Amie Penwell
"Amie Penwell is regarded by many to be one of the next big heavy weights." Marin Independent Journal
Amie is on the cover of Somojo Magazine for their Spring 2010 issue where she has been #1 on the Urban Grooves Chart with her song What Would Love Do? off of her Self Titled EP for the past 10 weeks!
Penwell has played Yoshi's SF for the second time in 6 months, and is in negotiation with three publishing companies for song placement. Amie signed a deal with SBMP (South Beach Music Publishing) and will be heard throughout Asia and Australia. In addition to using Amie's songs Mercy and Show Me To The River for Elephant documentary "Eye's Of Thailand" DVA Productions used Ending or Beginning off of Amie's critically acclaimed CD King In a Temple for Women's Health Specialist Commercial due out in April of 2010!
Derek Sivers--indie music pioneer and founder of CD Baby--and Eugene Foley--the music industry guru referred to by many as "Dr. Gene"--hand picked Penwell out of 500 artists for an 8-week coaching session (on Derek's dime) to help launch the record. Foley is now Penwell's official manager.
"Show me to the river, somewhere to wash away this feeling, these days of disbelieving"
Sometimes the sound of someone searching for belief is more powerful than the testimony of someone who's found it.
On her debut full-length record, singer/songwriter/pianist Amie Penwell sings with the power and passion of a gospel soloist. But as the subtle layers of her songs unfold, it becomes clear that the spiritual undercurrent comes more from a personal epiphany than a religious one.
"I wanted something stripped down and honest. Essential and imperfect. Human," Penwell says.
Much of the inspiration for King In A Temple came from the time she spent as a caregiver for Master Artist JB Blunk during the last 6 months of his life in 2002.
"The album title "King In A Temple" comes from my first impression of JB Blunk." Amie spent 6 months in 2002 with the Master Artist, as his caregiver while he was dieing from Alzheimer's Disease.
"It's a record of our time together, our conversations, our walks, our silences. The record follows all of the emotions one goes through when they are forced to adapt and let go of all that is sacred to them, and of being a witness to someone who has no other way to go but through. When all you can do is listen, love them, help them let go, and zip up their jacket."
Like the best of Cat Power, Feist or Chris Whitley, Penwell's songs don't pounce. They pull you in. Grammy-nominated producer and multi-instrumentalist Ben Leinbach (Jai Uttal, , Ledisi) provides the pulse and sonic landscape while guitarist Chris Haugen (Taj Majal ) and violist Margot Holtzman color the corners with sparse melodic counterpoints.
Penwell, whose influences include Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanios, Neil Young, U2, and Prince, wanted more than just a piano/vocal live record.
"I knew the record needed balance. It needed percussion, and atmosphere to add groove and expansion with the live solo performance. A record of bare bones honesty, mixed with soulful elevation to ease the pain of its content."
The process began at Prairie Sun Recording (Tom Waits) with 13 microphones around a grand piano. "We pressed record over two days and got what we got," Penwell explains. Tracks like Talking Head's "Naïve Melody", "Walking With You", and "Momentary Cure" were born out of that session.
The foundation for the rest of the record was laid by another one-day session of living room recording with Amie on piano and a microphone and Chris Haugen on guitars. Later, she paired up again with Leinbach to add the bass and drums, percussion, mixing and mastering.
King In a Temple and Penwell's Self Titled EP are available on CDBABY, ITUNES, AMAZON and anywhere else music is sold online. Penwell is back in the studio with Grammy Nominated Producer Ben Leinbach.