Breakfast Salad
Listening to indie songwriter Louisa Stancioff
In the late summer/early autumn last year, I lived in the Spring Street House - to me, it was the Farm House. Three roommates plus me, in a sprawling creaky farmhouse with gorgeous rugs and a clawfoot tub. From my window, you could see the Camden Harbor and the back garden, and in the morning, I would mosey downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast.
Living in the farmhouse, I had the best morning routine I’ve had in years. I would make a cup of coffee and get a cast iron skillet on the stove. The kitchen had several, and I’ve never really cooked with one before, so I spent my sublease there getting to know how to cook with them. I’d sautee onions and garlic, pour in a can of black beans. And at some point in the morning, my roommate Louisa would come downstairs, make herself a cup of coffee, and get to work on her own breakfast. She would make her coffee, fry an egg and some toast, and get a little salad together, with greens, tomatoes, oil and vinegar. Her breakfast was crunchy and I was always jealous.
Louisa Stancioff and I were usually the first two people up at the farmhouse - surprising, given that she was often getting home late after playing a gig. While I lived there, she was thinking through whether to sign to a label, planning tours, and how she was going to release her newest album. Someone was always coming to stay at the house to work on a music video, or practice for an upcoming performance. Louisa was always thinking through her next move, confidently talking through pros and cons.
I’d seen Louisa perform years before, when my hair was still long and hers still brunette. Over the years, her style as a songwriter has only sharpened - Louisa can perfectly capture the sparkle of the water reflecting off of someone’s eyes, the butterfly in your stomach when someone slightly more than friends is coming back to town for a visit. “Emma,” Her thumping, downtempo song about being betrayed by a friend, stirs something in your gut, that funky-sweet feeling of being let down.
As a performer, Louisa can cover a lot of ground. I’ve seen here with a three piece rock-n-roll band and solo at an open mic. One time I saw her at the Camden Opera House accompanied by Edith Gawler on stand up bass, (I was a little bit late to that show because I pedaled my bike to the wrong MidCoast Opera House). Louisa’s voice live is like the smell of summer flowers wafting through the air - hearty and delicate at the same time. Between songs, her demeanor on stage is unsurprisingly casual. She’s just like the rest of the crowd, out for a night of live music. She just happens to be the one performing.
I moved back to Portland in the fall, leaving the camaraderie and the kitchen of the farmhouse house behind me - except for when I go visit and we all gather around the kitchen table to yell and cook and laugh. And I always think of Louisa when I get a little pile of greens together on the side of my breakfast, to add that refreshing crunch.
Louisa Stancioff is performing at Maine Craft Distilling in Portland Maine on Sunday, March 12th. Show’s at 6!