“Girl, you sound like a neat glass of single malt in a world of Michelob Ultra.” Those were the words of Grammy award-winning songwriter Mike Reid (“I Can’t Make You Love Me”) when he heard Kira Small sing. This slinky, sultry, soulful siren combines the smoothness of Norah Jones, the rawness of Bonnie Raitt, the hip-ness of Alicia Keys and the flat-out-wailing of Aretha Franklin to bring forth her mix of spellbinding original material and R&B classics.

While Nashville (her current home base) is most known for country music, there is a deep vein of southern soul and R&B running through it that Kira has tapped into, and it has become her lifeblood. What really happened is she found herself surrounded by a bunch of greasy old R&B dudes from the serious south and felt so at home they decided to make a record. That record is her latest CD, Love In A Dangerous World, which was produced by Bruce Dees (James Brown, Ronnie Milsap). It features numerous Motown and Muscle Shoals R&B veterans and sounds pretty much like rib meat falling off the bone. (more…)

After each energized performance, Abi Tapia always hears the same question: “What does your guitar strap say?” The answer is a word that describes not only her music, but also a big part of her personality: “Wanderlusty.”

Abi Tapia happily calls Austin home, but to say she’s simply a Texas songwriter wouldn’t give the whole story. The daughter of musicians, Abi was born in Alabama and lived until she was fifteen in various towns around the Southeast and Texas. She has since lived in the Midwest (where she was a Sociology major at Grinnell College) and New England (where she began her professional music career). Characteristics of all of these regions inspire Abi’s songwriting: The inviting warmth of the South, the expansiveness of the Midwestern Plains, and the pluck and determination of a New England Yankee are all mixed up with a nomadic restlessness.

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Jennifer Daniels performs with a power that rivals Ani DiFranco, and combines it with angelic melodies and lyrical rhythms reminiscent of Dido or Sarah McLachlan. Her intense, raw passion captivates the audience while her humorous banter between songs endears them. Paste Magazine writes, “It is a rare gift that someone can express such depth and power in lyrics, and it is even more rare that the lyrical gift is accompanied by such an amazing musical talent.”

Daniels tours the country with Jeff Neal, whose touch on guitar and mandolin embellish her melodies with ethereal moods and textures. They perform frequently at The Bitter End in New York, and Eddie’s Attic in Atlanta where they won the prestigious Eddie’s Attic Shootout. Creative Loafing said that “her clear superiority in every ranked category - particularly vocal performance - were what clinched it for her. Whether throwing back her head to hold a magnificently sustained high note or expertly accompanying herself on a 12-string guitar, Daniels clearly outclassed the strongest competition.” This along with a cornucopia of awards has merited Jennifer opportunities to share the stage with GRAMMY award-winning artists like John Mayer and Indigo Girls.

“Dive & Fly” thrust Daniels onto the national scene when Performing Songwriter named it one of the Top 12 DIY Releases in 2002. FM Odyssey not only awarded “Dive & Fly” Album of the Year, but the nationally syndicated radio show also chose Jennifer Best New Female Artist at their Alternative to the Grammy’s music awards. “Dive & Fly champions the elementary emotional characteristics of singer/songwriter folk-rock and pushes the genre forward with a sound that is contemporary and commercially accessible,” says Tom Semioli of All Music Guide. Daniels’ is featured regularly on Laney Goodman’s Women on Air, and has also performed live three times on Michael Jonathan’s Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour.

Jennifer’s latest release “Summer Filled Sky” was mixed and mastered by legendary engineer and producer Rodney Mills who has earned 37 gold and platinum albums for mixing, mastering, and producing artists including Sheryl Crow, Pearl Jam, Gregg Allman, and REM. Mr. Mills successfully captured just the right vibe for Daniels’ distinct style and inspiring lyrics, and set her most impressive instrument -her voice- perfectly in the tracks.

“Summer Filled Sky is the third and most fully realized release from this Southern spirit,” says Creative Loafing. “If you’re in need of an antidote to all things Brittany-like, Daniels latest effort Summer Filled Sky is like taking 12 doses of sanity in a world gone wrong.” From joyful pop rock anthems like Day to Live and Welcome to Your Life to the beautiful melancholy of ballads like Tattoo and Spiderman, Summer Filled Sky leaves no emotion untapped and no feeling unstirred. Performing Songwriter says, “Jennifer flirts with pop, rock or anything else that comes into her musical path. The result is pretty damn great!”

In addition to playing nearly 150 shows this past year, Jennifer and Jeff were involved with the NARAS GRAMMY in the Schools program. Daniels served on a songwriter’s panel with Anita Baker and Ed Roland of Collective Soul, and Neal participated with producers Phil Tan and Butch Walker in a recording workshop. This national outreach program provides insight to high school students about careers that are available in music, and direction on how to prepare for them. Primarily held on university campuses across the country, GRAMMY In The Schools provides an opportunity for students to interact with professionals representing a wide range of careers.

Gary Nicholson

Residence: Nashville
Hometown: Garland, Texas
Genres: Americana, Singer/Songwriter, Country, Blues, Rock
Website: www.garynicholson.com

A 2006 nominee for the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Gary Nicholson has had more than 350 of his songs recorded, has won 26 ASCAP songwriting awards and is responsible for more than a dozen major hits. Unlike most tunesmiths, he is not bound by musical genre. His songs routinely top the country hit parade. But rock bands, blues artists, folk stars and bluegrass acts have also embraced him as a songwriter.

“I’ve never found it difficult to ’shift gears’ between different musical styles,” Nicholson says. “I let myself be dictated by the needs of the artist or of the writer I’m collaborating with. A lot of these guys are just looking for good lyrics. Songwriting is songwriting. A song is a song.”

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Artist website: www.annemccue.com

Anne McCue’s career has covered punk, Lilith Fair, Australian awards and Vietnam. She has released her fourth solo album, Koala Motel to critical acclaim and has recently co-produced two albums by other artists - Stephen Rowe and Leila Florentino. She has appeared as guest guitarist/vocalist on albums by Michelle Shocked and Gina Villalobos. Her two most recent albums, including Roll‚ (Messenger Records) was recorded at Dusty Wakeman’s Mad Dog Studios in Burbank, California. McCue and Wakeman co-produced the album. Going in with the philosophy of some of Anne’s favourite three piece bands she played the guitars, Dusty played bass with Dave Raven on the drums. The three jammed on the material, some of which McCue was still writing at the time. Guests on the album are Carl Byron (keyboards and accordion), Eric Gardner (drums on “Machine Gun” and “Tiny Little Song”and Mike Stinson (drums on “I Want You Back”). The album has received critical acclaim from such publications as Billboard, Entertainment Weekly and XM Satellite Radio (Top 5 Album of the Year) and was picked by Bob Harris of the BBC as his favourite album of 2004.
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Artist website: www.amycook.com

Everybody knows the stars at night are big and bright deep in the heart of Texas, and the celestial has always been proudly represented in Lone Star culture, be it bands (Explosions in the Sky), sports (Houston Astros) or the state nickname itself. Amy Cook also sees something unique up there, but the alt-folk singer-songwriter isn’t content simply marveling at the enormity of what lies beyond earth. On The Sky Observer’s Guide—written in a prolific four-week gush—she tells simple, bittersweet, earthbound stories, refracted through the panoramic scope of the heavens. Things like this happen when you leave the industrial clamor of L.A. for a humble, weirdly-named West Texas town like Marfa.
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