A daughter of Italian immigrants, Marilyn D'Amato spent her
youth eating at the family's pizza shop and daydreaming of
being in the Go-Go's.
While waiting for Belinda and the girls to call, Marilyn saved
enough money to buy a Fender Telecaster and decided to
start her own band. A few short years later, the young singer songwriter
was performing regularly all over
the New York City club circuit.
It was Marilyn's well crafted pop songs and a voice
that has been described as "just as deep and strong as her songwriting,"
which attracted a large local following as well as the music industry.
Eventually this led to her signing a major publishing deal
with Warner Chappell.
These days the determined songwriter whose other influences
include The Pretenders and Prince has been busy writing
and recording new material as well as performing with
her new band, MARILYN 5. The group has recently shared stages
with Sarah McLachlan, Shawn Mullins and the Indigo Girls.
In between working on her own project and collecting Pez, Marilyn
has been in the studio producing other artists. She has also
put together the "Marilyn & Friends Acoustic Songwriter's Circle,"
which features some of the best singer/songwriters in NYC
and will be touring Europe this Spring.
Marilyn enjoys the smell of gasoline, eating olives, drinking jello
before it solidifies, and would like to take this moment to state that
she is in no way related to or affiliated with the infamous
former US Senator.
Greatest Hits
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Using the vehicle of her expressive, award-winning Celtic harp playing
and her silken vocals, Julia Lane now gives new voice to an ancient
tradition. Creating original songs reminiscent of the traditional music
of her Celtic ancestors, she captures the essential beauty of coastal
Maine, her native state.
Through the time-honored art of meaningful
songwriting, Julia Lane expresses in her words and music our fundamental
connection with wind and wave, sea and sky. Her songs are an authentic
expression of an intimate experience with the elemental.Ms. Lane feels
the connection between the northeastern
American continent and the Celtic lands to be very strong. " The most
obvious link of course is that of the immigrants who settled here in the
last twocenturies. I feel it goes deeper than that. Many of the
landscapes are strikingly similar. People naturally resonate with their
physical surroundings, and the spirituality of the ancient inhabitants
of both areas have common themes- a reverence for our relationship with
Nature and her cycles." Much of the traditional Celtic music reflects
that reverence as do Lane's original compositions.
Julia Lane has loved, sung, researched and created folk music since childhood. Fascinated by the stories embodied in the folk songs she heard, she learned to sing the evocative melodies, making up her own songs for her own entertainment. As an adolescent, she studied music theory and took guitar lessons from a lutenist specializing in Elizabethan songs. In researching the sources of the music, the wealth of lore and history recorded in musical form rekindled her interest in the music of her childhood. She became active in madrigal and Renaissance music groups as well as performing as a soloist and providing music for a children's theater group. In addition , she was inspired by the literary works of J.R.R. Tolkien and his sources. She composed her first melody for one of his 'songs' when she was fifteen and has since completed ten more. After graduating from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1974, her interest in English and Scottish folk music and lore led her to study in Oxford, England.
She is a self-taught player of the "clarsach" or Celtic folk harp which she began in 1989. As a result of her classic guitar training, she plays in the ancient method using her fingernails which gives a bright , clean sound. Her unique style has won three international competitions. Judge/harpist Kim Robertson praised her "innovative arrangements and energetic performance" and harpist Dennis Doyle declared "she really captured the spirit of the music". Julia Lane is also an exceptional vocalist, "one the Maine coast's foremost voices", whose voice has been called "lovely, vibrant", "reminiscent of Jean Redpath" , and compared favorably with Loreena McKennitt, Triona ni Dhonaill, and Judy Collins.
Julia Lane's family has lived in Maine for 300 years and the heritage and history of her Maine ancestors has also proved a source of inspiration. Several songs specifically depict local stories and characters as well as expressing the timeless beauty of the area. She currently is bringing together her two major fields of interest by researching Scottish music which has come to Maine, particularly from the Galloway region of Scotland. Together with partner, FredGosbee, she is composing an extended work to be called "The Galloway Suite", celebrating the connections between the two areas. They have been invited to perform it, as well as the Scottish/ Maine songs they have collected, with a community musical group in Scotland as part of a celebration for the new millenium in October 2000.
Julia Lane's recordings include both original and traditional music/lyrics, and all arrangements are original. Since 1985, she has recorded five albums with the group Castlebay, two with partner Fred Gosbee, two solo, and has appeared as a guest on recordings on both sides of the Atlantic.
In the past ten years, she has toured the Eastern U.S., Ireland, England
and Scotland playing at festivals, folk clubs, and arts centers, as well
as on radio and television. Julia has training in early childhood
education and children's theatre and has taught history and social
studies through folk music in both formal and informal settings. She is
raising three children and is an avid gardener.
Song Of The Sea
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"When I was about eight or nine years old, my cousin turned on a pop radio station on a little portable
radio, and I heard songs like 'Little Red Riding Hood' and 'Dizzy' for the first time. I was hooked. The
classical music that was always playing in our house suddenly didn't cut it for me anymore, and I began to
irritate my parents by changing the dial to pop stations and lying on the floor with my ear right up against
the speaker of our old radio.
I remember falling in love with 'Dizzy'...getting that butterfly feeling in my stomach everytime I heard it,
especially the chorus where it took this strange but beautiful modulation. Of course, I didn't know what
modulation or a chorus was back then, but I didn't need to, until I picked up the guitar for the first time,
and I was driven to create that same feeling in anything I wrote.
That was the early '60's...the late '60's and early '70's brought on a whole new musical culture. Folk music
was actually big back then...Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Carole King and James
Taylor...the acoustic guitar was just as prevelant in recordings as the electric guitar, and the voices and
styles of these artists really appealed to me. But I didn't only find myself interested in the hippy dippy
stuff...R&B artists like Al Green and Smokey Robinson, the Motown sound, songs like 'Let's Stay
Together', 'Lean On Me'...they all influenced my writing. Sweet chord progressions and smooth melodies
became my focus...lyrics were plain and simple, and mostly centred around love, of course! Along came
artists and great songwriters like Elton John and Bernie Taupin, the Eagles, and Fleetwood Mac to spice
up the pot abit.
Even though my writing has matured, and I've lived long enough to have something to actually write about
, I find that my musical style has stayed very close to those early influences. I listen to alot of
contemporary artists like Sheryl Crowe and Shawn Colvin, happy to hear more of a female voice in the
mix for a change, but I also enjoy groups like the Rankins and Leahy because I appreciate the folk
traditions that they've continued. Acoustic music, acoustic instruments, please me...perhaps because
everything got a little too techno for me in the late '70's and '80's, and I was tired of hearing the repetitive,
thumping sounds of clinical, over-produced disco and dance music. Now I'm showing my bias! Don't get
me wrong, I love to dance to that stuff, but I don't like just LISTENING to it.
Really listening to music is an aquired skill, one which I've had to develope in myself in order to become
a stronger and more introspective artist. I appreciate a well-crafted song, both musically and lyrically. It is
always a challenge to come up with the perfect combination of 'predictability and surprise' in my
songwriting, which is why I'm driven to keep doing it, blending the emotions and intensity of the past and
the maturity and introspect of the present together to create the 'write' stuff."
Irene Jackson,
August 4, 1997
"The truth, the whole truth, as far as I can remember..."
Irene Jackson was born and raised in the lower mainland of Vancouver, British
Columbia, Canada. She got her first guitar at the age of twelve just to play along with
her favorite radio hits. Irene's songwriting talents emerged early and were first
recognized in junior high, when along with performing partner, Lynn Connolly, they
won first prize in the local Kiwanis Music Festival. At the same time, Irene was
asked to join Estipod, a garage band put together by some high school pals.
Her duo, known as MOONSTONE, continued to play locally for a few years before
breaking up...after high school, Estipod eventually disbanded as well. Stints in a
couple of other rock bands and playing cover tunes never discouraged Irene from refining her solo work
and songwriting.
Irene played in coffee houses and lounges in Vancouver, from the Soft Rock Cafe to busking at Heritage
Village in Burnaby. In 1983, Irene moved to Victoria to marry and raise a family, but music was never very
far out of reach.
"Once my second daughter was born, I told myself, okay, this is it! You've fulfilled your reproductive
commitments, let's move on!" Between working part-time in radio and television, she began to perform
locally again, in local lounges at first, and Victoria's Timmy's Telethon. Her studio work included writing
the themes for the award-winning children's TV show"Everyday Things", as well as the internationally
syndicated home repair show "Home Check with Shell Busey".
Not long ago, Estipod had a reunion...check the Estipod page out for a rundown and some great photos
of the old band!
Her songwriting continues to flourish, and Irene is well established as a guitar teacher on Vancouver
Island and produces her own recordings through her company, MOONSTONE PRODUCTIONS. In
1993 she released her first independent recording "Foolishly Fantasizing", and in 1997, she completed
her first CD "Motor Scooter", which she is promoting at performances in Vancouver, Victoria,
Vancouver Island and Seattle.
What people are saying about Motor Scooter
"...(Jackson's) intimate voice, engaging lyrics, and sweet acoustic guitar progressions combine to form a
pop-flavoured sound that is very pleasant, elegant, and listenable. Motor Scooter is a fine first recording."
Gene Wilburn, NORTHERN JOURNEY ONLINE
"...Jackson is a storyteller and uses her talent as a unique guitar stylist to paint a colourful backdrop, and
then finishes the portrait with her smooth, unforgettable voice..."
Cherelle Jardine, HOOK, LINE & SINGER
"...the voice is warm and genuine, telling us musical stories, memories and observations with a
supportive but uncluttered instrumental back-up..."
Ken Orchard, CFUV-FM Radio, Victoria
"...Jackson wrestles with her own ambivalence about ambition, not to mention love, age and loss on
Motor Scooter. Her appealing voice and light touch on the acoustic guitar help bring these songs to life."
SOCAN Words & Music, Sept/97
Motor Scooter
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Monique Danielle is a world class vocalist with an impressive list of credentials for her
young age.
She has performed a solo with the Kansas City Symphony Orchestra.She has sung
the national anthem before 80,000 fans at Arrowhead Stadium preceding a KC Chiefs game.
She has received the highest ranking at state music vocal competitions all four years that
she attended
high school and was voted all state soloist for Missouri in '92. Her voice is
featured in many local and national radio ads, but most importantly she gets to shine on
her solo debut CD; Resolution. She has been compared to Toni Braxton and Anita
Baker by the KC Star, but her sultry brand of R&B music speaks for itself.
Resolution is an album featuring varying styles of modern music. It can be described
as R&B similar to Anita Baker, and also easily fit the adult contemporary genre.
Several of the tracks have a distinctly reggae feel while others are more jazz
oriented. Every track features the powerful voice of Monique Danielle who was classically
trained at a very young age and has impeccable control and an amazing soprano range.
This is dance music with reflective lyrics.
Moniques Web Page
Closer To Me
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"I may work with other people for the rest of my life. I want to prove myself away from Ain't
Helen. It's kind of like being 18 and leaving the house; although, I'm not leaving the house
I'm just going to 'college.' "
- singer/songwriter/musician Tracy Walker in 1997
Prophetically, Tracy Walker is now a college graduate. On April 10, Walker disbanded the 5-year-old original
Folk/Rock group Ain't Helen, setting upon a path of solo musical discoveries soon to result in Naked, her first
solo recording on Gallimaufry Records.
Along the way, Walker has fortified her penchant for delivering simple, ironic lyrics against a backdrop of
likewise simple and melodic music. Adhering to the philosophy that growth emerges from experimentation,
Walker continues to share local stages with musicians as disparate as New Orleans/Boogie-Woogie
pianist/vocalist Ricky Nye and Blues guitarist/vocalist Kelly Richey.
"I think I'll always be this hodgepodge, stylistically,'' Walker says of her musical forays. But, I think I'm headed
toward a style that shows musically, but allows my voice to be where it should be. "I don't think my guitar
playing is my forte. I think my voice is my forte," she says. "Certain arrangements of songs and certain band
formations have not allowed that to be the case."
However, critics and judges have rewarded what fans have known all along: Walker, new in many respects to
the mostly Blues and cover band local music scene, has a soaring alto voice that demands attention. Walker
beat out stiff competition to be named Best Singer/Songwriter in the 1997 Cincinnati Entertainment Awards
sponsored by Cincinnati CityBeat, the city's leading weekly newspaper of arts and issues. Ironically, near the
end of its existence, Ain't Helen was nominated for a Cincinnati Enquirer Pop Music Award in the Alternative
Rock Band category with the likes of Monk former IRS recording artists Over the Rhine.
As for Walker's solo work, she says the solo categorization is a misnomer. For the recording of Naked, Walker
has enlisted bassist Tom Pistler, drummer Aimee R. Huber and an assortment of Cincinnati-area Jazz and
Blues musicians. The disc will comprise two re-recorded Ain't Helen staples - "Friends and Lovers" and "Would
You Be Mine?" - set to different arrangements and instrumentation. All other compositions will be original
Walker tunes.
According to Walker, "Naked" is a perfect description of her current musical state and therefore an apt title of
her first recorded outing sans Ain't Helen. "The reason 'Naked' is a good title is because I feel very exposed,
stepping out from what, for years, has been a very safe presentation. "Although now I'm looked upon as a solo
artist, I'd like to develop a band and not in the way that Ain't Helen was,'' she says. "I'd like to put together
people who are dedicated and who are not trapped in one style and not only willing, but driven, to do more than
they already do."
In short, Walker seeks like-minded people unafraid to get naked with her.
Tracy's Web Page
Naked
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Some musicians' music careers take off after they've achieved
success in other aspects of their lives. Such a musician is 1998
Boston Music Award nominee Mary Gauthier (pronounced
Go-shay).
Born and raised in Baton
Rouge Louisiana, Gauthier
studied Philosophy in college,
and once she conquered that
challenge she decided to study
culinary arts in chef school.
Soon after graduating, she put
her knowledge to work and
opened two successful
restaurants. Mary created,
developed, and recently sold the award winning Dixie Kitchen in
Boston's historic Back Bay. The spot is considered a haven of the
South amidst the bustle of the North. At Dixie Kitchen the motto is
"...put a little south in your mouth."
Heeding her own advice, Mary adopted that same flavor and gusto
for her musical career.
The open mic circuit in metro Boston serves as a jumping off point
for many artists, but for Mary Gauthier it became a way to realize her
dream of performing - something she had always wanted to do but
"never had the guts to try," says the songstress. After much prodding
and encouragement from those who heard her perform, Mary took
her brand of music, a self proclaimed "marriage of Country and Folk"
to bigger stages and bigger audiences. She is now a regular at Club
Passim (where she sits on the board of directors as Executive Vice
President of Business Affairs) and church coffeehouses all over New
England. Her most recent accomplishment was the release of her first
CD, entitled Dixie Kitchen, affectionately named after her
restaurant.,Produced by Krit Harmon (Martin Sexton, Black Sheep)
and,featuring fellow musicians John Lincoln Wright, Nola Rose
Shepard and Faith Soloway on contributing vocals, Dixie Kitchen is
a showcase of some of Mary's finest work to date.
Dixie Kitchen is currently enjoying
worldwide radio play, a sold-out
release party at Club Passim and
quickly sold several thousand
copies in its first few months on
the market. The critics are taking
notice. The Boston Globe
proclaims, "....Mary Gauthier is a
spirited country laced performer,
a combination of John Prine and
Steve Earl, in the body of a
woman." Betsy Siggins the
executive director of Club Passim
says, "...fast rising, bursting with
talent, Dixie*Kitchen captures
Mary's enthusiasm and charm." But perhaps the biggest honor came
recently, with Mary's nomination for the 1998 Best New
Contemporary Folk Act Boston Music Award
.
Plans for the immediate future include hitting the road for an East
Coast tour in support of the record, along with her continuing
devotion to bringing her brand of country music to an ever growing
audience. Mary says, "I love it when people tell me, 'I thought I hated
country music, but I love what you do'. " She hears it all the time.
THE BOSTON GLOBE CALENDAR
Friday, FEBRUARY 6, 1999
Mary Gauthier sings folk with a country
twist at Club Passim
By Steve Morse,
Globe Staff
Mary Gauthier at Club Passim: To say I was completely
blown away is an understatement. Gauthier, who is from
Baton Rouge, LA, came to Boston 10 years ago to run the
Dixie Kitchen. She left the restaurant last summer to focus on
music - and she has a luminous future. She sings folk-country
songs somewhere between Steve Earle's "Copperhead Road"
and Bruce Springsteen's "Ghost of Tom Joad."
Her voice has a beautiful purity and her Iyrics reflect a sharp
eyed intelligence that addresses everything from HIV to the
ups and downs of romance. She was also warmly joined by
singer-fiddler Kris Delmhorst and mandolinist Sean Staples
(who plays with Ry Cavanaugh every Monday at the Tir Na
Nog in Somerville).
MARY GAUTHIER - This transplant from New Orleans
served up Big Easy specialties when she co-owned Dixie
Kitchen in Back Bay. Now Gauthier's main dish is
contemporary folk songs with a country twist. Her debut CD,
"Dixie Kitchen," taps both talents: It comes with a recipe for
her popular bread pudding.
Drag Queens And Limousines
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