MusicDish Blog: Amy Speace

Showing posts with label Amy Speace. Show all posts

Monday, September 21, 2009

Amy Speace Says It's "A Huge Honor" To Open For Nanci Griffith On Upcoming Northeast Shows

This October, Amy Speace can add a new highlight to her ever-growing list of accomplishments this year: a string of dates with legendary songstress Nanci Griffith.

"Of the many artists that I look up to Nanci Griffith surely is high up on my list of influences," says Speace, "and it will be a huge honor to share the stage with her on these shows. Nanci paved the way for the rest of us trying to bridge the gap between folk and roots and country music."

Delivering a perfectly matched opening for Griffith, Speace will play songs from her new album 'The Killer In Me,' "an edgy brew of roots rock, folk and pop" (Arizona Republic, 8.11.09) out now on Judy Collins' Wildflower Records. On stage and on her album, Speace knows how to "rock just right" (Washington Post, 6.12.09), sharing stories between her narrative songs with support from the "deft musicianship of her band, the Tearjerks" (Arizona Republic).

Catch Speace opening for Nanci Griffith on the following dates:

October 22 - Ridgefield, CT - The Ridgefield Playhouse
October 23 - New York, NY - Town Hall
October 24 - North Hampton, MA - The Calvin Theatre

Speace has earned glowing reviews for 'The Killer In Me,' an "effortlessly intimate" album where "the seduction in Speace's voice and the smooth sound of background horns and organs make you feel exposed and susceptible" (CMT.com, 7.6.09). She'll be backed by the Tearjerks at her showcase at the Americana Music Festival and Conference in Nashville on September 16.

http://www.myspace.com/amyspeace
http://www.amyspeace.com/
http://amyspeace.musicdish.net

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Amy Speace To Perform At This Year's Americana Music Festival

Amy Speace will share the stage at the 2009 Americana Music Festival and Conference with artists like Marty Stuart, Cross Canadian Ragweed, and Those Darlins in Nashville this September. The 10th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference will take place from Wednesday, September 16th through Saturday, September 19th, 2009, gathering thousands of artists, fans and industry professionals from all over the world.

Wednesday, September 16 at 10 PM
The Station Inn
402 12th Ave S, Nashville, TN 37203
(615) 255-3307

Amy will be playing songs from her recently released album "The Killer In Me" on Wildflower Records. Critics have already been raving about the album:

"her velvety, achy voice recalls an early Lucinda Williams. Sounding grounded but wounded, Speace exudes the vulnerability of someone who's loved and lost."
- Alex Cohen, NPR.org, 6.12.09

"a deep, dark album full of lush, emotive lyrics, masterful acoustic guitar work and just the right mix of percussion to make up-tempo numbers"
- Nancy Dunham, Washington Post (DC), 6.12.09

"[Speace] will likely increase her following substantially with this album. It's a dark, deeply personal album... a rough-edged, roots-rock sound that perfectly complements Speace's unsettling lyrics."
- Jay Lustig, Newark Star Ledger (NJ), 6.26.09

"Amy Speace revels in her commanding growl on 'The Killer in Me.' Fans of Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls could connect."
- Jon Takiff, Philadelphia Daily News (PA), 6.30.09

Possessing a commanding voice, a distinctive melodic sensibility and an uncanny knack for nailing complex emotions in song, AMY SPEACE makes music that's both illuminating and effortlessly accessible. Her forthcoming release, The Killer In Me, follows her 2006 breakthrough Songs for Bright Street. While Songs won her a loyal international fan base, The Killer In Me finds the NY-based artist forging into deeper, darker lyrical and musical terrain, delivering an album of startling intimacy and resonance.

http://www.amyspeace.com
http://www.twitter.com/SpeaceCorps
http://www.facebook.com/amyspeacemusic

Friday, August 14, 2009

Amy Speace Learns Not To Fear The Killer In Her (A CD Review)

Like many musicians before her, Amy Speace left her family, her friends, and her home to write her new album, "The Killer In Me." She left, it seems, not to escape the pain in her life, or to avoid distraction, but to absorb her feelings and transform them. This emotional osmosis drew her pain out and allowed her, as she says, "to write the things the you're afraid to say out loud." Amy's songs break through that fear not only in her mind but also in ours. She is not a simple song writer and "The Killer In Me" is not an easy listen. The cryptic meanings of her lyrics are not immediately clear and demand time to absorb their poetry. This album conjures the loneliness, sadness, and helplessness that we all sometimes feel and tempers those twisting emotions with those of hope and love.

For this album, Amy enlists guitarist and producer James Mastro who brings a psychedelic-rock touch to the sound. His production skills mixed with Amy's song-writing ability make this album special. Songs like "This Love" and "Haven't Learned a Thing," are beautifully woven pieces. The ghostly track, "Weight of the World" shows Amy's ability to sew lyrical melody to instrumental sensibility giving this song an almost programmatic feel; as if the instruments are acting out her story each time they plays the song. Other songs like "Something More Than Rain," "Piece By Piece," and the visionary "Blue Horizon" and true poetic treasures and "Dirty Little Secret" shakes the soul with controversy and depth.

This latest offering is a departure from Amy's previous album, "Songs For Bright Street." Where this album occupies an acoustic-folk sensibility, "The Killer In Me" rocks out and experiments with ethereal and psychedelic timbres exhibited in the songs "Storm Warning" and "Better". Overall, Amy's latest work offers a complex intimacy that was largely absent in its direct and spontaneous predecessor.

Amy Speace has certainly taken a turn on the rock and roll boulevard but Amy doesn't forsake her roots. Songs like "Would I Lie" and "I Met My Love" (featuring the voice of Ian Hunter, who also appears on the title track), are infused with genuine country and folk sounds. With "The Killer In Me" Amy shows us all the color of her heart, a heart shrouded in blue.

Buy 'The Killer In Me' CD - http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/amyspeace4

Review by Nicholas Guida, MusicDish e-Journal

Amy Speace's Official Website - http://www.amyspeace.com
Amy Speace Fan Twitter - http://www.twitter.com/SpeaceCorps
Amy Speace facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/amyspeacemusic

Friday, July 31, 2009

Amy Speace's CD Release Event For 'The Killer In Me'

Amy Speace, a power-house of country rock, took to the stage before a full house at Joe's Pub in New York City on June 19th, 2009. The singer/songwriter celebrated the upcoming release of her new album, The Killer in Me, and it is a winner, fitting right in between energetic pop-rock, and the melancholy harmonies of country. At first glance, the perky and smiley Speace doesn't seem like a singer/songwriter fighting a recent heartache, but that's just what she accomplishes with her new album.

Playing guitar alongside a four-piece band, Speace was sharp right from the start, as rock-and-roll intertwined with her vivacious alternative country style. Speace was seemingly effortless in displaying her traditional subject matter of soul-searching. Like many singer/songwriters, Speace's compositions begin with life stories, and her set list was fittingly compiled of these stories within her songs. The album's title track, "The Killer in Me," had the perfect amount of twang and tragedy to compliment her silky, achy voice, while her performance of the understated "Haven't Learned A Thing," prompted everyone in the audience to rethink the constant plight we all have to better ourselves. Through the sounds of triumph and defeat, Speace dared to show vulnerability and shed light on the state of mind of someone who has loved and lost.

During the rest of the set, we watched Speace easily switching back and forth between tantalizing and dark songs like "Blue Horizon" and the very vulnerable "The Weight of the World," a disheartening and powerful acoustic tune of sorrow and unfairness. Though Speace has pulled inspiration from musicians such as Judy Collins and Lucinda Williams, she undoubtedly has enough of her own personality throughout her work as a strong, confident woman with a voice to be heard. This was unmistakably present in her performance, as Speace has composed a body of work with enough variety to keep everyone's eyes and ears on her music at all times.

From here until the end of her nearly two-hour show, Speace left us with some of her best stuff as she and her band produced wonderfully intense, dazzling rock, a truly fitting end to a night of music shared between Speace and her New York City audience. Her music may be filled with heart-breaking honesty and aching openness, but Amy Speace is such a genuine and joyful personality that a night spent watching her perform has proved to be anything but a downer. The Killer in Me was released on June 30th, 2009.

www.amyspeace.com
www.facebook.com/amyspeacemusic

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Amy Speace To Open For Ian Hunter, The Legendary Lead Singer Of Mott The Hoople

Americana-rock recording artist Amy Speace will be opening for highly influential British rock vocalist and songwriter Ian Hunter. The show, being held at NYC's City Winery on Thursday, July 23 at 9:00 PM, follows the release of Ian's new solo album, Man Overboard on July 21st.

Thursday, July 23 - 9:00pm
City Winery
155 Varick St, NYC
(212) 608-0555
http://www.citywinery.com/events/25416

Amy will be playing songs from her own just recently released album "The Killer In Me" on Wildflower Records. Critics have already been raving about the album:

Critics are also smitten with the New Jersey-based folk rocker, and 'The Killer In Me,' out now:

"her velvety, achy voice recalls an early Lucinda Williams. Sounding grounded but wounded, Speace exudes the vulnerability of someone who's loved and lost."
- Alex Cohen, NPR.org, 6.12.09

"a deep, dark album full of lush, emotive lyrics, masterful acoustic guitar work and just the right mix of percussion to make up-tempo numbers"
- Nancy Dunham, Washington Post (DC), 6.12.09

"Amy Speace revels in her commanding growl on 'The Killer in Me.' Fans of Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo Girls could connect."
- Jon Takiff, Philadelphia Daily News (PA), 6.30.09

Possessing a commanding voice, a distinctive melodic sensibility and an uncanny knack for nailing complex emotions in song, AMY SPEACE makes music that’s both illuminating and effortlessly accessible. Her forthcoming release, The Killer In Me, follows her 2006 breakthrough Songs for Bright Street. While Songs won her a loyal international fan base, The Killer In Me finds the NY-based artist forging into deeper, darker lyrical and musical terrain, delivering an album of startling intimacy and resonance.

http://www.amyspeace.com/
http://www.myspace.com/amyspeace

Friday, December 12, 2008

IMA Folk/Singer-Songwriter Finalist: Amy Speace's "The Killer In Me"

Amy Speace upcoming album, "The Killer In Me," has been selected as a finalist in the 8th annual Independent Music Awards (IMA), under the Folk/Singer-Songwriter category. This is a great accomplishment for an album that's yet to be released (March 10, 2009 on Judy Collins' Wildflower Records) and we'd appreciate everyone's support and vote for her album.

Vote for "The Killer In Me"

More On Amy Speace:
http://www.amyspeace.com