Alana Amram & the Rough Gems - "Snow Shadows: The Songs of Vince Martin" (June 21 digital release)

Tue Apr 19 12:51:40 CDT 2011

ALANA AMRAM & THE ROUGH GEMS

Snow Shadows: The Songs of Vince Martin

(Digital release June 21, 2011; Kingswood Records) 

Musician, songwriter and native New Yorker Alana Amram didn't choose to
be an artist; she was just born that way. The songstress, who boasts a
pure, haunting voice that can cut through any club chatter and wrap
itself around your heart with its honesty and lack of pretence, is the
daughter of legendary composer/Beat icon David Amram and actress/writer
Lora Lee Ecobelli and as such, became a  traveling musician and
storyteller at an early age.  

Drawn to the songs of her father's contemporaries, the poets and
songwriters who came out of the late '50s and early '60s New York City
scene such as Fred Neil and Karen Dalton, it was only fitting that Alana
would discover and resurrect the songs of an influential - but largely
unknown outside of folk circles - songwriter, Vince Martin, whose'50s
and '60s recordings, both solo and with Fred Neil, are prized by
collectors and folk cognoscenti. 

The result is Snow Shadows, a career-spanning collection of classics and
never-before-released songs by Martin, distinguished by its top-caliber
performances and carefully-selected cast of contributors.  Produced by
Mark Sebastian (brother of The Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian and
writer of their hit song "Summer in the City") and Jesse Lauter, who's
worked with The Low Anthem, the album has a full, warm sound and a ton
of heart.  John Sebastian and Van Dyke Parks, who'd both played on
Vince's 1973 Capitol album, Vince Martin, were reunited with Vince after
more than 35 years;  Sebastian plays baritone guitar and harmonica and
Van Dyke Parks provides the lush string arrangements, as on the
wonderful Countrypolitan strings on the album's opener, "Fayetteville."
The album also features Alana's band the Rough Gems - a tight-knit
collective of some of New York's finest: Scott Metzger (guitar), David
Lindsay (drums), James Preston (bass) and Phil Sterk (pedal steel).  

The songs on Snow Shadows allow Alana's clear, wistful vocals to shine,
evoking classic country artists like Loretta Lynn as well as the "cosmic
country" sound associated with Graham Parsons.  The arrangements,
featuring crying pedal steel lines, the occasional harmonica and
tasteful harmonies, are more in the spirit of the Nashville sound
embraced by Bob Dylan on his landmark 1968 album, Nashville Skyline, as
the New York "folk" scene.  The title track, "Snow Shadows," which finds
the protagonist walking the empty city streets during a cold city
winter, features the memorable line, "Cities meant for leaving, before
they leave you black and blue." Like the rest of the record, the lyrics
in this track could have been written yesterday. From humor to
heartbreak, these songs stand on their own and reach out to a new
generation to be heard.  In the folk tradition, they are now carried
forward.

A self-professed "record geek," Alana first discovered Martin through
his 1964 album, Tear Down the Walls, a record where Martin and Fred Neil
harmonized in haunting contrast, inspiring a whole generation of rock
and rollers in the '60s to look into the realm of traditional song and
the new folk movement.  Digging deeper, she found Martin's first solo
record If the Jasmine Don't Get You, The Bay Breeze Will.  The album,
produced by Nick Venet in 1969 using the same backing band as Dylan's
Nashville Skyline, is now out of print. Mesmerized by lost gem she
found, she sought out this voice and discovered Martin, eager to sing
and share his stories, living in Brooklyn. Alana, also in Brooklyn,
forged an instant friendship and bond with Vince. He was soon joining
her onstage at Rough Gems shows, mentoring the young artists around him
and becoming the life of the party. 

While Alana was discovering Martin, producer Todd Kwait (Chasing Gus's
Ghost), along with director Mark Sebastian, was working on a documentary
film about Vince's life called VAGABONDO!   Alana & the Rough Gems
played a selection Vince's material at the film's summer 2010 premiere,
and Alana used this as an opportunity to further immerse herself into
Martin's music. She discovered a wealth of material, including
previously unrecorded songs she felt needed to be heard.  With the
assistance of Kwait and Sebastian and Martin's blessing, Snow Shadows
was born.

Please contact me to be serviced with this special album!

Listen to a new track, "Summer Wind" here:

http://alanaamram.com/album/snow-shadows-songs-of-vince-martin 

Track listing:

1. Fayetteville 

2. Sea Bird 

3. South Wind 

4. Catch Me I'm Falling 

5. Summer Wind 

6. Joe Panther 

7. Leaving Song 

8. If the Jasmine Don't Get You... 

9. Snow Shadows 

10. Brother 

11. Honest Joe 

Upcoming Dates:

TH, 4/21 New York, NY @ Union Pool
FR, 4/22 Tarrytown, NY @ Tarrytown Music Hall - "Clearwater Generations:
Pete Seeger, Peter Yarrow, Alana and David Amram and more

Media Inquiries for Alana Amram, please contact:

Press Here: Angie Carlson, 212.246.2640; angie at pressherepublicity.com
<mailto:angie at pressherepublicity.com>  

Angie Carlson

PRESS HERE PUBLICITY

138 W. 25TH ST., 9TH FL.

NY, NY 10001

Ph: 212.246.2640

Fx: 212.582.6513

angie at pressherepublicity.com

http://twitter.com/presshere <http://twitter.com/presshere>  

www.pressherepublicity.com 

----->For downloadable photos, press kits, releases, bios & tour dates
go to our website (all info in the "current roster" section): 
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