There are a few artists that impacted my early years of listening to music, one was singer/songwriter/artist Joni Mitchell, her first two albums “Song To A Seagull” (March 1968) and “Clouds” (April 1969), affected me  and the album covers of both of those Reprise Records releases were done by Mitchell. But it was her distinctive voice, her intricate, challenging melodies, and her compelling, intelligent lyrics that really sealed the deal for me.

So when I learned that a tribute band, Big Yellow Taxi, was coming to Portland’s One Longfellow Square on July 12. I just had to interview a member of that group. As luck would have it, I was able to chat with Teresa Lorenco who has the unenviable job of “being” Joni.

I called her at home in Western Massachusetts and began by explaining my attraction to Ms. Mitchell, and how two other singer/songwriters, whose names also begin with “J,” found their way into my musical world: Joan Baez and Judy Collins.
A: Well, as you know Judy Collins recorded Joni’s song “Both Sides, Now”— she was famous for it before Joni was famous for it. In fact, I think it was in 1971 that she really put her mark on the world with the album Blue that’s when everyone went, “Oh, okay, this person’s got something!” (Laughter)

Q: So how did you get involved with Big Yellow Taxi?
A: Well, I was in a singing duo for a little while and I did a couple of Joni’s songs in that duo — “Coyote” and “Help Me” — and the comments were, “Wow, you can really sing her stuff … this is amazing!” and I would go, “Okay, sure … thank you — I appreciate that.” I had been listening to her since I was a teenager and decided that I really wanted to do a Joni Mitchell tribute.

Q: And what happened then?
A: I put out some ads looking for people to do this and found some really nice people who were the first iteration of this band, and then when COVID hit it put a big dent in the forward motion. Some people dropped out and it got a little dicey for a little bit, but then I was able to find some other musicians and ended up with this wonderful group of musicians that I have now.

So it just was kind of like the combination of being able to sing in her range and also the blind faith in myself that I could pull it off (laughter).

Q: Having watched some of the Big Yellow Taxi videos on YouTube, you certainly did pull it off. What is the band doing nowadays?
A: Right now we’re performing Court And Spark for its 50th Anniversary. So we’ll do the full album and then we do a handful of other songs because it’s not really a full show, the album is a little shorter than what we would consider a full show.

Q: Have you performed up in Maine before?
A: No, we haven’t, we tend to go south: New Jersey, Connecticut and New York, but we haven’t been up to Maine yet, we have done Vermont, actually, but this will be our first time in Maine so we’re super excited.

Q: Well, the venue you’re coming into, One Longfellow Square, is probably one of the best listening rooms you’ve been in, you can make eye contact with everybody there.
A: Oh, I love that, that’s my favorite. The last show I played the lighting was such that I couldn’t see anybody in the audience and it was a challenge for me.

It’s really nice to look out in the audience and see people smiling or singing along or putting their hand on their heart or having this strong emotional reaction to hearing this music. And we work really hard to give the audience something memorable.

We want them to feel good, we want to touch their hearts, we want to give them something that they may never have experienced before and have wanted to experience for so long. I’m really looking forward to that, that’s great, so glad to hear that.

Q: Is there anything you’d like to pass on to the folks reading this article?
A: Well, just that this is a labor of love. This is a really important thing for us — to be able to share this music, and the work that we’ve done to create this music with people who find meaning in it. Joni isn’t just a cool, smart, sassy singer, she’s much deeper. Joni is the person who holds your hand through your darkest times. Without her I don’t think I would have survived a lot of really hard times in my life and I know other people feel the same, and that’s the reason we do this. Yes, she’s a genius; yes, her artistry is unparalled; yes, her imagery is wonderful — all of that. But really the most important part of it for me, personally, is to know how much she understands the things that I have felt, and she’s never even met me.

For me, as someone who is singing her music and sharing it with people, that’s the part that I look for when I look in someone’s eyes, it’s that mutual understanding. This woman has seen into my heart and soul in a way that other people would normally overlook or not even really care about. And just because she’s so brave and willing to open her own heart and soul to us, that’s what I look forward to the most, that’s what I hope for when I sing to an audience is to see that level of connection, in that deep way of: yes, we aren’t alone in these deep feelings that we have.

Lucky Clark, a 2018 “Keeping the Blues Alive” Award winner, has spent more than 50 years writing about good music and the people who make it. He can be reached at luckyc@myfairpoint.net if you have any questions, comments or suggestions.

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