Bob Knetzger: pedal steel, dobro, banjo;
Paul Elliott: fiddle;
Traci Hoveskeland: cello;
Chris Spencer: electric guitar;
Nancy K. Dillon: voice;
Thornton Bowman: voice;
Paula Walters: upright bass;
Doug Miller: upright bass;
Aimee Zoe Tubbs: drums/percussion;
MJ: voice, acoustic guitar, accordion
THE VIDEO ON THIS PAGE is a live version of This Way & That, recorded at the student concert at Puget Sound Guitar Workshop (www.psgw.org) on August 15, 2007 (engineered by Chip Hayward and Coty Hogue, mastered by Chip Hayward, and then slightly tweaked by Moe Provencher (with additional tweakage by Doug Haire) at Jack Straw Studios).
The incredible back-up band behind me is:
Ivan Rosenberg, dobro
Stacy Phillips, fiddle
David Keenan, banjo
Piper Heisig, upright bass
Marie Eaton, back-up vocals
And approx. 120 more backing voices from the audience - students and instructors from camp - whooooosh! :)
Influences
Patsy Cline, Hank Williams, k.d. lang, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt, Mary Gauthier, Eliza Gilkyson, Lynn Miles, Slaid Cleaves, Gerald Collier, Thornton Bowman, Nancy K. Dillon
Sounds Like
I've been told I sound like Patsy Cline, k.d. lang, Natalie Merchant, Kim Richey, Dar Williams, Rory Block, Indigo Girls, Cowboy Junkies, Carole King and even Karen Carpenter ("I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation" - come on people, sing it with me!)
Live Performance of This Way & That (Copyright 2007 MJ Bishop) at www.psgw.org - August 2007
Finalist in Songwriting Contest, Tumbleweed Music Festival, September 5, 2009, Richland, WA
Finalist in Songwriting Contest, Tucson Folk Festival, 2009, Tucson, AZ
Pull Of The Moon Reviews:
"…MJ Bishop does sound rather like the much-missed Patsy Cline … her voice just makes you want to stand up and cry for more …" Maverick Magazine (UK) - March 2009
Pull of the Moon chosen as Notable Northwest Recording of 2008
Christine Linde, Americana Music Director - KBCS FM, Bellevue, WA
"... Bishop is blessed with a hell of a voice and has her own type of pure Americana, which you are happy to hear and which attracts a freshly opened can of superlatives... in the same musical waters with colleagues like a Neko Case, a Gillian Welch, a Jesse Sykes and the Cowboy Junkies like to frequent. Country? Yes, but with a significant twist. More alternative or really Americana, of an acoustic bent and often more earthy with an introspective side. ...'Ode To Big Blue' - a melancholy gem she brings the accordion into play, and with such a lovely old-fashioned sob in the voice creates a tribute to her own guitar. ..."
Ctrl.Alt.Country (Belgium) - October 2008
"A bluegrass influence is woven in and out of a number of tracks on this release and “Far Cry” is a classic example of that kicking-up-the-dust-on-a-back-road-less-traveled feel. Speaking of travel, “Highway” is saturated with that open road longing and big sky color. “Hobo Dreams” is a delightful way to finish off Pull of the Moon, as it leaves the listener hungry for whatever Bishop comes up with next.”
Victory Music Magazine (Tacoma, WA) - October 2008
"... Wistful music about love, about loneliness, bittersweetly sung with a beautiful voice. A real cross-country singer this lady is certainly not because she is, curiously said, simply too good for. What Bishop is doing with her songs crawl under your skin."
Moors Magazine (The Netherlands) - September 2008
"... with 'Pull of the Moon' this singer/songwriter shows she surely has even greater things ahead of her. Superb poetically written lyrics which blend beautifully with her silken honeyed voice. 'Pull Me In' is her earnest plea for love, delivered with so much depth that everyone who listens to this ballad wants immediately to be her rescuer. ..."
Rootsville (Belgium) - August 2008
This Way & That (Pull of the Moon) receives Honorable Mention from Nashville Demo Studio: Annual Songwriters Competition, August 2008.
Hobo Dreams (Pull Of The Moon) receives Honorable Mention in the American Songwriter Magazine lyric contest, May/June 2008.
* * * * *
MJ Bishop is an acoustic folk Americana solo artist out of Seattle who has performed steadily since 1998 in and around Seattle, and has also taken her music to Oregon, California, Idaho, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Michigan, Indiana and Florida.
Her long-awaited third album, Pull Of The Moon, sees her rolling up her sleeves and plunging into the grittiness that is Americana, through the sweet, familiar melodies of folk. The added trim around the edges reveals her deep roots in country, jazz, rock and pop.
On these 12 tracks, MJ’s unwavering smoky vocals start from the dirt in the crawl space, climb the stairs to the kitchen, the bedrooms, the attic, and finally blast through the roof. She takes you on a journey starting with the evocative opener “Up North” (about her small home town in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula), weaving a story around the life of a guitar, life’s pushes and pulls, love, loss, heartache, freedom from the nine-to-five job, and the appeal of the open road. You will be conflicted by the lyrics as they first lure you with the promise of good times before abruptly dropping you into a chasm of loneliness and heartache.
MJ BISHOP DISCOGRAPHY:
PULL OF THE MOON - 2008
FEEL GOOD - 2003
HOMETOWN ADDRESS - 2001
I ask you to please come and listen to my new prayer/song. "Sweet Mystery" which I wrote for and dedicate to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Iconified at St. James Cathedral in Seattle, WA. Thank You & God Bless You! Johnny Kabuki
Hello MJ, Thanks for your wonderful comment. It’s a real pleasure to hear you like my music! …see you out there when “I store my 9 to 5 life away.” Best Wishes, Robby
Please stop by and check out my newest song "LOVE VINE DIVINE". I'm breaking new ground with this one and I think you'll like the vocal harmonies and rocking rhythm guitar. Let me know what you think! I'm trying to develop different sounds and your input is really appreciated. Thank you as always!
Hi MJ, How are you doing! Remember me from the Q cafe? I invite you to stop by and check out my new song "Silent Moon". Please leave a comment. I would really appreciate the feedback. Have a great week! Johnny.
Awww, thanks so much for the comment and encouragement. I'm stoked that you like the song. Hopefully they bring a little joy to your day. Can't wait to talk more. Make sure to download a couple tunes to help fundraise for Orphanage Emmanuel or get an orphans shirt if you can:) You seem like an amazing person! So how is the adventure of life treating you lately? Write soon.
This month we mostly have Catie Curtis (with a Richard Thompson cover), Lindsay Fuller and The Cheap Dates (and who amongst us isn't?), Josh Fix with a track from the well-titled album This Town Is Starting To Make Me Angry and the rather lovely Red Rooster.
I enjoyed our jams this past weekend at the Tumbleweed Music Festival. Hope we can do it again sometime.
We've released a Hawkeye DVD, "Hawkeye Live In Concert." You can see/hear many of the songs on the new Hawkeye DVD for free at; http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=HawkeyeH&view=videos
I hope our paths cross on the musical highway of Life ... sooner than later.
Thanks again for your friendship.
Cheers and Best Wishes,
Hawkeye Herman www.HawkeyeHerman.com Blues Foundation "Keeping The Blues Alive" Award recipient Iowa Blues Hall of Fame
Hi MJ, hope all is tickerdiboo over there.....dropped by to say I've been listening to your cd today...(still love 'landed') seems like I wasn't the only person, looking at the preceding comment.....shine on! diane x
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