Ann Driscoll is nerdy sexy. Or so goes the chorus to her eminently danceable single, “Trophy Fuck,” a spasm of post-relationship jealousy set to programmed drums and ska guitar rhythms. “Trophy Fuck” is just one song in a repertoire characterized by sweet, girlish vocals; heartfelt lyrics; and catchy Beatles-inspired melodies.
An Ohio-raised, Boston-based musician, studying on scholarship at Berklee College of Music since 2007, Driscoll has been making waves in the Northeast. Having earned rave reviews from the Cincinnati press, she has been featured on Boston’s 88.9 WERS Local Music Week (Emerson College Radio) and had her one-chord song “Jesus Don’t Like Beggars” placed in a brutally disgusting (read: totally awesome) independent horror film, called Livestock. With a high-energy live show featuring some of the best musicians at her college, Ann has shared the stage with such indie darlings as An Horse, Arizona, The High Strung, The Brakes, and many others, and her music has earned praise from Joan As Police Woman and Meshell Ndegeocello.
Ann began her odyssey with music at age 7, when she took up guitar, inspired by her hero, Kurt Cobain. By the age of 10, she had learned guitar, drums, bass, and had an extensive catalogue of originals as well as covers of her favorite songs by Nirvana, Fiona Apple, The Beatles, and Jesus Christ Superstar. She began her career in earnest at age 16, when she decided to record her heartfelt plea, “Let Me Win” at Clio-winning studios, Sound Images, in Cincinnati, who then asked her to record the vocals for their widely aired JTM jingle.
Her first LP, Young Tracks, due out April, is a collection of the recordings she made as a teenager, from age 16-19. Ann performed all of the instruments on all eleven songs, except for the cello on her haunting, dirge, “The Sinking Ship" which was performed by Ethan Philbrick. Following in the footsteps of one of her heroes, Jon Brion, Ann brings careful attention to the arranging of her tunes, and her prowess as a multi-instrumentalist enables this process. Most of her recordings are available for free download at ilike.
A political activist who has worked on numerous campaigns for Democrats in Ohio, she combined her passion for politics and music when she wrote, recorded, and edited a political music video for Vic Wulsin, a progressive Democrat in Ohio's 2nd district. In addition to lighting the Ohio political media establishment abuzz, Channel 12, Cincinnati's CBS affliaite, did an evening news story on the youtube ad. Even Congresswoman Jean Schmidt, whom the video criticized, liked it, saying, “Ann Driscoll is clearly a talented young woman.”
Ann is busy writing music and recording, and is planning a New England tour in support of her LP this fall 2009. She considers Elvis Costello, Metric, and Stephen Sondheim as her current biggest influences.
REVIEWS
"Singer/songwriter Ann Driscoll is a Cincinnati native who's currently studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. But, at age 20, her songwriting already possesses the kind of wisdom, originality and maturity that can't be learned in college.
She began her musical career in earnest just three years ago and her direct Indie Pop sound helped put her on bills with local favorites like Peter Adams and Katie Redier, as well as nationally acclaimed Rock bands like The High Strung. Driscoll's self-released, self-titled EP is an engaging exhibition of blunt, catchy (but not predictable) Pop, with vocals that recall pre-blatant-sex-kitten Liz Phair and a writing style that is obviously informed by prime influences like The Beatles and Nirvana." - Mike Breen, Cincinnati Citybeat, May 2008
"The charm of this Beatles-influenced Indie rocker did not lie in a sweet or predictably melodic voice, but rather in her quirky songwriting and passionate on-stage presence. Her compositions have danceable and sometimes unconventional grooves, from disco funk to eerie circus waltzes. She is unafraid of drastically altering the timbre of her voice to fit the contour of the songs, such as a rough edged (bordering on satirically operatic) melody line in the chorus of “I Wanna Be Your Zombie.” She sings unabashedly about topics such as why “Jesus Don’t Like Beggars” and also with uninhibited ferocity in the angst filled “Make Up Your Fucking Mind.” Her appeal is noticeably disparate from the mainstream, but inevitable." -Charlie Van Kirk, Charles Music Reviews Music Reviews, June 2009
"Ann Driscoll...had me and the rest of the audience at Pizza Bar wrapped around her little finger, telling us personal stories, song backgrounds and making us sing along. Her strum-heavy style matches the insistent vocals, and while both are melodic, this material is no snooze-fest." - Ezra Waller, Spill It Music Blog, Cincinnati Citybeat, September 2007
I do recommend getting advance tickets, just in case, otherwise you might want to just get there somewhat early for tickets at the door. 8 or 9-ish. Thanks Ann, I'm really diggin your new band too, definitely keep me posted on any of your shows and I'll get there! See ya tomorrow! Sincerely-_dave
thank you for the well-wishing, but i actually just graduated... glad that's over. if it's all the same though, i will extend your grant of luck to the bar exam, the bane of my existence right now.
zac is a pretty cool dude. as for dershowitz, i've never met him, but i've heard mixed reviews. so it goes.
Ann Driscoll! I WISH I was able to go tonight, it'd be so great to go watch an amazing after school just finally ended. Unfortunately, since it's 18+ I won't be able to go :-(.
Let me know when there's any all ages performances, I'll be there as soon as you know it!! Hahaha.
It was nice seeing you again today at Pride! I think it would of been amazing if you performed on that Pride stage haha. I hope to see you perform again some day.
Ann, Hickory Robot is happy to have you as a friend! We just posted a new tune - I hope you'll check it out and let us know what you think. And then come back again, because we'll have some more music to share real soon. Thanks!
gotta a show this fri. cinco de ocho (may 8th) at the southgate house, come peep it, we start at 10:30, but there's mad different groups, mass different genre's so the earlier the better.
thank you!! but we're just amateur musicians...and it's so difficult to go cross the pool...;-) nice to meet you ann! good luck! your music has something special...
Online Now!
