Pezzettino
Pezzettino is actually Milwaukee singer, accordionist and pianist Margaret Stutt. Stutt began playing and learning piano by ear at age five, with classical lessons to follow. She picked up accordion in 2008, which freed her to begin writing her first record, Because I Have No Control... The name, Pezzettino, refers to the children’s illustration book by Leo Lionni, and in an interview Stutt stated, "It means little piece; the story is about realizing one’s self-worth and independence."
Because I Have No Control...
In an interview with Muzzle of Bees, Stutt herself described her first record as, "totally lo-fi with minimal editing". She also said of the record, "The album is a bit like me unapologetically showing up for a date with messy hair and scraped knees after jumping from a moving car. The recordings were not premeditated for release, but when I decided to go that route, I chose not to dress it up too much because it was appropriate for the period in my life that the songs chronicle. I'm an acoustic musician, and am pretty technologically challenged, so I was interested in just capturing the sounds as they sound live, exposed, vulnerable. "
Because I Have No Control... has been described as, "a no-budget disc that, although recorded on a laptop, often sounds like it was captured on a beat-up tape recorder." The record also drew comparisons to Tori Amos and Andrew Bird, with one reviewer pointing out that it was, "strangely non-traditional and familiar at the same time."
Lion
The follow up to Because I Have No Control... entitled, Lion was released in 2009. Stutt remarked in an interview that, "Lion is my declaration of independence, from a source of confidence and fearlessness that set me free. I am beginning to feel comfortable with open expression, it's empowering to speak your mind, from the heart, and be comfortable with whatever the response may be. The lion roar is the first half of the album, the battle cry. The second half is about a bruised ego, tending to wounds, and mustering up strength to continue forward with determined gait. This sound was probably influenced by my early years with Juliana Hatfield, The Cranberries, and Elastica."
The record drew inspiration and influence from several artists including, Yann Tiersen, Sufjan Stevens, Andrew Bird, Tchaikovsky, Bach, The Avett Brothers, Bjork, The Cranberries, Erykah Badu, Juliana Hatfield, Ben Folds, Sheryl Crow, and Billie Holiday.
Covers
In July of 2009, Stutt embarked on a project via fundable.com to pay for repairs to her car so that she could continue to tour during the summer. Anyone donating over $50 could request a song for her to cover and for those who were generous enough to donate over $500 had the opportunity to have a Pezzettino show in their own home. Additionally, Stutt created videos, to accompany the cover songs, which appeared on YouTube during the course of the month. The campaign garnered press attention in the Milwaukee area, as well as cheers and jeers from Milwaukeeans.
After becoming a part of Sixty Years War Collective, Pezzettino released a free digital collection of these songs as an album with the title, Covers. The album garnered the attention of the internet music press including playbsides.com and expressmilwaukee.com, that latter of which said of the record, "Pezzettino has a way of spinning even the most exhausted source material into something original and personal."
You Never Know
You Never Know was Pezzettino's first vinyl release. A 7" single with a surprise b-side, the record was officially released on December 12th, 2009 at a special vinyl release show held at Hot*Pop Shop in Milwaukee. Each record sleeve was hand painted by Dwellephant at the event, which included constumes, set changes and a live DJ between during breaks.
Discography
- Because I Have No Control... (2008)
- Lion (2009)
- Covers (2009)
- You Never Know - 7" (2009)