Who is Jennifer Porter? Asking ten different people will yield ten different answers. To Theatre goers in southern Maine, she is an actress of startling power and versatility; co- founder of The Originals, the always exciting and innovative resident Theatre company at the Saco River Grange Hall in Bar Mills. To summer tourist fans who return each year to see The Originals' annual musical, she's the one who choreographs, music directs, and arranges productions many claim can be rivaled only on Broadway. To the Screen Actors Guild in Boston, she's one of the few union film actors in Maine. To regional Jazz lovers, she's a singer who specializes in Swing-Era ballads, using her stylistic sense, rich low range, sweet tone, and impeccable pitch to bring back the days of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan. To professors of Music at UM in Orono, she's the Soprano who could sing Mozart, Puccini, Verdi, Bizet, and Donizetti arias with equal ease and grace.

Jennifer is also co-founder of Honey Tree Films, an independent production company which produced its first full-length feature film, Mr. Barrington, in 2002. Jennifer wrote the screenplay, co-produced the film, played the lead role, Lila, and is composing and performing the music. The film co-stars Eric Schweig (Last of the Mohicans, Skins, Big Eden, The Scarlet Letter, Tom and Huck, etc.) Brian McCardie (Rob Roy, 200 Cigarettes, The Ghost and the Darkness, Speed 2, etc.) and Jonelle Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman, The Hotel New Hampshire, The River Niger, etc.). Mr. Barrington will be released in Spring, 2003. For more information on Jennifer's film and theatre activities, please visit www.mrbarrington.com .

Jennifer has been writing music since childhood, and has arranged dozens of Jazz standards for three, four, and five vocal parts. Her biggest songwriting influences are Kris Kristofferson, Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, and Duke Ellington. Hyacinth Boy Blue is her first CD. It contains fourteen original songs; all written since 1995. These songs reflect her deep sympathy for human beings, her love of justice, and her feminist politics. The music is difficult to categorize, but might be broadly dubbed Eclectic Folk, with Latin, Jazz, and Classical influence.

Playing on the CD are Jim Lyden on Acoustic and Electric Bass, Mark Kleinhaut on Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Carl Dimow on Flutes and Acoustic Guitar, Dana Packard on Drums and Percussion, and Jennifer on Vocals, Piano, Recorder, and Percussion.

Hyacinth Boy Blue was recorded at Sofa Sound Studios in Topsham, ME. The engineers were Erica Aberg and Mark Kleinhaut. The CD was produced by Jennifer Porter and Dana Packard. It is being released by Cougar Moon Music, an independent label and publishing company formed by Jennifer and Dana in 1998.

Hyacinth Boy Blue
Check out the Real Audio Sound Sample

1. Hyacinth Boy Blue
2. A Special Child
3. My Lover And I
4. The Moment Of Recognition
5. Leaving
6. Don't Go
7. Fear
8. Fly
9. Sweet Honey Bee
10. Cutting Up
11. I Have No Pride
12. Why Do I Eat
13. Indecently Exposed
14. Traveling In the Dark

Laura Preble"s piano-driven originals have made her a favorite on the San Diego singer-songwriter scene. Her music can best be described as alterna-pop acoustic with a twist of jazz and blues. Her songs are reminiscent of the tunes of Joni Mitchell, Sarah McLachlan and Laura Nyro, according to her fans, and her voice has been described as "whiskey velvet."

Laura's music is marked by fresh and unusual tunes laced with soulful lyrics. Her compositions cover a range of styles, including alternative (I Believe) , rock-blues (Goodbye Song: Can't Get Out), smoky iazz (Make Me Marilyn) and sultry ballads (Air). Her song These Days was recently featured in a video documenting the San Diego Aids Walk.

Laura has been a featured Performer in San Diego at such venues as Croce's, Winston's, the Bacchanal, Twiqqss, and the Bookworks, to name a few. She can be heard as a back-up vocalist on one of the Rugburns' early albums, Lick Her Shoes. In addition to being a songwriter, her talents as a lyricist were showcased in the San Diego Rep's 1996 production of the original musical Dracul, for which she also wrote the libretto. Laura's performed on many local theatre stages, including the San Diego Rep (Six Women With Brain Death) and the Old Globe (La Pastorela.) Her first CD, Voices in My Head has been recently released. Voices in My Head features Laura Preble on vocals and piano; Glen Fisher on bass; Paul Kimbarrow on drums; Cbris Klich on flute, clarinet and ear; David Beldock on guitar; Dennis Caplinger on dobro and fiddle; 7eff Beraley and Kio Melendez on percussion. Bn~ineer: Darrell Harvey for Studio West. All music and lyrics written by Laura Preble.

Voices In My Head
Check out the Real Audio Sound Sample

1. I Believe
2. Can't Get Out
3. Air
4. Beach
5. Goodbye Song
6. Valeria
7. Make Me Marilyn
8. Time To Get On
9. These Days
10. Juliet/Desire
11. Stranger In This House
12. Mystery

Voices in My Head features Laura Preble on vocals and piano; Glen Fisher on bass; Paul Kimbarrow on drums; Chris Klich on flute, clarinet and sax; David Beldock on guitar; Dennis Caplinger on dobro and fiddle; Jeff Berkley and Rio Melendez on percussion. Engineer: Darrell Harvey for Studio West. All music and lyrics written by Laura Preble.
Check Out Laura's Site:

Catalog # gcd-100 $14.99
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select ORDER FORM:
or Call Toll Free: (800) 611-4698
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The OutSkirts

The OutSkirts began writing and playing music together eight years ago in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They continue to perform throughout Kentucky and in neighboring states. Susan Morris (percussion) started the band with Janine Keirnan (bass). They were later joined by Alice Templeton (electric guitar), Ruth Burch (acoustic guitar), and Bill Hanshaw (drums). Rich vocal harmonies, textured instrumentation, and a diverse collection of original material that includes rock, blues, pop, and folk influences characterize the band's sound.

The OutSkirts' first CD, Running From the Rescue, was released in 1995 on the independent label Rasselas Records. The CD has received airplay on commercial and public radio stations in the Southeast, and has been praised for its "high energy sophistication," its "impressive lyrics," and its "clear, focused production."

Unraveled (1998, Rasselas Records), the band's second CD, is a departure from the folk-rock sound of Running From the Rescue. More hard-edged and insistent, the music is driven by electric guitar layering and vocal immediacy. Lyrically the ten songs on Unraveled describe a search for personal freedom in its many forms. Their common message is the need to dismantle fixed notions of self and others in order to sustain genuine creativity and love. Even as these songs take on serious themes, they avoid the naked confessionalism that is all too common in "heavy" popular music.

"Gorgeous harmonies, inspired instrumentation and a smooth, occasionally sinister vibe....this isn’t one of those 'three great songs and they’re out' indie releases. It’s a solid gold gem from top to bottom--songwriting, performance, vocals, vibe…" ---Matthew Springer, Pop-Culture-Corn (Chicago, IL), June 1999

"Virtually all the tunes--'Joey,' the lyrically powerful 'Unraveled,' the humable 'Family Romance,' and my favorite 'Peace on Paper'--all are musically interesting; they stand on their own without the necessary aid of the lyrics. But these strong songs, when coupled with Alice Templeton’s solid poetry/lyrics, stand up to repeated listening without getting burdensome, and they become something remarkable." ---Bill Shea, Agenda (Ann Arbor, MI), February 1999

"This group has a great talent for writing lyrics. They use thought-provoking phrases, and socially conscious statements, without fear of criticism..." ---Tammy Childs, Cybercity Magazine (Topeka, KS), March 1999

"The emotions evoked are sometimes troubling, mostly affirming, but always felt at 'gut level.' Poetic obfuscation can be distracting in song, but the poetry in this CD has no trouble communicating (or producing) emotions, even when the lyrics are too complex to be 'understood' by those of us who are poetically challenged. Someone once said, 'Music makes poetry do-able for everybody.' Unraveled certainly does for me."

---Anonymous, Internet Underground Music Archive, webpage comment, August 1999

The OutSkirts
P.O. Box 826
Bowling Green, KY 42102-0826
(270) 782-6506
e-mail: alicetem@bellsouth.net
TheOutSkirts’ homepage: http://personal.lig.bellsouth.net/lig/a/l/alicetem/Outskirts.htm

The OutSkirts ® is a registered mark.

1. Too Much Like Sunday
2. Joey
3. Unraveled
4. Wild
5. Family Romance
6. Start Over
7. Peace On Paper
8. The Borderline
9. Porch Lights
10. All Over Town

Monday, April 13, 1998
Daily Dirt
Blanche Fury: Blurfly
Partial Music Review

When a band is half as good as the "Throwing Muses," that band is pretty damn good. "Blanche Fury," an all-chick band from Texas, is about half as good as the "Throwing Muses," and from me that’s a hell of a compliment. The band is mostly an exceptional vocalist, Anne Fontenot, and a highly competent back-up band. Fontenot’s voice is aggressive, haunting, edgy, serene, and endlessly listenable. This CD, Blurfly, is "Blanche Fury’s" second release, and it’s chock full of solid tunes, singable melodies, and pleasant arrangements. Reminiscent of Louisville’s "Candy Says," the songs are strong on inflection, emotion, and vocal play, if weak on lyrics and hooks. Diversity is "Blanche Fury’s" strength – each tune comes with a little surprise, but the overall style is still consistent and memorable. The music is executed with confidence and courage, giving the listener the feeling of being in good hands. It’s a stress-free listen.

Blanche Fury is obviously and unashamedly influenced by singers such as Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan, and maybe less consciously by P.J. Harvey and Rickie Lee Jones, but Blanche Fury achieves a sense of ensemble and group presence, mostly the fault of the lead guitar player, which brings me back to the Throwing Muses comparison. "Blanche Fury" is not as inventive, not as postmodern, not as smart, and not as cold, but serve a grittier, bloodier, less-controlled muse nonetheless. Definitely more mature than "Letters to Cleo" if not as wise as "Throwing Muses," wider in scope than Alanis Morisette if not as grimly cheerful as Sheryl Crow, this is the grindingest, wrenchingest, tearingest chick band I’ve heard in a long time.
--- Lily James
Blurfly
Check out the Real Audio Sound Sample

1. Lullaby
2. Ocean
3. Shade
4. Clueless
5. Antidote
6. Antidote
7. Imagination
8. End of the Road
9. Damn Happy
10. Over There
11. India

for more information contact hrmusic@rahul.net © copyright 1998