Other bands influenced by Joni Mitchell
| On Project Opus since: | August 5, 2008 |
| Last seen: | 6 hours 57 min ago |
| Biography: | "What's That? (a Radiohead Project)" is a 6-piece group of Minneapolis-based musicians devoted entirely to the presentation of the music of Radiohead. Embracing the experimental nature of Radiohead’s music, the group utilizes improvisation and unique arrangements of Radiohead's most challenging and popular material, while remaining true to the originality of the compositions. “What’s That? (a Radiohead Project)” has been generating a buzz around Minneapolis, which has not seen a concert by Radiohead in more than a decade. Musical Director and keyboardist, Marc Z., says he formed the project out of a desire to bring Radiohead’s music to the Twin Cities. “When I saw that Lollapalooza in Chicago was as close as they were coming this year, I wanted to bring something to the fans in the Twin Cities who deserved to hear this music performed locally.” “What’s That? (a Radiohead Project)” strives to deliver a fresh and spontaneous approach to their interpretation of Radiohead's music. “We try to avoid mimicry and imitation as much as possible,” Marc says, “while at the same time remaining true to what makes the music so original in the first place.” Like their namesake, the group incorporates a fair amount of improvisation into their performances, while also developing unique arrangements of the material. “Our goal is to embrace the experimental nature of Radiohead’s music, while delivering a quality live experience for all the people who’ve connected with this music over the years,” Marc said. Members of “What’s That? (a Radiohead Project)” were recruited entirely through an ad placed on Craigslist. “Quite a few people responded and asked to audition,” Marc says. “When I pointed them towards the most challenging Radiohead songs and asked, ‘Can you play this?’ a lot of them stopped returning my e-mails. But luckily, the ones who stuck with it are the ones in the group today.” The group’s current set list includes nearly 30 of Radiohead’s most innovative and popular material, ranging from the multi-platinum album, OK Computer, to its equally successful follow-up, the experimental Kid A, to this year’s name-your-price download, In Rainbows. Two performances are also scheduled for December. The first will be a free, all ages 1 hour set at The Whole Music Club, Coffman Union, University of MN campus on December 4. Immediately following this will be a full evening’s performance at The Terminal Bar on Friday, December 5, with “EXIT STAGE RIGHT,” a tribute to the Canadian progressive rock group Rush. More information about the group is available on their homepage, located at www.radioheadproject.com, and also on myspace at http://www.myspace.com/radioheadproject |
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| On Project Opus since: | April 23, 2007 |
| Last seen: | 2 weeks 3 days ago |
| Biography: | Vincent Van Gogh “loved life so bad, his paintings had twice the color other paintings had”. So sings Jonathan Richman (on Rockin’ and Romance). And that tells you something about musician Allison Crowe. A modern lover of music, blogger Muruch frames it like this: "There's really no way to convey through mere words how much the music... moves me, or how I want other people to listen to and adore it as much as I do. Allison sings with such an intensity of emotion, it's easy to see why she's often quoted as saying 'Why music? Why breathing?'... that kind of artistic passion seems extremely rare these days." "I love singing for people," says Allison Crowe. "It's a way to connect and share with others. Communication is crucial. Just being able to do what I do, to write and sing and perform, makes me feel not only alive, but incredibly lucky. Knowing at any moment everything could change, I don't take one second for granted." Born 26 years ago, on an island, in the harbour city of Nanaimo, B.C., today Crowe's reach is global. The audience for her music videos and song downloads numbers in the millions. "Allison Crowe has a voice to fall in love with," says UK music industry journal Record of the Day. "She is from Vancouver Island in Canada, descended from Scottish, Irish and Manx stock. She's exactly the sort of artist who can make serious headway on her own label and that's just what she's doing." When this phenomenon 'from the islands' reached the mainland she steered a path clear of what Joni Mitchell knowingly calls the record industry’s “style inventions”. With Ani DiFranco and Loreena McKennitt as models Crowe created her own label. Since 2003, Rubenesque Records Ltd has released five critically and commercially successful albums: Lisa's Song+ 6 Songs; Secrets; Tidings; Live at Wood Hall; and This Little Bird. "The first thing you notice about Allison Crowe is her voice. Rich and dark, it seems to come from a place most singers can only dream of accessing. Then there are the songs. Filled with raw passion and accompanied by Crowe's eloquent piano playing," writes Clodagh O'Connell (The Courier). Hers is a joyous sound: "Elton John meets Edith Piaf." A sensation at the UK’s John Lennon Northern Lights Festival, “Canadian angel Alison Crowe gave one of the weekend's most magical moments," says The Scotsman. Festival Director Mike Merritt describes Crowe as "awesome" and "spine-tingling", noting her performance “put hairs on the back of your neck! She brought the house down." A true grassroots success, Crowe’s praised not only as a singularly talented songwriter - on themes personal as well as worldly - and as a visceral performer, but, also, as a supreme interpreter of song. Her vital takes on such 21st century standards as Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and Joni Mitchell's "River" are applauded as "truly transcendent". Her Tidings CD, a mix of traditional carols plus songs of joy, peace, and redemption from the secular songbook, is an emerging classic: "music for the season and all time". "Her voice celebrates the music with a bluesy rock-gospel intensity; her controlled vibrato, silken rasp, and powerful projection rivet your attention. This is no casual background music. be prepared to be amazed," says Hamline University Professor Of Law - and CD reviewer - Carol Swanson. "Every song radiates sincerity, creative flair, and emotional intensity." ”It takes a lot of self-confidence to tackle Aretha (Franklin)'s version of 'I Never Loved a Man...' but Allison does and nails it just as good as the Queen of Soul herself. Her piano playing is equally exquisite," says Bob Muller, curator of song covers at JoniMitchell.com in his review of Crowe’s newest album, This Little Bird. He sums up: "Treat yourself to one of the mightiest talents on the singer-songwriter scene today." David Powell, Welsh-based tech writes: "I'm listening to 'Effortless' on (Allison Crowe's) This Little Bird album with my Pro-Ject headphone amplifier turned up about a quarter more than on most modern records. It sounds fantastic because unlike most modern records it hasn't had the **** compressed out of it to raise the loudness." Vocalist, pianist, guitarist, songwriter, engineer, producer and arranger, Allison Crowe now lives in Nanaimo, British Columbia and Corner Brook, Newfoundland. From these home-bases, (spanning the full 7000 km breadth of Canada), she tours steadily, earning a reputation for exciting live shows that stir together her original songs with much-loved interpretations in an organic blend of rock, jazz, folk, Broadway, gospel and soul. "Ever wonder what it would have been like to listen to a gifted singer/songwriter from Saskatchewan in a small, intimate hall before she became Joni Mitchell? Don't fret the missed opportunity. There's no need to turn back the clock. Check out Allison Crowe," says Robert Reid in The Record. "Allison has a special gift that is so very rare in musicians today. She is true to her mind, heart and spirit," says Ross Hocker, long-time public broadcaster with NPR affiliate WGTE. Hocker, whose musical taste embraces Thelonious Monk, Bela Bartok and Charles Gounod, calls Allison Crowe's live performance "the most honest, heartfelt, and directly intimate concert in my entire life." "In an entertainment world that increasingly genuflects at the altar of instant fame, Crowe seems an anomaly, building her career slowly and carefully," notes Adrian Chamberlain, of Canada's Times Colonist newspaper. "Soulful. Alive. Joyous. Grievous. Real, true, music is what I want to make," says Allison Crowe. You can lend an ear... |
| Albums: | Little Light,Tidings,Lisa's Song + 6 Songs,Secrets,Live at Wood Hall,This Little Bird |
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| On Project Opus since: | February 29, 2008 |
| Last seen: | 3 weeks 6 days ago |
| Biography: | I was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and my earliest musical influences include fretting over the fate of the Nowhere Man, a ‘Graceland' tape that was stuck in the family car's cassette player for three years, and far too many viewings of the movie Labrynth. I'm now living in Banff, Alberta - jamming on hallway pianos, doing a radio show on Radio90 fm, and writing and recording new songs. |
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| On Project Opus since: | July 22, 2008 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | Speechwriters LLC is/are difficult to describe, unless you're ready to take some liberties with the English tongue. They was (am?) initially conceived as a cautious alliance between West Coast songwriters Dave Lowensohn and Misha Chellam, who quickly became inseparable and have spent most of the 21st century touring the country in borrowed minivans. They have since managed to strike a delicate balance between California sunshine and Northwest navel gazing, resulting in a weirdly three dimensional folk-pop that resonates with Red and Blue staters alike. The Speechwriters have won countless, meaningless awards, and once loaned Jay Farrar their amp. They currently divide their time between Portland and Vietnam, which isn't nearly as impressive once you realize there's two of them. |
| Albums: | We Are Selling This CD For Gas Money,The Bull Moose After Party |
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| On Project Opus since: | July 29, 2005 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | Well, I'm entering the 21st century a little late, but I think I've finally figured out how to use MySpace and I'm in the process of building my page. I live in Vancouver, Canada, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and I was born in Sydney, Australia, one of the other most beautiful cities in the world!!! I've been singing and performing all of my life and played the piano and violin when I was little, then got waylaid for a while in high school by horses, and in university (McGill and UBC) by academics. I almost went to law school this year but woke up one day and realized that the new songs that seem to come to me daily would not wait for years of slogging through a boring degree and career - and neither would I!! I have always been a writer, but in the past year or so even my poems and journal entries seem to be accompanied by a melody . . . so it seems that there is something bigger than me drawing me back to the world of music! And I've decided to switch to guitar - a beautiful Larrivee who I love dearly. I started recording last fall with Jason Nett, a fantastic classical composer as well as a multi-instrumentalist and rock/pop/acoustic producer, and I never want to stop! What else . . . I love the outdoors, animals, international relations, good food, good wine and good people! I love to perform, and hope that my songs make people feel/think/breathe/contemplate all the things that the lyrics make them think about. They seem to pop into my head at strange moments and demand to be written down, so I'd like to think they come from some otherworldly place that dreams are made of and only dreaming can reach . . . enjoy! |
| Albums: | pick me up,More Than Me |
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| On Project Opus since: | April 17, 2006 |
| Last seen: | never |
| Biography: | As a child, Elizabeth Bruce was told to grow a thicker skin. She chose, instead, to write music. She was an avid choirgirl in grade school, and by high school was using her self-taught piano skills to accompany herself and compose simple tunes. Folk sounds too wholesome and pop too flashy to describe her sound. This alt/folk/pop musician's inventive yet accessible songs aim to blur the boundaries between genres. Writing her own songs from an early age has allowed her ample time to perfect an original style which might accurately be described as sultry, intelligent and quirky. Elizabeth has performed in a variety of venues, principally in Montreal and her hometown of Ottawa, notably at Montreal's Cafe Esperanza and Casa del Popolo. Formerly a regular at Montreal's Yellow Door coffeehouse, Elizabeth has slowly started to branch out recently, working with other young artists around Montreal. All of her music to this point has been solo, but recently has begun seeking members for a band. In November she recorded a three song mini-cd titled Handmaden. Elizabeth's work is not limited to the pop side. She has performed in several high-calibre choirs in Montreal, including Cantare and the choir at the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul. She received a B.A. in music from McGill University, and her grade 10 piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music. She is currently teaching music and working towards her graduate diploma in voice performance at Concordia University. |
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