Members fluxuate, but on the album our main rhythm section is:
John Kirby (keys), Takeshi Akimoto( guit) Kaveh Rastegar (bass) Nate Wood (drums)
- Live, we've got:
Eli Brueggamann (keys), Erik Klass/Lorca Hart (drums) and Dan Seeff (Bass)& Takeshi Akimoto
(guit)
...Battlestar Galactica fan?... you may know me as "the etherial voice" in many many many episodes. Or the person singing in one of many languages from far and wide.
...Oingo Bongo fan?...well if you've made any of the recent Halloween shows, I was the singer in the striped tights...and little else. Oh, and my upcoming album was produced by Steve Bartek. Oh yeah, now you want it.
Influences
Duke Ellington, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, Queen, Frank Zappa, Allen Toussaint, Nina Simone,Lena Horne, Bonnie Raitt, Bjork, Peggy Lee, Beatles, PJ Harvey, Queen, Sam Phillips, Bear McCreary,Thais Carmen, Camille Yarbrough, MARTIN YARBROUGH...& Jem and the Holograms
Sounds Like
What I wanted my 2 previous album to sound like, but I hadn't the time or money. I hadn't enough time or money for this one either, actually, but I don't know if you ever feel totally done with a piece of your art. So it sounds like somebody playing guitar on the back porch. Sounds like Imogen Heap and Clifford Brown on a bender. Sounds like a sarcastic cha-cha. Sounds like walking through a mirror maze in New Orleans. Sounds like Jazz. Sounds like blues. Sounds good in your car.
......................................................................................................................................
Raya was only seven when her musician father, went back to the nightclub circuit, and brought her with him. There, in Hollywood - the real, sticky Hollywood not the metaphor - she found herself performing for diverse and often difficult crowds. This experience shaped her ability, not only to defend herself with a fork, but to communicate musically, and later influenced her writing. Today, her style is a kaleidoscope of edgy, truthful songwriting, which stems from classic jazz roots.
Now, for several years, the L.A.-born songwriter/vocalist/arranger has been captivating audiences with her own music - a mesmerizing blend of original songs, jazz, pop, rhythm and blues and much more. On the strength of compelling live performances that reveal shades of Joni Mitchell and Bonnie Raitt, The Los Angeles Times called her voice "a pliable, versatile instrument, an effective vehicle for a musical expression that ranges freely." USA Today remarked,” Yarbrough’s gracefully gritty vocals recall a young Joan Osborne.”
Yarbrough has now made her debut on Telarc (Concord) with her self-titled album, “Raya Yarbrough” which embraces the broad sweep of her musical influences. Helping her to bring this album to reality was her producer, guitarist-composer Steve Bartek. (formerly of Oingo Boingo, Orchestrator for Danny Elfman, frequent orchestrator for Jon Brion).
The music on this album, not unlike Yarbrough's life in general, is a multi-faceted prism. As a multiracial race twenty-something, she sees the parallels between having a diverse background, and creating equally diverse music. Raya grew up in a context of cultural and artistic dualities, so rather than link herself with one particular genre, she'd just as soon be Raya Yarbrough, the songwriter.
"I don't choose to identify solely with jazz or solely with pop. While jazz may be my root, both genres are me," she says. "If you're on stage and you're being real, the audience will know. If you have an inkling of who you are and what your direction is, you just have to follow that.”
Raya’s original songs have also been featured on televisions shows including Girlfriends and Sci-Fi Channel’s hit Battlestar Galactica. As a studio singer, Raya has recorded and performed with many major acts, including the re-formed Oingo Boingo, and appearing on Neil Young’s ground-breaking album Living With War.
Also check out more about my life and times at:http://smallville.wikia.com/wiki/Raya
........Amazing the things one goes through to be a musician............
Although I've only herad the work you've done with your husband-to-be, I am very much enjoying one of our little planet's most astoundingly beaytiful voices (yeah...that's you), but am looking forward to exploring your other material. Wish I could wrangle a way to one of the HOB gigs, but alas, time and moolah are in short supply, so...if you were to lean on the Bear-man to bring the band up to Seattle, that would be very apreciated - it could be a righteous home-town kinda thing his mom could come to. ;)
Adam R Sweet's Fiddler's Bow is on sale this month. Visit this page: http://adamrsweet.com/mybow.html to order through PayPal or direct from Emily's Website
Every order comes with a free cake of green Irish rosin!
Hey thanks for accepting our request, we hope you like our music. See you on a Gwydion show! Our merchandise is available for sale, to order send mail to: shop@gwydion.org or do it in our myspace.
Hello Raya Yarbrough Thank you for being a positive force in this world. Another positive force is music.
Music has so much positive power that it can bring different cultures together. Please feel free to contact me at any time. I also hope you will make many new contacts on this page.
