Carolynne McNeel

Musician, jewelry designer, Mew Gallery co-owner / Art teacher, bartender

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Published: Aug 19, 2009

Neal Santos

Being a multi-hyphenate — holding down a series of odd jobs in order to make art — is standard operating procedure for most artists. And Carolynne McNeel is the quintessential multi-hyphenate.

Saying McNeel is simply a musician would be a lie; being the de facto leader of the Rarebirds and a member of a bunch of other bands is just one aspect of her life. She also co-owns Mew Gallery — the Bella Vista indie art boutique that stocks oh-my-god-I-totally-need-that DIYables — in addition to being a visual artist and jewelry designer herself (though her time for those pursuits is limited). When I ask her to describe her jewelry-making style, she holds up the necklace she's wearing. It's made of clock parts. She sells her work at Mew, which she started in October of 2006 with Lauren Parker after they were both laid off from basketball apparel company And1.

The 29-year-old McNeel is well-dressed in that way only girls with great style and little cash can be. Her voice is quiet, her large eyes darting beneath her light brown bangs. But she also looks exhausted. She's coming off 32 shifts in 19 days. That's 19 days straight. No days off. These shifts include stints at Fleisher Art Memorial, where she teaches children's drawing and painting classes, and as a bartender/server at the South Philly Taproom, where she works two days a week and picks up shifts wherever she can. But these jobs aren't as disparate as they appear. Both teaching and bartending have an element of performance to them. On top of that, she pulls shifts behind the register at Mew. Of all her jobs, she says it's Mew, the closest one to her heart, that's been hit the most by the recession. But they're surviving.

Still, the girl needs a break, which a 9-to-5 would afford her. "I think about it ... often," McNeel says wistfully. "But I don't think I would be happy going back to that."

The Rarebirds play the Clark Park Festival Sat., Sept. 19, noon, free, Clark Park, 43rd Street and Baltimore Avenue, clarkparkfest.org.

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