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Eliza Blue
http://elizabluesings.com
[BIOGRAPHY]
[PHOTOS]
[PRESS]
[TOUR DATES]
[AUDIO]
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BIOGRAPHY
Bringing It All Home with Eliza Blue
"I'm in love with that banjo-fiddle girl," said veteran Chicago rocker Ike Reilly, upon hearing Eliza Blue play for the first time at the Parkway Theater in Minneapolis in September, 2008. That Reilly singled out Eliza for his smart-ass praise was noteworthy, as the stage was crowded with world-class talent, including Reilly, Billy Bragg, the Roots' Boots Riley, Rage Against The Machine's Tom Morello, and Minneapolis songwriters Jennifer Markey and myself.
Reilly isn't alone. "I'm in love with Eliza Blue," or something close to that, has been a typical response to the haunting, timeless music Ms. Blue has been casting out in Twin Cities clubs, pubs, and theaters over the last few years. Now the rest of the world will discover her organic magic, as Eliza releases her most full-bodied work to date, The Road Home.
"I recorded almost all the album in the attic of my apartment with one mic and a Mbox mini plugged into a laptop," said Ms. Blue. "When I first began playing my music in public I was plagued by intense stage fright. This carried over into the studio. I decided to buy some basic recording equipment because I wanted to hear what I would sound like if no one was listening. The Road Home is the result."
Somehow, that setting translates to the sound of The Road Home, which kicks off with the plaintive "Ask Me Dance" and concludes with a reprise of the same song, this time with a 'choir' of songwriter friends. The journey – from solo voice to concluding chorus – is an apt one for Eliza, whose singular artistry coupled with communal warmth echoes around the Twin Cities music scene.
"There were no expectations with this album when I started, so, in a way, it's the truest thing I could say, or play, or sing. The opening lines from the record are 'What is a body, a house for a soul. What is a road but a way to get home.' Finding peace inside your own skin, finding your own truth - for me, that's the journey."
Listeners who take The Road Home with Eliza Blue are likely to agree.
Trained as a classical violinist, Eliza grew up listening to folk and blues on her Fisher-Price record player, but had little vocal instruction. She took up the fiddle after falling in love with old timey music and soon began writing songs of her own. Guitar came next, and then mandolin and banjo. Her music regularly draws comparisons to Gillian Welch, for it's homage to Appalachian roots, but the quality and timbre of her voice call to mind some of the great jazz vocalists.
Eliza has shared the stage recently with: Billy Bragg, The Watson Twins, Kelly Jo Phelps, Fiona McBain of Ollabelle, Anje Duvekot, and Natalia Zukerman. In addition, she fiddles and sings with several Minneapolis based groups. When not on the road she lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her two dogs, Lily and Micah.
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PHOTOS
Click on a thumbnail to download that hi-res JPEG (suitable for publication):
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TOUR DATES
No Upcoming Shows
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PRESS
Babysue: LMNOP
Eliza Blue - The Road Home (Independently released CD, Pop)
Exceptionally smart modern pop with nice flowing qualities. The Road Home is the sophomore album from Minnesota's Eliza Blue. Her music incorporates elements from a wide variety of other artists. We can hear slight traces of folks like Kate Bush and even the more accessible side of Rasputina at times. And the lead track ("Ask Me to Dance") even reminds us of Janis Ian in many ways. But make no mistake, Blue is not a copycat artist. She writes smart, unique songs that feature her proficiency on the guitar, mandolin, and banjo (which makes for some rather interesting/intricate arrangements). But what will have the biggest impact on most folks...is the voice. Eliza has a really wonderful smooth voice that sounds absolutely superb. Cool introspective cuts include ""Little Sally," "Mending Fences," "The Road Home," and "Gospel Song." Top pick.
Minneapolis City Pages
Eliza Blue
By Jeff Gage
Eliza Blue's music radiates a rare, ethereal beauty. Her earthy voice is almost inadvertently the dominant component of her songs, its delicacy and vulnerability so elegant as to be irresistibly charming. Influenced by the works of Gillian Welch and Leonard Cohen, the classically trained Blue enhances the bounty of her natural gifts with plaintive, poetic songwriting and simple instrumentation, accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, banjo, and violin in a manner that hearkens to Appalachia. Yet recording her new album on a single microphone in her attic was more a matter of shyness than it was an aesthetic decision. Fortunately, as the melancholy "Ask Me to Dance" amply demonstrates, it just so happens that such an aesthetic is the perfect means with which to unlock the full grace of Blue's music. With Aby Wolf joining her tonight to celebrate the release of the new record, entitled The Road Home, such beauty and grace should be doubly on display. All ages.
Pioneer Press
Eliza Blue - There's a lot going on upstairs
By Ross Raihala
Minneapolis singer/songwriter Eliza Blue recorded her new album, "The Road Home," in her attic last year during stretches that saw both the warmest and coldest days of 2009. All without heat and/or air conditioning.
Those intimate, perhaps creepy confines inform "The Road Home," which sees the classically trained violinist accompanying herself on fiddle, guitar, mandolin and banjo on a series of quietly compelling tracks. Blue initially suffered from stage fright but has spent the past several years touring heavily and playing an average of 150 gigs a year. She stops by the Cedar Cultural Center tonight for a CD-release show with support from Aby Wolf.
Downtown Journal/Southwest Journal
Eliza Blue releases 'The Road Home'
By Sarah McKenzie
When local folk singer Eliza Blue started performing in public, she was plagued by stage fright.
She secretly hoped members of the audience would just talk to one another and not pay her any attention. Those days are behind her now.
Her work recording her second full-length album, "The Road Home," helped her overcome a lot of those anxieties she once battled, and it also helped her get more rooted in the Twin Cities music community.
"It's been this really amazing experience to sort of find myself through music, and find this more courageous and confident person I didn't even know I was," she said in a recent interview.
Blue lives in Northeast and has come to consider Minnesota home (hence the title of her album). The idea for the album came to Blue when she was living in Maine. She was working in a café near the ocean and started missing Minnesota.
At the beginning of the recording process she was wrestling with feelings of loneliness, but later befriended musicians in town who contributed to the album.
In a release about "The Road Home," other insights on her process are revealed: "Blue recorded the vast majority of her tracks alone in her attic between February and August 2009 and as a result, unavoidable house noises, baby sparrows from the nest outside the window, and crickets from the deepest part of the night make appearances along with some human friends and fellow musicians. The result is an extraordinarily intimate journey marked by loss, longing and redemption."
A few vocalists she met at Jim Walsh's hootenannies - a regular gathering of up-and-coming and established musicians in town - make an appearance on the last song of the album.
"The space he's created for performers and audience members is just amazing," she said.
Blue said she's proud of the album.
"It feels like planting a garden when you know you're putting in seeds so you kind of have an idea of what you're going to get," she said. "When it actually happens you're like, 'wow.'"
Star Tribune
Eliza Blue: The Big Gigs - Our critics' music picks
By Chris Riemenschneider
Plenty of Minnesota artists record albums in their basement now, but singer/violinist/banjo-picker Eliza Blue went the other direction. Her second CD, "The Road Home," was largely recorded in her attic on one microphone, with audible house creaks and bird cheeps seeping into the recording. The setting seems appropriate for her vintage, rustic Americana folk music, with traces of Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch in her voice, and lyrics that sound like they reflect faded family photos and dusty cocktail dresses. Her release party will feature Aby Wolf as an opener and other guests. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $8-$10.)
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AUDIO
Click on a clip of an audio track below to download a mp3:
Eliza Blue - The Road Home [2010]
Eliza Blue - Ask Me To Dance [mp3] - 5.82 mb
Eliza Blue - Swords and Shields [mp3] - 0.77 mb
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