About the Songwriter

Maine native Marianne Pillsbury’s life changed the day she was cast in a community theater production of Annie at age 10. It seemed she was on the yellow brick road to musical theaterdom until she attended Brown University where she showed her first signs of rock & roll rebellion writing her senior honors English thesis, “Pop Icon Prince’s Dual Obsession with Sexual Ecstasy & Religious Salvation: A Textual & Cultural Analysis.” In 2004, after escaping a harrowing career as an advertising copywriter, she released her debut album,
The Wrong Marianne, on her own indie label, Average White Girl Records.

"The Marianne Pillsburys latest EP has...CARS AND BREEDERS RIFFS, LIZ PHAIR MELODIES..." THE VILLAGE VOICE

"MARIANNE PILLSBURY'S POP HOOKS STICK TO YOU LIKE CHEWING GUM and her '60s girl-group harmonies throw back to the malt shop...'Boo Hoo' is an 'It's My Party' style romp through AM radio's glory days, newly buffed and iPod-ready." ROCKRGRL MAGAZINE

"On her debut album, 'The Wrong Marianne,' Marianne Pillsbury is AS FRANK AS LIZ PHAIR AND AS TUNEFUL AND UPBEAT AS THE GO-GO'S, dissecting romantic disasters and then bouncing back with lighthearted choruses. She's as tough as she is irrepressible."

THE NEW YORK TIMES

"A spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down, and so it is with Marianne Pillsbury's debut CD. CATCHY, SING-OUT-LOUD CHORUSES and bright alterna-pop production deftly wrap around barbed and potent lyrics of the single gal's life in the big city... PILLSBURY CALLS TO MIND THE BEST WORK OF LIZ PHAIR AND JULIANA HATFIELD. Guitars chime and roar, vocals soar and choruses call out to be sung along with. Fans of Jill Sobule will rejoice that there's now another independent female out there with a sense of humor." PERFORMING SONGWRITER MAGAZINE "TOP 12 DIY PICK"

"Missing 'Sex and the City' already? Let Marianne Pillsbury fill the void. She takes the bouncy girl-group pop-rock of the Bangles and the Go-Go's and adds Liz Phair-ish lyrics about love and sex that would make Carrie and the gang grin. A Maine native now living in New York, Pillsbury has crafted the songs on her "The Wrong Marianne" CD debut to deliver smart, sassy fun. And, yeah, they rock." THE BOSTON HERALD

"Marianne Pillsbury started writing songs while recovering from a bad advertising job, and she's used her commercial gifts to craft pop songs out of even the most banal subjects. The Wrong Marianne, her new self-released CD, has a sweet vibe reminiscent of the Blake Babies." TIME OUT NEW YORK

“The Wrong Marianne, the debut full-length from NYC-based singer/songwriter Marianne Pillsbury is EDGY POP PERFECTION in the same vein as indie rock goddess Liz Phair...”
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

Editor's Pick at READMAG.COM...

"Very strong debut from this singer/songwriter who delivers intelligent, war-of-the-sexes, early Liz Phair-ish lyrics over newer Liz Phair-ish pop rock. The juxtaposition of smart, serious lyrics over fun pop is a bitter pill dipped in honey. For instance, on first listen, 'Sweet & Sour World' is a bouncy, almost disco-ish pop song, but the lyric is a serious warning to fellow young women who might find themselves in a similar bad situation. 'Supersize' and 'Swallow A Fly' are jangly, fun tracks that hide sarcasm behind the typical I love you, I worship you lyrics. Other songs offer up diatribes against exes and bad experiences against the backdrop of either grungy rock beats or infectious melody. Sweet and sour, Marianne Pillsbury is food for thought."

"Gnarly guitars and a cutsie-wootsie voice give Marianne Pillsbury's record THE WRONG MARIANNEan edge over a lot of female singer/songwriters. She's got the angst of an Alanis Morrissette, but the tenderness of a Jill Sobule. She pulls out the banging pop tunes with something like 'Layaway Girlfriend', then skips along with a ditty such as'Unintentional'. THE WRONG MARIANNE can get by on charm alone." SKRATCH MAGAZINE

"The comparisons to Liz Phair and every other alternative femme rocker might fit, but it seems a bit too easy to pigeonhole the New York musician. When not fronting The Marianne Pillsburys, Pillsbury perfects a gorgeous sugar-coated power pop that is perfected on 'Supersize'. Just enough of an alternative blueprint working underneath, Pillsbury sounds as if she's aiming to get on the Empire Records soundtrack. But that isn't a bad thing, especially on punchy ditties like 'Layaway Girlfriend' and the sullen yet infectious Sheryl Crow-like 'Boo Hoo'..." POPMATTERS.COM

"Marianne Pillsbury's The Wrong Marianne is definitely in the Liz Phair mold but there's more wit and humor and less shock and roll. The New York-based singer-songwriter can slyly devise a song like 'Supersize' which extols the virtues of romantic obsession while simultaneously mocking them. 'Boo Hoo' makes wry observations like, 'When I stay in bed all day, they call it depression/ When two people stay in bed all day, it's called passion.' Pillsbury is a smart cookie and this debut is as comforting as a carton of ice cream after yet another really bad date." SANTA MONICA MIRROR

"Though compared most often to early Liz Phair thanks largely to her confrontational lyrics and frank sexuality, this New Yorker by way of Maine more closely taps into the spirit of Juliana Hatfield, packing the acrid wallop of her confessionals in a Blake Babies sugarcoating." FLAVORPILL LA

"Zig-zagging her way across the country, New York City singer/songstress and self-proclaimed artistic “brat” Marianne Pillsbury will be hitting The Gig on Monday, April 5th. An Alanis Morissette type who’s light on the deadly serious tone, but heavy on the acerbic wit, Pillsbury also brings some garage to her debut album, The Wrong Marianne, which has been released by Average White Girl Records." MUSIC CONNECTION MAGAZINE

"Marianne Pillsbury's debut CD is pure rock and roll fun, if not an absolutely outrageous and clever treatment of otherwise trite and stale themes such as life, love, sex and sadness." INDIE-MUSIC.COM

"The music is fun, punky pop/rock and Pillsbury's lyrics are intelligent and witty...The Wrong Marianne sounds like a summer CD to me. One that will be cranked in our backyard in a few months while we barbeque and have drinks." COLLECTED SOUNDS: A guide to women in music

"Pillsbury's tongue-in-cheek approach to lyrics and her hook-laden melodies make this a delight." MAINETODAY.COM

"This Maine-born local sweet-and-sour non-wallflower (and not your layaway girlfriend, she says) singer-songster's new CD (produced by 80s Frisco new waver Bonnie Hayes) ranges from post-mid-80s Chrissie Hynde to...exile-in-guyville indie nostalgia..." Chuck Eddy, THE VILLAGE VOICE

PRESS FOR MARIANNE'S SONGWRITING

Produced by award-winning songwriter Bonnie Hayes (Bonnie Raitt's "Have A Heart"), the album received positive reviews from The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Boston Herald and The San Francisco Chronicle and elicited comparisons to the best work of Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield and Jill Sobule. The Wrong Marianne was named a Top 12 D.I.Y. Pick in Performing Songwriter Magazine. The song "Boo Hoo" from the album won Best Alt/Rock Song in The Gr eat American Song Contest and was selected for inclusion on ROCKRGRL Magazine 's Discoveries compilation CD.

In 2007, Marianne started teaching songwriting workshops at the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls, a non-profit music and mentoring program that empowers girls and women by encouraging them to explore self-expression through music.

For four and a half years, Marianne worked behind-the-scenes at the Jazz Foundation of America, helping elder jazz and blues musicians in crisis.

Her work with Willie Mae and the Jazz Foundation inspired her to start writing an autobiographical pop-rock musical, Depression: The Musical, which was selected as a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts in 2008 and debuted at The New York International Fringe Festival in August 2014..

In her spare time, Marianne likes to eat, sleep and breathe. Listen to more of Marianne's songs at www.mariannepillsbury.com.

Personalized pop-rock songs for special occasions.

RENT-A-SONGWRITER™

PRESS FOR MARIANNE'S SONGWRITING

ABOUT THE SONGWRITER

GIVE THE

GIFT OF SONG