Scroll to the bottom to hear samples of Megan Slankard’s music

In the music industry, good fashion sense is as important as talent. Committing a fashion faux pas may have the audience cringe, distracted by metallic leather pants. That stain-ridden t-shirt from band camp will have music executives scurrying away. Megan Slankard, a 23-year-old singer-songwriter and guitarist from San Francisco, committed the sin of dressing too casual. Her punishment: a make-over on The Learning Channel’s hit show, “What Not to Wear,” which aired in 2004.

“I wore toe socks ?” they’re like gloves for your feet,” Slankard said on the phone as she drove to a gig in Sonoma County. “Apparently that’s like the ultimate fashion crime.” Slankard also wore lots of graphic T-shirts with characters like Cookie Monster on them.

Audience members and self-proclaimed “fashion police” should not have any problems with the now trendy Slankard when she plays a free show today at noon at Serna Plaza, provided by UNIQUE programs. This will be her first show at Sac State and is part of a tour that will cover cities in California, Michigan, Ohio and Nevada all through November.

Slankard’s fellow band members nominated her to be on “What Not to Wear.” With the help of hosts Stacy and Clinton, she was given a budget of $5,000 to spend on a new wardrobe that included fitted suits and dresses that showed off curves. “It was hard to spend so much money even though it was in New York and a T-shirt cost like $200,” Slankard said.

Her experience on the show made her more conscious of her style, especially with feisty hosts like Stacy and Clinton berating her about her apparel choices. “They’re pretty much always in the back of my head for the rest of my life,” Slankard said, laughing.

The results were astounding. Her style was not the only thing that improved; the show managed to garner huge exposure for the independent musician. Her song “Too Bad You” from her latest full-length album, “Freaky Little Story,” was featured on the show and generated an increase in sales.

“I was so surprised. I thought maybe my grandma would be proud of me and buy a couple extra CDs,” Slankard said. “We were floored and our web site crashed,” she said of the tremendous response.

Listeners with an affinity for acoustic folk rock or indie rock might enjoy Slankard’s music. Her sound is influenced by The Beatles, John Mayer, King’s X, Death Cab for Cutie and Jason Mraz.

As a female musician, it is surprising to find that Slankard is hesitant in listening to other female artists. “I’m comfortably naïve with that whole female singer-songwriter genre,” she said. “Every time I listen to female singer-songwriters-it’s more like studying than listening to the music.” Despite this, she states that she is a fan of Alanis Morissette, Lisa Loeb and Bonnie Raitt.

Slankard first started singing and playing music at 10 years old. The first song she learned on guitar was “Blackbird” by The Beatles. She grew up fascinated by them and was a fan of movies like “A Hard Day’s Night” spawned from Beatlemania. “When I watched (them), I was totally smitten,” Slankard said. “I want to do this for the rest of my life.”

Slankard started performing solo at 15, with her first paid gig in a tiny pub. She currently performs with a band of revolving musicians. Over the course of her career, she has had the opportunity of playing or recording with notable artists like Dan Vickrey of Counting Crows, David Knopfler of Dire Straits and Hootie and the Blowfish.

Slankard has made music her priority. Not pre-occupied with a job on the side or school, she has managed to continuously tour and put out three albums: self-produced solo album, “Lady is a Pirate” in 2001, “Freaky Little Story” in 2003 and “A Little Extra Sun,” a limited edition extended play album released last year. Slankard said that a new full-length album is expected to be released early next year.

Drew Pearce, a contributing writer for “Acoustic Guitar” magazine, reviewed “Freaky Little Story” in 2004 and gave it high praise. “It’s a good sign when the first three songs of a record have you wondering ‘why haven’t I heard of this group before?'” he wrote.

Like many publications, a multitude of albums are often given to editors in the hope of each getting reviewed. Pearce said over the phone that Slankard’s album stood out from the pile. He later listed it as among his top-five favorite albums in an issue at the end of that year.

What stood out for Pearce was Slankard’s overall musicianship. “Her songwriting is unusually well-developed, especially for her age,” Pearce said. “She has a sophisticated sense of chord progression and melody.”

Pearce noted that her music is difficult to categorize. “I would call it indie rock ?” it’s not quite mainstream enough to be pop rock because she has pretty intelligent lyrics.”

Many of Slankard’s lyrics are rich with imagery, often referencing nature as in “Mocking Bird” and “Dirty Wings.” “I have a lot of songs with birds and flying ?” I have no idea why,” she said.

Love is a familiar theme for all musicians, but Slankard’s songs tend to focus on its pain and disappointment rather than its happiness. “I’ve been looking at my songs and I noticed I don’t have any positive love songs. All my songs are kind of dark,” she said. This is evident in songs like “Planets” and “Too Bad You,” where the narrator loses interest and falls into loneliness.

“Someday I will write a real goofy, happy song. That’s my mission,” she said.

Slankard mainly plays club shows in San Francisco but has also ventured as far as the East Coast as well as various European countries. She expressed excitement in touring. “It’s so rewarding, it’s like a huge adventure.”

She recalled a memorable show at a packed club in Germany where she opened for a British singer-songwriter. “I was looking out onto a sea of heads, almost a thousand people. It was so incredible because when I was done with a set they asked for an encore. Everyone was super excited.”

Slankard has gained popularity in the Bay Area local music scene, a following that is strengthened through her own support of other artists. She said that she makes time to see her friends’ shows. “You sit there in the audience and you’re so happy for them,” she said. “They’re in your shoes ?” it’s like you’re going through it together.”

Slankard noted that this camaraderie is necessary for any musician. “The music business is pretty hard to break through, but the local artists are extremely supportive of each other. It’s pretty much impossible to do it by yourself.”

Click on the name of a song below to hear some of Megan Slankard’s music.

Too Bad You

Mocking Bird

Karen Balmes can be reached at [email protected]