Photo by OJ Slaughter

When COVID darkened our stages and disrupted groups all over Boston, including an untold number of bands, it seemed one of the most viable options to keep music going was to retreat to the bedroom and focus on solo projects. That’s what Greg Marquis of the Boston post-hardcore outfit Actor Observer has done with the fantastic indie-folk outfit he calls Marquis Lavoie. With Actor Observer, the high-flying front man had cultivated a strong fan base over the last several years, screaming and head-banging around the country to support two full length albums via No Sleep Records. Now, with the music video for “Knowing You,” we hear Greg Marquis turning over a new leaf as he croons over acoustic guitar (with nary a power chord or a blast beat in sight). 

Equipped with a mayor’s office grant via the Artist Opportunity Fund, Marquis and his team created the video for the new single “Knowing You,” a potent blend of both concept and performance. We have alternating shots between the outdoors at Herter Park Amphitheater and indoors at The Coolidge Corner Theater. The result is a playful mix of light and colors, bright snowfall on Allston and glorious gossamer in Brookline. Inserted within the ‘live’ footage is a sepia toned solo reel that looks like it could have come straight out of “Losing My Religion.” Finally, we have a romantic narrative featuring a love interest between Marquis and his actual girlfriend, Michelle Mee Nutter – although Marquis insists the song is not about them.

Marquis explains,“At first I was asking friends who might be interested to play that role, assuming Michelle would not be comfortable effectively standing in as my “ex,” but when I was having trouble casting, she nonchalantly asked, ‘Why didn’t you just ask me? It’s way easier and safer than bringing another person on set.’ I was a bit surprised and told her I was worried she’d feel weird/awkward being put in that position, but we’re both artists who support each other’s self-expression.”

It’s difficult and exhausting to predict the future these days, but when asked how he will maintain both Marquis Lavoie and Actor Observer going forward, Marquis says, “I think the hardest part to balance when shows come back is not wrecking my vocal cords screaming in AO before having an ML gig where I have to sing in a delicate falsetto. Don’t worry though, I have my vocal care routine down.”

“Knowing You” is the second single off Marquis Lavoie’s debut album “Something Like This, But Not This” out April 2nd, 2021. Pre-order now at www.marquislavoie.com and watch the video below. Read on for the full interview.

Tell me about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live? What do you like to do outside of music?

I grew up in CT, traveling to Boston for shows and eventually moving here in 2010 to study music business and psychology at Northeastern University. I’ve been an Allston Rat pretty much ever since. Music has always been my main focus, but this city hasn’t been the easiest place to pave an arts career, so when I’m not writing/recording/ planning/performing, I’m advocating for artist resources and affordable housing with an organization my friends and I started a few years ago called Boston Artist Impact. I’m also a big mental health advocate, teaching proactive suicide prevention classes with Hope For The Day a few times a week, often for folks working in the music industry. But if we’re talking hobbies, I guess I’m really into coffee, photography, and traveling!

How long have you been writing songs? Did you ever take a break and come back to it?

I’ve been writing songs since I was about 16 or so. Started on acoustic and was taught the basics of classical fingerpicking early on. I was always writing and playing gigs or open mics as a solo artist because I just wanted to play, but what I really wanted was to start a post-hardcore band, so once that became my main focus, the acoustic stuff sorta took a backseat. After three DIY solo EPs, I realized I just wasn’t a fan of the music I was making and felt pretty self-conscious about it, so I deleted it all off the internet (aka Myspace if you really wanna show my age) and took a break from the solo act around 2013 since I was more focused on my band anyway. Of course, I would dabble with my acoustic from time to time but didn’t fully pick it back up until 2017 when I felt like a huge part of my personal expression was missing. I realized I had grown a lot as a songwriter with the band and felt more confident in the style of music I wanted to make. Most importantly, I reconnected with my love for fingerpicking and covering my favorite folk songs as a form of therapy and self-soothing during a really depressive episode in my life, and it’s like the world opened back up for me.

What is the song Knowing You about? Can you pick one or two lines from the lyrics that are particularly meaningful and tell me about them?

This was one of the first songs that poured out of me when I got back into writing. I had just gotten out of a brief but intense relationship that left me confused and devastated. It started like any other, casual with no expectations, but became very serious very quickly. And just as suddenly as it started, it ended when the other person admitted they needed to move to another city to pursue their own music career, seeing as Boston just didn’t have what they were looking for. Who can relate? I tried to be supportive and understanding, but I was just so frustrated and hurt, not just because I loved them, but because that scenario wasn’t new to me. Between the rising cost of living, venues closing, and severe lack of music business opportunities, Boston has been pushing my creative friends out since the day I got here. Every time a friend or loved one has to move, it not only breaks my heart, but also leaves me feeling foolish for staying here instead of fucking off to LA or Nashville or New York or Austin like everyone else does. I mean let’s face it, this city has a reputation for its transient population, a revolving door of students and professionals getting what they need from our institutions and leaving, while the rest of us long-haulers try to retain some semblance of “community” in the place we call home. After a while, it’s easy to feel left behind or like you’re making the wrong choice with every overpriced lease cycle. I think I projected that feeling onto my breakup, which is why I sing in the chorus, “It’s like you always knew you would just be passing through.” In hindsight, I knew it wasn’t personal and wish I had been more supportive, which is why the song ends with, “It’s nice knowing you, I just wish I had a better chance at showing you,” because, despite the pain I felt, I do value and appreciate that person’s impact in my life and wanted them to know that.

How did you come up with a concept for the video? Can you walk me through the beginning stages of that and how you communicated that vision to your team?

Well, there are plenty of empty stages these days haha… ha… sigh… Really though, I wanted to convey the sense of what has been missing—the false hope or perception of something being there that isn’t or hasn’t been for a long time. The smoke imagery has been a major visual theme across all my artwork for this release, representing that faint reminder of what once was. I got fixated on the idea of projecting footage or memories onto smoke and did some test runs in my backyard last month before hiring my friend, videographer/director/producer Joshua Hand (birdtheory.) to shoot it for real. I didn’t want to just depict a breakup, I wanted to depict the increasing vacancy I have felt in the arts/music scene here since I arrived, well before Covid. The video sort of became more of a breakup letter to the city that I love but has repeatedly let me down. And now, the heartbreak I was already feeling for the music scene here has only been compounded by this pandemic. In addition to the collective trauma of all the lives we’ve lost and continue to lose, we’ve had to witness the leveling of our entire global live performance community (among many others) due to the cancellation of tours and shows, with no substantial promise that anything will return to even half of what it once was. The empty stages and seats in the video reflect those overlapping forms of absence. I was already contemplating leaving Boston for years, but now I’ll just be grateful to have any stages to return to once it’s safe to do so.

Beautiful set design. Can you tell me about filming at the Coolidge Theater? How did that come about?

I was SO excited to be able to shoot there. The Coolidge is my favorite movie theater of all time. I have so many great memories there and have missed it dearly for the past year. I had a vision of performing on a grand stage in a big beautiful classic theater with my ideal folk rock band, as if I had finally “made it” as a famous musician, but playing to an empty audience. “Lucky” for me, that’s the only scenario available right now, and I could think of no better location for it than The Coolidge Corner Theatre. I saw on their marquee (no pun intended) that they were hosting private theater rentals to help pay the bills amidst Covid restrictions, and I thought it would be a great way to capture my idea while also supporting a local theater during tough times. I didn’t know if they’d be open to it since it’s not exactly a performance theater per se, but they were super into the concept and very accommodating. I even got a grant from the Artist Opportunity Fund that I applied for through the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture to help pay for it! So that’s kinda cool, the city supporting an artist, supporting a theater, ultimately to make a video criticizing the city for not supporting the arts haha. The irony is not lost on me.

What kind of Covid related obstacles did you have to deal with during the filming?

Honestly, the only obstacle was making sure everyone in my crew was tested and safe and wearing masks when we weren’t shooting. We followed all protocols very seriously and kept the group small, with Josh being a one-man film crew. He shot, directed, produced, and edited the whole thing. The folks at Coolidge were also very clear and straightforward with their rules and restrictions, which we were grateful for and happy to follow.

How did you cast the love interest/woman in the video?

That’s actually my current partner Michelle who I love very much, and I promise the song/video is NOT about our relationship! Initially, I didn’t even want to cast a “love interest” because the whole “boy meets girl, boy loses girl” story is tired, but Josh and I felt like there was an emotional cue missing from the overall concept, so we decided to have this sort of smokey “presence” of a former love interest. At first I was asking friends who might be interested to play that roll, assuming Michelle would not be comfortable effectively standing in as my “ex,” but when I was having trouble casting, she nonchalantly asked, “Why didn’t you just ask me? It’s way easier and safer than bringing another person on set.” I was a bit surprised and told her I was worried she’d feel weird/awkward being put in that position, but we’re both artists who support each other’s self-expression and doing whatever it takes to realize our vision, so there was no emotional insecurity or discomfort for either of us. It actually ended up making more sense to have her in it. We really are a team, and we try to support each other’s art in any way possible. We even went as far as using personal footage from our actual relationship that I had on my phone for the projected “memories,” so the final piece ended up being more authentically nostalgic and meaningful to us. It may seem strange, but for us it was just another way to become even closer and help each other heal from the pain of past relationships.

Where is the empty outdoor theater scene shot?

That’s the Herter Park Amphitheater in Allston, tucked away in a patch of trees between Soldiers Field Road and the Charles River. It was another location I’ve always loved and wanted to do something with but wasn’t sure how. The idea of performing alone on a cold outdoor stage in the middle of winter felt like the perfect contrast to the warm and lavish aesthetic of The Coolidge. We were lucky it had just snowed days before, which really contributed to the overall mood. I like to think my whole album feels like a flicker of warmth in the middle of winter. My initial idea was to have smoke billowing up over the outdoor stage with the Coolidge footage projected onto it, but as it turns out, smoke is a pretty elusive canvas, and filming projections on it is no easy task. Just ask Josh. (He’s still trying to get that chemical smell out of all his clothes and equipment.)

The sound is decidedly acoustic guitar driven rock. I heard through the grapevine that you play electric/heavier/harder rock music as well. Can you tell me about that project? How does your time and energy for the Marquis Lavoie solo work fit with that — How do you balance the two?

It’s funny, this is actually the most “full band” song on an otherwise sparse acoustic album. But yeah, the post-hardcore band that I mentioned earlier and that most folks know me for is called Actor Observer. We’ve been part of the Boston scene for a while now, with 3 self-released EPs and one LP released through No Sleep Records. Our sound is way different than this project though, more in the vein of Thrice, Touché Amoré, Norma Jean, etc. I’m used to having a lot of irons in the fire, so I just sort of work on both projects alternately, using what I’ve learned through that band to inform this project and vice versa, but this past year obviously gave me way more alone time to get Marquis Lavoie stuff off the ground. This past year is actually the longest we’ve gone without a live performance since we started. I think the hardest part to balance when shows come back is not wrecking my vocal cords screaming in AO before having an ML gig where I have to sing in a delicate falsetto. Don’t worry though, I have my vocal care routine down.

Any advice for New England or any musicians working on material right now to release during the pandemic?

It’s a really difficult, scary, and unpredictable time, especially in music. But it can also be a great moment for self-reflection, new discoveries, and rethinking the way we do things. People are more hungry now than ever for art, for music, for anything to make us feel more connected, alive, and hopeful. Sure, I could go on and on about the hypocrisy of a society that turns to art in times of trouble without valuing artists, but I think the best thing you can do right now is remember why you started making/playing music in the first place. Try to reconnect with that love for yourself and share it with those around you. The music industry is already so fucked up and filled with so much uncertainty and pressure to keep up. Even during the pandemic, there’s pressure to use all this “downtime” to create, but that expectation is toxic and self-defeating when we’re all just trying to survive (For the record, I wrote all these songs BEFORE 2020). Times are tough. Don’t worry about keeping up with anyone else, just focus on taking care of yourself and those around you. Do whatever makes you happy, and if that’s writing music, covering songs, doing a live stream, or not even touching your instrument at all, that’s okay. Just go at your own pace. Nothing was ever guaranteed before, and this pandemic is just one big fat reminder of that humbling truth, so just make music you love and try not to get hung up on what other people are doing. Self-expression and self-soothing is the real gift, everything else is just icing on the cake.