Transcript
You can Tune a Piano, but you can’t Tune Marta Hansen, she is Live in the Lair on Max Ink Radio
Max Ink Radio · Sat Jun 8, 2024
Welcome to Civic Media, broadcast into the state of Wisconsin, from the Mad Radio 92.7 FM
studios. This is live in the air. A live concert delivered to your radio, presented by the
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Okay, Jimmy, we are ready for live in the air with Marta, the piano girl. She is a piano girl.
I know I wrote it. I wrote it. At least, you know what, I did the same thing wrong every time.
See, we just start over. No, no. She has too many songs to play. We have to hear the songs.
She is an entrepreneur. She was a teacher. She is a songwriter. She's a performer. She's a mother.
She's a piano technician. She is Marta the piano girl. And tonight, she is live in the air.
I'm Maxine Gradio. Marta, welcome to the air. I'm Maxine Gradio. Hello, hello, Marta Hansen.
You are here. I'm so excited. I'm happy to be here. I chose you over Robert Planton. That is
unbelievable. Thank you. I feel pressure now, but don't be pressured. I'm so happy to see you here.
Yeah, I'm happy to be here. So you and your business as we know in Sun Prairie, which is wonderful,
while that area is growing. It is. So this must be terrific. You are probably happy that you're
already situated there. Yes, definitely. Oh, and this is Jimmy K. This is actually a question
that you would like to ask, I bet. I'm sorry. I wasn't even paid attention, but go ahead.
I'm so sorry. What is your favorite place to eat in Sun Prairie? Well, I love food. So there's
a lot of places, but kind of our special place when we really are like, hey, we have time to go
to dinner as sales. Oh, yeah. Oh, sorry. Yeah. The sponsor. Well, that's convenient. It's just so
good. It's so good. And, you know, being a fellow downtown Sun Prairie business owner. I know
Patrick and I just know what they put into their food. It's fresh. It's local. It's awesome.
And I love to support them. That's awesome. Yeah. There you go, Jimmy K. I'm sorry for blowing
the script there. I feel so bad now. Okay. Now we're going back to the beginning. I love when we
do these questions. How did you get your start playing music? Give us your backstory. Okay.
Well, it all started on a dark day. No, I'm just going to. I started a panel lessons when I was
seven. My parents were already divorced. So single mom and my mom found a lovely upright
Baldwin for 70 bucks from a friend of a friend. And I started a panel lessons. And from there,
I started singing in choirs. And I knew from elementary school age. I looked up to my
music teacher at school and I wanted to be just like her. Oh, and I just never looked back.
There was never another option for me, but other than to have a career in music. I just loved it.
And here you are. Yeah. So cool. So parents musical. My mom is not. She actually has a nice voice.
She won't admit that she car sings to Queen like nobody's business. I want to take a cruise
around the person. She's great. My dad is was a musician. He's a singer. He's singing a band.
In the 70s. Around in Wisconsin. In Madison. What band? The Crucible name. Yes. Yes. So very cool.
And then you know, I have a family on that side. My aunt is a retired opera singer. And I
have cousin that was a cruise ship singer. And so that side of the family is very musical. But
only my immediate family. It's just me. That would be an interesting job being a cruise ship singer
performer. I mean, it's a lot of work. It's a lot of work. She was a headliner. She just recently
like semi-retired and she's only like 45 for five. She shows a day or so like that, right? A lot.
Yeah. So she's she's tuckered out. But yeah, it was years of doing that. Oh my gosh.
Like the love boat. Yeah, it is. You have a degree. I do in music ads. I do. And it's from
UW. Yes. And you did teach in the school system, the public schools for six years. Yeah. So
I'm trying to picture. Marga, the teacher. Tell us more. Oh, man. So I was a middle school
choir director. I think you'd be an awesome teacher. It was a lot of fun. You know, I was like,
it was I was 23 right out of college. So I was like almost as young as them. So I got stopped
in the hallway a couple times asking for a hall pass. Back when I like my first year of teaching
and stuff, but I had a lot of fun. It was it's a it's a lot. It's really hard work. But it was a
really fulfilling job at the time. What I mean, your frustration level when I make a budget.
I mean, arts is always the first thing gets cut in school when they got to save some money somehow.
It is. I did deal with that. It was hard. I had to actually recruit like my job was dependent
on the size of how many kids signed up for choir every year. So I had to go we had to go to the
elementary schools and recruit like the band orchestra and choir teachers like take this music class
and like cheer cheer cheer and get them to sign up. And I was overworked for several of those years
and I had to like up my enrollment just to get an assistant like a part-time assistant.
And real quick, talk about how important this these art programs and having kids involved in
music in school at a young age. It's it's everything. And I mean, at my kids, I can vouch for
they've been, you know, in piano since they were little since their fingers could move and I'm
a proponent of having music classes be part of the core curriculum. I think it helps build empathetic
people who understand the world and know how to just be more well-rounded, worldly people.
And it's reading. It's math. I mean, everything. I don't think people think music is all of those
things and it's good for your brain. Oh, it's so good for your brain, for sure. Well, you know what?
But it's fun, right? So what in choir class? What was the favorite song for kids to sing?
For Timber, right? In a gardener's right now. Well, because like, I mean, you know, you hate a lot
of songs too. So I want to know the one they love and the one they hate. You know, it was a long
time ago, but I can't say that I did a pop show every year where we would do like a medley of
different like rock and roll and popular music and stuff. And now it was, we did like choreography,
like stage choreography and stuff like a show choir. That was always the hit. And I remember,
because one of those shows was like a rock and roll review and I love Queen. So it had bohemian
rhapsody in it and I had the kids headbang. And it was so rad. It was so awesome. I had to get
them to loosen up because they were like barely and I was like, come on and I got them to like
really throw their hair around and it was awesome. See, I knew she was a good dancer. Wow,
which tune do they hate? Oh, anything in another language. Oh, yeah. If I made them sing like a
little German or something in Latin or anything where they had to like try to pronounce words
that they're not used to, they were like, but they hated that. Interesting. I remember
it required we did puffed the magic dragon. I'm really awesome. That's a great song. Jimmy was
outside for that maybe cry. Oh, man. Well, let's get to some my music in the layer with
Martin of the piano gal. Awesome. Presented by the Aaron Weber group. The first song you have for
us tonight, it's called the way I used to. Yes. Is this song a warning or a prophecy?
It's kind of a prophecy, I guess. Well, it's maybe a little bold. It's about being a woman
and what it's like to age and not feel or look or exist in the same body that you did in your teens
in your 20s and just having to like learn to live with that and deal with that and accept that.
And it can be a challenge. It can be really hard. I'm there with you, girl. Yeah, and I'm 44 and I
know I'm just going to keep living that. It's just going to keep happening. So yeah, talk about that.
That gets to some live music now. You're live in the layer with Marta Hansen. If you want to call
and ask a question or maybe send your text, you can do that right from the civic media app. You could
also call 844-967-2789. Live in the layer with Marta Hansen.
You
woke up to front inside and out. No one tells you until your knee deep in it.
I look to front, age with lines, and makes up a woman who's been on solid ground for a time
and I can't remember the things I used to. Can't be thin the way I used to.
Can't be cool the way I used to. I'm tired, tired, slowing down, slowing down.
I know who I am. I've earned this place, but the changes make me weary.
I love who I am and my body who made life, but I feel everything in my bones and I can't remember the things I used to.
Can't be thin the way I used to. Can't be cool the way I used to. I'm tired, tired, slowing down, and I can't remember the things I used to.
Can't be thin the way I used to. Can't be cool the way I used to. I'm tired, tired, slowing down, slowing down,
slowing down.
Awesome is that. It's Marta Hansen live in the layer. 844-967-2789.
Call our Texas from the Civic Media app. Marta, we have something in common. We both took the leap of
faith. We quit our jobs, move careers. You actually, in your career, a music education, you became an
entrepreneur. Talk about that. I did. I left full-time teaching to start teaching private lessons after my
first son was born. After he was about a year old, I struggled with having a stringent schedule, being told
where to be when, all that kind of stuff. So I started teaching private lessons and running my own
studio out of my house. From there, I took an interest in learning to tune pianos. I wanted to tune
my own. Then I was like, holy crap, this is really hard. I took a break and then I came back to it
because I just think I can do this. It's a, it's a, it's a do it or don't. You don't get to hobby
piano technology. You got to go all in and I decided to go all in and it was, I, no looking back,
I love it. I've been doing it for about 13 years. Is that hands-on learning? Or did you have to go
back to school? No. You can. There are schools, but I didn't do that way. I did it a very hard way
because I do things the hard way and the long way and the way where you mess up and dust yourself
off and get back up again. But once I got into it, I just fell in love with the work. There are
not a lot of women technicians. No, not a lot. There are some, but it's definitely not, not super
filled with females. I have a piano and I think every single time the person has come to tune
the piano in all the different places we've lived and, and, and please don't take this the wrong way
older gentleman, but it's almost always an older gentleman. And he's born great. Well, and, and they
don't, you know, you can't talk to them and they're doing their work. But like on your Facebook
and Instagram, you crack me up because you share when you're tuning people's pianos. I do. And you
love their pets and share. I call them my assistants. I just love it. I love all pets, but dogs in
particular. And I love when they come and hang, some of them hang out by the pedals or under my
feet, some of us come sit next to me on the bench and I just, I love, it's the best part of the
job. It really is. It's gotta be. Yeah, I love it. I just want to take all the dogs. Cats can come
too, but mostly the dogs. Okay. Now you started a brick and mortar business and you have your own
shop, piano gal, in Sun Prairie. Tell us about, you know, tell us about the actual shop. Like, yeah,
I mean, do you have like tools there? I mean, do you build pianos or what? I don't have full
restoration because I don't have the patience, but I do recondition, I do reconditioning and I do
stringing and I do repairs and I do customization and upcycling and I do like minor repairs for people.
So I do have a workshop in the back. Do you fix those like dead keys? Yes. Oh, really? Yeah,
not on a digital. I don't, I don't miss, but in acoustic. Yep. I get a lot of people booking
tunings and they say, my key is sticking or I have a key that stuck and that could literally mean
a hundred different things. Oh, no, I have to go out. I mean, most of my job is house calls. I go to
schools, churches, venues and houses and go out in a lot of times. I mean, you just have to,
you just have to go out there. Most of the time, I'm like, oh, it was a paper clip or like, it was,
you know, or it was like that somebody stuck a link in log in there or, you know, it's usually
something simple on occasion and something a little trickier to fix. You fell syrup. Oh,
oh, I've come across Hannah wax. That was oh, my Lord. So I have, I could read a book. How much
string isn't a piano? Like one of those big, you know, those baby grand pianos. Well, you've got
88 keys and then you've got about three quarters of the piano has three strings per key.
Is this a story problem? Yeah, I'm gonna make you do math, Jimmy. Yeah. So and then you've got your
tenor strings have two per key and then you have like about an active or so that's just one
down in the lower base and they're, we're tucking steel strings and then deal with copper winding.
And I mean, anywhere from 30 to 50,000 pounds of string tension in any given piano, you know
what she does with some of the strings though? I make jewelry. I think that is so cool. So if they
snap off of the break or it's a piano that's past its playable life, I like to make stuff and
then resell it and keep stuff out of the landfill when I can. Thank you. Can you imagine a necklace made
of the ivory, the keys on the piano? That'd be kind of cool. Maybe a rotating black and white.
Hey, you want to go into business? No. I was just on top. I will never have another idea for
jewelry ever again. I won't hold you to it. I'm just kidding. That was good. Well, let's get back
to live music in the layer with Marta, the piano gal presented by the Aaron Weber group. The next
long you have for us tonight, it's called ghosts. Can we learn about ourselves from our ghosts?
We can. It's the question is, is do we learn from our past and do better or do we, are we
doomed to repeat the same mistakes? And that's what those are our ghosts. Your songs are deep.
It's like Scrooge, but not in the winter. I love that movie. So back in the video, listen to your
ghosts. You're insane because doing the same thing over again is the definition, whatever.
You're live in the layer across the civic media radio network. Marta Hansen here, the piano gal
on Maxing Credio.
We're not moving on. We're stuck in Pagatore knowing that our ghosts let us down.
The wrong way, the wrong way wrong way down. The wrong way, the wrong way wrong way down.
Are we lost? Can we be found? Are we hopeless?
Are we lost? Can we be found?
Can we learn from ghosts?
The ghosts, they slip their way inside. They're hiding, swallow your soul and hurt your pride.
Always on the outside looking inward, feeling swept aside. A fool is what you've made of me.
These ghosts, they keep on leading me, leading me down. The wrong way, the wrong way wrong way down.
The wrong way, the wrong way wrong way down.
Are we lost? Can we be found? Are we hopeless?
Are we lost? Can we be found?
Can we learn from ghosts?
Can we learn from ghosts?
Can we learn from ghosts?
Can we learn from ghosts?
Can we learn from ghosts?
Beautiful.
Wow.
Mother Hanson live in the layer.
Call our text us right from the Civic Media app.
If you don't have the app yet, you can go to your favorite app store.
Download it for free. It's super easy. Terry, this is the second time tonight
that ghosts have been brought up.
That's true.
We were talking about the ghosts in the basement of the...
Gamma Ray.
Gamma Ray now.
Uh-huh.
Oh, and now the lights are flickering.
Yeah, right when you say ghosts.
What is going on?
Okay.
Marta, ghosts, aging, motherhood.
Yeah, womanhood.
Oh my gosh.
Tell us about the songwriting inspirations.
Obviously we're finding something here.
Yeah, I just like to write about what I know.
And songwriting for me is really about
catharsis and learning to deal with things.
So I write about things that I need to work through.
So, yeah, my kids, my job, my friendships,
being a woman, growing old,
learning from my past, like anything that I've gone through that,
I feel others can relate to.
I like to put into a song.
Is it like therapy?
Yeah, it is like therapy.
It really is.
Yeah.
Yeah, for sure.
I can hear it.
Is it like a chicken chicken in the egg, which comes first?
You know, is it like when you're writing,
is it lyrics or music that comes first for you?
Um, I've done it both ways, but I tend to write my lyrics first.
So you've read the music around the lyrics?
Yep, I have like a songbook that I just kind of keep with me
and I tend to write in like a poetic form.
And then I go through and I figure out chord progressions from that.
And then from that, I end up adding in like melodic lines and riffs
and things like that.
Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night with a song in your head
and like have to record it?
No, no, no.
But it's because I really love sleep.
So nothing interrupts that.
God, yes.
Okay, good for you.
That is awesome.
Okay, so tell us, you know, since we're talking about songs,
what is your music catalog?
What is it all about?
And some I think we understand we're recorded during the pandemic.
Yes, so my very, very first album came out in 2016
and that was all covers.
I did all 90s acoustic.
Yeah, of course I did.
All 90s grunge, but acoustic kind of a feminine ethereal versions.
You're a big Nirvana fan, right?
I'm a huge Nirvana fan, yeah.
So that I'll do a cover kind of from that one.
And then I wrote, I was, you know, in lockdown, I had so much time
and I had so much time at my shop by myself.
We were teaching Zoom lessons and all the stuff.
So I just started writing and I ended up releasing an album in 2021,
but all the songs were written in 2020.
So they're all really, very much related to the pandemic
and everything we were dealing with at that time.
What's your favorite medium of music or how would you like to release stuff?
How do you like to listen to your music?
Yeah, I mean, nowadays mostly digital.
I put everything on my website and people can download.
I just like it, however, is easiest for people to access it.
I would love to do vinyl at some point.
Oh, I hope to get to that place where I can manage that expense
to get vinyl out there.
That would be an ultimate goal.
I do have hard copy CDs of some of my stuff too,
but for the most part, I just get it out digitally to most folks,
just because that's the easiest way to get it out to the world.
Does anybody even use CDs anymore?
I know.
I've tried too.
I want to.
I know.
I heard cassettes are coming back.
Yes, it's true.
Right?
It is true.
Those were horrible.
They're horrible.
You had to put your pencil in and wind it up.
I think the quality was not that great.
No.
Yeah, my foot loose tape because that was not like that tape.
I had that tape in my wallet.
Penny Lagan.
This is like guilty pleasure.
Hello, guys.
What is your website for people?
Marta Hansen music.com.
And how do you spell Hansen?
Hansen with an E-H-A-N-S-E-N.
Thank you.
That's a tricky one.
Well, let's get back to live music in the air with Marta the piano gal,
presented by the Aaron Weber group.
The next song you have for us tonight, it's called Bang-Bang.
I'm going to assume that Dick Van Dyke is not the inspiration for the song.
It does not.
It's definitely not the inspiration.
It's actually pretty serious song.
It's about the perspective of a mother, me, with school shootings.
And what it's like to drop your kids off to school.
Knowing that that is a possibility in today's day and age.
And it's from that mother's perspective about sending your kids off to school
and hoping that they come home safe.
Yeah.
Yeah, so.
It's amazing that we have to write a song or talk about that.
But it is absolutely needed.
Marta Hansen's live in the air.
Once again, send us your texts and just your questions.
Do it right now on the Civic Media app or text 844-967-2789.
It's Marta Hansen live in the air.
I love you.
Have a good day, Bang-Bang.
It won't happen.
Not here.
Not us, not you, Bang-Bang.
Every day.
Getting louder.
Getting closer.
Bang-Bang.
Bang-Bang.
Bang-Bang.
Shoot them up.
Are we sorry for an action?
For closing our eyes do we care?
Have we ever really truly tried Bang-Bang?
Keep shooting.
Keep hating as quiet Bang-Bang.
Keep shooting.
Keep hating as quiet Bang-Bang.
Bang-Bang.
Bang-Bang.
Bang-Bang.
Bang-Bang.
Bang-Bang.
The bell rings.
Time for school.
Time to learn.
Bang-Bang.
Pack up your things.
I love you.
Have a good day.
Bang-Bang.
The bell rings.
The bell rings.
Bang-Bang.
Pack up your things.
I love you.
Have a good day.
Wow.
Marta Hanson live in the air.
Who?
Possibly one of the saddest songs I've ever heard.
Wow. What a message.
And the sucky part is that's real.
Yeah.
Yeah. I wish it was fiction.
I do. That's a great lesson though in there.
We're going to take a break.
And when we come back, we'll have more live in the air
from Marta Hanson on Maxing Radio.
Oh, no.
Brought brandy cow chips in great local music.
This is Maxing Radio.
We are Local Music.
Maxing live in the air across the Civic Media Radio Network.
Broadcasting to you from the Mad Radio 92 7 FM studios.
We got Maxing Americana with Rob Roberts coming up at 10 o'clock.
And then at 4 a.m., I'll be up in early
giving you Maxing Americana.
And of course, I'll be back at Sunday at 6 o'clock.
Terry Bar, we're Maxing Sunday night.
Oh, I'll be listening.
Don't you worry. Good stuff.
Good stuff.
Okay, so I'm excited about this because I've been kind of watching
and seeing how this is working with you on your socials.
And you have kind of a new hard rock.
Single drop in the summer it's called.
What? I know what a pity.
So this is interesting.
It's going to be a heavier sound.
But no piano.
What? No piano.
Oh, why? Tell us.
Give us a perspective on.
So this is about.
So you know how I said songs are like songwriting is cathartic for me.
I was very, very angry at someone.
Oh, okay.
Remind us not to make you mad.
Oh, it took years.
It took years.
Yeah. Okay.
So anyway, I really just needed to let it out.
Lyrically, so I just like I wrote this song in one afternoon.
And then I like got the chords and I recorded it on my phone.
And I sent it to the guy work with that Lunar Lava audio
and Ford Atkinson.
I was like, this song needs to be heavy guitar electric bass drums.
No piano. And he was like, I am in.
Oh, cool.
Just like I wrote it.
And I was like, this is a hard rock song.
Like this is a heavier.
And it just didn't feel right to have piano at all.
So I'm going to go in and collaborate with just guitar and drums and bass.
And I'm going to whale.
And I'm so excited.
Are you going to be playing a guitar?
No, no. You don't want me to play that.
No.
Where are you recording this at?
This is Lunar Lava audio, which is in Ford Atkinson.
The owner is Jeff Peterson.
And he has a fantastic space.
Tons of instruments.
And he drums too.
So I use him as my drummer.
And then all the albums I've done have collaborated with Dan McDonald,
who is just the most unbelievable guitarist.
Wow.
And so he'll be coming in and we'll be working together and getting a song done.
Oh, cool.
I'm going in the end of the month.
So how do you play the song live then?
Will you be able to?
I might have to rope them into a gig or two with me, maybe.
This is the only song in the hard rock category that I have.
Yeah, for sure.
Do you plan to make more?
Yeah.
Was it fun going heavy?
It's so fun going.
And I've been practicing it on my own.
And I've just like, I'm working on my grittier, gravely,
screamy song because I'm classically trained singer.
So it's hard for me.
I feel like Kat Bannatar, like I have to get out of the polish.
I'm really working on that because typically I'll like try it and then I start coughing
because I'm not used to doing it.
So I've been working on it.
And it's just so much fun to just let that out.
I just, I want to do, I want to do more.
Please.
As soon as that song is done and mastered.
Yes.
Oh, I would love to.
Well, we'll debut it right here in Maxine Quirty.
That sounds fantastic.
Yeah.
We're going to be saying Marta the piano girl on Maxine Kevin.
Yeah.
I am like a, like, I'm like, I, I feel like my inner soul is that like a little bit darker
and more heavy metal than like the what I present on my outer outer self to the world.
You know, we really are getting to know you.
Yeah.
So I love to rock.
Man, I really do.
I know.
I know.
You've got some shows coming up.
So this is great.
And a couple around the area in July.
Yeah.
July 6th.
Twisted ground.
Twisted.
Where is that?
That is in Cottage Grove.
Okay.
And they do this fantastic summer series called Under the Oak.
And they do like bands on Friday nights.
And then Saturdays and Sundays during the day they do solo musicians.
Oh, wow.
And so I played last year and they rebooked me for this year.
So I'll be playing on the 6th from 12 to 2.
And they have like an outdoor stage.
And people bring their lawn chairs.
And it's just, and it's, it's just a really cool chill vibe.
Yeah.
Sounds like.
Yeah.
That'll be fun.
Then you have July 12th.
Again.
Toot and Cates.
Where is that?
Toot and Cates is a line bar in Verona.
Oh, wow.
Oh, cute.
Yeah.
So I'll be, I'll be doing my thing out there as well.
I'll probably bring my yook for a little, a few, I'll do keyboard.
And then I like to toss in my electric ukulele for those kinds of shows.
So she doesn't play guitar, but she does play ukulele.
Because ukulele is an nylon string so they don't hurt my thing.
Oh, my God.
Oh, it's so like this.
So, what kind of a distortion pedal do you use with that?
It's called no distortion.
Well, July 19th, you're at B.B.
Jax back in Cottage Grove.
I will.
They have an awesome stage out there.
So I'll be playing that evening.
Six to nine.
I haven't been there.
Is that outside?
It's outside.
Yeah, they have an awesome stage out there.
The patio there is great.
Yeah, I'll be on the patio.
Yeah.
Okay.
Oh, wow.
We might have to all meet there.
Yes.
Oh, my gosh.
I would dedicate songs to all of you.
Oh, what a heavy one.
Yeah.
No, you know what?
Yeah.
Maybe I can rope Dan and Jeff to come out that night with me.
That would be fun.
Oh, that would be fun.
Yes.
Yes, yes.
Well, let's get back to live music in the layer with Marta the piano gal presented by the
Aaron Weber group.
The next song you have for us tonight.
It's called The Other Side.
I haven't heard about this side yet.
I don't even know if we've gotten to the other side yet.
I wrote this.
This is on my album that I wrote during the pandemic.
So this was all like during lockdown.
And like what?
You know, I felt like maybe things would be like once we came out of this.
But then you listen to the lyrics and now I like I interpret the song in different ways.
Every time I play it because this can be this song can be about so many different things.
I just when I originally wrote it, it was about the pandemic.
It means stuck inside and being getting to the other end of this pandemic.
But I think you can kind of use this song and interpret it in a lot of different ways.
I love when you can take, you know, like I may listen to it rock or may listen to it.
We'll take it in three different ways.
Yeah.
Which I love that when there's a song that means something to each person.
Definitely.
Oh, wow.
That's the fun thing about music too.
This always could be subjectively interpreted by the listener.
Yeah.
It's pretty cool.
You know, as a little side note, so I'm a drummer.
So I don't listen to singers at all.
I don't know what they sing.
I don't know what words they do in my own band.
I listened to the recording we did in the studio to be like, that's what you say.
So as a drummer, as a drummer, you literally listen, you're listening to the bass,
you're listening into all the all the music that gives you the cues.
I hear all the music.
I do not.
I hear the singer singing.
I don't know what they say.
But to you, it's like their lips are just kind of going.
It's like you're like that.
Like watermelon, watermelon, watermelon, watermelon, you know.
Well, in my band, I don't even see their lips.
They're face down.
I just see their butt shake.
Oh, wow.
Well, you've got to keep the beat too.
So that's not an easy job all the time.
Eight, four, four, nine, six, seven, two, seven, eight, nine.
Watermelon, watermelon, watermelon, watermelon, like that.
We're live in the lair with Marta Hanson.
Let me tell you a story.
I know it's one you've heard before.
But we're live to you see.
And I need to share to tell you how it felt for me.
It's almost as if we were moving too fast, moving too fast, moving too fast.
Almost as if we were moving too fast, moving too fast.
It's almost as if we were moving too fast.
Moving too fast, moving too fast.
Almost as if we were moving too fast, slow down, slow down.
Close in time is now they said.
I'll see you on the other side of this.
Isn't just above I made it much too simple, I know.
But it's just so hard to explain the feeling that we had.
The fear of the unknown, the unknown, the unknown.
The fear of the unknown, the unknown.
The fear of the unknown, the unknown, the unknown.
The fear of the unknown, how long, how long.
Close in time is now they said.
I'll see you on the other side of this.
Close in time is now they said.
I'll see you on the other side of this.
Close in time is now they said.
I'll see you on the other side of this.
Close in time is now they said.
I'll see you on the other side.
Marta Hansen, another beautiful song on Maxing Live in the Lair.
This would be a good opportunity to remind you in two weeks in live in the Lair.
But in two weeks in you live in the Lair.
The Rogue of R Oh, excuse me they'll thank you The Rogue of electrics will join us
Live in the Lair.
I don't know what happened.
It's going to be cool.
And then next week is a special guest.
We can't tell you who it is yet, because it's it's so special rocker,
we've got to keep it confidential.
Wow, I'm not even sure I know.
We are going to have the American ghost walks because they are doing a ghost walk in two weeks on state street.
So there's a lot of state street stories.
We're going to have Mike Hubert.
Oh, that's so good.
He's going to bring his his ghost walk guide with him.
Oh, come on.
And we're going to hear ghost stories from state street.
And we're right here.
And I'd say we've already seen some stuff tonight.
Yes.
I will be tuning into that.
Like that is right.
You know, he tried to take that business on Shark Tank.
And they they booted him out.
Yeah.
And now he's in all these different cities.
I know.
So he didn't need Shark Tank.
He didn't need it.
He didn't need Mark Cuban.
Yeah.
So there.
Okay.
Marta, are you a Speedwagon?
You know, I still have.
I write the jokes for the show.
Yeah.
Can you tell?
Exactly.
I have this album actually.
You can tune a piano, but you can't tune a fish.
I heard that joke many times.
I was wondering.
Thanks Rocker.
So now it's me asking.
You wanted to go first.
Well, I grabbed it.
I grabbed it and I'm running with it.
Can you clarify for us why you can't tune a fish?
Rocker.
Honestly.
Well, it doesn't have enough strings.
That's that's all I got.
But it has a lot of scale.
Oh, that's a good one.
Yeah.
That's a good one.
Especially those ones that come from the lower octave.
Oh, my gosh.
I was totally not prepared for that, obviously.
Oh, my gosh.
They're good.
I like it.
You know, you've talked about tuning pianos.
And it, I mean, what do you, special tools?
I mean, you said you didn't go back to school.
Right.
You did this all on your own.
Is it an expensive career?
Are you glad you're doing it?
Tell us a little bit more about just kind of your thoughts now
that you've been in for a while.
Yeah.
I mean, you do need special tools.
And the better that the tools are expensive, like a really.
Like what kind of tools?
You need a really good tuning lever.
Oh, boy.
Like a wrench.
It's like a wrench, but it's a very, very special wrench and it has a ball
on the end.
It's really important because tuning pins are longer than what you can actually visually see.
They go inside to the wood structure of the piano and you need to feel it turn.
So the better lever you have with the correct kind of wood and weight,
it makes that job easier.
Is it dangerous?
There's a lot of tension in these cables.
I mean, if you don't know what you're doing, it can be.
Yeah.
Right in your face.
I mean, it's with all that tension when a string breaks.
Like, I still, 13 years in, if a string breaks, it is like my heart goes down to the floor
and it shakes the whole road.
It is, you don't want to, it's not like breaking a guitar string.
Right.
Right.
It's so loud, I bet, too.
Yes, it's very loud and startling, yeah.
How do you get like the note?
Like, so do you, are you pitch perfect?
Do you do it by ear?
Do you have like one of those that are like,
I, I do, well, you know, I got my tuning fork on my arm here.
Oh, gorgeous.
That's my, yes, my homage to my job.
But I tune by ear and it's, it's really less about where like A is,
it's more relational.
Like, I need to be able to hear wave frequency and I need to eliminate like waves and beats
to make the sound pure for one individual note.
And then I'm, I'm tuning the piano to like the middle octave that I've done.
Oh, sure.
Tuning octaves to each other and then fifths to each other and thirds to each other.
And so you, you have to just, it's training.
I've trained my ear to know what to hear.
Which is why, you know, it's important for it to be quiet in that space.
That's mind-boggling.
I think it is.
To be able to pick out a frequency out of everything that you're hearing.
Yeah.
For that specific tune on that note.
Yes.
I'm turning a wrench.
By turning a wrench.
I'm turning my little wrench to the right to sharp, left for flat.
And I am.
I'm really, I'm listening for, it's hertz.
I'm listening for wave.
Right.
It's actually very sciencey.
Yeah.
Which is why I'm not good in science, but I can hear wave frequency.
Wow.
That's amazing.
Do you have a piano like that might be your favorite to tune?
Mine.
Oh.
I love my piano.
Actually, and I do have a second favorite.
Yeah.
That I've actually been tuning the longest.
Like when I first started tuning professionally.
Yeah.
The music director at a church in San Prairie took a chance on letting me, you know, tune for them.
It was, he was, they were one of my first client.
Oh, that's so cool.
So I've been tuning for them since the very beginning.
And they have this beautiful, grand, black, shiny, coi, grand in their sanctuary.
And I've been tuning it for 13 years, like since day one.
They have trusted me to take care of that piano.
And I love it.
And it's beautiful.
And I just feel.
It's just special that like he, like trusted me to start my career off and like do good work.
And that, that was kind of where it all started.
It's rewarding.
What's the name of this dog?
Oh, they don't have a dog.
Oh.
That's the only downside.
Okay.
Yeah.
Well, let's go back to live music in the air with Marta the piano gal presented by the Aaron Weber group.
The next song you have for us tonight.
It's by the band Radiohead.
Oh.
And it's called Creep.
Yes.
Oh, why did you choose the song to cover?
Hi.
It is the, of the folks who like are like my fan fans, you know, it is the most requested cover that when I'm out performing as people want to hear my version of Creep.
It's on my cover album.
And I do tons of covers and stuff.
But there's something I've just really like dug it.
I could do this song in my sleep like I perform it all the time.
I just love the version I've come up with.
And it's always requested.
People always want to hear.
It's my mom's favorite song that I perform.
Oh, my God.
Yeah.
So I was like, if I'm going to do one cover tonight, it's going to be that one.
Oh, nice.
Well, how often do people ask for Black Sabbath warpigs?
No, I don't get that, but I get play free bird.
Oh, my God.
Of course.
Those people need to buy everybody else a beer for this day.
I know.
I'm like, I play piano, man.
Great.
Eight, four, four, nine, six, seven, two, seven, eight, nine.
Call us unless you want to request free bird.
If you want to request free bird, don't call us.
No, sorry.
You're live in the lair with Marta Hansen on Civic Media.
When you were here before, couldn't look you in the eyes.
You're just like an angel.
Your skin makes me cry.
You float like a feather in a beautiful world.
I wish I was special.
You're so special.
But I'm a creep.
I'm a weirdo.
Without my doing hair, I don't belong hair.
I don't care.
I don't care.
When I have control,
I want a perfect body.
I want a perfect soul.
I don't want you to notice.
I'm not around.
You're so special.
I wish I was special.
But I'm a creep.
I'm a weirdo.
Without my doing hair, I don't belong hair.
She's running out the door.
She's running.
She run, run, run, run, run.
Whatever makes you happy.
Whatever you want.
You're so special.
I wish I was special.
But I'm a creep.
I'm a weirdo.
Without my doing hair,
I don't belong hair.
I don't belong here.
Marta Hansen, live in Delay Rockers.
Wow, that was incredible.
What a great way to hear that song.
Thank you.
We only have a few minutes, so we're going to keep you playing.
Let's get back to live music right now.
It's called The Last.
This song is about your kids.
Tell us a little bit and play.
It's about those moments that you don't know they're the last time you'll do something with your kid
until the moment's already passed, like carrying them,
and all those things that one day you look back and realize they grew out of that.
Cleaning their butt.
I don't miss that one.
It's all those moments, yeah.
Maxi, after hours with Rob Roberts is coming up at 10 o'clock.
Marta, thank you so much for coming in.
Before we live in the layer, get to podcast at maxiincredio.com.
It's Marta Hansen, live in the layer.
Take a picture and remember the firsts.
That's what they say.
Keep those memories close.
You know what I'm saying.
Keep those memories close.
You know when they're made.
The last come fast before we even know they're gone.
The last are the moments I'll hold on to long after you've grown.
The last come fast before we even know they're gone.
The last are the moments I'll hold on.
The last time I carried you.
The last rock to sleep.
Holding hands, walking to school.
I didn't know when the last time would be.
The last come fast before we even know they're gone.
The last are the moments I'll hold on to long after you've grown.
The last come fast before we even know they're gone.
The last are the moments I'll hold on.
The last are the moments I'll hold on.
I'll hold on.
I'll hold on.
