Back in December of last year, Anchorage musician Marian Call had a celebratory concert at the Tap Root in Spenard. Ostensibly a closing concert for Call's "49>50" tour, in which she played at least one show in all 50 states, the tour was more of a homecoming party. Call considers Alaska her adopted home, but as the night wore on and Call drew from her eclectic repertoire, it was hard to tell just who adopted whom.

The way Anchorage responds to Call, it's pretty obvious that the love is reciprocal. And why not? Call moved to Alaska in 2004 and has called it home ever since, embracing the small Alaska market and touring extensively within the state. Her return to Alaska following the grueling tour was designated as a time for focus on a new album, her first in three years.

That album, titled "Something Fierce" and boasting cover art featuring Call peeking from behind her trademark vintage typewriter--which she uses at many performances as a source of percussion--is nearing completion, and it seems like Call is encountering the pre-release jitters.

"I like it so far," she says of the tracks she's completed or nearly completed. "But I'm scared to death -- it's the biggest project I've ever done."

That fear arises from the impossible-to-avoid criticism of any new work, especially as Call's fan base has continued to grow since the release of her last album, "Got to Fly." The more fans, the more scrutiny, and sometimes that scrutiny can extend beyond the musical and into the personal.

"I think it's inevitable," Call says, "that when you put yourself out there, you’re going to encounter criticism. I don’t mind criticism of my art, but criticism of my sincerity bothers me a lot."

An Alaska indie musician with deep Netroots

Call has an intimidating online presence. That's not saying that she has an aggressive online attitude--on the contrary, her Internet demeanor is pleasant and admittedly geeky--but to put it simply, she has very nearly four times the number of Twitter followers as Alaska Dispatch (although we still have more Facebook fans -- take that, Call!).

That means many of her fans are Internet savvy, and any technorati will tell you that the Internet breeds particularly intense fans, willing to belittle any disagreeable aspect of a person or piece of art they find.

"The Internet is very, very cruel," Call says.

Call is a working musician of the most extreme kind. As a fan of hers on Facebook and Twitter, it's exhausting just keeping track of what she's doing on any given day. In the time that I've been writing this article, she's tweeted six times.

Call said in early April for an article on Anchorage's indie music scene (of which Call considers herself a part) that "90 percent of the work right now for an indie musician is not music. My job is basically secretarial -- I spend 90 percent of my time in front of a computer."

Call embodies the independent artist mentality, doing much of her own promotion, paying her way through tours and coming up with innovative ways to raise money to support herself as a full-time artist.

“One of the things that’s exciting about (the upcoming) album is that it’s completely fan-funded,” Call says.

Her Donors' Circle, a collection of fans who donate on a regular to semi-regular basis to support Call's drive for new music, have gotten access to the first tracks of "Something Fierce," with the unique opportunity of being able to offer feedback to an artist before the general public hears the album. It's feedback that Call takes seriously, considering the source -- some of her biggest fans.

"It doesn't take a lot of money," Call says, "just kind of a long term commitment."