was always a start for our night. You know where we would have our Big Gulps, served to us by Irene at the bar, smoking still at the bar. Turn that song on, get the night going and who knows where we were going to be going off to and where we were heading. It was just a time that was so magical for me. I felt so excited to be in the city at that time. I was meeting all the musicians that are on this record and falling in love with all of them, and falling in love with the city and discovering myself. So I'm glad that it made it onto that first record, because it is really a quintessential song for me.

Jill Riley: I'm talking with singer-songwriter Martha Wainwright, reflecting on some of the music of the self-titled debut full length. It was released in 2005, this year being the 20th anniversary, coming with a vinyl edition. It was never released on vinyl. Also a tour. Martha, what's it been like to play an album in its entirety?

Martha Wainwright: Well, this is the first time I've done this, so I was a little worried about it. A bunch of them I've sung along the way, but there was a bunch I hadn't sung in a long time. We had a rehearsal last week, and I remembered them. I needed to take a few hours to just try and remember how to play them, because I also played the guitar on all the songs, to sort of remind myself. But I got there, I don't think it's going to be a challenge. I think it's going to be really fun. Usually at a show, I will let myself do anything, but I'm going to try and stick with the program of doing the record in its entirety, but then there will be time for other material, of course.

Jill Riley: I'm talking with Martha Wainwright on The Current's Morning Show, and before I let you go, what are you most looking forward to in the year 2025? 

Martha Wainwright: A couple of things. I live in Canada now, I grew up in Canada, but I'm an American citizen as well. And then I moved down to New York when I was 21 and stayed there for about 20 years and then moved back to Canada. I'm looking forward to going down to the States and also using the opportunity that I have to be on stage to maybe talk about the state of the world. My songwriting is not very political, but I am concerned, you know. And I thought recently, should I move back to the States to protest? What's going to happen? I feel worried for the country, worried for the planet, worried for us, for all of us. So I do want to try and take the opportunity that I have to have a stage and to have a voice. I'm looking forward to incorporating that into my life somehow, if I can, and trying to make some difference somehow. I'm also really excited about some of these new songs that I'm writing, which I will do a couple of in the show, and so I plan to make a new record in the summertime that would hopefully be released by maybe this time this year. So that's always exciting to get back into the studio. 

Jill Riley: Excellent. Well, good news. Thank you for sharing that and thank you for giving us just a little slice of what's going on with you and all of this stuff happening this year for you. And we really appreciate talking to you. Martha Wainwright on The Current's Morning Show. You take care and good luck on the tour.

Martha Wainwright: Thanks so much.

Find music and tour dates at: https://www.marthawainwright.com/