June 7, 2002
F
riday evening, 8 p.m. I’m with a group gath
ered in the combined living room and studio
of Rory Merritt Stitt. The walls are covered
with his original artwork. There’s a couple of
mikes on chromed stands, speakers, guitars.
Stitt, who plays Portland Prides Unity
Stage on June 15, sits at the piano playing his
version of Joni Mitchell’s “ Blue.” The guests
include friends Matthew Abelman and
Heather Arndt, a hottle of merlot and room
mate Kellee Grubb.
A year and a half ago, Grubb phoned Stitt
' at San Francisco’s University of the Pacific,
where he was studying at the music conservato
ry. “I’m moving to Portland,” she said. “Want
to come along V'
The two had grown up playing music together
in Juneau, Alaska. “While other kids were going
to the mall, we were at home making videos,
composing songs,” Grubb smiles. “It was an amaz
ing, creative time for us. Rory has such passion.”
Moments later Stitt plays “Look Up" from
his recent CD , The Narcissist. The song is per
sonal and reflective, hut he makes eye contact,
smiles and includes each of us in the perform
ance. Arndt describes his singing as sensual and
erotic. “It doesn’t matter that he’s gay. When
he sings it...arouses me.”
Gmhh describes Stitt’s coming out. “Our
friend was sharing these fantasies about love
that she’d had, and then Rory said that he had
fantasies about men. We just said, ‘Oh,’ ” she
recalls. “Juneau’s a pretty conservative place.
My parents were from Kansas, so these kinds of
things were very new to me.”
Stitt, 25, admits he first thought he was hi.
“It was a journey, I guess, towards where I am
now," which, he says to resounding laughter, is
“97.5 percent gay."
The pianist and
songwriter’s lyrics,
while open about
his own sexuality,
also reach out to
anyone who seeks
and experiences
love. “Look U p”
inquires, “Would
you need another
for the approval of
your mother/
someone to hide
your face to dispel
disgrace?” In “Even
in You” he sings,
“It’s always been in
you/every time 1
meet you/Mr. or
Mrs. new/I see it
within you/
crying to get
out of you.”
“You
would not
imagine how many
giddy lesbians come up to
Rory when he sings Stevie Nicks’ ‘Dreams,’ ”
Arndt reveals. “His singing just seems to tran
scend— 1 don’t know— easy labels.”
S
titt spent his first 16 years studying classical
piano. Along the way, he listened to a wide
array of musicians from Joni Mitchell and
Tori Amos to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin.
He says he loves Joplin’s “live fast, die young”
approach to life.
• He also cites influences such as chaos theo
ry, classical jazz and Rachmaninoff. The classi
cal training is appar
ent: Songs are lay
ered with poetic
lyrics, complex key
board work and a
lot of minor tones
and riffs.
Although he was
producing excellent
work at the conser
vatory, Stitt admits
he was still miser
able. Grubb says
that from her per
spective, he felt
trapped— that a
classical discipline
was “ironing the
music out of him."
His blend of com
position, poetry
and musician-
ship results in
songs and
performance
that are “outside the
box,” Arndt claims. “I like it
sloppy and nasty like a good kiss.”
We chat about the music business, what
generates success or satisfaction— whether
these are mutually exclusive. “There is a strug
gle to stay true to yourself," Stitt acknowledges,
“or just do what you know may make you
financially successful.”
The musician appears to he at the begin
ning of critical success. He was selected by
Unsigned America as one of only 10 new
artists to he represented at last year’s MIDEM
international music convention in France for
“ *|P 15
promotion in Europe and Asia.
Stitt’s vocal range extends from baritone up
to a clear voice that approaches mezzo-soprano.
Vocal transitions could benefit from further
honing and perhaps more training, but there’s
no question about the potential of that voice
or the emotional generosity of the singer.
“With a voice like yours, baby, you’ll go
places," Arndt insists. We all chuckle a little,
hut I think each of us agrees.
The evening closes with a number Stitt
describes as the “feel-good song of the century.”
Immediately, I think of tunes like “The 59th
Street Bridge Song” by Simon & Garfunkel—
you know, “Slow down, you move too fast. Got
to make the momin’ last.” Or the Carpenters’
“Top of the World.”
I keep quiet, reflecting on how I’ve just
aged myself. Stitt sings:
I have faith in you
I have faith tn you
Why don’t you?
If you never seen it tn you
just start now
cut the red tape
it’s your mind, your realm
Do with it what you will
Take your free passage
It’s even m you. J H
R ory M erritt S t itt performs at 6:25 p.m.
June 15 on the Unity Stage at Portland Pride.
The Narcissist is available at Music Millennium
and Everyday Music. Find Stitt at
www. rorymerritts titt. com.
RACHEL L ane is an actress, director and writer who
can be seen daily at Portland parks accompanied by
Mac, her handsome German shorthaired pointer.
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