Today we’d like to introduce you to Magen Tracy.
Magen, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I’m one of those musicians (there are a lot of us) who makes music because we can’t not.
The question was never whether or not to pursue music as a career, but how. And I’ve spent a lot of my adult life finding ways to weave that passion into both a robust creative practice and career path. Boston’s been an ideal place for me to do that over the past 17 years, with its vast community of talented and passionate musicians, vibrant educational culture, and robust nightlife. I graduated from Brown University in 2000 with a degree in music theory and composition and only a vague idea of what the “music industry” was.
I started out answering phones at SFX Music Boston (now Live Nation), which was a crash course in the music business of the early 2000s. While to this day I have a small panic attack whenever the phone rings (the phones rang a LOT back that), I quickly learned the various players and roles available at the time, and what worked and didn’t work for me. I moved into marketing and promotions because I liked working with radio, labels, and fans, and the challenge of finding the right audience for a band.
I’m a big believer in the idea that marketing isn’t about selling people something they don’t want, it’s about finding the people who do want it. In 2008, I moved to Berklee College of Music to fill a new role there: Internet Marketing Manager. They basically needed someone to take over the college Myspace page and newsletter, look at the website analytics no one else had a chance to, and figure out this new “Facebook” thing the kids were all talking about.
Luckily for me, that “Facebook” thing exploded, and social media turned into a full-fledged career path. I’m currently a Director of Digital Marketing, with a team that works social, newsletter, and web branding and marketing for the institution. One of the many exciting things about working at a music college, though, is that it inspired me to play and create again.
I came to Boston in 2001 with a background as a singer-songwriter and coffee-shop player in Providence, and while I tried to find my way in that scene here, work quickly took over and I lost some inspiration to create things on my own. I was 28 when I joined my first “rock band” in Boston, St. Helena, and it didn’t take me long to realize how much I’d missed it, and also what a robust local scene Boston had. Since then, I’ve had the privilege of playing with a huge range of talented musicians and a ton of different bands: Juliana Hatfield, Nate Leavitt Band, Lifestyle, Parlour Bells, and so many others.
Some of my favorite projects have been super-group-style shows for charities and other special events, pulling together musicians I never dreamed I’d have the chance to play with, like Hot Stove Cool Music’s Band of Their Own (Tanya Donnelly, Gail Greenwood, Kay Hanley, Jen Trynin, Hilkin Mancini, Chris Toppin, Jen D’Angora, Freda Love Smith), and my current Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac tribute project, Stevie Chicks, featuring monster players Jen D’Angora, Andrea Gillis, Jess Collins, Kate Murdoch, Annie Hoffman, and Tamora Gooding.
Four years ago, I finally got up the nerve–and took the time–to put my own songs out in front of people again. I launched my solo project, Magen Tracy & the Missed Connections with an EP (produced by Nate Leavitt, who I’d played with for years). One of the great things about being a side-player for years before you go solo is that by the time you do, some of the best musicians in town are willing to work with you.
I’m extremely lucky to have the band I have (Sam Spencer, Tamora Gooding, Mike Oram, Stud Green), and the talented group of producers and friends to work with us. We’re currently in the studio finishing up our first full-length album with tracks produced by Craig Small and by Ed Valauskas at Q Division Studios, due out early next year.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
My path is definitely that didn’t make a lot of sense while I was in it, but all ties together when I look back at it. One of my biggest challenges has been not just to find work in music, but to also maintain a sense that music MATTERS.
I know in my gut that it does–it’s something I’ve always known, and part of why it never occurred to me follow any other path. But especially in today’s cultural and political climate, a person can start to question if we shouldn’t be doing something in a more tangibly impactful field, like politics or healthcare.
I do believe, though, that art and music serve a hugely important role in community building and in impacting cultural change, which is why making music, and marketing music education, are two passions that absolutely do drive me.
Please tell us about Magen Tracy & the Missed Connections.
Magen Tracy & the Missed Connections is a passion project, comprised of busy players in Boston’s music scene–Tamora Gooding (also of Gene Dante & the Future Starlets, Axemunkee), Stud Green (Humble Tripe), Mike Oram (Abbie Barrett Band, Eric Salt & Electric City, Airport, and about a million others), and Sam Spencer (formerly Sera Del Fuego, Milling Gowns). Our music combines soulful vocals, poignant songwriting, and piano-driven pop-rock with a dash of sleazy swagger and alt-country twang.
Some show highlights include: playing the 2017 Boston Emission Rock & Roll Rumble and opening for Lissie at the Paradise Rock Club in 2014. We’ve also been proud to participate in a huge range of benefit shows and compilations over the past few years for organizations including the Mass Trans Political Coalition, ACLU, Planned Parenthood, Fenway Health, and others. We do a lot of work with Girls Rock Campaign Boston (Stud Green and I are both on the board).
One thing we’re incredibly proud of is our first music video last year, for our song “Color the Air” (https://youtu.be/rgKxR9bWof4), directed by Leesa Coyne and featuring dancer Whitney Hoke. The video earned a 2017 Boston Music Award nomination for Video of the Year (Unsigned Artist). We’re also excited to be a part of the upcoming Bust Out Boston festival at the end of September–five days and nights at the Burren in Davis Square: www.bustoutboston.com
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have had more confidence in my music earlier on. It took me a while to realize that it didn’t have to be “perfect” or “the best thing ever” for it to be worth playing and sharing with people.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.magentracymusic.com
- Email: magen@magentracymusic.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/magentracy
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/magentracymusic
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/magentracy
- Other: magentracy.bandcamp.com
Image Credit:
Erin Genett, Coleman Rogers, Josh Pickering, Pamela Hersch
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