#MARTHA WAINWRIGHT SONGS ARCHIVE#

ThereвЂ™s nothing like this anymore and Mile End Montreal is being thrown out to the wolves.вЂќ It does feel like it exists outside of time. Wainwright describes how people tell her вЂњThank you for being here.

Ursa is in the process of coming into itself, but is very cosy and truly redolent of the laissez-faire core of Montreal, a core that feels increasingly hard to find. The space oozes that itch of involvement вЂ“ that desire to be a part of something. Even just sitting in Ursa, in this slightly chilly but very cute semi-basement, I felt relaxed but enthused. The money talk, in other words, may be a little gauche, but itвЂ™s likely also an honest reflection of how hard it is for any artist to get by, even those with a name and enough cash for a fixer-upper in the Mile End, and Wainwright clearly wants to be part of the solution, part of a community of artists and not just a community of creative hustlers. Then again, Wainwright talks about the ways in which private money has shaped the American arts scene, those вЂњfamilies that have a long history of being philanthropists,вЂќ whereas in Canada, arts funding tends to fall somewhat awkwardly between the private and the governmental. SheвЂ™s got a sense of her own privilege -вЂ“ of how inheriting her motherвЂ™s apartment in Outremont has insulated her from rising rents in the neighbourhood, but thereвЂ™s a disconnect too, where Ursa recently hosted a $200 per ticket fundraiser for itself.

Now, Martha Wainwright likes to talk about money, and it is mildly disconcerting to sit in front of a Wainwright while they speak so blithely about how вЂњeverybody in family for one reason or another is really strapped for cashвЂќ and how they need more to fix the roof on the family home. The space is getting busier but theyвЂ™re вЂњstill fumbling terribly.вЂќ Still, part of the idea was to вЂњopen it and see what the community dictates, what the space dictates.вЂќ ItвЂ™s still early days, but Wainwright has a vision for the space, part of which involves convincing musicians coming through town for the Jazz Festival or for Osheaga to pass by for вЂњa little after show.вЂќ On the genesis of Ursa, Martha Wainwright says: вЂњWell for many years I had, I donвЂ™t think its a childish fantasty, but a stupid idea to have a little music venue/space where IвЂ™d be wearing an apron and cooking and then IвЂ™d sing songs.вЂќ It was a notion she toyed with while living in Bed Stuy in New York City, but an idea sheвЂ™s only been recently able to realize here in Montreal.

#MARTHA WAINWRIGHT SONGS ARCHIVE#

I donвЂ™t have a therapist right now but when I have had a therapist they havenвЂ™t told me that itвЂ™s bad to do.вЂќ Dealing with the archive of her mother and her motherвЂ™s music has made her consider what вЂњmusical legacy means вЂ“ its importance or its unimportance.вЂќДЇamily and itвЂ™s legacy is key to WainwrightвЂ™s sense of herself, whether itвЂ™s talking about how Rufus takes their motherвЂ™s death differently way out in Los Angeles, or how her cousins came to help paint and clean Ursa and to sew the curtains for the space, or how she wants Ursa to be something her kids can вЂњgrow into.вЂќ вЂњWeвЂ™ve really kept legacy alive in many ways and I think itвЂ™s the right thing to do. SheвЂ™s both at ease with her motherвЂ™s death, in the sense that she вЂњlive in her house andвЂќ and вЂњliterally wear her clothesвЂќ, but speaks about a tendency not to think about these things, and then to suddenly realize that вЂњIвЂ™ve lost my voice or my back hurts or I canвЂ™t get up out of bed or I drink to much.вЂќДeath and memory, in other words, have a way of manifesting themselves regardless, but she seems dedicated to the task of honouring her mother while moving forward with her own life. When we met in Ursa, the event space in Montreal she opened nine months ago, the walls were still hung with photos of Kate and her sister Anna McCarrigle from a tribute show and exhibition back in early February. Martha Wainwright is on the tail end of several shows marking the 10-year anniversary of the death of her mother Kate McCarrigle.

Martha wainwright songs