Marla Hansen profile picture

Marla Hansen

There's no 'I' in 'Viola'

About Me

Thanks for visiting! Here's the story of how an unassuming viola player became an unassuming folky singer:Viola players play harmonies most of the time. That's our job, to be the back-up, to add colors to tunes, but not steal the limelight too often. We like it, and we feel we are somehow of superior character for not wanting to be the center of attention all of the time. However, one day recently, when tired of my usual job of providing steady off-beats and pretty harmonizations, I had an epiphany. I realized that having the melody might actually be fun! That I deserved to try it out it as much as anyone! And that it might even be possible for me to have the melody for an entire piece of music and that said piece of music might not fall apart! Sounds crazy, why would a violist, a PA to the violin executive, a nurse for the flute surgeon, dare to dream of such things? I didn't take time to try to answer that question, instead I went forth and wrote and wrote for me and my viola, got some friends together, and eventually recorded my new EP "Wedding Day," which is available on Standard Recording.These songs are from my solo project, but I perform with lots of other groups too. I'm a member of the string quartet Osso, and I also work with Sufjan Stevens, My Brightest Diamond, The National, Inlets, Devotchka, Clare and the Reasons, Oneida, The New Pornographers, Duncan Sheik, and many other bands in the New York area. I even got to play with Jay-Z at Radio City Music Hall last year, and with Kanye West on SNL. I still occasionally play classical music too, and in the event that this happens all will be alerted.Thanks for visiting!m
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My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 10/22/2005
Band Website: marlahansenmusic.com
Band Members: Here's who's on the record:Sam Bair: Drums, Engineering. Sebastian Krueger: Clarinet, Guitar, Melodica. Nate Lithgow: Bass. Rob Moose: Violin, Guitar. Naho Tsu Tsui: Violin. Maria Jeffers: Cello. Katy Luo: Accordion. Sufjan Stevens: Vocals, Piano, Percussion. Shara Worden: Vocals.
Influences: Air pressure, blood sugar level, number of loads of laundry.
Sounds Like: sitting in an old chair by a window with a cup of tea in you hand and a cat in your lap. then a door slams and the cat jumps up and scratches your legs and knocks the tea all over your arm and your roomates antique chair crap your roomate is going to be pissed. just kidding, its more like before the cat freaked out.
Record Label: Standard Recording www.standardrecording.com
Type of Label: Indie

My Blog

SXSW

So looks like I'll be a busy bee in Austin next week, here's a schedule of the shows I'll be playing:Wednesday March 12th9:00 pm - Marla Show - Standard Recording Showcase - Hilton Garden InnThursday ...
Posted by Marla Hansen on Sat, 08 Mar 2008 08:51:00 PST

Egg and Cheese Sandwich

So, I'm in Sweden. And I ordered an egg and cheese sandwich today for breakfast. And what I got was nothing like the typical roll with a fried egg and a slice of cheese that one would find in a-mur-...
Posted by Marla Hansen on Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:43:00 PST

Upcoming Marla and Other Shows

Hi, I have a few shows coming up that I'm really excited about. Actually I have many many shows that I'm excited about. Here's the story:First, I'm playing in the Wordless Music Concert Series on Ja...
Posted by Marla Hansen on Wed, 09 Jan 2008 04:46:00 PST

NPR

Hi everyone, I got a little feature on NPR's Second Stage yesterday, you can take a look here:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17 185080Happy Holidays,m
Posted by Marla Hansen on Thu, 20 Dec 2007 06:55:00 PST

Castanets

Earlier this year I was asked to do a cover of the Castanets song "Sway," and I've posted it for y'all to hear if you'd like. Eventually there will be a video to go with it, but for now, enjoy the au...
Posted by Marla Hansen on Thu, 13 Dec 2007 06:38:00 PST

Paris Show!


Posted by Marla Hansen on Sat, 08 Dec 2007 04:05:00 PST

Ring Them Bells

Ring Em!! I'm very proud to say I'm singing backup on Sufjan's Bob Dylan cover for the I'm Not There soundtrack. Check it out:http://www.myspace.com/imnottheresoundtrack
Posted by Marla Hansen on Fri, 19 Oct 2007 07:36:00 PST

Clemson Show Added

News Flash: Denison and I have added a show in Clemson, SC. Word.
Posted by Marla Hansen on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:05:00 PST

Blogotheque List

Blogotheque kindly asked me to write about a few songs that I've been listening to lately, you can check it out here:http://www.blogotheque.net/article.php3?id_article=3431
Posted by Marla Hansen on Thu, 06 Sep 2007 01:04:00 PST

CD Release Party!!


Posted by Marla Hansen on Sat, 01 Sep 2007 11:34:00 PST