| Influences |
i am insatiable. i love almost anything (excluding most top 40...unless it is 80s top 40 and then it's like i'm a kid again). however i have probably been most influenced by other singer-songwriters like cat stevens, melanie safka, elliot smith, jeff buckley, tori amos, liz phair (pre-top 40), bruce springsten, joni mitchell, andrew bird, joanna newsome, hank williams, ben harper, bob dylan, eddie reader, erin mkeown, kimya dawson, edie carey, rufus wainwright, ani difranco, pj harvey, beck, bjork, sinead o'connor, sarah mclachlan...this is by no means an all inclusive list i've just gone blank.
also influenced by classical, tin pan alley, musical theatre, silver screen singers (particularly judy garland or gene kelly), 50-60s music, 80s alternative, lots of women, bands (like radiohead, U2, squirrel nut zippers, weezer, the murmurs, indigo girls, velvet underground, violent femmes, veruca salt...), early jazz, most anything i can get the time to hear...i am very supportive of my fellow musicians and i glean from each what i can whether by character or sound. it is the combination of influence that sets each musician apart. you cannot make something from nothing:) |
Piano lessons at age seven and a secret love for composing and singing developed into rock groups in high school and "going solo" at 17. Tamara produced an e.p. entitled "Downpour" as a junior in high school. At 18 another self-produced project with 16 songs called "Baby Jaymar and the Undercurrent Assertion" came to be. By the time she was 19 and attending college as a theatre major she had written at least 100 songs and recorded her first album in compact disc format "Close Your Eyes and Heal" with 16 more songs and a much improved recorded sound.
This cd released in 2000 maintains the same raw passion as the first two but with a wider range of topic typical of a coming of age story including obsession, mortal wonderment, and awkward first love. This album was her first available to the general public via internet and select stores. Now she did it again after 5 years of bills, loans, higher education, jobs, friends and love.
The new album "yesterconfessions" released February 2006 holds close Tamara's oldest influences such as Melanie Safka and Cat Stevens, it also incorporates ideas of newer artists also ever evolving and never satisfied with one sound such as Andrew Bird, Michelle Shocked and Ani DiFranco. Like these artists Tamara's new album showcases her continual growth and dynamic talent.
Currently residing in Louisville, Kentucky Tamara tours around the midwest region and is currently writing songs for her next album coming in 2007.
