Birdie Busch plays with a band, a rotating makeup of a whole lot of generous folks that can't not play music...
Birdie Busch - the fool
Todd Erk - bass
Ross Bellenoit a.k.a. rolling thunder - guitar and lap steel
Devin Greenwood - madman keys/producer/other capabilities
Chris Giraldi - drum pa pum pum.
Craig Hendrix-drums as well and an organ from the 70's....
Influences
influenced by..."them changes", The Greater Depression, the even greater truth of infinity.... soul shakedown parties, revelries,melodies,forays, ali farka toure.....
Sounds Like
"Modern recording techniques these days allow even the most mediocre of voices to sound impeccably perfect. There’s always pitch correction (ridiculously over-used); and extensive use of reverb can always lend a hand. Rarely anymore do we hear a good raw voice; no strings attached. Then there’s Birdie Busch. Her vocals come raw and beautiful, I wouldn’t want it any other way"-Deli Blog
On Penny Arcade:
iTUNES 20 BEST INDIES OF 2007-The second album from Busch is an utterly entrancing collection of songs.
AMERICAN SONGWRITER- According to the geriatric tastemakers over at Travel & Leisure magazine, Philadelphia has the largest number of ugly people per capita of any city in the U.S. Apparently, no one told local girl Birdie Busch, who manages to chirp her way through the entirety of her very compelling Penny Arcade (Bar None) as if she were singer/songwriter in residence at Xanadu University. This brand of optimism might become annoying if not couched in the wry insinuations of Busch’s strikingly evolved lyrics, which share far more in common with Eudora Welty than Richard Simmons. A bewitching combination, to be sure.
NO DEPRESSION-Thirteen songs that display Busch's ear for the gnomic. And just to proves she's a rocker, she covers Steve Miller, and it works.
ALL MUSIC GUIDE-Its earnest delivery makes it one of the most affecting altos around. "My heart, well, it's worn on the outside," Busch sings during the upbeat "Hold Ya." "And if I see something good, I'm gonna show ya; and if I hear something sweet, I'm gonna tell ya." That's a raison d'être shared by the world's best singer/songwriters, and Penny Arcade sets Busch down the right path to join their ranks.
On The Ways We Try:
VILLAGE VOICE - The Ways We Try is one of the slyest neo-folky records in recent memory, its blues loopy and eccentric, and its simple melodies often as inspired as say, SydBarrett's.
NASHVILLE SCENE- On her debut, The Ways We Try, Emily “Birdie” Busch marries the folkie aesthetic with something altogether more rhythmic, felt and astringent. The record stands as one of the year’s strongest. She displays the born songwriter’s structural knack and flair for the unobtrusive hook. It’s an endlessly charming and magical record.
ALL MUSIC GUIDE -From the gentle swing of "Cup" to the bluesy Randy Newman-esque closer "Room Above the City," The Ways We Try is so subtle in its execution that it may get lost among the bevy of louder, lamer, and more opulent acts of 2006, but if the business were fair, and the cream really did rise to the top, there would be one less employee doing the serving. 4 STARS/5
HARP - Combining Gillian Welch's congregational hush and folk reverence with Sara Hickman's sly sidelong observational humor and pop ebullience, Philadelphia singer-songwriter Emily "Birdie" Busch distinguishes herself with a quietly expansive sound and a quirky, intimate songwriting style on her debut CD.
The music of Birdie Busch is the concise sound of a well defined personality unfiltered by the social trends or factors that often define what people are or aren’t listening to. Writing in deceptively simple terms, she reveals very complex and nuanced emotions and complicated narratives with stark phrases and novel turns of speech, creating a musical balance that is comfortable, understandable, and yet unique.
In 2006, The Village Voice said of her acclaimed debut, The Ways We Try [Bar/None] is one of the slyest neo-folk records in recent memory, it’s blues loopy and eccentric, and it’s simple melodies often as inspired as Syd Barrett’s.” Recorded with friend, producer, and all around madman musician Devin Greenwood (Norah Jones, Amos Lee) just a few years after learning guitar and crafting songs, it was an intimate collage of journal meanderings and quiet vignettes about Philadelphia neighborhoods, multi-generational ties, and coming-of-age amidst all of it.
In September of 2007, Penny Arcade [Bar/None], recorded again with Devin Greenwood, built on the promise of The Ways We Try and Birdie continued to win over discerning ears. The All Music Guide exclaimed, considering her voice, “One of the most affecting altos around,” and iTunes included Penny Arcade in their “Top 20 Indies of 2007” being described as an “utterly entrancing collection of songs.” Penny Arcade proved to be a rousing musical manifesto with declarations of forgiveness, mercy, mysticism, and beyond and included Birdie’s interpretation of the Steve Miller Band gem, “Wild Mountain Honey.”
In 2008, Birdie gathered up the gear and band and set up in the house of her friend, band member, and producer Craig Hendrix north of Philadelphia to record what will be her third LP. “I really feel like I’ve been working with a core of musicians here in Philly for awhile and consider them just as much a part of this as myself, so I wanted to get that down. I love witnessing the quality of music that comes about when people are thrown together because they are neighbors and friends, believers and musicians, all able to have this dialogue that somehow seems more intimate. There’s a certain feeling that is transmitted in making use of that. I’m conscious of wanting to make meaningful work with the people I’ve come to know meaningfully.”
You can hear in this new record her writing, melodies, musical colorings, and arrangements continuing to grow, expand, and incoporate more thought. Birdie shifts from being more of just a rhythmic player, to honing in on creating guitar parts and exploring her love of blues and classical music. She takes on personas such as that of a Mexican dishwasher. And thru it all, she still manages to bring her voice into everything. This is music to sit and listen to carefully, with words that strike too close to home sometimes and melodies that at once sound familiar and at the same time never, ever wear out. Keep your ears peeled for its 2009 release……
If you would like to book Birdie Busch for a festival or show please contact Management: Biff Kennedy at kennedy@biffco.com
Show Choir! - The Musical is thrilled to announce the kickoff of their new Official Website! Swing by to check out our page! Purchase Tunes! Get your official Show Choir merchandise! While you’re there, be sure to join our mailing list to be kept up to date on all the Show Choir news! Click on the link below to visit our webpage!
Hi! I jus tposted some tracks from the new album, AMEN. If you like what you hear, perhaps you will jump on a train and head out to Bryn Mawr on June 13th to hang out and pick up a copy? No? Well, I hope you enjoy the music anyway. :)
Come join us Friday May 15th @ 9:00 PM @ Club Risque! All Out Friday Night featuring Dive, Even The Res, and Spy The Thinker - $10 gets you into the show upstairs and the gentleman's club downstairs. For updates check www.myspace.com/risquelive.
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