PAGE24 THE RETRIEVER WEEKLY FEATURES May 4, 1999

Music Mary Prankster: Singer, Songwriter and Goddess

EMILY BERNSTEIN I heard her a few more times in the follow­ Retriever Weekly Editorial Staff ing months and my sense of local pride reared its ugly head. In spite of the fact that I am Lou Brutus, WHFS morning jockey, loves usually adamantly against all things Dundalk, her. Jimi Haha of Jimmie's Chicken Shack I thought she was a pretty decent product of loves her. Those who follow the local music the place. scene love her. Even those who, like me, just In late December, I went to a They Might happened to be listening to HFS one morn­ Be Giants show at the 9:30 Club in DC. As ing and heard her sweet, throaty voice belt­ fate would have it, Mary Prankster was open­ ing out the lyrics of her first local hit "Blue ing for Them. When Mary came on stage, I Skies Over Dundalk," quickly grew to love just about fell over. She was not at all what I her. She's Mary Prankster, and she's my had envisioned - in fact, she was young and idol. stunningly gorgeous. Five minutes into her The first time I heard her was toward the set, the guys I was with were still gaping at middle oflast summer. I had been up all night her, and I can't say I blame them. reading and listening to HFS. Lou seemed I quickly got over her looks and realized really excited about a guest he was about to that she was ex­ have on the air, so I stayed tuned in, in spite ceptionally cool. of the fact that I was starting to space out Shortly after she from lack of adequate sleep. came out on When this mystery guest finally came on, stage, she ex­

her deep voice as she sang "Blue Skies Over plained how photo courtesy Mary Prankster Dundalk" led me to believe she was around psyched she was Prime Prankster: Mary sings the blues. 30 or 40, probably looking like a typical to be opening for Dundalk woman- scraggly, teased dark or They Might Be Off' ("Piss off the After the show, she hung out outside the bleached hair and lots of wrinkles only ac­ Giants. She ex­ wrong people and club and signed autographs and talked with centuated by a pound of cakey make-up. I plained that she they send you to the people who were still around. She even was nonetheless entertained by her song that worships Them jail; piss off the made fun of a friend of mine for getting to included the masterful lyrics "There'll be O's - as do I, so I right people and the club late and missing her set. · fans goin' down'ee ocean, hon [yes, that part was immediately they tell you She's great. If you're into entertaining is sung with the accent]. There'll be blue skies impressed by her-and was so excited about you're charming"). She also played what has music, local music or just plain good music, over Dundalk when I break your heart." meeting them that when John Flansburgh, one since become my favorite of her songs, check out her CD. You can buy it for $10 at I was intrigued. Over the course of that of the two main guys in They Might Be Gi­ "Breakfast." This little tune is the story of any area Record and Tape Traders. I have morning I heard two more songs by her: ants introduced himself to her, she flipped her bottle of Aunt Jemima talking to her at bought 10 copies of her CD- one for my­ "Bleeps and Whiskey (on the CD, the out. "I totally lost my shit. I just completely breakfast one morning ... among other ran­ self and the rest for friends and family - at "Bleeps" tum into "Tits") and "Mercyduck" lost my shit," she told the audience. dom things. It includes the lines: "This tat­ the R&TT on Frederick Road in Catonsville. (which is the radio-edit version of Mary played guitar and sang a bunch of too won't come off. I thought it was the lick­ With lyrics like "~uck me, fuck me, fuck "Mercyfuck"). In the next month or so, I con­ songs, including those played on HFS and ' em-stick-' em kind, but I couldn't figure out me, fuck me, I am Ernie's rubber duckie. Kiss tinued to hear her on the HFS morning show others like "Mac and Cheese" (All I want's a what that machine was for, or why I was in me, kiss me, kiss me, kiss me, let's break out with relative frequency. boy who's not a violent sociopath") and "Piss so much pain." the tits and whiskey," how can you go wrong? '"..... ATTENTION SCIENTISTS!

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