Interview: Topaz McGarrigle Returns to NYC

HT: And once again you’ve got an all-star band with you.

TOPAZ: I try, I try. I’ve got Joe Russo and Tewar. Justin’s going to be there — he was my original bass player, you know. I always try to make it kind of a reunion, you know? Some of the old cats, pretty loose and jammy. I’m sure there’ll be a couple of surprises, too.

HT: What spurred you to leave New York and head back to Texas?

TOPAZ: Well, I’d been in New York ten years and I think the quality of life – the pace of life, I guess – I just wanted to slow down a bit. We were touring a bunch, and it seemed kind of weird to be coming back, paying all that rent and keeping up with that grind. Now I have the best of both worlds: I bought a house, I have a garden, I sit on my porch and drink iced coffee, you know. But it was also creative: I wanted to switch it up, and after doing a lot of jazz funk I wanted to challenge myself. I got interested in starting to sing and, I guess, expand the creative palette.

HT: Your touring with Mudphonic has been mostly regional.

TOPAZ: For the most part, yes. We get out to San Francisco every couple of months, play the Boom Boom Room, do a lot in Colorado, Texas, Louisiana. It’s harder to make it on the road right now – the grind is not as easy as it is when you’re 21. We would like to be touring more, though, and we are looking to do more.

HT: You mentioned a new album at the outset of our discussion. When do you think it’ll come up?

TOPAZ: Hopefully by the end of the year.

HT: Can you describe the new songs? A different flavor from the “Music for Dorothy” sound?

TOPAZ: It’s new, and I don’t know how to describe it: it’s just better stuff. When we did “Music for Dorothy” we’d only been together about half a year and we did it live in a barn. It was pretty raw, and I think the next album will be more song-oriented and a bit more produced. I want to work more in the studio and produce it – not in a slick way, just bring in some cool new sonic stuff, some psychedelic stuff. What’s cool is that I’ve developed a bunch as well, especially singing and on harmonica.

HT: Has it been difficult to adjust to singing and develop your singing voice?

TOPAZ: Yeah. When I was in high school I sang, but I was always off key. Actually, the roots of me doing it go back to jam sessions we used to have in New York with Arnie Lawrence. That was one of the instigators. We’d just be doing this wild stuff and it’d come time for me to take a solo and he’d say, “No, sing it! Sing it!”

HT: Are you still plugged in to a lot of your old jam and jazz-funk circles in New York?

TOPAZ: I keep up with a lot of folks of course but I don’t know so much what it’s like now. That was honestly another factor in my leaving: I felt a little bit like the artistic and creative scene in New York was drying up. It didn’t feel as nurturing as the pre-yuppiefied times up there, you know? But places like Sullivan Hall have done a lot to keep that spirit alive. They’re great.