Tearjerker

by Robert Burke Warren, May 28, 2008

As improbable as it might seem, the 30-something woman toiling over an open flame in the kitchen of your favorite restaurant may be able to quote Kant and could very well turn out to be a songwriter who receives a benediction from none other than Bob Dylan.

Take Mary Gauthier (pronounced Go-shay—she’s from Baton Rouge): Although her pre-songwriting days were mired in misadventure, drugs, and alcohol, the first act of Gauthier’s story nevertheless includes remarkable accomplishments, including five years studying philosophy at LSU and subsequently starting the successful Boston eatery Dixie Kitchen.

No songs, however, until sobriety at 35. But once pen hit paper, the rubber hit the road, and Gauthier has been traveling and writing songs ever since. Her clear-eyed focus of her passions has produced five acclaimed CDs of razor-sharp, intense, and sometimes funny material, not to mention a shout-out from His Bob-ness.

The endless ribbon of highway has brought her to the Rosendale Cafe before. Owner Mark Morganstern, an early supporter, says, “Sometimes a songwriter splits open your chest and does something memorable to your heart—that’s Mary Gauthier.”

I caught up with Gauthier recently to talk about songs, God, and food. In support of Between Daylight and Dark, her latest effort, she returns to the Rosendale Cafe with Diana Jones on June 6, at 8pm. On June 14 at 9pm, Gauthier performs solo at Club Helsinki in Great Barrington. www.rosendalecafe.com; www.clubhelsinkiweb.com.