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| BIOGRAPHY: MELISSA McCLELLAND |
 Melissa McClelland is quirky, but not crazy. Case in point: she aspires to one day have an entire room devoted to displaying her ever-growing collection of dollar-store ‘discoveries’, which she collects nearly to the point of obsession. At least she has the humility to laugh at herself for it.
Born in Chicago but raised in Burlington, Ontario (just a stone’s skip from Canada’s “steel city” Hamilton), McClelland unwittingly found herself with a seemingly endless list of topics for Stranded in Suburbia. Not cognizant of the album’s theme during the creative process, it would reveal itself to her upon reflection.
"When I'm writing, it's not a conscious process. I didn't write this album with a suburban theme in mind; it just came out that way. It wasn't until I had the whole album together that I thought, 'Wow, it is a story.' And it's the story of my life, really.”
This, McClelland’s second full-length release, paints a vivid and detailed picture of the perils of growing up in suburbia. Nothing escapes McClelland's keen brush strokes; the record includes sardonic nods to alcohol and drugs, basements and rooftops, factories and cars, curfews and runaways, violence and vandalism, sex, love, and futile dreams.
McClelland began to create her own songs at the ripe old age of four, armed with a tape recorder her parents gave her as a distraction. By the time she turned eleven she was creating songs on the piano. Although McClelland took violin lessons for ten years, she has no other formal musical training. The violin lessons employed the "Suzuki method" of learning music, which focuses on training the ear. She subsequently moved on to piano and guitar (guitar being her instrument of choice).
McClelland engaged the talents of a young upstart named Ryan Corrigan (now Hawksley Workman), to produce her demo. But it would be prolific singer-songwriter and talented producer Rob Lamothe who recorded McClelland’s sparse, yet beautiful debut full-length album (2001). This self-titled release coincided with Melissa’s first major North American tour, which took her to California and throughout western Canada.
The hard work of slugging it out in the independent music world did not dissuade McClelland from doggedly pursuing music. And the work paid off. When Luke Doucet (Sarah McLachlan, Chantal Kreviazuk, Oh Susanna, Danny Michel) climbed on board to produce McClelland’s follow-up full-length release, Stranded in Suburbia, it was because he heard something special in McClelland. Aside from her dazzling talent, he saw a person whose personality and drive predispose her to success.
Not long after recording Stranded in Suburbia, McClelland signed a record deal with a label in its infancy, The Orange Record Label. Melissa is one of Orange's debut artists, along with Jim Bryson and Lindy. “I'm so proud to be a part of Orange,” says McClelland. “It was scary signing a deal because I've been independent for so long, to give up that control and to believe in and trust a label was hard. But I'm thankful that all the people I've hooked up with have turned out to be very honest, talented, and down to earth. I haven't encountered all that bullshit you hear about in the music industry.”
Stranded in Suburbia is McClelland’s debut album with Orange. Headed by Doucet, the players on this record are a who's-who of the Canadian musical landscape. Paul Brennan (Elton John, Sarah McLachlan, Veda Hille) holds it down behind the drum kit, while the bottom-end comes courtesy of bassist Jay Gordon. Strings (McClelland, Sahra Featherstone, Anne Alma, and Eric Mackinnon) and keys (Todor Kobakov) round out the lush musical backdrop for McClelland's robust songs. And it’s all tied together and mixed by Michael Phillip Wojewoda (Barenaked Ladies, Ashley MacIsaac, Rheostatics). The lead-off radio single, “White Lies (Stranded in Suburbia)” was mixed by superstar engineer David Ogilvie (Nine Inch Nails, Sloan, Marilyn Manson).
Even with all of this musical artistry and engineering prowess, the songs retain their backbone - McClelland's songwriting and crystalline vocals. Listeners are treated to a cathartic journey, an emotionally and aurally stimulating CD that can be spun again and again without growing tiresome.
McClelland is not hard-pressed to ream off a list of artists who inspire her, and many of these are independent and local artists she has met along the way (“There are so many. So many.”). Her side project, the Ladybird Sideshow, is a collective she formed with Toronto and area songbirds Erin Smith, Janine Stoll, and Lisa Winn. “All of them have totally blown me away,” McClelland says emphatically.
Knowing full well what other people’s music has done for her in life, McClelland seems at a loss, initially, to explain what she wants her music to do for other people. After some thought, she muses, “This album is very personal to me, but it touches on a lot of universal themes, so I hope that people can relate to it in some way. I hope that my album does the same things for people that music does for me: I hope it inspires them and makes them think and feel."
www.melissamcclelland.com
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