REVIEW: Hello Out There, AllMusic.com
By Kelly McCartney

Michelle Malone is a busy gal. She founded SBS Records in 1992 as an outlet for her own work and has lived through a number of different musical incarnations including Drag the River and Band De Soleil. Just between 1999 and 2001, she released Home Grown, Lucky to Be Live, Strange Bird, Vol. 3, and now Hello Out There. That's prolific by even the strictest standards. What's even more impressive is that Hello Out There is not a weak record. It doesn't sound at all rushed or thrown together. Tagging her style as "sonic roots rock," Malone captures her unbridled energy through the power of amps and drums. She achieves a nice balance within that structure, never forsaking her organic folk heritage. (As a further grounding point, Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls contributes her considerable talent to the acoustic-based "Sleepy Sunday Morning.") Other melodic highlights include the near power pop tunes "Hello" and "Carry Me," the top-down driving anthem "Let Love," and the hushed ballad of longing "Any Day Now." Malone's guitar is emblazoned with a single word that sums it all up — "Independent." That spirit permeates her songs and performances, and is certainly evident in the fact that she owns the label, too. If you throw in the likes of Amy Ray, Jonatha Brooke, Kaia Wilson, and others, Malone and her sisters are definitely doing it for themselves. And doing it very well, indeed.

REVIEW: Sonicnet.com 05.02.01
Her Aim is True
By Parke Puterbaugh

Michelle Malone is one of the best musicians you've probably never heard, and if so, Hello Out There is a great place to make her acquaintance. The Atlanta-based singer/guitarist is a mesmerizing talent with a silvery, clear-toned voice and an ability to connect through organic songs that flow naturally, radiating resilience and vulnerability. And she's also a terrific guitarist. Check out her taut, high-energy interaction with guitarist/producer Rick Beato in "Super Ball" and "No Destination." Malone has always seemed to possess a touch of Jim Morrison's shivery charisma; just listen to her sing "What am I gonna do? I'm gonna get higher" on "Surrender", or check out her version of "Peace Frog" (from 1993's For You Not Them), which beats anything on the recent Doors tribute album Stoned Immaculate.

Hello Out There is Malone's seventh studio album, and she hasn't made a bad one save for 1990's Relentless, a major label disaster that suffered from ill-conceived, market-minded input. Hello Out There is somewhat more electric than its predecessor, 1999's rootsy and largely unplugged Homegrown, though song-wise it builds upon that album's air of dewy freshness and new beginnings. Together, they constitute the most fruitful chapter in Malone's career, and should be essential listening for anyone who appreciates heartfelt, well-crafted tunes from a proudly independent (that last word is, in fact, plainly plastered on her guitar) musician.

Malone, who fronts a three-piece band, knows how to make a song kick. Listen to the drums fall in as she sings "My shadow slowly stretched across the floor" in "Carry Me", a spirited plaint and one of several here about movement and an itinerant lifestyle — occupational hazards of the working musician. "I come and go constantly," she sings in "Hello." "I get in my car to get on my way to nowhere," she notes sassily in "No Destination," making her rootlessness seem like a not-unpleasant escape, or at least preferable to moldering in the doldrums. "And the journey is all," she adds — summing up an album whose forceful free-spiritedness is enough to jump-start anyone's dead battery.

REVIEW: Hello Out There, Southern Voice 04.19.01
Out in Music: Michelle Malone
by Michael Nichols

If you've been following the Atlanta music scene at all in the last few years, then you've heard of Michelle Malone. She's been an Atlanta favorite for the last 14 years-performing both solo and with several bands including Drag the River, Band De Soleil and currently, the MaLone Stars.

She's had 2 major label deals-before deciding to go independent-and has garnered rave reviews from rock critics across the country. Many wonder how Malone has managed to stay virtually a Southern secret.

The out singer/songwriter calls Atlanta home, but due to her amazing live show and constant touring schedule, she has a following that stretches across the states. Her recent release, "Hello Out There," proves that Malone can still rock with the big boys and remain an unstoppable force in independent music.

"When I went in to record this record, I knew I wanted to do something different," Malone says. "I wanted to challenge myself and the listeners. Frankly, I can't make the same record twice."

She certainly hasn't made the same record twice. "Hello Out There" offers listeners 12 tracks of power-pop with amazing hooks, innovative vocal textures, intriguing verses and driving melodies.

"My fans are used to me changing production and putting out different types of records. I went into the studio to make a slightly more produced record but I still wanted it to have that organic vibe," she says proudly.

"In order to produce the record more but not use a bunch of extraneous instruments, I used the vocal as another instrument," she explains. "Sometimes the vocal was used as an entire string section or a keyboard pad and other times, I created a Beatle-esque type harmony that was a lot of fun,"

Much of Malone's success has to be credited to her live performances. An audience member is transported into Malone's world and feels the pain and joys of her songs.

At the recent CD release party at Eddie's Attic, hundreds of loyal fans enjoyed Malone's storytelling, music and political quips and one-liners. When asked how the new CD translates in her live performances, Michelle is quick to explain.

"I'm not going to try to reproduce the sound live, obviously," Michelle says. "I think that your record is your record. When you're in the studio, you should do what's best for the song and when you're playing live, you should do what's best at that moment."

Malone has some pretty definite ideas about her end of the music business and how it should be run. It comes as no surprise that she chose to break free from the restraints of a major label to start her own SBS Records.

"It taught me a lot and gave me new respect for everyone who works in music-from radio promoters to someone working the door at a club," Malone confesses.

"It's been such a learning experience and this respect is certainly not a concept that I had a big grip on before I went independent," she says.

"People who see me around town don't realize that I'm actually working. I'm promoting shows and hanging posters and doing interviews."

If you're a Malone fan, you can't help but notice the maturity her music and attitude have taken on over the years. Once upon a time she would channel her anger into a relentless raging solo, smash her guitar into her microphone stand and leave the rest of the band to clean up the mess as the audience cheered for more.

The younger Malone would have exited the venue without giving the matter a second thought. These days, Malone has found different ways to handle her anger.

"I have a different feeling and approach now," she admits.

"When I'm playing now and my amp is up and I'm whipping through a kick ass guitar solo, I don't feel like I'm doing it out of sheer anger and hostility anymore," she confesses.

"Playing music used to be my only outlet for anger and hostility, but now it's a blast and I'm having the time of my life," she says with a chuckle. "It's definitely rock with a purpose."

REVIEW: Homegrown, Keith Gordon (www.mondogordo.com)

Atlanta's Michelle Malone is proof that you can't keep a real artist down. After an ill-promoted, though energetically rocking Lenny Kaye-produced major label debut in 1990, Malone has spent the rest of the decade wandering from one indie imprint to another. During this time, while fellow female folk rockers like Jewel, Meredith Brooks or Sheryl Crow have experienced varying degrees of career success, Malone has remained an undiscovered gem.

Homegrown, Malone's follow-up to 1997's wonderful Beneath The Devil Moon, is unlikely to play beyond Malone's faithful cult following, regardless of how good it is. No longer a diamond in the rough, years of playing and recording have polished Malone's former barroom growl into a multi-faceted and quite enchanting singing voice. Malone can still rock out – witness the pop hooks on the album-opening “Avalon” or the riff-driven “Brand New Dream.” Malone has developed range and depth as a singer, though, illustrated by the country-sweet “Keeping Score” or the folkish tale “Cheap One Star Hotel.”

As a songwriter, Malone has always been at her best with semi-autobiographical confessional lyrics, the kind of bread and butter that provides Tori Amos or Alannis Morrisette with multi-platinum sales. Unlike these chart-topping “angry young women,” however, Malone's material resounds with sincerity and realism. Her anger has been tempered somewhat by humility, a point best shown by Homegrown's bittersweet title track. Looking back over the last decade, running in place while the rest of the world runs by, Malone laments “I've been sitting in this apartment waiting for my ship to sail/ but the canvas started rotting through and there's rust upon the sail.” Springsteen once asked listeners “is a dream a lie if it don't come true, or is it something worse?” Malone sings “this is my home – where my dreams began to fade.” The physical place of “home” becomes a metaphor for an entire career. Nevertheless, the song shows a glimmer of hope, Malone accepting the way things are with a realization that she'll carry on in spite of the cost.

Whether Malone would like another shot at the brass ring with a major label or would be content with a long-term home on a stable indie is beyond my knowledge. I do know that I've been listening to Malone since her major label debut almost a decade ago, and I've seen her continue to mature as an artist. Unlike many more successful folks, I've never heard a bad Michelle Malone album. It's a strange coincidence, but Malone's career parallels that of Kiya Heartwood. Both were signed by Arista at roughly the same time – Malone with her Drag The River band and Heartwood with Stealin' Horses. Both released impressive, critically acclaimed debut albums, both are Southern storytellers and Arista had no idea what to do with either of them. While Heartwood has recorded sporadically since, most recently in a duo called Wishing Chair, Malone continues to crank out fine music for whatever label happens to like her at the moment.

Michelle Malone is a true treasure, though, and living proof that sales aren't the only measure of an artist. You owe it to yourself to discover her talents – I promise that the day will come when Malone will be recognized as the artist that she is.

REVIEW: Home Grown, Billboard Magazine 01.08.00
Michelle Malone - SBS Records 

Malone has been through the proverbial music industry mill, having moved from one label to the next, and ha endured the misfortune of having her fine material overlooked by the mainstream. That might break a lesser artist, but it seems to have only fueled Malone's focus on making music that's both credible and commercial.

One only needs to delve several cuts into "Homegrown" before concluding that this set is infinitely better than much of the female-driven rock currently being embraced by the masses.

"Avalon" is a rollicking rocker, replete with tasty guitar licks and an anthemic, radio-ready chorus, while "Strength For Two" (which features Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls on guitar and harmony) is the kind of delicate, endearing acoustic ballad that triple-A programmers need to acknowledge.

In all, a fine effort from an artist who deserves to be a big, big star. 

Southeast Performer Vol. 1 Issue 6 11.99
Michelle Malone - Home Grown

After more than a decade of performing and putting out records, Michelle Malone has dealt with more highs and lows, label politics, revolving band members, and one-nighters than anybody should have to. Fueled by smatterings of success, Malone has run the gamut from independent to major, back to independent, found refuge with Daemon Records, and earlier this year, severed ties from the debacle formerly known as Velvel Records. And still, she plays on, holding her head high, singing to the world, making music that is insightful and entertaining, and as endearing as her spirit and substance.

Atlanta has the good fortune to be where Michelle calls home, and her latest offering, Home Grown (released on her own SBS records), seems to find her at ease and almost relieved to be home. She offers glimpses of lightening up, illustrated by lead track "Avalon," an immediately appealing, jingle-jangly pop tune seeking a utopian world amidst the chaos of everyday life. But she lets the listener know she remains true to her acoustic roots, reaffirming this on the beautiful ballad "Strength for Two," where she's joined by Indigo Girl Emily Saliers. The spotlight track, "Suddenly," will undoubtedly be an immediate favorite of many with its wonderful melody, one you'll curse as you keep finding yourself humming it randomly later. The pedal steel played by Page Waldrop is a subtle partner to a luscious vocal that reminds you of k.d. lang's "Constant Craving." Malone shows she's mastered yet another instrument in her repertoire, her voice.

The disc starts to cook with the rocking "Sweet Jane"-type anthem "Brand New Dream" but then reverts to the soulful lament Michelle is so comfortable with, using her acoustic guitar. The songs that follow show she can't help but mix up the pot with various influences and styles, from country to rock, a little jazz, some blues, gospel and then back to folk - it's all there.

Melding prose from her life, travels on the road and out west she brings it back to where her heart lies. This wonderful talent called Michelle Malone, can't deny what she is - a Southern chanteuse virtuoso, making music that comes from deep within.

-T. Anderson

Girlfriends Volume 6, #7 01.00 Home Grown Review

Michelle's new album is entirely homegrown. It is a self-written, self-produced, and self-released collection of 13 songs reflecting blues, folk, and rock influences. Michelle, who performs frequently with her close friends, the Indigo Girls, has a gritty, sassy quality to her voice and a devotion to her lyrics. Over the years she has played on a major label, Arista, as well as on smaller indie labels. About her decision to do it all herself she says "I wanted to focus on my soul, not my career." And her soul comes shining through. Grade: A-

Michelle Malone: The Tabernacle; Atlanta, GA 12.17.99

Nothing was sacred inside The Tabernacle when Decatur rocker Michelle Malone opened the Indigo Girls' Home-for-the-Holidays show. Well-known for weaving her alluring silky vocal style through a melodic tapestry of blues, R&B, jazz, and folk fabrics, Malone proved she can just as easily rip, shred, and burn ragged holes through solid rock.

Her powerful performance included the new tune "Homegrown" (the title track of her 1999 album), as well as "Grace," "My Green Thumb," and other crowd pleasers.

She was joined onstage by the Indigo's Emily Saliers during "Strength For 2" and by her mother Karyn for "All I Can Give." During the finale, "Teen Lament," she received added vocal support from her sister Carrie, from members of Stereo Popsicle, and by both Indigos. Later, Malone returned the favor by joining the girls on mouth harp for a rousing rendition of "Chicken Man" much to the delight of her cheering fans.

- Trina O'Connor

"Malone Keeps It 'Home Grown' With Set On Her Own SBS Label" Billboard Magazine 11.06.99

In creating "Home Grown" Michelle Malone had a clear and simple goal. She wanted her seventh studio set to be uncompromisingly reflective of her soul as a songwriter and performer -- regardless of mainstream trends.

In order to accomplish her task without outside interference, the veteran artist says, she opted to keep her seventh studio set - due Nov. 23 - all to herself.

"I find it very gratifying to put out my own records, because the fulfillment for me comes from the heart of the music, not the paycheck," she says. "On 'Home Grown,' I wanted to focus on my soul, not my career."

Issued on her own Decatur, GA based SBS Records, "Home Grown" was cut over a two-week period, and it features such local heroes as Michael Lorant and Sheila Doyle. Emily Saliers of Indigo Girls also appears on the set, offering a harmony vocal on the easy-paced, single-worthy "Strength For Two." Another standout cut is the infectious rock-edged "Avalon," which is ripe for rock radio consumption.

Malone may not be gunning for mainstream attention, but some indie retailers believe she could earn it with this set.

"It's got a crisp sound, and the songs are just beautiful," says Marlon Creaton, manager of Record Kitchen, an outlet in San Francisco. "It's the kind of record that will appeal to fans of Jewel and Sarah McLachlan."

Allison German, manager of Risk Discs, an indie outlet in Columbus, Ohio, agrees, saying the set "easily bests most of what major labels are offering in this genre right now This is not just another chick singer strumming a guitar This is a deep artist who is commercially aware, almost in spite of herself."

Since Malone is promoting the album without the aid of a large label, she will focus heavily on gigging at the club level throughout the U.S. She's booked by Joe Dresslaer at New Deal Entertainment.

It's at the clubs where Malone has developed an ardent following since issuing her critically heralded debut, "New Experience," in 1988. Along the way; Malone has recorded for Arista ("Relentless," 1990) and Velvel ("Beneath The Devil Moon," 1997), and she's toured with Indigo Girls, the Dave Matthews Band, and the Patti Smith Group, among others. Ultimately she views her present status as a fully independent artist as one of the better phases in her career.

"It feels free to break free from chains that can keep you from easily expressing yourself," she says.

- Larry Flick

"All Malone" The Atlanta Sideshow, Jon Waterhouse 9.99
"Michelle Malone is back in the saddle with her latest release, Home Grown.

Atlantan Michelle Malone has seen all sides of the music business and has lived to tell about it, from the mega-conglomerate labels to the D.I.Y. approach. These days she opts for the latter by running her own label SBS Records.

Writing, recording and running a business, however, hasn't been the only major challenge in Malone's life recently. Medical problems; namely a series of intestinal surgeries, caused a major financial setback last year. Resilience, a trademark of Malone's career, rang true and she recorded Home Grown, her seventh release.

Earlier this summer she tackled adversity once again by participating in an eight-week cross-country charity bicycle trip for the non-profit organization Earth Challenge. And now Malone, who may arguably be the hardest working woman in the folk/rock business, is gearing up for a tour.

In a recent chat with Sideshow, Malone talked about her new album, life on the indie scene and looking at America from the seat of her bike.

How are you doing?

I'm doing very well. I'm just so kinda crazy-busy trying to be a record label and a singer and everything all at the same time. It's a little nutty. But I think I thrive on crazy in one form or another.

And the whole independent thing, is it something you enjoy?

I love it. It's very, very fulfilling. My records' not even out yet, and I feel completely fulfilled and satisfied because I'm doing it and I'm doing it well I believe.

And there's absolutely no pressure of how to approach it or anything?

Oh no. There's no pressure at all. It's all a matter of what you feel like doing at the moment. I mean, I'm very much independent. Now that I've been through two major labels and realize that's not what I want out of life, I'm going to make a go of this.

It's just really exciting. The beautiful thing about this independent label business is if I only sold 10,000 or 20,000 records, which to me is a no-brainer I'll be making such a fine living. Which is not the primary reason I'm doing it, but I just had to declare bankruptcy last year because of my surgeries, without having insurance. All that went down the last couple of years, and because of my career the last 10 or 12 years, I accumulated about a zillion attorney bills and different recoupable monies to different labels and publishing companies and managers and everything else. It was mostly the doctor bills, but at any rate, I feel like I have a new lease on life and that's very exciting

So that stuff didn't knock the wind out of your sails?

I don't think the wind can be knocked out of my sails. I got an electric motor. Yeah, I guess I take it all as a challenge.

How did you approach this album as opposed to your 6 others?

Well I've always tried to go into the studio and let the songs dictate to me what they want done to them, how they want to be approached and how they want to sound. I don't think for me it's possible to force certain instrumentation or sounds or arrangements on songs without it sounding forced. Generally when people do that they're probably going for a certain sound that might get them airplay or something. And that's not my end goal.

I had a whole bunch of great musicians and friends around Atlanta who helped me out; So it went down very quickly and easily and it was just such a pleasure to make it all in Atlanta with all Atlanta friends. That's the other homegrown aspect of it I guess.

So you recorded it in just two weeks. Is there a secret to putting out a record in such an efficient amount of time?

Well I definitely wasn't going for perfection. And I think in this day and age a lot of people feel like they have to. You gotta put it through Pro-Tools, and you gotta fix every beat. I don't really go for that. I think that's bullshit. it takes the life out of the song. I like to leave some mistakes, and I like to have some quirks, and I like it to have a human element. I'm not concerned with perfectionism. I just want it to feel good. Once you get into the perfectionism realm I think it takes the feel out of it.

So what's the tour schedule hooking like for the new album?

Well, I think for the next three or four months up until the end of the year I'm probably going to tour solo and try to recoup some of the money that's spent on the record, and try to get out there the efficient way that touring solo is. Hopefully after the first of the year well be sending the record out to radio and national press, and then I'll start to tour with a band. That's the plan. I hope it works out that way.

Will you be touring with other bands during your solo warm-up period?

I imagine there could be some opening slots here and there I'm not aware of any schedule yet. They always seem to come in at the last minute, like after your agent has worked really hard to book gigs for you solo or headlining through the next two or three months someone will call you up and say "Hey; ditch all those and go with us." Anything's possible; but it's all work to me, it's all gigging and it's all great whether I'm playing Eddie's Attic or playing the Enormo Dome opening for somebody I don t feel like I'm jaded, it's just that there's an element of work involved everywhere, and I kind of got my ya ya's out a long time ago

It's fun but it's just a job. It's great that I can do this for a living. I feel very blessed that I have been able to support myself for the most part, with the exception of surgical bills, the past 10 or 12 years playing original music. That's amazing.

Tell me about the eight week cross country bicycle trip you did with Earth Challenge. "

That was amazing. It was actually seven weeks. We left at the beginning of the summer and there were 10 bikers. They were all girls and three support crews who helped drive and everything. We rode across the country, well, pedaled across the country meeting with community leaders and just different folks in different neighborhoods trying to create environmental awareness, and trying to come up with ideas and plans of some constructive things that we can do against certain things like uranium mining on native lands and things like that.

It was amazing. A lot of the community leaders that we met with were Native Americans and their land had already been mined; open pit uranium mining is a common thing on a lot of native lands. So a lot of the leaders we met with had cancer or were fighting cancer several times over like one woman, this is her third time that she's had it. It was very difficult emotionally and mentally, and the physical part seemed like nothing after we met people like that who were actually fighting for their lives.

It started in Atlanta and ended in Yuca Mountain, Nevada. which is where they're planning to store a lot of the Uranium mining waste and nuclear facilities waste. Well that's what it is. They're planning to store all the nuclear facilities waste from across the country in this mountain. And everyone from the NRC and the EPA has said that it's not safe, and they're going ahead with it. All we can do is protest it and make the government aware that we're aware of what they're doing. There's so much going on out there that they hide from us. It's so scary. It's like The X-Files has nothing on reality.

Was it a lot of musicians involved on this bike ride?

No. I think I was the only musician. There were people from all walks of life. There were several people who had just graduated from college. A woman that works at Daemon records went. [And a] photographer. Obviously we either had to be self employed or a student because you had to take two months out of work, you know. It was amazing. We really saw the best side of humanity and that does the heart good. A lot of people were very into what we were doing and to listening to what was going on in the world. They wanted to know more about it, and they didn't like what was going on once they heard about it, and they wanted to do something. And that's really all you can ask for. To plant seeds in people.

A couple of years ago your overseas following was really growing with internet (www.michellemalone.com) and mail order. Has it continued?

Yeah it's continuing to grow. It's a great tool, but at the same time you have to nurture it. And when you're out riding your bike for two months it makes it a little difficult. It does continue to grow. It's a great tool. Pretty valuable. E-mailing people about what's going on in your world is amazing. Compared to the days when I used to have to send out 10,000 postcards to everyone on my mailing list, and multiply that by 33 cents. It's insane.

Have you thought about putting any other bands on your label?

Someone asked me that the other day. Who knows what could happen in the future. But I'm so inundated right now with responsibility. I'm in a difficult state because I'm too small to pay other people to help me, like to hire other folks to run the label, but at the same time we're selling so many records that I need to hire some people. So maybe in the future that would be an option. I'm not close to it. It would be difficult being responsible for someone else's music. I know how important that is. But I don't see why anyone needs to be on anyone else's label when you can so easily do it yourself. It's not a matter of technically doing it or financially doing it or anything. You can pretty much make a record and put it out in some shape or form for under $2000. And do the math. If you put it on someone else's label you're really not going to save any money except for some piddly amount that they're going to wave in front of your face in the beginning. And then after that, forget about it. My advice to everyone: stop trying to go for the brass ring, put your own damn records out. Do the work yourself. Know what goes on with your record in this industry. It's so easy. There's so much information out there. In the internet. In magazines. It's so easy. It's just so much more fun. I can't tell you how great it is to not have to worry about having my songs edited, having someone tell me they don't hear a single, or telling me that it doesn't fit with this radio genre so we're going to go in and remix it so it sounds like whoever is the most popular female singer at the moment, We're gonna make it sound like Jewel or I don't know who. Anyway, it's a great relief.

- Jon Waterhouse

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