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When the confines of her small town became too limiting for Big Red Button singer Christine Mourad, she did what fellow Michigan denizen Madonna did before her: moved to New York. Once there she pursued an acting career that ultimately led to roles in films such as Jesus' Son and Lovely and Amazing, as well as TV spots on Six Feet Under and Gilmore Girls.
Mourad's take on that move surfaced recently in the wistful track "Leaving Home," from Big Red Button's roots-rock debut Based On True Events. The song caught the ear of director Nicole Holofcener, who liked it so much she included it in the soundtrack for the upcoming Friends With Money, starring Jennifer Aniston, Frances McDormand and Catherine Keener.
"I was remembering a dusty little train station that I passed," says Mourad of the humble origins of "Leaving Home." "I was also thinking that everybody really needs to leave home. For me, there were a couple characters. I really envisioned a young couple. A girl leaving and trying to get her boyfriend to go with her. But I don't think he's going to leave with her. Which now that I say that, is actually what happened to me."
Even in their relatively short history, Big Red Button -- Mourad, guitarist Jason Orme, bassist Greg Griffith and drummer Dieter Weinzetti -- have seen stories like the one Mourad tells in "Leaving Home" resonate far beyond the confines of their adopted hometown of Hollywood.
"We got an email from a guy who works at a radio station in Serbia," the singer says. "He was like, 'If you ever come to Montenegro, we'll treat you well.' They love the CD. I'm not cynical. It really moves me that something that you write in your little corner of the world can reach somebody."
Mourad and Co. are working on a second record in fits and starts, pausing occasionally to fulfill other commitments (Orme, for one, is a member of Alanis Morissette's touring band). The album-in-progress favors the kind of organic sound that Mourad favorites such as Tom Waits have made into an art form.
"I want to hear the cracks in the wall," she says. "One of the new ones is just me and the piano, and my bench is squeaking and I'm breathing -- and I like that. If there's some nugget in there that feels like raw truth, that's what I'm after. That's why I go put a song on."