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“Her lyrics challenge listeners the way that Michael Moore challenges viewers.”
Ann Forcier, The Recorder, Greenfield, MA
She saw Led Zeppelin on their first US tour and loves Joan Baez, but don’t expect some wide-eyed hippie in tie-dye cooing about love and daisies. Sure, if you went to the first Woodstock and you want peace-loving music, you’ve come to the right place, but your kids will also love her refreshingly direct folk-rock with a touch of blues, vintage R&B and yep, even techno, with anthems that’ll make you dance around your living room or call your congress person, some at the same time.
Like so many others, she took piano as a kid and taught herself the guitar as a young adult, but she made a detour to become a pharmacist. Not just one of those white-coated clerks at a chain store, but at her own store. At the young age of 55, she climbed up on stage, sans the lab coat, and sang for an audience that was so enthusiastic that soon after she sold the pharmacy and made music a focus. Linq does nothing halfway, diving into the music world with a single in 2003 and then her first album in 2004. Another full-length album, Fast Moving Dream, came out in 2006.
Her newest CD Life Goes On, released in April 2009, was produced by June Millington (Cris Williamson) and features a stellar array of musicians including June on guitar, Jean Millington on bass, Jami Sieber (Ferron) on electric cello, and others, with songs about diversity, the state of the world and why you should drive slowly on Route 32.
“Diversity Dance” is a celebration of all that we are. With a thundering retro-disco bass and funky guitar, you’ll want to shake your booty to
"You can dance if you’re straight / You can dance if you’re gay /Transsexual too /
And bisexuality is cool / It doubles the dating pool"
There’s a little bit of Pink Floyd in “Where Will the Wild Ones Go,” a song that wonders what happens when the bulldozers mow down our green planet. And if you didn’t get that message, in “SOS” it appears again in a lament about the state of our world, all done to a techno beat with a moody electric cello and electronic sounds straight out of a horror flick, driving home the litany of political lies, fixed elections, the hole in the ozone layer and more.
You’ll feel hopeful again with “Will You Care,” a peaceful call and response anthem. Cellist Jami Sieber plays a lovely Middle Eastern type melody on this one, emphasizing the need for the whole world community to be involved. “Life Goes On” features water-tight harmonies about how change is an everyday part of who we are. You could also “Change the Picture” because no one is born a racist or a bully, we learn those things from others, and we can unlearn them too. The light hearted “Route 32 Blues” sounds like it belongs on an old AM radio, with its rootsy rock feel.
“Nothing Left To Give” has a cool groove and organ reminiscent of old R&B, perfectly matching the regret about a relationship she has to let go. The folky “Ode to the Butterworth Boys” is a nostalgic look at a loving community of gay men, with words written by Gerald Marcanio. Ending the disc is reprise of “Life Goes On” (“Life Goes On Part 2”) that’s part dance mix and part meditation, with lush harmonies and intricate percussion.
Linq performs around New England and at selected gigs outside the region including showcases at the 2008 Indiegrrl Conference in Virginia. Her first video, “George Orwell Where are You?” has remained near the top of the list of Neil Young’s Living With War Today Top Protest Videos since it debuted in 2007. She’s been the featured artist on several sites including Indiegrrl, Gay Guitarists Worldwide, GoGirls and more. Awards include an Honorable Mention for “Tired” from the International Narrative Song Competition, in the top 50 in the American Idol Underground (“Victim of the War”), and Fast Moving Dream was in the top 40 on the Outvoice charts for an entire year.
Linq believes that music is the most effective tool we have to bring people together, to celebrate each other and to break down barriers. And if it takes a former pharmacist to do that, all the better. It’s a medicine we can all use.
Political Song: Change the Picture
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