Marlowe Stone's Story

As a young girl growing up in Toronto, Marlowe Stone had a basement hideaway to be envied by any aspiring artist. In a room lined with mirrors and musical instruments, Marlowe taught herself to play piano, danced passionately and performed the songs that blossomed in her brain. Entering that private laboratory, the 10 year-old wannabe would don her personal symbol of freedom and fame — a blue satin dress — and sing the night away to her audience beyond the mirrors.

Now, with the release of her first full-length CD, Blue Satin Dress, Marlowe Stone has refined the raw, prodigious talent of those basement years with maturity, passion and poise. The result is an album that combines her early influences, from Carole King to Billy Joel, with the modern sensibilities of Edie Brickell and fellow-Canadian Sarah McLachlan.

Marlowe began her professional musical career as an adolescent. By age sixteen, she had already written dozens of songs with melodies and lyrics well beyond her years. Just days after recording her first demo (for a song entitled “I Know It”), an industry insider heard the song and offered on the spot to publish the work. “I Know It” was shopped to a number of Top 40 artists at the time, including Cyndi Lauper.

In the years that followed, Marlowe’s song-and dance performance of “I Know It” earned her a finalist position at Canada’s prestigious Rising Star competition. And as a prolific songwriter, she continued to build up her repertoire and record on her basement multi-track.

After graduating with a bachelors degree from the renowned Radio and Television Production program at Ryerson University, Marlowe was approached by David Baxter and Chris Wardman, two well-known Canadian producers, to record a new demo. Musicians from such acts as Jann Arden and the Wild Strawberries eagerly joined the jam, and the ad-hoc group recorded three of Marlowe’s originals. Buoyed by this enthusiasm, Marlowe began to polish her performance skills in popular Toronto venues like the Ultrasound, the Treehouse and C’est What.

In 1997, Marlowe “followed true love” (musical and romantic) to Chicago, IL, and she seized upon the opportunity to focus full-time on her songwriting and performance. As an exiled Canadian longing for home, Marlowe saw her music mature to a new level.

And her audiences responded. Marlowe became a regular performer in northern Chicago, and she assembled an eclectic and wildly talented band whose past acts include Poi Dog Pondering (a Chicago phenom), Chucklehead (a popular Boston-area band) and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. With the 7-piece “Marlowe Stone Band” backing her up, Marlowe knew the time was right to finally record her debut CD, Blue Satin Dress. Her behind-the-scenes team was just as formidable; it included producer Lou Carlozo (a Chicago Tribune music critic and award-winning songwriter) and engineers Mike Hagler (hot off Wilco’s latest CD) and Ed Tinley (just done touring with Liz Phair). The resulting album was a product of caffeine-laden, fun-filled sessions at Chicago’s unique King Size Sound Labs.

Two years away from Toronto was just the right “ripening time” for Marlowe Stone. As a proud Canadian artist, Marlowe heard the call of the True North. Marlowe is delighted to be releasing Blue Satin Dress back in Canada, the country she can call home again. Now, if only she had space in her cramped Toronto apartment for a room full of mirrors…