Artist Spotlight

Marcy Mays of Scrawl on the Music Life

Back in February I went to see the Wussy album release show at the Woodward Theater. While I had heard of Scrawl, I had never seen them before. I was totally blown away and got to meet Marcy Mays (guitarist of Scrawl) afterwards. I love her bar in Columbus, Ohio (Ace of Cups) and have been lucky enough to play there several times. Immediately, I saw the opportunity for a great story. This woman is a midwest legend! Finally, on May 29, 2016, I was able to interview Marcy.

scrawl
Photo by Meghan Ralston

Scrawl formed in 1985. Marcy was attending school at Ohio University in Athens and her band played a show in Columbus with Sue Harshe’s band. The two became friends and when Marcy graduated, she moved to Columbus, where Scrawl formed.

“I knew I wanted to play music,” says Marcy. At this point in time, “It still felt like being in a band was a bit of a rebellion. It felt like we were doing something for ourselves, it seemed like more of a risk.” Now, being in a band is more trendy. It’s a more common hobby or job to have than when Scrawl got their start. Their first album, Plus, Also, Too came out in 1987. Over the years, Scrawl has toured with Shellac, Wilco and Afghan Whigs just to name a few.

Presently, Scrawl plays around two shows a year. In 2011, Marcy opened Ace of Cups, a rock venue in Columbus. “The (Columbus) music scene has always been really supportive of [Scrawl]. But there were a lack of venues. I wanted to bring a place to Columbus like where we liked to play.” Marcy also comments that the Columbus music scene is a great place to have a venue because “everyone is so into it and (bands) aren’t competitive.”

Both Marcy and Sue, while still in Scrawl, now also have other projects. Marcy is in a band called Birds of Hair and Sue is in a band called Fort Shame. “I don’t think I’ll ever not play. I don’t think Scrawl will ever not play. We still write songs.”

Fun fact: Marcy’s favorite midwest band is Cheap Trick.

An avid rock musician and enthusiast as well as a rock history buff.

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