Her first record was released in 1988. Two years later, she was a major-label artist with a well-received album on Arista. By 1992, Atlanta-based singer-songwriter Michelle Malone was issuing music on her own terms, through her own company.
Fast forward to today and her latest release, “Southern Comfort” (issued on her own SBS Records) is just beginning to appear in playlists and record stores around the country. “I finished it about a year ago,” she said recently. “But it seems like I’ve been living with these songs for a long time, even though most are pretty new. I think it’s because of the sort of ‘relatives’ vibe it has going on. It kinda feels like an extended family reunion.”
Recently, as she spoke with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she was busy packing for a trip to Blue Ridge, preparing to teach songwriting classes and perform at the annual Muse Destination Workshops. The gatherings are anchored by her partner, visual artist Trish Land, so naturally Malone’s thoughts were on songwriting and art.
She described the workshops as more of a community than a classroom, a welcoming place where people make friends and bond over their shared creative process. “Somewhere in there Trish and I teach some classes, but the whole thing has sort of evolved into a family gathering. We just happen to do some art along the way. It’s actually pretty much how my life has been, most of the time.”
They’ve been teaching the workshops for about 10 years now.
“I thought I’d just be teaching interested people about how to write a song,” Malone explained. “But I quickly learned that’s only part of it because a lot of people who come to the workshops have never even written a song before. They’re just very curious and courageous people.”
By the end of the sessions, Malone said she usually learns as much as the students.
Credit: Michelle Malone
Credit: Michelle Malone
“Songwriting is a muscle and the more you do it, the better at it you get. If you can get in the moment and not let anything else get in the way, then it all comes together,” she continued. “The part where you’re actually creating the song is the most important part of it. That’s where the joy is, in that moment. That’s the magical zen place we all strive to find.”
Malone seems to have found that often-elusive musical nirvana on “Southern Comfort.”
“Like always, it sort of reflects what I personally want to hear. My favorites have always been in the classic rock, singer-songwriter, blues and jazz sort of mindsets, so it’s all over the place. Growing up in the South, that’s just the natural blend.”
The album’s featured singles aptly showcase her diverse influences. “Simple Life” highlights the benefits of the basic needs of quiet, rural existence.
The crunchy “Barbed Wire Kisses” recalls Malone’s rocking days with her former backing band Drag The River. “I loved sneaking into (defunct Atlanta rock club) Hedgens when I was a kid,” she laughed. “So I had to ask (Georgia Satellites guitarist) Rick Richards to come and play on this record. I think Charlie Starr of Blackberry Smoke is carrying on that sort of Stonesy thing quite well. So I’m glad to have him along as well.”
Malone said all the guests on “Southern Comfort” shared the same objective. “It had to bring us joy,” was the main goal of this record. “Then other people are probably gonna like it, too. I just don’t force it on myself or anyone else anymore.”
The prolific artist said she previously felt the need to write constantly. “In the van, in my college dorm room, just anywhere and anytime. I had so much I was trying to figure out about life, myself, love and everything.” Now, she said, after writing hundreds of songs, the process has settled down a bit.
As an independent artist, her time is much more limited these days. “Now I have to sort of delegate people to do things and make decisions and all that. I can’t just sit around and dream with a notebook, you know?”
But she can definitely feel ideas as they “well up inside me.” That’s when she knows it’s time to compose another record.
“I’ll sit down with a guitar and a piece or paper and just start writing. Or I’ll call up some friends, like Eliot Bronson or Randall Bramblett or Dean Dillon, and we’ll go write together. That’s been the process for the past five or 10 years now and that’s how it seems to work best for me. It’s like a communion.”
The guest list of collaborators should flow as easily as the music, she said. “I’m so proud of how much talent there is around here in Atlanta. I’m honored to live in a place where you can’t swing a bat without hitting some amazing people.”
The collection bristles like a cool afternoon picnic with relatives (the ones you actually want to hang out with) and the assorted themes of loss, family and kinship set the stage for a poignant Southern-fried revival.
A bittersweet highlight of the set is the title track, dedicated to the memory of Malone’s former Drag The River drummer Billy Pitts. “We played that song so many times back in the day,” she said. “So since this record is about friends and family, it’s finally getting its proper place at the table.”
CONCERT PREVIEW
Michelle Malone. Southern Comfort album release. Oct. 19. 7 p.m. duo, 9 p.m. full band. $32-$39. Eddies Attic, 515 N. McDonough St., Decatur. 404-377-4976, eddiesattic.com.
