美语咖啡屋27 Mary Huff, Woman in Rock

Y:各位听众好，我是杨晨。欢迎收听美语咖啡屋。

J: And I'm Jody.  Welcome to the American Cafe.  Yang Chen, you mentioned that you bought a guitar.  How's it going?

Y:  我刚开始学。不过我真的有点担心我要是学不好该怎么办呢。

J: Oh, don't worry about it.  It's fun just to learn something new.  But, on today's show, I have a surprise for you. 

Y: A surprise?    你是不是又想出什么新的花招吓唬我。

J: No, no, no, don't worry!  You'll like this surprise.  Today's guest on the show is a woman who's been in rock-n-roll for the past 17 years. 

Y:  真的？她叫什么名字，是那个乐队的？

J: Her name's Mary Huff and the band is called Southern Culture on the Skids, SCOTS, for short.  She's the female part of this 3-person rock-n-roll band. 

Y: 她演奏那种乐器啊？不会正好是吉他吧？

J: You guess it!  She plays the bass guitar, the keyboards and she sings. 

Y: 真是不得了。她的专长是低音吉他、电子琴，而且她还会唱歌。这么有才能的人，我一定要认识她。

J: Well, you'll have your chance in a minute.  Mary started playing piano when she was quite young.  And then her older brother started learning how to play the bass.  That's when she decided to one up him and learn the bass herself. 

Y: 你可能得解释一下"one up somebody"是什么意思。

J: Oh, that a good idea.  To one up somebody means to do better than them; to best them. Now, let's meet Mary.  

Mary Huff: Actually I started playing pretty young, you know.  I was the pianist in the family and all that.  Then,  ah, big brother decided to play bass.  And I was like "No way!  I'm  the musician in the family."  So, I had to one up him there. 

Y: 开来Mary 的好胜心好象很强，作什么事都想超过别人。

J: Exactly!  Mary said, "No way man, no way big brother.  I'm the musician in the family."  

Y: 我们还是谈谈乐队里的其他成员吧？

J: 好了！Well, there's also Rick Miller, on lead guitar and vocals, and Dave Hartman on drums and vocals as well. 

Y: Lead guitar 和bass guitar 的区别是什么呢？

J: Oh, that's a good question.  The bass guitar is usually in the background and keeps the rhythm, like the drums.  In this song "Smilin' Yeah Yeah Yeah" Mary's bass is in background keeping the rhythm.

(Enter "Smiley Yeah Yeah Yeah")

Y: Oh yeah,   听得出来低音吉他保持着乐曲的节奏。

J: And she sings.  And as the only woman in the band she gives SCOTS that feminine touch.  Here's a sample of Mary singing "Fire of Love" like only a woman can sing!

(Enter "Fire of Love" featuring Mary Huff)
 
Y: Mary她唱不错！ 那她参加乐队多长时间了？

J: Oh, let's let Mary explain.  Here's Mary!

Mary Huff: I joined when I was nineteen and I'm not even going to tell you how I am now but I've been in the band for 17 years, if you can figure that out.

Y:  她19年加入乐队，经过了17年，19 加上17 一概是36岁没错。

J: I think you're right.  She wouldn't exactly tell her age, you know.  But she let me do the math and because I'm quick, Yang Chen, I figured it out.  19...17.   She tried to be sneaky, but we figured it out, didn't we?

Y: 没错。

J: But that lead me to a question.  You know that led me to a question though.  Is it easy being in rock-n-roll as a woman? 

Mary Huff: It's fine, you know, until beauty starts to fade then it's a little rough.  But um, I don't know.  It's fine.  It's great.  I've never had any problem with it.  I've I think it's an assett.  Ass-set, that is.  Always has been for me.  I don't know

Y: 好，Mary加油，我们支持你。本来就是吗，为什么男的五六十岁还可以唱摇滚乐，女的当然也可以。对不对, Jody,  

J: Of course!  I know a lot of women who are old school rock-n-rollers.  And besides, Yang Chen, it's not an age thing, it's more of a lifestyle thing.  Don't you agree? 

Y: 没错。 因为很多女的后来结了婚，生了孩子要照顾家庭所以没办法跟者乐队到处去奔波。 这可以理解。

J: That's right.  But, Mary just chose a different road, the road of rock-n-roll.  So, talking about the bass guitar and lead guitar, Yang Chen, which one are you going to play?

Y: 这个问题嘛...

J: Okay, okay, you just started learning so maybe in a couple of months I'll ask you if  you're a lead guitarist or a bass guitarist.  你自己选择！ You pick it!  

Y: 好，六个月以后你再问我这个问题！

J: Okay, okay!

(End with "Fire of Love")