THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, March 18, 1996 TAG: 9603160056
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
MARRY ME JANE'S first big tour has pretty much followed the blueprint of a thousand other bands: fast food, no sleep and long hauls behind the wheel.
The difference is when the five New Yorkers arrive in Raleigh, Atlanta, New Orleans, Orlando, Jacksonville, Charlotte and, tonight, Virginia Beach, audiences already know about them. Ten songs on their self-titled debut make up the soundtrack to the new romantic-comedy, ``If Lucy Fell.''
But where most groups wouldn't wait a second before leaping at that kind of exposure, Marry Me Jane looked first.
``We didn't want to be known as a soundtrack band,'' guitarist Tim Beattie said last week from Daytona Beach. ``We wanted to be known for our music. We're more than grateful for getting our music in a movie, but we really worry about those things.''
``It's been a good thing presswise,'' added Amanda Kravat, lead vocalist and chief songwriter. ``It's meant a lot of attention and tie-ins, and there's been great focus on the live shows. Movies, though, go away.''
Eric Schaeffer, who wrote and directed ``If Lucy Fell'' - and is a big fan of the band - first proposed using their demos in his film, Kravat said. At the time, Marry Me Jane hadn't signed with Sony's 550 Music and Schaeffer was looking at a $30,000 budget.
The script wasn't written with any one song in mind, Kravat said. Sometimes, though, the lyrics so closely narrated what was happening on screen that songs were rearranged lest they give away the plot. The biting ``Who's Leaving Who,'' for instance, was moved from an argument midway through the movie to a later scene set in an art gallery.
``My songs tend to be about communication and heartbreak,'' she said. ``In this day and age, we're not too worried about being drafted or losing babies. The movie is about relationships between twentysome-things. With Eric being a fan and seeing so many damn shows, it worked too perfectly.''
Kravat's bare lyrics and whisper-to-a-growl vocals are a large part of Marry Me Jane's appeal. Such songs as ``Bad Loser,'' ``Misunderstood'' and ``You Didn't Kiss Me'' show a mature insight and gift for wordplay that usually come with more experience.
While she doesn't hide her pain, she doesn't take the self-pitying way out, either. Kravat comes across as strong and determined.
The other part of the equation is the arrangements. On ``Positive,'' Kravat is backed only by Dan Petty's acoustic guitar. Beattie uses the lap steel to untraditional effect on ``Ordinary.'' The result is a variety of textures that differ widely from the cookie-cutter noisefests now taking up air space.
``I honestly believe you have to make the music you want to make,'' Beattie said. ``You can't go with trends.
``We didn't worry about sounding like an alternative band, whatever that is. In this business, everybody has to be compared to somebody. I'm glad we can't tell anybody who we sound like. We sound like us.''
Apparently, audiences are liking what they hear.
``We've had people moshing at our concerts,'' Beattie said increduously. ``It's unbelievable, but they managed to mosh to all of our songs. It was kind of a rush watching them get into it.''
Now, about the name: Marry Me Jane was borrowed from posters plastered around Kravat's New York neighborhood by a suitor named Keith. She doesn't know if the two ever got together.
``We cannot find this guy Keith,'' Kravat said. ``Someone even came into a friend of mine's restaurant with a photo of one of the posters. We keep expecting lawsuits.'' ILLUSTRATION: Ten songs on Maryy Me Jane's self-titled debut make up the
soundtrack to the new film "If Lucy Fell."
[For a copy of the INFOLINE box, see microfilm.]
MARRY ME JANE
When: 9 tonight
Where: The Abyss, 1065 19th St., Virginia Beach
Admission: Free
Call: 422-0748
by CNB