Tedeschi has always been musically inclined, and made her debut public performance as a six-year old understudy in a Broadway musical. Also, she sang for family members and listened to her father’s record collection of old vinyl recordings, like Mississippi John Hurt and Lightning Hopkins. Raised as a Catholic, she found little inspiration in the church choir, and so attended predominantly African-American Baptist churches, feeling the music was “less repressed and more like a celebration of God.” She has played in bands since the age of 13. At the age of 18, she formed her first all-original group, The Smokin’ Section, in the nearby town of Scituate, Massachusetts.

Tedeschi attended the Berklee College of Music where she sang in a Gospel choir. She performed show tunes on the Spirit of Boston and received her Bachelor of Music degree in musical composition and performance at age 20. During that time, she began sitting in on blues jams at local venues and immersed herself in the Boston music scene.

Tedeschi formed the Susan Tedeschi Band in 1994, featuring Tom Hambridge and Adrienne Hayes. In 1995 her then boyfriend, Boston musician Tim Gearan taught Tedeschi how to play blues guitar. It was then she really began to hone her skills on the instrument.

In 1999, Tedeschi played several dates in the all-woman traveling festival, the Lilith Fair, organized by Sarah McLachlan. Throughout 1998 and 1999 she toured extensively throughout the United States and drew larger crowds.

Eventually Tedeschi was opening for John Mellencamp, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, The Allman Brothers Band, Taj Mahal and Bob Dylan. In 2000, Just Won’t Burn reached Gold record status for sales of 500,000 in the United States, rare for a blues production. She recorded two tracks with Double Trouble band members Chris Layton and Tommy Shannon for their album.

She opened for The Rolling Stones in 2003 and played in huge venues, gaining national exposure. Somewhat surprisingly, the gig wasn’t financially lucrative. According to Tedeschi,
“They pay, but it’s not great. I don’t make any money ’cause I’ve got to pay all my sidemen. I’ll be lucky if I break even.”
In 2004, Tedeschi was featured on the PBS show Austin City Limits, flanked by William Green, on Hammond organ, Jason Crosby, playing keyboards, violin, and vocals, bassist Ron Perry, and Jeff Sipe, on drums. The performance was extremely well received.

Susan Tedeschi’s voice has been described as a blend of Bonnie Raitt and Janis Joplin, which she maintains is not surprising given that both have been her influences. Her guitar playing is influenced by Buddy Guy, Johnny “Guitar” Watson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie King and Doyle Bramhall II.

In 2001, she married Allman Brothers Band slide guitarist Derek Trucks, who is bandleader and lead guitarist of The Derek Trucks Band.

Tedeschi, with her powerful vocals and Trucks on guitar complement one another, and have toured together frequently under the name “Soul Stew Revival”. This includes the members of The Derek Trucks Band, the members of Susan Tedeschi’s band, and other musicians who travelled with them, including Trucks’ younger brother, drummer Duane Trucks. In 2008, they added a three-piece horn section.

In 2010, both Susan Tedeschi and her husband Derek Trucks announced a hiatus for their respective solo bands, and formed a new group called Tedeschi Trucks Band. The group performed at a number of festivals including Eric Clapton’s Crossroads Guitar Festival, Fuji Rock Festival and others. Unlike their previous collaborative project – Derek Trucks & Susan Tedeschi’s Soul Stew Revival – the Tedeschi Trucks Band focuses on writing and performing original material, and is the focus of both Trucks and Tedeschi for the foreseeable future.

http://www.susantedeschi.com/

KT broke into the public eye with a 2004 live solo performance of her song “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” on Later… with Jools Holland. She has enjoyed commercial and critical success since, picking up three nominations before winning a BRIT Award, and a Grammy Award nomination. She is also the recipient of an Ivor Novello Award.

Throughout Tunstall’s 20s, she played in Indie music bands including Elia Drew and Tomoko. She focused on songwriting, as well as performing with members of the fledgling Fence Collective. KT Tunstall had lived with Gordon Anderson, (The Beta Band, and The Aliens), whom the song “Funnyman”, on the album Drastic Fantastic, is about. She toured with the Klezmer band Oi Va Voi, and stayed with them while they were making their album, Laughter Through Tears.

British label Relentless Records heard about Tunstall through their scouts and quickly put forward an independent offer.However, Tunstall had decided to sign with a US major, and initially passed up the offer. That deal did not work out and so she eventually decided to go with Relentless.

Although he recognized the potential in the quality of her voice and songs, Relentless co-founder Shabs Jobanputra’s assessment was that she “wasn’t ready yet” and so together with her manager, Jobanputra discussed “the process of how we saw her happening and how we would work, why we thought the songs were great, why we thought she was great, and why it could really work if we took enough time.” After the signing, a lot of time was spent developing certain songs and honing her live performance before she was ready for release.

Her début album, Eye to the Telescope, was released in late 2004. Tunstall’s style of music varies from folk to pop. In Edinburgh and St Andrews, she played in a band called Red Light Stylus, which was regarded as one of the better bands to emerge from the limited Fife scene.

Tunstall’s first appearance of note was a solo performance of her blues song “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” on Later… with Jools Holland. The performance was notable as she had only 24 hours to prepare after scheduled performer Nas cancelled. Her performance caught the eye of many viewers, although she had previously performed it on French television only some weeks before, upstaging more established acts such as The Cure, Embrace, and The Futureheads; she then went on to top the post-show poll on the website for that episode.

Shortly after the Later appearance, Eye to the Telescope was re-released and shot up the British charts, eventually peaking at (on its first release it had entered at #73); it was nominated for the 2005 Mercury Music Prize. It was released in the U.S. on 7 February 2006.

“Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” was one of the most successful singles and most radio-played songs of 2005 in the United Kingdom. On the UK Singles Charts, the single made number twenty-eight on the charts and on the US Billboard Hot 100, charted at number twenty. The next release from the album in the United Kingdom was “Other Side of the World” whilst “Suddenly I See” was released in the United States and used in the opening credits of the film The Devil Wears Prada. Further singles released from the album were “Under the Weather” and “Another Place to Fall” which were also successful.

Tunstall’s North American break came when American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee contacted her asking to use “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” as her choice for a Billboard-themed week. At the time, the song was #79 on the Billboard charts. Tunstall had not been shy with her opinions regarding shows like Idol saying “The major problem I have is that it’s completely controlled… they’re told what to say. They’re told how to sing.” She chose to license the song as she felt that “no one on that show told Katharine McPhee to sing my song because no one knew it”. Tunstall’s belief was correct—the song was suggested to McPhee by Billboard columnist and author Fred Bronson. The song immediately jumped to #23 on the Billboard charts the week following McPhee’s performance. She has later said “My status as a musician in America is pretty much cemented by Katharine McPhee, which is really interesting and funny for me because I’ve never been polite about how I feel about shows like that.”

http://www.kttunsall.com

Corin is a singer and guitarist, best known for her work with rock band Sleater-Kinney.In the early 1990s, Tucker attended Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, where she studied film, political economy, and social change. Although Sleater-Kinney was formed in Olympia, and later relocated to Portland, Oregon, Tucker still describes herself as “a small-town girl” from Eugene, Oregon. Before forming Sleater-Kinney, Tucker played in Heartless Martin with Becca Albee of Excuse 17. Heartless Martin would release one EP, entitled Tonight.

Tucker was also a founding member of Heavens to Betsy, an influential Riot Grrrl band, which recorded a split single with Bratmobile, and a number of singles for independent record labels. They frequently played shows with Excuse 17, and the two bands both appeared on the compilation LP Free to Fight. Heavens to Betsy would release one album, Calculated, in 1993.

After Heavens to Betsy split, Tucker formed Sleater-Kinney with Excuse 17 member Carrie Brownstein and friend Lora McFarlane. She sang lead vocals and played second guitar to Brownstein’s lead. Tucker released seven albums with Sleater-Kinney over the span of 11 years before going on hiatus in 2006. According to Brownstein in March 2010, Sleater-Kinney may reunite and release an album of new material within the next 5 years.

During her time with Sleater-Kinney, Tucker worked on a side project, Cadallaca, with Sarah Dougher and sts of The Lookers. In 1998, Cadallaca released their first album, introducing Cadallaca. They released an additional EP on Kill Rock Stars, Out West, in 2000.

In April 2010 Tucker announced she was recording a solo album for Kill Rock Stars to be released in October 2010. Working along Tucker on her solo album was Unwound’s Sara Lund and Golden Bears’ Seth Lorinczi. According to Tucker, the album would be a “middle-aged mom record”. [3] The album, entitled 1,000 Years was released on October 5, 2010.
Tucker toured on both U.S. coasts to support the 1,000 Years album, in addition to dates in other parts of the country. On May 3, 2011, Corin opened for M. Ward at the Crystal Ballroom, in Portland, Oregon.

www.killrockstars.com/artists/viewartist.php?id=2631

Ruyter has been the Lead Guitar Player of the band Nashville Pussy since 1996, with her husband the singer Blaine Cartwright, and is known for her guitar solos and live performances.
She was named in the Elle list of “12 Greatest Female Electric Guitarists” in 2009.

She spent her youth in Vancouver, in a family that appreciated a wide variety of music including rock’n'roll (Led Zeppelin, David Bowie, Frank Zappa, …). Beginning with piano at age three, she started the guitar at about 8–9 years, referring to the repertoire of Simon & Garfunkel in particular, her parents offered her the first guitar at the end of her primary schooling. In her teens she appreciated bands like the Ramones, Motörhead, Slayer, Metallica, Plasmatics, KISS, Aerosmith, Ted Nugent …. But the main female influences are embodied by Nancy Wilson of Heart and Wendy O. Williams. After High school she moved to Regina where she attended the University of Saskatchewan and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

http://www.nashvillepussy.com

Lynn Carey Saylor’s greatest passion in life is that of a songwriter.
On her modern Pop/Rock CD, “YOU LIKE IT CLEAN”, Lynn tackles such weighty subjects as racial tolerance (on her award winning song “If We Believe” featuring BRIAN MAY of QUEEN) and drunk driving (on the emotional heavy rock ballad “I Wasn’t A Friend”), but never seems to be preaching to you. Her songwriting style is one of thoughtful lyrics, expressive melodies, big dramatic chorus hooks, lush background harmonies and full bodied instrumentation,
set off by modern production. Lynn has received many accolades and “Honorable Mention” nods for her songwriting, including having had the honor of her song “102 (Songs About You)” being named one of 14 finalist songs in the Country genre of the 2008 International Songwriting Competition among 15,500 total entries to the prestigious year-long competition.

http://www.lynncareysaylor.com

Amy Schugar – An artist whose time has come…

Before working with Michael Schenker and getting Japanese Record Deal, Amy Schugar had been developing her skills as a songwriter, arranger, singer and guitarist. Amy seemed to come from a musical background from the start. Her God Mother is the very famous Amalia Mendoza and her Mother was a famous Bullfighter in the 50′s and singer named Carla Lee. Carla Lee is also featured in a book called “Women and the Bullring” by Murial Feiner.

A chance meeting with Mr. Schenker (UFO, Scorpions, MSG) while attending an Eric Johnson Concert Amy was noticed by Mr. Schenker as she was singing and playing Eric’s 57-59 Stratocaster on the side of the stage. Michael was impressed with what he heard and saw, and the two began their songwriting collaboration. The duo recorded the album “Under Construction”, featuring Schenker’s soulful guitar playing and Amy’s magical voice. The Recent Release is Sold in Japan and signed on Avalon Records and includes a bonus track. The album can also be found on Amy’s Home Page at http://Amyschugar.com and on CD BABY. Amy was a special guest with MSG on a Fall/Winterÿtour, playing songs of Michaels/MSG, while showcasing Amy’s guitar skills and the Schugar/Schenker album.

Amy has received many endorsement deals with great companies like Bestelectronics GuitarCable.com, Floyd Rose Tremolo Systems, D’Addario Strings, Crate Amps, Seymour Duncan, Fernandez Sustainer’s and Robert Keeley Electronics , Daisy Rock Guitars and is featured in countless music trade magazines and internet webzines. Amy got great Interviews in GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE and BURRNS MAGAZINE of Japan. Amy continues to write songs consistent with her bluesy melodic Rock and Roll style.

http://www.amyschugar.com

Rynata’s ambition is to ‘take the listener on a journey’: “I will use whatever it takes to get my vision across. Besides, I love so many different styles of music, that I can never stay with just one thing. People think of me as a ‘shredder’ and yes, I love that more than anything. Sometimes though… they don’t realize that I have studied and played many other genres of music. Blues, Funk, Jazz, Country, Classical, Reggae, it is all fascinating to me and how the guitar is applied. No one-dimensional guitar playing here!

I spent a few years as a ‘hired gun’ with all sorts of cover bands across the country and let me tell you, THAT honed my skills. All styles, from lounge to jazz to country, rock, rcokabilly, metal, you name it. I always love a good hook. The task is to combine the melodic with the shredding with the vision and the digital world.

When I started teaching, it all took on a whole new dimension. You know.. a good player does not necessarily make a good teacher. Explaining the process of music and how it relates to the guitar is quite the challenge. I take this process quite seriously. I don’t just ‘usher’ my students through some mechanical exercises or lessons. On the contrary. I want to see the ‘lightbulbs’ go off in someone’s head when they finally get it. And by doing that, I always learn something new too. Even a 9 year old can have a perspective on the same old theme that makes me go: Aha.. kinda neat how he put it.

My main focus, however, remains with recording material that I feel is the best I have to offer. The plan in 2011 is to release several collections of music styles and tributes to legends like Miles Davis, The Beatles and a few others. Plus, of course Pure, Unadultered, Original, Shredding Stuff I’m known for. It’s a huge undertaking and I’m still mapping out the details.”

http://www.shredmistress.com

Janet Robin can be defined in a single word: musician.

Many people attempt to make music, but few earn that illustrious title. Those in this business reserve that label for the rare individuals who consistently demonstrate a high level of talent, perseverance, taste and sensitivity over a period of time. To these people making music is not simply a pastime; it is a matter of blood and guts. That a serious addiction to making music runs through Robin’s veins is made clear from a quick review of her career.

A Southern California native, Robin’s musical education began the moment she met her guitar teacher, Randy Rhoads (Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne). Under Rhoads’ tutelage, Robin became an ace six-string player and, while still in high school, parlayed this education into a position as the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band Precious Metal. Discovered by Rodney Bingenheimer of the legendary L.A. rock radio station KROQ, Precious Metal was soon signed to Polygram Records. Later moving to Chameleon/Capitol Records, Precious Metal released several albums, wrote with Heart, Poison and Cheap Trick, toured extensively and gained accolades from both fans and critics alike.

Following the demise of Precious Metal, Robin joined Fleetwood Mac guitarist Lindsey Buckingham’s band in support of his 1992 solo album, Out of the Cradle (Reprise Records). A consummate pro, working with Buckingham profoundly influenced Robin’s guitar playing, singing and songwriting, as well as her general approach to the music business. This new direction led to Robin’s 1998 debut solo album, Open the Door. Released on her own label, Little Sister Records, Buzz Weekly described the CD as “smart, savvy, fuzzy, hooky pop.” She has seen songs from this album featured in film and television; most notably on the then popular T.V. show Felicity. Ever the road warrior, she supported the disc by opening for such acts as Heart, Loudon Wainwright III and the Smithereens, steadily building a wide fan base. Robin has since continued to tour heavily and averages as many as 150 dates per year.

Encouraged by the warm reception of her debut, Robin released three more albums on Little Sister including the acoustic After the Flood which was recorded in Laurel Canyon and features “Beautiful Freak” which has since become a fan favorite and one of Robin’s defining songs. Also among these records is 2007’s Days of Summer. Recorded with producers David Bianco (Tom Petty, Teenage Fanclub, Mick Jagger) and Steve Baughman (Eminem, 50 Cent), this acoustic based EP is the work of an artist willing and able to explore the poignant emotional states of adulthood while avoiding the stereotypes brought on by most acoustic singer-songwriters. Working on the album was an experience that greatly affected her style and led Robin to many new and exciting opportunities including multiple tours of the Czech Republic.

http://www.janetrobin.com

It would be almost impossible to have never heard of The CRAMPS. Their career has been the stuff of legend. Dangerously bizarre but most of all cool, The CRAMPS represent everything that is truly reprehensible about rock’n’roll. Founding members Lux Interior (the psycho-sexual Elvis/Werewolf hybrid from hell) and guitar-slinging soul-mate Poison Ivy (the ultimate bad girl vixen) are the architects of a wicked sound that distills a cross of swamp water, moonshine and nitro down to a dangerous and unstable musical substance. Their cultural impact has spawned a legion of devil cults and dance-floor catfights, and created in its wake a cavalcade of cave-stomping imitators. As punk rock pioneers in the late seventies, they cut their teeth on the stages of CBGB and Max’s Kansas City and recorded their first record at Sam Phillips legendary Sun Studios, funded mainly by Ivy’s income as a dominatrix in NYC. They coined the now popular term “psychobilly” on their 1976 gig posters. Their hair-raising live performances are still a total, no-holds-barred rock’n’roll assault. After a quarter century of mayhem, they’re too far gone to even consider any other course.

http://www.thecramps.com

Phair’s entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there. After being unsuccessful as an artist in San Francisco and moving back to Chicago, Phair began writing songs and recording homemade tapes under the name Girly Sound, and supported herself by selling her charcoal drawings on the streets of Wicker Park. She became part of the alternative music scene in Chicago and became friends with Material Issue and Urge Overkill, two of Chicago’s upstart bands to go national in the early 1990s, as well as Brad Wood and John Henderson, head of Feel Good All Over, an independent label in Chicago.

1992–2003: Exile in Guyville, Whip-Smart & Whitechocolatespaceegg
After asking Wood who the “coolest” indie label was, Phair called up Gerard Cosloy, co-president of Matador Records, in 1992 and asked him if he would put out her record. Coincidentally, Cosloy had just read a review of Girly Sound in Chemical Imbalance that very day and told Phair to send him a tape. Phair sent him a tape of six Girly Sound songs. Cosloy recalls: “The songs were amazing. It was a fairly primitive recording, especially compared to the resulting album. The songs were really smart, really funny, and really harrowing, sometimes all at the same time. . . . I liked it a lot and played it for everybody else. We usually don’t sign people we haven’t met, or heard other records by, or seen as performers. But I had a hunch, and I called her back and said O.K.” Cosloy offered a $3,000 advance, and Phair began working on a single, which turned into the eighteen songs of Exile in Guyville.

Exile in Guyville was produced by Phair and Brad Wood, and released in 1993. The album received uniformly excellent reviews. The album received significant critical acclaim for its very blunt, honest lyrics and for the music itself, a hybrid of indie rock and pop. The album established Phair’s penchant for exploring sexually explicit lyrics such as in the song “Flower”. The release of Phair’s second album received substantial media attention and an advertising blitz. Whip-Smart debuted at #27 in 1994 and “Supernova”, the first single, became a Top Ten modern rock hit, and the video was frequently featured on MTV. Phair also landed the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine with the headline “A Rock Star is Born.”

http://www.lizphair.com

Teena Marie was an American singer, songwriter and producer. She was known as Tina before taking the stage name Teena Marie, and rose to prominence in the late 70s and 80s, striking a musical and personal partnership with funk legend Rick James. It was then that she acquired the nickname of Lady Tee (sometimes spelled as Lady T), given to her by James.

She was known for her distinctive soulful vocals which initially caused many listeners to believe she was African-American. Her success in R&B and soul and loyalty to these genres would earn her the title Ivory Queen of Soul. She played rhythm guitar, keyboards and congas. She also wrote, produced, sang and arranged virtually all of her songs since her 1980 release, Irons in the Fire, which she later said was her favorite album. She released 13 studio albums, six of which went platinum on the US R&B chart. Two of her albums went platinum, and six altogether were gold.

Marie’s biggest hit came in 1984 with her single ‘Lovergirl,’ which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

http://www.teenamarie.com

Kat Marco has been rocking on vocals and guitar for several decades writing and producing original compositions. She has worked with some of the best musicians, producers, and engineers in the world. Most notably Co-Producing ‘Maiden Voyage’ at Morrisound with Steve Wacholz of Savatage, and Jim Morris, with bassist Jeff Berlin, drummer Mark Prator, Grammy nominated Keyboardist Kent Smith, Jim and Tom Morris engineering. Michael Schenker, Genya Ravan, Jim DeVito, Rod O’Quinn (bassist for Pat Travers), and Jon Maye are only a few of the music business professionals that Kat has either worked with or learned from. She now has her own recording studio where she writes, engineers and produces her songs performing all vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, and programming drums. Her music is rock, hard rock and metal. Her influences are Pat Benatar, Ynqwie Malmsteen, and a wide range of singers and musicians including those from mainstream to extreme metal.

http://katmarco.com

When Georgian-born Katie Melua signed with Mike Batt’s independent record label Dramatico in September 2002, no-one could have imagined that by the release of her third album, ‘Pictures’, in 2007, she would be the biggest-selling UK-based, female artist in the world. Her first two albums, ‘Call Off The Search’ and ‘Piece By Piece’ both became international number ones with singles such as ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’ and ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ becoming airplay hits around the world.

The story was to continue with the album ‘Pictures’ securing Katie’s place as one of Britain’s most successful artists of the new millennium. Katie was on an exciting, record-breaking rollercoaster ride involving several massive world tours, numerous awards and many special moments – like playing on stage for Nelson Mandela with the band Queen, dining at Buckingham Palace with the real Queen, becoming a British citizen, performing a gig at the bottom of the North Sea, walking the Great Wall of China and playing at London’s vast O2 Arena.

The release of ‘Pictures’ preceded a natural break in Mike and Katie’s writing relationship. “We knew it was the last album we would write together, at least for a while”, said Katie at the time. “We both felt three was enough and I need to go and further explore my identity as an artist, and Mike has other projects he wants to do, too. These albums have very much been a double act – a trilogy of collaborations if you like.

http://www.katiemelua.com

A singer, composer and lyricist of exceptional talent and unmatched influence, Joni Mitchell has crafted an extraordinary body of work spanning more than 40 years and is widely regarded as one of the brightest musical lights of recent generations. Fans, fellow musicians and critics have delighted in an ever-evolving creative journey, with songs both universal and profoundly personal. Her music has become a standard to which others are compared and which many aspire to copy, but its inventiveness and ineffable spirit make it decidedly her own. Explore the musical magnificence of Joni Mitchell.

http://www.jonimitchell.com

Shelby Lynne was destined to be a singer. Born a singer. She was raised in rural Alabama by musical parents who stressed individuality and the importance of standing apart from others. A terrible student, but avid reader, she loved the written lyric and a beautiful melody. Around the house she was surrounded by country music from the past, Hank Williams, Dottie West, Waylon Jennings, as well as old 45′s that belonged to her parents stacked high with most all Everly Brothers, Beatles, Elvis. It was the old pop music that really turned her soul on. The harmonies that came so naturally to her from such an early age stemmed from her mother, a naturally gifted singer, who guided the diamond in the rough talent on rides to school on freezing Alabama mornings with her younger sister Allison. They sang three part harmonies to pass the time, which brought the threesome so close in life, and in music. The Mills Brothers, Ink Spots, Kay Starr, Everly’s and anything that needed a harmony – this was the car in which to find it.

Shelby started playing guitar by age seven in order to accompany herself on these songs. Her father was a weekend guitar player in bands and bars and taught her a three-chord progression in E, and from there the hunger for more was so intense she learned the rest on her own. By high school graduation, her mind was made up and a trip to Nashville was inevitable. Married to her high school sweetheart with dreams of country music success in mind, they packed and moved to Music City where she met veteran songwriter Bob Tubert. With only a cassette demo in hand, he took a chance and played the tape for the TV producer of a long since gone program on the Nashville Network called “Nashville Now,” hosted by Ralph Emory. After the performance, she was offered a record deal by CBS Records where legendary producer Billy Sherrill came out of semi retirement to produce her first record. It included a duet with country legend George Jones, who praised Lynne’s ability to “own” a song at such an early age.

After five albums in Nashville, Lynne was hungry for a change from the Nashville system and searched for a record producer who wanted to collaborate on a project. She enlisted Bill Bottrell, who had produced for Michael Jackson, Madonna, and had big success with Sheryl Crow on the highly successful Tuesday Night Music Club. The album, I Am Shelby Lynne, was recorded on the Northern California coast in 1998.

With the critical success and recognition of I Am Shelby Lynne, she was awarded the Best New Artist GRAMMY® in 2000 – after nearly 13 years in the business. Love, Shelby was released in 2001, followed by a pair of intimate, self-produced albums – Identity Crisis (2003) and Suit Yourself (2005). She made her acting debut in 2005, playing Johnny Cash’s mother in the Fox Searchlight motion picture Walk the Line. Just a Little Lovin’, her critically acclaimed tribute to Dusty Springfield, was released in 2008.

http://www.shelbylynne.com

Patty Larkin grew up in a musical and artistic family in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Descended from a long line of Irish American singers and taletellers, her mother was a painter, her sisters both musicians. She learned at a young age to appreciate the beauty and magic of the arts. She began classical piano studies at age 7, and became swept up in the sounds of pop and folk in the 60s, teaching herself the guitar and experimenting with songwriting in high school. An English major, Larkin sang throughout her high school and college career, starting out in coffeehouses in Oregon and San Francisco. Upon graduation from the University of Oregon, she moved to Boston, Massachusetts and devoted herself to music, busking on the streets of Cambridge and studying jazz guitar at Berklee College of Music and with Boston area jazz guitarists.

Her recording career began in 1985 with Philo/Rounder Records where she recorded Step Into The Light, I’m Fine, and Live In The Square. In 1990, she signed to Windham Hill’s new High Street label and delivered 4 highly praised releases: Tango, Angels Running, Strangers World and Perishable Fruit. After Windham Hill was sold to BMG, Patty moved to Vanguard Records and released Agogo Live, Regrooving The Dream, Red=Luck and Watch The Sky. The latter was a NY Times Critic Choice.

In 2010, Patty celebrated her 25th year of recording with 25, a stripped down retrospective of 25 love songs with 25 featured guests (Road Narrows Records/Signature Sounds).

Patty Larkin produced La Guitara, a compilation of international women guitarists challenging the notion that there are no great women guitarists. She has also performed on numerous compilations and her songs have been featured in the following films: “Regrooving the Dream” in Evolution (Dreamworks); “Good Thing” in Random Hearts (Columbia Pictures); and “Coming Up For Air” and “Tenderness on the Block” in Sliding Doors (Miramax).
Patty Larkin is the recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Berklee College of Music. She has also been honored by Boston’s Mayor Thomas Menino with “Patty Larkin Appreciation Day” for her career in music and philanthropic contributions.

http://www.pattylarkin.com

Love is the lead vocalist, lyricist, and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Hole, which she formed in 1989, and is an actress who acclaimed roles in The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996) and Man on the Moon (1999).In the early 1990s, she also became known for popularising the fashion style “kinderwhore”, characterized by torn babydoll dresses and smeared red lipstick. Throughout her career, Love’s wild stage antics and subversive feminist attitude have polarized audiences and critics, with Rolling Stone once calling her “the most controversial woman in the history of rock.”

Her first musical project was in the early 1980s with an on-and-off band called Sugar Babydoll, and then she had a brief stint as lead singer of Faith No More. She started her career as an actress with minor roles in Alex Cox films, most notably Sid and Nancy (1986), but turned her focus to music and moved to Los Angeles in 1989 where she formed Hole with guitarist Eric Erlandson. Originally influenced by noise rock and no wave music, the band went on to release several successful albums, most notably Live Through This (1994) and Celebrity Skin (1998). Love received intense media attention over her 1992 marriage to Kurt Cobain with whom she has a daughter, Frances Bean Cobain. Love had a brief solo career, releasing America’s Sweetheart (2004) and in 2009, Love reformed Hole with new members, releasing a fourth album, Nobody’s Daughter (2010).

http://www.courtneylove.com

By the time she nineteen, Jones was living in Los Angeles, waiting tables and occasionally playing music in out of the way coffee houses and bars. All the while, she was developing her unique aesthetic: music that was sometimes spoken, often beautifully sung, and while emotionally accessible, she was writing lyrics as taut and complex as any by the great American poet, Elizabeth Bishop. In her voice and songs, we saw smoky stocking seams, love being everything but requited. And it was during these years that Jones’ song, “Easy Money,” caught the attention of one musician and then the music industry. The song was recorded by Lowell George, the founder of the band, Little Feat. He used it on his solo album, “Thanks, I’ll Eat It Here.” Warner Brothers auditioned Jones and quickly signed her to the label.

Her debut on Warners, Rickie Lee Jones, released in 1979, won the Grammy for Best New Artist. She was hailed by one critic as a “highly touted new pop-jazz-singer-songwriter” and another critic as “one of the best–if not the best–artist of her generation.” In addition to the album’s brilliant songs–including the exceptional “On Saturday Afternoons in 1963,” the haunting “Last Chance Texaco,” and the popular “Chuck E’s in Love”–Jones was becoming a figure whose life was bearing a great deal of emulation by young women and men who found, in her deep and personal and idiosyncratic life and work, a model for the new generation of hipster: She was heralded as a trendsetter in dress (beret, subdresses, heels) and in lifestyle, given her by then famous relationship with two boys she helped to make famous, too: Chuck E. Weiss, a Los Angeles character, and the singer and songwriter Tom Waits, about whom Rickie has said: “We walk around the same streets, and I guess it’s primarily a jazz-motivated situation for both of us. We’re living on the jazz side of life.”
http://www.rickieleejones.com

She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll“, which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular recordings including “Crimson and Clover“, “I Hate Myself for Loving You“, “Do You Want to Touch Me“, “Light of Day“, “Love Is All Around“, “Bad Reputation“, and “Little Liar”.
Her musical and songwriting approach is heavily influenced by the hard-edged, hard beat-driven rhythms common to many rock bands of her native Philadelphia, often featuring lyrics surrounding themes of lost love, criticisms of insincerity, the quest for authenticity, as well as the struggles and resolutions of the American middle class. She has three albums that have been certified Platinum or Gold, and she has been referred to as the “Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll” many times during her career.

Jett is a founding member of The Runaways along with drummer Sandy West. Micki Steele (who was later replaced), Jackie Fox, Lita Ford, and Cherie Currie completed the line-up. While Currie initially fronted the band, Jett shared some lead vocals, played rhythm guitar and wrote or co-wrote a lot of the band’s material along with Ford, West and Currie. The band recorded five LPs, with Live In Japan becoming one of the biggest-selling imports in U.S. and U.K. history. The band toured around the world and some of their opening acts included Cheap Trick, Van Halen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

In the spring of 1979, Jett was in England pursuing a solo career. She recorded three songs there with Sex Pistols‘ Paul Cook and Steve Jones (one of which was an early version of The Arrows‘ “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll“).
Later that year, she returned to Los Angeles, where she began fulfilling an obligation of the Runaways’ to complete a film—loosely based on the band’s career—called We’re All Crazee Now! Three actresses required to stand in for her departed band members included the iconic cult star Rainbeaux Smith, who was also a rock drummer. While working on the project, Jett met songwriter and producer Kenny Laguna, who was hired by Toby Mamis to help Jett with writing some tracks for the film. They became friends and decided to work together and she relocated to Long Beach, New York where Kenny Laguna was based. The plug was pulled on the project halfway through shooting with Jett being ill, but in 1984, after Jett had become a major star, producers looked for a way to make use of the footage from the incomplete film. Bits of the original footage of Jett were used in a completely different project, an underground movie called DuBeat-Eo, never commercially released, produced by Alan Sacks.

Jett and Laguna entered The Who’s Ramport Studios with the latter at the helm. Jett’s self-titled solo debut was released in Europe on May 17, 1980. In the US, after the album was rejected by 23 major labels, Jett and Laguna released it independently on their new Blackheart Records label, which they started with Laguna’s daughter’s college savings. Laguna remembers, “We couldn’t think of anything else to do, but print up records ourselves”, and that’s how Blackheart Records started.

http://greatesthits.joanjett.com/

Lemon’s interest in music was inspired by soul-stirring guitar work from a Pink Floyd album. Her inspiration to express herself through music has since become Lemon’s one desire that lives down to her soul.

Dissatisfied with the guitars available to her, Lemon built her first guitar in 1989. Starting with hand drawn sketches she utilized computer aided design to create a guitar that fit her style and sound. Lemon then patented her guitar design.

Lemon assembled a band which she called Experienced and became known as “the female Jimi Hendrix.” Lemon James performances began in 1994 at open mics nights in clubs throughout Detroit and the metro area. At that time Lemon’s performances consisted exclusively of Jimi Hendrix covers. She soon became known for her vibrant and explosive performances along with her 60′s attire.

With the need to express her own creative thoughts and concepts, Lemon began writing original material in the Summer of 1994. This led to the release of her debut album in December of 1995. “I AM A VOODOO CHILD” consists of nine original songs as well as two Jimi Hendrix pieces; all recorded and mixed at The Disc Recording Studio in Eastpoint, MI. Distribution of the album included Detroit area record shops, and Harmony Houses.

Continued musical growth led Lemon back to the recording studio in 1998-99 which resulted in the culmination of a full length CD titled “LIVIN IN THE SUN”. Professional recording and mixing took place at Studio A in Dearborn, MI. Lemon then took the mixed product to Georgetown Masters in Nashville TN where she enlisted the mastering expertise of Denny Purcell. The completed work is now available throughout Detroit area and iTunes.
http://www.lemonjames.com

Acclaimed for her extraordinary lyricism, technique and versatility, multiple GRAMMY Award winner Sharon Isbin has been hailed as “the pre-eminent guitarist of our time”. She is also the winner of Guitar Player magazine’s “Best Classical Guitarist” award, the Madrid Queen Sofia and Toronto Competitions, and was the first guitarist ever to win the Munich Competition. She has given sold-out performances throughout the world in the greatest halls including New York’s Carnegie and Avery Fisher Halls, Boston’s Symphony Hall, Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center, London’s Barbican and Wigmore Halls, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Paris’ Châtelet, Vienna’s Musikverein, Munich’s Herkulessaal, Madrid’s Teatro Real, and many others.

She has served as Artistic Director/Soloist of festivals she created for Carnegie Hall and the Ordway Music Theatre (St. Paul), her own series at New York’s 92nd Street Y, and the acclaimed national radio series Guitarjam. She is a frequent guest on national radio programs including All Things Considered and Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. She has been profiled on television throughout the world, including CBS Sunday Morning and the A&E Network, and was a featured guest on Showtime Television’s international hit series The L Word.

On September 11, 2002, Ms. Isbin performed at Ground Zero for the internationally televised memorial. In November 2009, she performed a concert at the White House by invitation of the President and First Lady. She performed as featured soloist in the soundtrack for Martin Scorsese’s Academy Award winning film, The Departed. She has been profiled in periodicals from People to Elle, The Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, as well as on the cover of more than 40 magazines.

http://www.sharonisbin.com

Christine Ellen “Chrissie” Hynde is best known as the leader of the rock/new wave band the Pretenders. She is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist, and has been the only constant member of the band throughout its history.

In 1978, Hynde made a demo tape and gave it to Dave Hill, owner of the label Real Records. Hill stepped in to manage her career, and began by paying off the back rent owed on her rehearsal room in Covent Garden, London. Hill also advised Hynde to take her time and get a band together. In the spring of 1978, Hynde met Pete Farndon (bass guitar / vocals), and they selected a band consisting of James Honeyman-Scott (guitar / vocals / keyboards), and Martin Chambers (drums / vocals / percussion), put the name The Pretenders on the group, inspired by the song “The Great Pretender” by The Platters. They recorded a demo tape (including “Precious”, “The Wait” and a Kinks cover, “Stop Your Sobbing”), handed it to Hynde’s friend Nick Lowe, produced a single (“Stop Your Sobbing/The Wait”) and performed their first gigs in a club in Paris. The single was released in January 1979 and hit the Top 30 in UK. The band’s early success was followed by their first gigs in Britain where they earned wide critical acclaim. Later that spring (1979), The Pretenders recorded their eponymous first album and hit the charts in UK and US with the song “Brass in Pocket“. The band traded on the success of this first album (for Sire Records) for some time, as it wasn’t released around the world until well into 1979 (some charts consider it the best album of 1980, for example).

http://www.thepretenders.com/

Juliana was born in Maine and grew up in the Boston suburb of Duxbury. She acquired a love of rock music during the 1970s, having been introduced by a babysitter to the music of the Los Angeles punk rock band X, which proved a life-changing experience. She was also attracted to the music of more mainstream artists like Olivia Newton-John and The Police, perhaps explaining the contrast in her later music between sweet, melodic “pop” songs and more hard rock oriented material. Visualizing herself as a singer since her high school years, Hatfield sang in school choirs and briefly played in a cover band called The Squids, which played Rush songs.
Hatfield began her solo career following the Blake Babies‘ breakup in 1991, releasing her first solo album (Hey Babe) in 1992. The album was one of the highest selling independent albums of 1992. Hatfield recruited a rhythm section consisting of former Moving Targets and Bullet LaVolta drummer Todd Phillips, and Thudpucker bassist Dean Fisher, and thus becoming The Juliana Hatfield Three.

Hatfield achieved alterna-rock stardom with the release of 1993′s Become What You Are (recorded under the group name The Juliana Hatfield Three). Several songs from the album received regular airplay on major North American rock stations, with Hatfield’s song “My Sister” becoming the biggest hit of her career, with a #1 placing on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and the video becoming an MTV staple. Another one of her songs (“Spin the Bottle”) was used in the soundtrack of the Hollywood film Reality Bites (1994). Hatfield also made the cover of Spin magazine. Hatfield’s popularity coincided with the success, in the mid-1990s, of many other female alternative rock musicians. Although she has always maintained that her gender is of only incidental importance to her music, Hatfield was pleased to have been invited, in 1997, to tour with the first Lilith Fair, a prominent all-female rock festival founded by singer Sarah McLachlan. Hatfield was profiled in a number of girls’ magazines at this time and was embraced by many pre-teen and teenage girls as a role model due to the positive way she addressed serious issues faced by young women in her songs and interviews. About this period she says: “I was never comfortable with the attention. I thought it had come too soon. I hadn’t earned it yet.”She gained notoriety in 1992 for saying that she was still a virgin in her mid-twenties in Interview magazine. In a 1994 interview for the magazine Vox, she said she was surprised by the effect ‘outing’ herself had: “I think there are a lot of people out there who don’t care about sex, but who you never hear from, so I thought I should say it. The magazine I did the interview for is full of beef-cake hunky guys and scantily-clad models, so I thought it would be really funny to say that I didn’t care about sex in a magazine that’s full of sex and beauty – but no one really got the joke.”

In 1995, following the success of Become What You Are she released her followup album, Only Everything, in which she “turned up the volume and the distortion and had a lot of fun”. One reviewer describes it as “a fun, engaging pop album”.The album spawned another alternative radio hit for Hatfield in “Universal Heartbeat“. The video featured Hatfield as an overly demanding aerobics instructor. Prior to the tour for Only Everything, Hatfield released Phillips and brought on Jason Sutter (American Hi-Fi, Chris Cornell, Jack Drag), as well as Ed Slanker (Thudpucker, Tinsel) on 2nd guitar, and Lisa Mednick on keyboards. Two weeks into the tour, Hatfield canceled the tour, which her publicist explained as due to “nervous exhaustion,”[cite this quote] and took a month long break. In her memoir, Hatfield writes that in truth she was suffering from depression severe enough to the point of being suicidal. Hatfield disagreed with the decision not to be upfront about her depression.The drummer was, once again, replaced, this time by Phillips, and touring resumed with Jeff Buckley as the opening act.

http://www.julianahatfield.com/

KATHLEEN HANNA is a New York City-based artist, best known for her groundbreaking performances as a member of the seminal 90′s punk band, Bikini Kill, and her more recent multimedia group, Le Tigre.  She is currently making art, giving lectures and writing a new album with her band ‘The Julie Ruin’.

http://www.kathleenhanna.com/

The old adage, big things come in small packages definitely rings true for the diminutive musical dynamo, Kathryn Grimm.  Small in stature but not talent or drive, Kathryns perseverance has earned her admiration worldwide.

Kathryn was born and bred in Seattle, the most boring place on earth before Grunge.  Inspired by her two older sisters record collections, she began singing and playing guitar at age 13.  She remembers I would sing harmonies to Joni Mitchell for hours.  Not being much of a guitarist, I played the same three chords for years, she thought about a career as a studio engineer after high school.  She was accepted into the University of Washingtons Musical Engineering program and began working part-time in a recording studio.  Before Kathryn could finish her degree, the University program was dissolved due to a lack of funding.   Growing restless with her job, I was treated like a chick; besides, I wanted to be the musician, not the one behind the knobs, she decided to pack her bags and head south.  After saying goodbye to family and friends, she loaded her giant, gold 65 Bonneville with all her worldly possessions along with three friends hitching a ride and soon arrived in Los Angeles ready to make her mark.
Kathryn settled in Hollywood, an extreme place compared to Seattle, where life is improvised.  She enrolled in a one year guitar trade-school, an experience she calls a big waste of money.  I still played the same three chords when I left. Her real musical education came afterwards, when she began playing in a slew of bands.  She recalls, Singing came easier than the guitar.  I eventually learned how to play from the numerous bands I floated in and out of.  Kathryns roller-coaster career as a singer/guitarist was supported by numerous day jobs including everything from waitressing and temp work (the worst), to dancing in videos.  Ive had more jobs than my 70 year old mother.
Her musical experiences were as diverse as her jobs.  She replaced Rosie Flores as guitarist and songwriter for the notorious all-female Screamin Sirens (Restless Records), a country-punk band known for their heavy partying and crazy antics. They thought it was odd that I chose working-out over drinking, but I was just happy to be playing my guitar she recalls.  She soon formed her own band, GROUP THERAPY, who played the local clubs extensively eventually winning the L.A. Rock Award for Best Video.  The band featured legendary Columbia Records artist, Jeff Buckley, backing her on guitar and vocals.  (After his tragic demise in 97, Kathryn was invited to sing for his Memorial at St. Annes Church in Brooklyn along with Marianne Faithful and Elvis Costello.  She refers to that poignant performance as the hardest gig of my life.)  Kathryn went on to write, perform, and record with such artists as Bo Diddley, Tracy G. (of DIO), Michael Bolton and others.

http://www.myspace.com/kathryngrimm/musicKathryn Grimm    

Antigoni Goni’s repertoire truly reflects her world citizenship as well as her love for for all different cultures and civilizations.
Her appetite for unique, inspiring, exciting and adventurous music has created through the years a repertoire that encompasses the “not yet composed” and the already “classic”, the ethnic and the intellectually challenging, the western and the Eastern or even Middle- Eastern, the “not so tonal” and the romantic.
Her repertoire encompasses the world over its continents and through its time periods.

http://www.antigonigoni.com/

At age 11 Lita was given a nylon string guitar and taught herself to play along with her favorite records with alot of encouragement from her parents who made her practise. She went to her first concert to see Black Sabbath with her cousin at age 13 and was totally blown away, deciding then and there that was what she wanted to spend her life playing guitar in a rock band. She continued to play along to her favorites like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Jimi Hendrix and got a job at St Marys Hospital near home heating up patients dinners so she could save up $450 to buy a Gibson SG like her hero Toni Iommi played.

From 1975 Lita was in The Runaways until they folded in late 1979. In that time they released four studio albums and one live album which Lita considers their best. The band toured Europe and America many times. In Japan The Runaways were treated like royalty and it was there they enjoyed great success. Lita was an integral part of The Runaways sound with her already stunning guitar playing at age 16. By their third album Lita was writing her own songs and sung lead on “I’m A Million” from And Now…
In 1983 Lita released her first solo album OUT FOR BLOOD on Mercury Records. At the time she was living with Nikki Sixx from Motley Crue. Unfortunately Mercury didn’t get behind the album and it made no impact on the charts but made everyone sit up and take notice that Lita could play as well as any male. Majority of the songs were written by Lita alone and featured soaring guitar solos played with great feeling and not a flurry of notes which most Metal bands at the time were trying to do. The original artwork on the album cover with Lita dressed in little and holding a bloodied guitar was banned as it was considered too gory and added to the hassles of band members disappearing and managerial problems.

http://www.myspace.com/litaford

Jaye grew up in a musical household and has been playing one instrument or another for as long as she can remember. After years of studying jazz, pop and classical piano, Jaye picked up the guitar at the age of 17 and was instantly hooked.
Within two years Jaye was performing and recording with a local Boston band and practicing 6-8 hours daily. She quit college to devote all her time to playing and became more determined with each day to accomplish something no woman had (at that time) ever done before: to be considered a virtuoso in the genre of rock guitar.

From there the attention snowballed. To date, she’s appeared in over 130 magazines and fanzines across the globe and performed at 7 NAMM shows, 2 Musik Messes in Switzerland, and a similar convention in Spain. When Plaid Dragon disbanded in 1995, Jaye began writing and recording instrumental music and in 1997 released her first independent CD “Infectious Licks”. That CD has received kudos from every publication that’s reviewed it, and is on regular rotation on a number of prog-rock and guitar-based radio shows around the world.

http://www.jayefoucher.com/

Sue Foley is considered to be one of the finest blues/roots artists working today. Born in Canada Sue was signed to the legendary Texas blues record label Antone’s when she was barely out of her teens. There she became a mainstay in the Austin music scene for many years as an accomplished guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. She has spent over eighteen years on the road as bandleader, lead guitar player and manager of her career. In addition to her own shows she has shared the stage and opened up for BB King, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor, George Thorogood, Tom Petty, Joe Cocker and many more. Sue has won dozens of awards for her work including the prestigious Juno Award (Canadian equivalent to the Grammy) for her CD “Love Coming Down”.

http://www.suefoley.com/

http://www.ezina.com

The youngest of two girls born to John and Elizabeth Eldridge, a high school teacher and computer consultant respectively, Melissa grew up in what she later described as a lonely home, where her family offered little in the way of emotional support.
For solace and companionship, Etheridge turned to music, picking up her first guitar at the age of 8. She took lessons, finding refuge in her family’s basement, where she wrote and played her music. When she got older and gained enough courage, Etheridge started playing for friends. Even at a young age, Etheridge wrote songs from the heart, with lyrics that spoke of pain, love and abandonment.

“I learned very early on that I could write truths,” Etheridge later told CNN. “I could write about sadness or anger, where I couldn’t actually speak it.”

At the age of 12, Etheridge began playing with other musicians, largely male country-music groups at local bars around her hometown. Her hoarse voice was evident even then, though, and her concerned parents had her work briefly with a voice coach.

In 1979, the 18-year-old Etheridge realized her dream of moving out of Leavenworth to pursue a career in music. She headed east, to Boston, to study at the famed Berklee College of Music. Playing opportunities awaited her as she quickly got up to speed on the piano bars around the city and started earning a few extra bucks.

School, though, was another matter. After just a year, Etheridge dropped out. Eventually she packed her life into her car and moved to the other coast for a new life in Los Angeles. It wasn’t long before Etheridge again found decent work in the clubs around the city. She had a manager, too, who soon helped her land a desirable five-night-a-week residency at the Executive Suite in Long Beach.

Etheridge’s career lept forward in 1986, when Island Records president Chris Blackwell heard her perform. He signed her a few days later. After an unreleased first effort, she completed her stripped down self-titled debut in just four days. Melissa Etheridge(1988) was an underground hit, and the single, “Bring Me Some Water”, was nominated for a Grammy.

Etheridge has continued to produce lauded studio work. A greatest hits album was put out in 2005, and two years later a record of new material hit stores with the release of The Awakening. That same year, Etheridge was rewarded with an Oscar for her original song, “I Need to Wake Up”, which had been showcased on the soundtrack for Al Gore‘s An Inconvenient Truth. In 2008, Etheridge delivered fans a compilation of holiday songs in A New Thought for Christmas.

http://www.melissaetheridge.com/

Ani DiFranco has written hundreds of songs, played thousands of shows, captured the imaginations of legions of followers, and jammed with folkies, orchestras, rappers, rock and roll hall-of-famers, jazz musicians, poets, pop superstars, storytellers and a martial arts legend. She’s “fixed up a few old buildings” and minimized her carbon footprint before it was trendy – from installing a geothermal heating and cooling system in the renovated church that her label calls home to using organic inks on all the t-shirts she sells. But nothing she’s done in her 18-year career has garnered more attention than a business decision.

Since Ani bucked the major label system in the early-‘90s, opting to release her music on her own terms, the self-described Little Folksinger has been the subject of all kinds of hyperbole. She’s been called “fiercely independent” (Rolling Stone), “inspirational” (All Music Guide), “the ultimate do-it-yourself songwriter” (The New York Times), etc. As the cracks in the music industry get larger and more big-name artists follow Ani’s lead – Radiohead, Madonna and Nine Inch Nails among them – maybe people will just start calling her “smart.”

As important as Righteous Babe Records is to the singer/songwriter/guitarist, she’s more than happy to trust like-minded people with the business and revel in the complete artistic freedom it provides. On her new album, Red Letter Year, she takes more advantage of this freedom than ever before. Conceived, sculpted and refined over the course of two years – a lifetime compared to a typical Ani recording session – the album is an impeccably crafted, multi-layered sonic achievement.

http://www.righteousbabe.com/ani/

Cari Dell, born and raised in Austin, Texas, knows what it takes to compete in the,” Live Music Capitol of the World”. Cari took her first guitar lesson at the age of 12 and has never looked back! Cari fronts her three-piece band with crystal clear vocal and mind blowing guitar work. She is known for her energetic live performances and guitar showmanship. Her electrifying guitar strokes have been compared to such greats as Carlos Santana, Eric Johnson, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. She has a guitar style that is very imaginative and memorable.  Cari’s voice has an innocent, soulful quality that evokes emotion and beauty in each of her songs. Cari is an accomplished lead guitarist and gifted singer songwriter who has developed an electric sound blending her love for melodic Pop-Rock and R&B. ‘Cari was recently awarded the RADIO SIX INTERNATIONAL,”2003 RECORD OF THE YEAR”, in Glasgow, Scotland for her song, “A Thing For Me”. She also received the runner-up honors for her song, “The Trial”. According to RADIO SIX INTERNATIONAL, this is the first time in the history of their station that the same artist received the .. 1 and .. 2 spots!

http://www.caridell.com/

Aspiring to nothing more than a good old-fashioned rock & roll party, the Donnas won a cult following and considerable media attention in the late ’90s after scoring a record deal right out of high school. Early on, they were invariably described as “the Ramones meet the Runaways,” with a definite emphasis on the former (they’d even adopted identical first names as a tribute). But their bratty high-school-delinquent image was clearly indebted to the latter, as their songs concerned themselves mostly with boys, booze, drugs, and hated classmates. As the Donnas grew up and polished their technical abilities, their music evolved into a distinctly female take on cock-rock metal, drawing more from AC/DC, Kiss, and Mötley Crüe than from punk. Some critics praised their cheerfully crude adoption of male sexual bravado; others complained that the band’s music never transcended its vintage influences, and remained suspicious that their naughty-girl packaging was a bigger part of their appeal.

Nonetheless, the Donnas caught the attention of major label Atlantic, who signed them up in late 2001. Launched with a new wave of publicity, the Donnas’ label debut, Spend the Night, arrived in 2002 and became their first album to break into the Top 100 of the pop charts. It also earned them their biggest radio hit to date in the single “Take It Off,” whose video also got some MTV airplay. In the summer of 2003, the Donnas played the main stage on the revived Lollapalooza tour. That September, after a full year and a half of touring and promoting, the girls took a break to rest up.

http://www.thedonnas.com/

Kelley Deal was born 11 minutes before her sister. The Deal twins grew up in Huber Heights, a suburb of Dayton, Ohio. The sisters first played together in their late teens, Kim playing guitar and both sisters singing Hank Williams songs in biker bars. They both had an opportunity to join the Pixies in the mid-’80s, with Kim on bass and Kelley on drums; Kim followed through while Kelley opted to move to California. While Kim made her mark as an indie musician, Kelley worked in computer programming.

In 1992, Kelley Deal joined the band as third guitarist, even though she didn’t really know how to play. The Safari EP was the first recording she appeared on. Guitarist Tanya Donnelly left to form Belly a little after the release of Safari. Kim suggested Kelley should be the band’s new drummer. After Kelley insisted on lead guitar, Kim gave her a crash course on all the songs in the band’s set. Kelley picked up quickly and learned all the lead parts on Pod and the new parts on the album they were about to record, Last Splash. A new drummer from Dayton, Jim MacPherson, joined them. After Last Splash was released in 1993, the band toured, opening for Nirvana, and also got a slot on the Lollapalooza tour in 1994.

http://www.kelleydeal.net/

Sheryl began piano lessons at age 5, and growing up on the music of artists such as Christine McVie, Elton John, and Bob Dylan, she composed her first song at age 13. She went on to major in music at the University of Missouri in Columbia, and while there, she became part of a rock cover band named Cashmere. After graduating, Sheryl taught music to autistic children for two years at a St. Louis elementary school, and has since been an advocate of Save the Music, a program that supports the teaching of music in schools.

Sheryl’s career as a professional singer/songwriter has its roots in hard work and perseverance. She began by moving to Los Angeles in 1986, where she worked as a waitress and searched for music gigs in her free time. Eventually, she managed to get work singing for several commercial spots, including a McDonald’s jingle. Around this time, she auditioned as a backup singer for Michael Jackson, and impressed his camp enough to be accepted onto the two year Bad world tour.

Following the end of Jackson’s tour in 1989, Sheryl suffered a six month bout with depression. Her music career managed to survive through this tumultuous time, and she got more work doing backup vocals for Sting, Foreigner, Stevie Wonder, and Rod Stewart, as well as for Don Henley on the End of the Innocence tour. Meanwhile, she continued to write songs, some of which were recorded by the likes of Celine Dion, Wynonna Judd, and Eric Clapton. Sheryl’s debut album Tuesday Night Music Club was released in the fall of 1993. In early 1994, it began climbing the charts, fueled by the success of the single “Leaving Las Vegas.” The infectious pop-single All I Wanna Do, the work on Tuesday Night Music Club earned Sheryl a slew of awards. At the 37th Annual Grammy Awards in 1995, “All I Wanna Do” won Record of the Year, the first time the award had been scooped up by a newcomer in years. Sheryl also won Best Female Pop Vocal for the song, as well as Best New Artist. The album has sold over 6 million copies.

http://www.sherylcrow.com/

At the age of 12, Vivian Clement picked up her father’s guitar – it was love at first sight. Within a short period of time she was playing guitar and singing harmonies in her local church choir. Just a few years later, Vivian was performing for corporate events and bars in her hometown in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.

“As a child, I really enjoyed drawing and painting. At seventeen, I won a summer scholarship to study art at the Ontario Art Gallery, in Toronto. I had already been playing guitar for several years and wasn’t sure if I should become an artist or a musician. Once I finished my scholarship, I realized that I had more of a passion for music, so I decided to make a career as a guitarist.”
Vivian moved to Toronto to study jazz guitar at Humber College with Peter Harris. She also took private vocal lessons with pop/classical teacher Helen Knight.

http://www.vivianclement.com/

There is much more to Charo than meets the eye. She is a gifted comedienne who prides herself on putting on shows suitable for families and is also a very talented Spanish guitarist and singer. Although she professionally mangles the English language on-stage, she can read and write it fluently; Charo is also fluent in Japanese, French, and Spanish.

As a young girl, she studied guitar under Andres Segovia, one of the fathers of modern classical guitar music. She came to the U.S. in the ’70s and married the much older Spanish bandleader Xavier Cugat. A regular on television talk shows of the era, she appeared frequently in nightclubs and occasionally as a television actress in shows such as Fantasy Island. She has gained most of her renown on the nightclub circuit touring such hot spots as Las Vegas and Atlantic City, but after the birth of her son in the early ’80s, she and her new husband moved to Hawaii.
http://www.charo.com/

Tracy Chapman helped restore singer/songwriters to the spotlight in the ’80s. The multi-platinum success of Chapman’s eponymous 1988 debut was unexpected, and it had lasting impact. Although Chapman was working from the same confessional singer/songwriter foundation that had been popularized in the ’70s, her songs were fresh and powerful, driven by simple melodies and affecting lyrics. At the time of her first album, there were only a handful of artists performing such a style successfully, and her success ushered in a new era of singer/songwriters that lasted well into the ’90s. Furthermore, her album helped usher in the era of political correctness — along with 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M., Chapman’s liberal politics proved enormously influential on American college campuses in the late ’80s. Of course, such implications meant that Chapman’s subsequent recordings were greeted with mixed reactions, but after several years out of the spotlight, she managed to make a very successful comeback in 1996 with her fourth album, New Beginning, thanks to the Top Ten single “Give Me One Reason.”

http://www.tracychapman.com/

I taught myself how to play by listening to my favorite records and picking out the songs by ear. When I was about 16, I began playing around with fingerstyle and classical stuff, and mastered alot of pretty advanced techniques before ever taking lessons. I also began trying my hand at composition as a teenager, writing guitar based instrumental music, and short pieces for fingerstyle guitar. I currently have two cd’s available; “Speak My Soul” and “Tales of a Dream”, which I composed, performed and recorded in my very modest home studio. In 1994, I studied music theory with the very renowned Buffalo guitarist Tony Scozzaro. I attended Villa Maria College for music in 1996, studying with masters like James Kertzdorfer and Jeremy Sparks. In June of 2002, I was selected as one of five finalists in the “North American Rock Guitar Competition” and was awarded second place. Buffalo music critic Jeff Meyers wrote “Nori Bucci showed that she had the talent to take it all!”. In November of 2003, I won best rock guitarist at the Buffalo music awards. That was an unexpected, and very pleasant, surprise. I currently play locally with the popular Buffalo Jazz/Rock/Fusion band ‘Gamalon’, and am 1/2 of what I consider a very unique and progressive acoustic guitar duo, called ‘Guitar Pirates’. .. ……

http://www.myspace.com/noribuccitunes

Internationally known as “The First Lady of the Guitar”, Liona Boyd has held a unique position in the world of the classical guitar, through her arranging, her composing, and her twenty two albums, many of which attained gold and platinum status. After studying in Paris Liona burst on the music scene in the mid-seventies gathering raves for her virtuoso playing. She made her debut at Carnegie recital hall, played 100 concerts opening for Gordon Lightfoot, toured internationally as a soloist and guest of symphony orchestras, commissioned composers to write new repertoire for her, appeared on dozens of TV shows, hosted several TV specials,won five Juno Awards and became one of the world’s leading classical guitarists. She has composed many original pieces in a wide range of styles from Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, to Contemporary Pop and Nuevo Latino.
http://www.lionaboyd.com/

At the age of 14, Berenyi met her friend and future bandmate, Emma Anderson. They became interested in music and together wrote the music fanzine Alphabet Soup (which only lasted for five issues).Berenyi first played bass with the band, The Bugs,and later went on to play with Lillies.”In 1988, Berenyi studied English literature at the North London Polytechnic, where she met drummer Christopher Acland, bassist Steve Rippon, and singer Meriel Barham. Along with Anderson, they decided to form their own band”.When Meriel Barham left, “the remaining members of Lush placed ads in local papers looking for Barham’s replacement, but they couldn’t find the singer they wanted, and Berenyi took over the vocals”.
From 1988 until 1996, she played with Lush, releasing several albums, singles and videos, and toured extensively through the UK, North America, Japan, Australia and other countries.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miki_Berenyi

The buzz on Jennifer Batten rose from the guitar underground, and the guitar magazines promptly began chronicling her savvy musicianship and highly original approach to the electric guitar in print.

At one point Batten was in 6 different bands, playing everything from straight ahead rock, to metal,fusion, and funk. A major turning point came when she was selected from over one hundred guitarists to play in Michael Jackson’s highly skilled band which toured the world for one and a half years playing for over four and a half million people. Jennifer wasted no time after the” Bad” Tour’s grand finale, diving into work on her own album with renown producer (and Stevie Wonder guitarist) Michael Sembello. The stunning results can be heard on “Above, Below, and Beyond”, the title appropriately describing the interesting diversity within. With this debut release, the world at large learned what all the excitement was about.

Shortly after the record’s release in the spring of ’92, she was asked again to join Michael Jackson for his upcoming “Dangerous Tour”.  In January ’93, she joined Jackson to partake in Superbowl XXVII’s half time entertainment which aired to one and half billion people in 80 nations. It was the largest audience in television history.

http://www.jenniferbatten.com/

Sheryl Bailey is the quintessential Guitar Goddess. She’s been playing guitar since the age of 13 when her mother finally relented to Sheryl’s begging for a Harmony Strat from J.C. Penney catalogue. Though Sheryl was a 13 year old rock wannabe, the influence of her pianist mother got her to learn harmony and her guitar teacher introduced her to the guitar tradition and schooled her on Wes, Jimmy Raney, George Van Eps, Joe Pass and others. She attended Berklee College of Music where her years of dedication and focus won her third place in the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Guitar competition in 1995 and she was chosen as Jazz Ambassador for the U.S. State Department in 2000 for a South American tour. Sheryl musical wings are always in motion as she maintains a schedule of performing, teaching, writing, touring and recording.

http://www.sherylbailey.com/

2008 was a landmark year for Joan Baez, marking 50 years since she began her legendary residency at Boston’s famed Club 47. She remains a musical force of nature whose influence is incalculable – marching on the front line of the civil rights movement with Martin Luther King Jr., inspiring Vaclav Havel in his fight for a Czech Republic, singing on the first Amnesty International tour and just this year, standing alongside Nelson Mandela when the world celebrated his 90th birthday in London’s Hyde Park. She brought the Free Speech Movement into the spotlight, took to the fields with Cesar Chavez, organized resistance to the war in Southeast Asia, then forty years later saluted the Dixie Chicks for their courage to protest war. Her earliest recordings fed a host of traditional ballads into the rock vernacular, before she unselfconsciously introduced Bob Dylan to the world in 1963 and focused awareness on songwriters ranging from Woody Guthrie, Dylan, Phil Ochs, Richard Farina, and Tim Hardin, to Kris Kristofferson and Mickey Newbury, to Dar Williams, Richard Shindell, Steve Earle and many more. If ever a new collection of songs reflects the momentous times in which Joan finds herself these days, and in her own words, “speaks to the essence of who I am in the same way as the songs that have been the enduring backbone of my repertoire for the past 50 years,” Day After Tomorrow is that record, her first new studio album in five years.

http://www.joanbaez.com/

India Arie is known and cherished by fans and fellow musicians as a poet, a songwriter, a daughter, a producer, a musician, a sister, a singer, an advocate, a friend and a philanthropist –– but she is possibly best known for the love in her music that has inspired and motivated people worldwide. From the moment that her very first single “Video,” and her multi–platinum debut album Acoustic Soul were released in 2001, India’s music established an extraordinary bond of trust, affection and communication with her followers.

http://www.indiaarie.com/

3 times Grammy nominated British singer songwriter Joan Armatrading is the first female UK artist to have debuted at number 1 in the Billboards Blues charts. She is also the first female UK artist to be nominated for a Grammy in the blues category.

One of Britain’s female artists who has stood the test of time with songs like Love And Affection, Willow, Drop The Pilot and Lovers Speak.

Joan’s strong rhythmic acoustic guitar playing and her melodic electric solos help to make her the consummate musician. Female guitarist, female songwriter, female singer. Explore Joan’s website to find out What’s Inside.
http://www.joanarmatrading.com/

In 1988 she formed Lush with friend and fellow song writer, Miki Berenyi. On 6 March 1988, Lush played their very first performance at Camden Falcon in London.They went on to reasonable success, having a number of Top 40 hits over an eight year career. Anderson told Everett True in Melody Maker, “I remember when I couldn’t play, I wasn’t in a band, didn’t know anyone else who could play, and now we’ve got a record out on 4AD. I sometimes find it impossible to come to terms with what’s happening.”

http://www.myspace.com/singsinguk