Ani DiFranco, Ricki Lee Jones, Laura Nyro, Fiona Apple, Led Zeppelin, Meshell Ndegeocello, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Dave Matthews Band, Indigo Girls, Tori Amos, Jon Brion, Imogen Heap, Rufus Wainwright, Miles Davis, Khachaturian, Beethoven, Bach, Kabalevsky
Sounds Like
"Rickie Lee Jones, a more carefree Fiona Apple, Sting's band fronted by Tori Amos" -- Cincinnati CityBeat, September 2005
Note: If you're a band and wish to be friends, please send me a note, and I'll friend you.
Bio:
Allison Tartalia’s powerful and expressive performances have a way of charming audiences. The secret weapons: fearless honesty, a quirky sense of humor and an extraordinary flair for songwriting. Audiences have taken notice at festivals and venues around the country, and it is not unusual to see devoted fans singing along to her anthems of independence like Dorothy's Reply and Absolutely Fabulous. This versatile artist keeps listeners enthralled whether she’s taking things slow on the painfully honest ballad Advent of You, turning up the funk on Agree, or just sharing a funny tale from her life between songs.
A classically trained pianist and self-taught guitar player with a degree in theatre, Allison draws upon diverse influences to create her eclectic brand of jazz-infused acoustic pop. Her debut CD, Ready, was enthusiastically received by critics, and songs from the album received airplay on college and independent radio stations from coast to coast.
2007 has been a busy year for Tartalia, who frequently lends her keyboard talents to other singer-songwriters in the studio, and is currently composing the music for her first musical theatre collaboration with award-winning playwright Barbara Kahn. Tartalia is fast at work on her sophomore CD, tentatively titled Rage/Rapture, slated for release in 2007.
Reviews
"Wonder of wonders, this native New Yorker's debut CD sounds legitimately more jazzy than folky--smack-dab in the Laura Nyro/Ricki Lee Jones/Sophie B. Hawkins lineage, complete with sax solos warm enough for Baker Street and titles that namecheck Ab Fab and Dorothy...Tell Auntie Em and Toto, too; Oz never did give nothin' to the tin man that he didn't already have." -- Chuck Eddy, The Village Voice
"Allison Tartalia [is] a singer with a sultry voice. . ." -- Marc Santora, The New York Times
". . . a bit edgy, often very fun, sometimes serious and beautiful and. . .stunningly good piano work. . . " Susanne Millsaps, KRCL, Salt Lake City, UT
"The label "singer-songwriter" doesn't fully grasp Allison Tartalia's worldly sound. It's not just guitars and emotional lyrics here. You'll hear a full range of eclectic noise during Tartalia's set at Chicks Rockfest this weekend - jazzy piano, rich percussion and clever lyrics delivered in the singer's commanding voice. Singer-songwriters are always more interesting when they add something extra - and Tartalia's got plenty of extras in her diverse sound." --
Kari Wethington, Cincinnati's CinWeekly
Hello Allison, How is life and Caffe Vivaldi? I hope your music is going great and you're busy inspired and writing songs :) Wishing you a wonderful show on the 25th.. warm wishes Elizabeth
Thanks for adding me. ¶ Our many problems have a common root: Bullies, liars, thieves, and murderers — particularly those in public office — believe people are motivated only by greed and fear. They want us to share that belief, because they use it to justify themselves and to manipulate us. But you and I have found something better inside ourselves and our friends. It's in everyone, if we can just wake them — we're all one flesh and blood. Spread the word. The outcome to the ideological struggle is not yet determined, so no one can afford to be a spectator. ¶ The Iraq war, like most wars, was based on lies. And now the occupation is making new enemies faster than it can kill them; that's helpful only to arms dealers. The economy is all wrong too: the rich get richer and fewer, everyone else gets screwed, and the ecosystem gets trashed. These problems are not new, but lately they've become so blatant that we've begun to understand them. It's time to end the military-industrial complex and the corporatocracy. We the people must control government, and government must control business, not the other way around. A good start would be transparency in government, public financing of election campaigns, trustbusting the media, and ending corporate personhood. ¶ Question authority. Carry on the struggle. Hold onto hope. Keep singing. Hand in hand, we can heal the world. — Love, Eric
Hi Allison! It was great finally getting a chance to meet you and especially hear your set at SS Cape May. I really love your songs! Good luck with the record. Hope to see you again soon-let's do a show together. :)
i reviewed your tunes and sounds great....would love to either bring you on for a show or if not one of our shows....the club that we host them at works very closely with us =)
~~~Hi Allison, I am having a great day, thank you very much! I hope the same for you, you are very sweet, talented, and pretty! Thank you for your friendship!...Todd~~~
Hi Allison, Thanks for friending up! Love the tunes. If you don't have plans yet...come out to Hank's Saloon in Brooklyn tomorrow night, SAT FEB 9 starting at 7:30 there all female fronted bands from GIRLS ROCK GIRLS RULE and one GoGirls band playing for the GRGR Showcase & Fund raiser for the 2008 Tour and the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls! $5 donation and a FREE GRGR T-shirt a the door.