Besides me...Jonny DuFresne/Guitar - Nelson Bragg/Drums - Shawn Bryant - Bass - and I’ve gotta give props to those awesome musicians who’ve either been in the band (at least once!), played on the CD or even just got up on stage to help out because I asked them nicely: Adam Marsland, Adam Pike, Mike Cusick, Teresa Cowles, Evie Sands, Steve Barton, Kevin Jarvis, Duane Jarvis, Randy Weeks, Marvin Etzioni, Phil Parlapiano, Bill Bonk, Carl Byron, Eddie Munoz, Robert Lloyd, Robbie Rist, Joe Berardi, Casey Dolan, Kirk Swan, Danny McGough, Sheldon Gomberg, Joey Peters, Rich Nibbe, Trevor Zimmerman, Bruce Kaplan, Claudia Russell, Cynthia Jones, Danette Christine, Steve Janowski, Robert Mache, Dale Allen, Jacque Grad, Ian Miller, Jason Mandell, Ivan Pyzow...and, perhaps one fine day, you?
Influences
Sam Cooke, Dusty Springfield, The Rascals, The Lovin Spoonful, Elvis Costello, Julie London, Dave Clark Five, The Beatles, Ronnie Spector, Crowded House, Bruce Springsteen, The Plimsouls, Translator, John Steinbeck, Theodore Dreiser, The Beach Boys, Mickey & Sylvia, The Byrds, Nick Lowe, Squeeze, my Lord and Savior Johnny Cash, Marshall Crenshaw, The Smithereens, Phil Spector, all things Motown esp. the Jackson 5, Blondie, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Steve Forbert, Laura Nyro, Oscar Brown Jr., Darlene Love, Creedence, Leonard Bernstein, Pretenders, Paul Revere & The Raiders, George Gershwin, the O'Jays, Jackie Wilson, The Raspberries, The Zombies, Arthur Lee & Love. Top 5 voices: Bobby Darin, Mickey Dolenz, Felix Cavaliere, Sam Cooke, Neil Finn, Mark Lindsay, Smokey Robinson...
Sounds Like
"Think of Victoria Williams, Aimee Mann, Suzanne Vega and Sheryl Crow mixed together and you begin to get the picture. Anny is pretty much their equal as a songwriter." -- S.P. Clarke, Two Louies
"...a marvelously cool, hip, subtle singer and songwriter, who can pull off the kind of genre-jumping of which I usually disapprove, equally convincing with a Dusty Springfield/Jackie DeShannon style ballad as a Peggy Lee-ish torch song...." -- John Conquest, 3rd Coast Music
Tangle-Free World
The new CD from songwriter Anny Celsi
Produced by Nelson Bragg (of The Brian Wilson Band)
On Ragazza Music (US) & Taxim Records (Germany)
Release: June 2009
With the release of Little Black Dress and Other Stories, Anny Celsi evoked comparisons to artists like Aimee Mann, Lucinda Williams, Suzanne Vega and Jackie DeShannon – all songwriters distinguished by a literary voice that is every bit as vital to the listener as her singing voice. Little Black Dress established Anny internationally as an artist worthy of a second listen. And that second listen is about to arrive.
Tangle-Free World will feature ten new original tunes along with some surprising covers. Continuing in the pop-noir vein of Little Black Dress, the new album retains Anny's unique "beatnik cool" feel while expanding her musical landscape, with influences ranging from Jimmy Webb and Lee Hazlewood to The Byrds, Dusty Springfield and Burt Bacharach. Musical contributors include 60’s chanteuse Evie Sands, Phil Parlapiano (John Prine, Grant Lee Buffalo), Carl Byron (Michelle Shocked, Jim Lauderdale), Amy Farris (Peter Case, Kelly Willis), and members of the Brian Wilson Band.
Ragazza Music
P.O. Box 411402, Los Angeles, CA 90041
Here's the worldwide consensus on "Little Black Dress & Other Stories":
THREE STARS "clever…the music is consistently strong to boot." -- Ken Barnes, USA Today
“Affecting, pop-smart tunes” – Chris Morris, Billboard
“Little Black Dress & Other Stories is a superb debut album…Anny Celsi is a talent to watch.” -- Michael Toland, www.highbias.com
"...a beatnik-cool performer who veers from poppy, bouncy beats to jazzy piano bar riffs and sexy come-ons…a fellow traveler to Aimee Mann and Sheryl Crow. The “pop-noir” soundtrack of her solo debut, “Little Black Dress,” wears a veneer of L.A. Confidential style." -- Bob Ruggiero, Houston Press
“A musical journey in the best sense, "Little Black Dress" unfolds like a tightly written script.” – Mark Spangler, The Oregonian
“An ultra-cool, ultra-hip album that is one of the best new releases I've heard in a long time. Check it out.” -- Ed Kociela, Utah Daily News
"well deserves my five stars top rating!"
-- Hugues Orsetti, CROSSROADS (France)
“It's not often that listening to a record evokes the same buzz of satisfaction that one gets upon finishing a particularly ripping book. Seldom does an album sustain an arc of characters and situations that is consistently surprising, amusing and touching… "Little Black Dress" is a perfect fit.” – John Chandler, Portland Tribune
"...we've got another Brand New Fave here...” (Dana & Carl, THIS IS ROCK N' ROLL RADIO, WXXE, Syracuse, NY)
“When she starts to sing she's got something to say, and she says it in this way designed to separate the boys from the men, if you know what I mean and I think you do.” -- Ben Varkentine, www.ink19.com
"Her songs with wild and sensitive make us feel the LA breeze...it will make you feel like turning over the toy-box. Full of variety, though unified....just like a kaleidoscope." -- Shuichi Iwami
"There isn't a weak track in the set, which is no small achievement." -- Adrian Zupp, HARP
"Anny Celsi possesses such a radiantly reassuring voice that it almost doesn’t matter what she’s singing about.” -- Falling James, LA Weekly
"Met dat laatste zal het wel goed komen trouwens want Anny Celsi heeft talent, dat mag duidelijk zijn." -- Real Roots Cafe (The Netherlands)
"The music is all in Celsi's writing, which is direct, killing...needing no ornamentation..." -- Greil Marcus, Real Life Rock Top Ten
"...a marvelously cool, hip, subtle singer and songwriter, who can pull off the kind of genre-jumping of which I usually disapprove, equally convincing with a Dusty Springfield/Jackie DeShannon style ballad as a Peggy Lee-ish torch song...." -- John Conquest, 3rd Coast Music
"Ihr Debütalbum unter eigenem Namen ist ein gelungenes Werk mit Konzept, Charakter, Stil und Klasse – eine perfekte Einheit vom pulp-style Cover über die 60er Jahre Artwork bis zu den mehrdeutigen Texten und der letzten (Twang-) Note...Anny Celsi ist definitiv anders – im spannendsten Sinn des Wortes!"
-- Glitterhouse.com
Tour info, song lyrics & publication-ready photos available at www.annycelsi.com.
CD available at www.cdbaby.com (USA) and
www.taxim.com (Europe)
Downloads of the songs from 'Little Black Dress' and 'She Walks In' are available at http://cdbaby.com/cd/annycelsi - go there to purchase music directly from the artist!
Lovely to meet you,huge appreciation for your generosity,friendship and time,equal thanks to Nelson for finding time to mooch with a very nervous Julia.x
Great set last night at the 13th Note, Anny. Who needs the E Street Band when you've got Nelson! I'm looking forward to sitting down and giving the albums a listen.
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