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Welcome
to Scene & Heard, a new feature exclusive to the WOMANROCK
Magazine, which will highlight some of the great female music
being played on Harris Radio (including those acts featured in
the WOMANROCK Music Show) as well as noting some of the superb
performers I've seen play live in recent weeks.
First,
by way of introduction, let me tell you briefly about Harris Radio
and why it is aligned with WOMANROCK. Harris Radio (www.harrisradio.com)
is an internet radio station I started in 2002 to showcase music
mainly from unsigned artists and those on indie labels, many of
which I go see play in clubs around New York City. Female vocalists
and singer/songwriters - several of whom I discovered via WOMANROCK
- have always been a big part of my play list, hence the creation
of a regular program devoted to the music of WOMANROCK members.
Listen to their songs on Harris Radio, and then go buy their music
from the WOMANROCK MusicShop.
Now,
on with the music …
For
the last few weeks, Harris Radio has been spinning songs from
the sophomore release of a talented singer/songwriter and pianist
who broke through from obscurity a year ago. No, I am not referring
to the latest Norah Jones disc, but to "Warm Strangers,"
from Vienna Teng (pictured above), the Silicon Valley computer
geek who took a leap from her cosy day job at Cisco to pursue
a lifelong passion for music. The result was "Waking Hour,"
a collection of richly orchestrated songs that perfectly showcased
Teng's pure vocals and piano playing.
Along
the way, Teng signed with gutsy Seattle indie label Virt Records,
who not only sought out Harris Radio as one of the first outlet's
for her music, but somehow managed to get her CD into the hands
of one David Letterman. A nationwide TV appearance soon
followed, with Letterman generously offering: "I've heard
the entire CD and there's not a dud on this. You get your money's
worth here."
While
the new album is a little less up-tempo then the debut, the same
strengths remain - Teng's voice and classically-trained piano
playing, and lyrics drawn from personal experiences of relationships,
family, college friends and life in San Francisco.
But
while Teng on CD is worthy of high rotation on any AAA radio,
it's her live performances that are not to be missed. This is
a girl that sounds as good - nay better - live than she does recorded.
And in her live performances she exudes a charm, humility and
wit that captivate an audience. She began her recent show at NYC's
Joe's Pub by apologizing for the way the grand piano was
positioned on stage: "Sorry you people over there will just
have a great view of my ass, which should be interesting".
By the end of the night, she had the entire audience - of all
ages - joining in on a hauntingly simple song about peace and
understanding, titled "Soon Love Soon," which she faded
out by performing a "Mariah Carey thing," a self-deprecating
reference to an anthem-like piano wind down. Vienna Teng is on
tour now. Check out where to see her at www.viennateng.com.
~~~~~
As
we're reminded by a song on Teng's latest CD, she is now a resident
of Mission Street in San Francisco. And it was on that street
at a club called 12 Galaxies that I had the great fortune
recently of catching up with a band that I'd heard much about,
not least because of the reputation of the trio that front it.
 Po'
Girl - at www.pogirl.net
- hail from various parts of Canada, and deliver (according to
their Web site) "soulful roots, jazz, country grooves and
occasional murder ballads." Which, as it turns out, is a
pretty accurate description for the performance I saw that warm
March night, and the next in Berkeley.
Signed
to the roots-focused Hightone Records, the driving force
behind Po' Girl is Trish Klein, who once upon a time founded
the internationally acclaimed Be Good Tanyas. Klein not
only writes many of the songs, and sings, she also plays an impressive
array of instruments: banjo, acoustic and electric guitar, harmonica,
fiddle and mandolin.
But
Po' Girl is no one-woman show. Sharing writing and performance
credits are Allison Russell and Diona Davies, focusing
on playing the clarinet and fiddle, respectively. Russell also
takes on the role of lead vocalist, and it's a role she's well
capable of filling. While performing with her former folk band,
Fear of Drinking, Russell was described as "a mighty
combination of Tracy Chapman and Natalie Merchant
taking refuge in the book of British folk rock."
As
well as acquitting herself with passion and style on the fiddle,
Davies (also known as Dee Dee) has seemingly taken on the position
of band comic, which had her describing their recent UK tour and
their numerous encounters with sheep and their lavatorial habits.
"I think we're going to rename ourselves Poo Girl,"
she quipped, concluding with a rousing "Bah bah bah."
~~~~~
Those
who listen to Harris Radio will know that I have something of
penchant for Canadian musicians (Celine Dion excluded). And no
wonder when the country produces the likes of Sarah Harmer.
 Formerly
the key creative force of popular alt-rockers Weeping Tile,
Harmer is also touring to promote a sophomore album, titled "All
of Our Names," released in the USA on Rounder Records.
And, like Teng, her follow up CD is lower key pop-wise than her
debut "You Were Here," which included upbeat rockers
such as "Weakened State" plus the radio friendly "Basement
Apartment" and "Don't Get Your Back Up." But it
still includes a number of songs that decent radio stations will
snap up for their play lists, including the first single "Almost"
and "Pendulums."
The
follow up album for sure has been a long time coming, since Harmer
decided not to force the creative process but instead waited for
songs to come naturally and then recorded them at her makeshift
home studio in Kingston, Ontario.
She
also kept herself busy singing on the latest album from veteran
social-cause rocker Bruce Cockburn, as well as writing
"1st Lady," a clever and melodic song that highlights
the links between governments and global corporations, and which
has been adopted as the soundtrack to the Gascd video,
dedicated to raising awareness of anti-globalization efforts.
Harmer's tour schedule is online at www.sarahharmer.com,
while the Gascd video can be viewed at www.gascd.com.
Pete
Harris is a technology, publishing and marketing entrepreneur,
who founded Harris Radio as a response to the music being
played on corporate-controlled mainstream radio.
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