Jill Scott, Otis Redding, Tracy Chapman, Ani DiFranco, India Arie, Musiq Soulchild, Leela James.... love and life
Sounds Like
"Imagine Jill Scott and Otis Redding had a daughter and Tracy Chapman was her god-mother... now imagine she spent summers teaching herself piano in Chicago and guitar in the mountains of North Carolina... that would probably sound something like the music I am fortunate enough to call my own." The music is an infusion of Americana/Blues/Bluegrass/Folk/Funk/Jazz, which, as eclectic as it sounds, is reaching people all around the country and causing them to stop and take notice.
Offering an eclectic blend of funk, blues and jazz singer/songwriter, Crys Matthews brings a refreshing new sub-genre to Neo-Soul. With influences ranging from Otis Redding all the way to Ani DiFranco and having been compared to artists as diverse in sound and style as Jill Scott and Tracey Chapman it's no wonder there isn't a box large enough to encompass what she likes to call FuBlueJazz.
A self-proclaimed old soul, the southeastern North Carolina native first popped onto the local music scene in Boone, NC in 1999 as a vocalist/keyboardist with the band Half & Half before breaking out with her own solo career. Since then she has been a permanent fixture at venues like Caribbean Cafe, Jimmy's Java, Cafe Portofino, and Higher Grounds.
"Music has always been a part of my life -- even before I actually took my first breath," she says. The daughter of a preacher, Crys admits that gospel music was her first love. "I'm always amazed at how much true soul music sounds like what I grew up listening to in church when I was a little girl," she says. That gospel influence is very evident throughout her own music, especially in the track she often refers to as, 'a love-letter for any one who has ever had to leave someone,' 2,000 Miles.
The rest of the album is as diverse as her influences. "Cant Run Away from Love" shows off her jazz influence and simultaneously introduces her audience to her skill level on the keys. The title track for her debut album, "This is No Poem," offers an intimate look at what is a quintessential element in the blues -- living hard and loving harder. That Bohemian naivety, the notion that love will always make everything OK, is what a lot of the record is about. "My mom always said, it doesnt matter what you're going through or how bad you think things are -- as long as you know somebody somewhere loves you, chances are everything is going to be just fine."
With a fan base that continues to widen and two albums slated for release in 2009, it seems that things are indeed going to be more than fine for this artist.
hey there sorry i was sooo busy that i had actually schedualed your performance on the day after... my bad that was my own stupidity... but i went to dirty queer and they annouced that u would be performing again there and i will be there... how r u?
DYLAN GILBERT LIVE Tuesday November 3rd 2009 @ CrossRoads Coffee House on The App State Univ Campus (in the student union building) in Boone NC Free Admission Starts around 8pm
