Jo D'Anna performs solo singing only her original songs, accompanying herself on guitar
Influences
Any and all of the folk/rock icons of the 60's/70's, including: Joni Mitchell; Judy Collins; Joan Baez (vocal styles); Crosby, Stills & Nash; Jefferson Airplane; Donovan; Bob Dylan; Leonard Cohen. Also, Kate Wolf; James Taylor; Simon & Garfunkel; The Beatles; The Rolling Stones; Fleetwood Mac; Pentangle; Emmylou Harris; Roseanne Cash; Suzanne Vega; Patty Larkin; Gillian Welch, and many more, too numerous to mention. . .
Sounds Like
Many times Jo has been told she reminds them of Joni Mitchell, mostly because of her storytelling lyrics, and her expressive voice that has a range of several octaves; other times she reminds the listener of singers like Joan Baez, Linda Ronstadt, Judy Collins or Kate Wolf. Most of the time, Jo D'Anna just sounds like herself - she truly has her own signature style and sound.
Jo D’Anna is best known for her heartfelt, storytelling lyrics, expressive voice, mesmerizing melodies and classic fingerstyle folk guitar.
Currently residing in Marin County, California, Jo is a native to the San Francisco Bay Area. She was born and raised in Palo Alto, California where she came of age in the 60's. Her music is strongly influenced by the 60's folk-rock icons who inspired her at that time. Those influences naturally found their way through her own music when she began writing songs seriously and performing in the early 90's, after performing as vocalist and guitarist for the prior eight years with McTune, a former local South Bay acoustic folk trio which performed covers and originals (before becoming a folk trio, the original McTune was comprised of the folk/songwriting/vocal harmonies duo of Dean McComb and Jo D’Anna performing in Santa Barbara, California, and later in the SF South Bay area).
As a fundamental part of her musical background, Jo D’Anna has studied guitar with three South Bay masters (including the notorious Jerry Garcia, who inspired her own signature fingerstyle guitar style), has studied private voice and piano, and has a college music degree from UC Santa Barbara.
In Spring of 1995, Jo D’Anna released her first CD entitled Alouwenja, a thematic compilation of her earlier songs in which her lyrics are replete with symbols of nature as a theme for inspiration, healing and transformation. Soon after the release, the title track of Alouwenja was included in a compilation CD entitled OasisAcoustic Vol. III, presented by the well-respected Oasis CD Manufacturing Co., the duplicating company that manufactured Alouwenja.
In early 2004, another one of the songs on Alouwenja (“Warrior Queen”) was selected for inclusion in yet another compilation CD presented by “Artists for Change” (www.artistsforchange.bz) released in October 2004. The compilation CD is entitled The Goddess Within, whose purpose is to empower, inspire and encourage women who wish to move beyond the cycle of domestic violence. Proceeds from the sales of the CD, The Goddess Within, are donated to women’s shelters and organizations.
In March of 2007, Jo D’Anna released her second album, As She Is, a delightful collection of her original songs in the folk/pop genre which were inspired mostly during her participation in the San Francisco Song Group, a local informal songwriter’s exchange. In As She Is, Jo combined her songwriting style (primarily fingerstyle guitar and folk-based songs) with the more urbane style and seamless sound-blending talents of Ben Leinbach, an amazing percussionist and multi-instrumentalist, who was also her producer and recording engineer for As She Is (www.benleinbach.com). Also in 2007, the song “Living In Dreams” was selected for a second Oasis CD compilation, entitled “Oasis Adult Contemporary Volume VII 2" put out by the same CD duplicating company as her first album, Oasis CD.
Along with being an award-winning songwriter as a member in WestCoast Songwriter’s Association (WCS - formerly known as Northern California Songwriter’s Association, or NCSA) since 1990, Jo D’Anna has also been an ongoing member of an the San Francisco Song Group, an informal meeting ground where local songwriter members exchange and share new songs for inspiration and peer critique, as well as occasionally perform together as a group once or twice a year in a local venue. Jo D'Anna is also currently a member of SongsAlive!, an international songwriting organization, and her song, "Living In Dreams", has been selected to appear on the upcoming SongsAlive! CD Sampler 9.
Jo D’Anna, Singer Songwriter's Friend Space (Top 4)
Thanks for your kind message and glad you like the sounds ... Sounding good yourself, many thanks for the friendship. If you're interested we have just released a CD for which you can pay what you choose (with Free Worldwide Postage)...cheers
concert : meditation and music... its happening tomorrow at the cozy brahma kumaris meditation center on baker st @ hayes st. in SF with indian classical vocalist , world percussion’s and also me (per) on guitar monday 15 december 7 to 830 pm. free, hope to find your well
Hello Mary Jo! Your songs sond great here on the page. Wished we lived closer geographically. It would be nice to collaberate.Maybe online? Your Cousin Carlo
Welcome to myspace, Jo D'Anna!! I love your songs, you are soooo deep and insightful, really one of my favorite songwriters, and i hope you put more tunes up on here soon! I put you on my top friends to help spread the word! Best wishes to you in music and love now and in the future!
