Amber performs both acoustically as a solo, duo or trio act, as well as with a full five-piece band. Her band includes four-time GRAMMY nominee and two-time NAMA winner Will Clipman on percussion and drums, former Tucson Area Music Award winner and Tucson Musicians’ Museum inductee Jay Trapp on bass, 2007 Tucson Area Music Award (TAMMIES) winner
Doug "Hurricane" Floyd on electric guitar, and former Tucson Area Music Award runner-up Michelle Maliniak on trumpet.
The band’s performance of
RISING
at the Downtown Saturdays Music & Community Fest in Tucson...
Rough footage from the live recording session at
Luna Recording Studio in Tucson. The acoustic band performance of Amber’s song
BOB SCHMIDT features Doug Floyd on acoustic guitar, Michelle Maliniak on trumpet,
Jay Trapp on bass and Will Clipman on drums.
Video footage from the October ’07
Winery Music Awards of the
band’s performance of RECTIFY featuring Doug Floyd on electric guitar,
Michelle Maliniak on trumpet, Jay Trapp on bass and Jim Pavett on drums...
Influences
Patty Griffin, Indigo Girls, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Dar Williams, Melissa Etheridge, Ani DiFranco, Peter Mulvey, Carole King, Sarah McLachlan, Natalie Merchant, Billy Joel, Elton John, Sinead O'Connor, Stevie Nicks, Marc Cohn, Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Jett, Shawn Colvin, Tori Amos, Cris Williamson, Catie Curtis, Bonnie Raitt, Ben Harper, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Melissa Ferrick, Jamie Sams, Joy Harjo
Sounds Like
"Hints of Ani DiFranco peek through, elements of Melissa Etheridge, Patty Griffin and the Indigo girls are all present" ---Annie Holub, TUCSON WEEKLY
Described as "the love child of Natalie Merchant, Sarah McLachlan and Melissa Etheridge," Amber often has the audience stunned at how such a big voice and dynamic energy come from such a petite artist. In Arizona, she's described as "a singer/ songwriter to be reckoned with...the petite powerhouse is one part poet, one part social crusader" ~Tucson Lifestyle Magazine.
Hailing from Iowa, Amber emerged from the farm with a burning desire to see the world and be of service to others. After graduating from Creighton School of Nursing, Amber traipsed across the hemisphere doing volunteer work as an RN in the remote villages of the Dominican Republic to a migrant clinic in Oregon to the bush villages of southwestern Alaska. Eventually, she settled in the southwestern Alaskan bush region working as a nurse for six years. The long, dark cold nights, mixed with the extreme Alaskan lifestyle, proved to be the perfect environment for a young songwriter.
In 2004, Amber packed up her song tracks and headed south to the Sonoran Desert to release her debut album, SOUL IN MOTION. She released her sophomore album, RISING, in 2006 and was a finalist in several songwriting competitions. In 2007, she was voted the Up-and-Coming Artist of the Year in the Tucson Area Music Awards, and she was awarded second place out of 100 bands in the Winery Music Awards in Paso Robles, California. Due to popular demand for an acoustic album, Amber released an acoustic EP, ACOUSTIC DREAMS, in October 2007.
Amber tours nationally, performing at festivals, wineries, coffeeshops and concert halls from coast to coast. Her compassionate life experience shines through in her eloquent lyrics and music.
"Every so often a CD comes along and grabs you by the collar and demands: Listen to me! Amber Norgaard's 'Rising' is that CD...Amber's is the 21st century's survival anthem." ~Buddyhollywood.com
"Her lyrics don't paint a picture, they grab your arm." ~Iowa Entertainer
"A fabulous performance from powerful singer/songwriter Amber Norgaard. We highly recommend Amber if you ever get a chance to hear her solo or with her full band." ~Eugene House Concerts (Eugene, OR)
I edited my profile with Thomas Myspace Editor V4.4 (www.strikefile.com/myspace)
Hey Amber! Just checking in to say "hi". I like the new pic. Pride ended tonight with the Indigo Girls. Maybe next year you'll consider playing Milwaukee's Pride--it's a big gig! Namaste.
