Amy Speace and Amy Black (Sawtelle Room)
4-19-2012
Amy Speace's path to songwriting may not have been a straight line, but like many journeys, has been better for the winding way. After graduating from college, she moved to Manhattan to study acting, toured with The National Shakespeare Company for a few years and began writing songs on an old $50 pawn shop guitar. After regular appearances at The Bitter End, a chance encounter with Judy Collins' manager changed her life. Judy Collins signed Amy to her own Wildflower Records label in 2006, releasing Songs for Bright Street. The Killer In Me followed in 2009, with a rare duo appearance by Ian “Mott the Hoople” Hunter, who brought her to the UK for his Acoustic Tour. USA Today called her “a rising star”, NPR named the title track from Killer “Song of the Day” and wrote “her velvety, achy voice recalls an early Lucinda Williams.” In 2010, John Platt of NYC's premiere AAA radio station WFUV named Amy's song “The Weight of the World” in the Top 5 of his list of the “Best Folk Songs of the Decade,” a song that Judy Collins herself would record and call “one of the best political folk songs I've ever heard”. In 2009 she moved to Nashville and began to write her newest album, "Land Like a Bird," whch is currently receiving the best reviews of her career.
For singer/songwriter Amy Black storytelling and Southern tradition is in her blood, arriving with a sense of history, a passion for performing and a whole lot of soul. Black has been performing since she was a kid, and in recent years she found her passion for American roots music. She credits her Alabama roots as the reason she's drawn to music with themes and instrumentation that hail from the south. Her soulful voice, passion and dedication to having a good ole' time come through loud and clear. She's a versatile singer with a bluesy alto voice that can deliver a soft, moving ballad one minute and rock the house the next.
With her new album, "One Time," Amy's powerful voice and presence are matched by the commanding range of her songwriting. The album's three covers are testaments to her feel for classic material. Combined with her original songs, "One Time" delivers one of the most evocative new Americana discs of the year.
Amy Speace's path to songwriting may not have been a straight line, but like many journeys, has been better for the winding way. After graduating from college, she moved to Manhattan to study acting, toured with The National Shakespeare Company for a few years and began writing songs on an old $50 pawn shop guitar. After regular appearances at The Bitter End, a chance encounter with Judy Collins' manager changed her life. Judy Collins signed Amy to her own Wildflower Records label in 2006, releasing Songs for Bright Street. The Killer In Me followed in 2009, with a rare duo appearance by Ian “Mott the Hoople” Hunter, who brought her to the UK for his Acoustic Tour. USA Today called her “a rising star”, NPR named the title track from Killer “Song of the Day” and wrote “her velvety, achy voice recalls an early Lucinda Williams.” In 2010, John Platt of NYC's premiere AAA radio station WFUV named Amy's song “The Weight of the World” in the Top 5 of his list of the “Best Folk Songs of the Decade,” a song that Judy Collins herself would record and call “one of the best political folk songs I've ever heard”. In 2009 she moved to Nashville and began to write her newest album, "Land Like a Bird," whch is currently receiving the best reviews of her career.
For singer/songwriter Amy Black storytelling and Southern tradition is in her blood, arriving with a sense of history, a passion for performing and a whole lot of soul. Black has been performing since she was a kid, and in recent years she found her passion for American roots music. She credits her Alabama roots as the reason she's drawn to music with themes and instrumentation that hail from the south. Her soulful voice, passion and dedication to having a good ole' time come through loud and clear. She's a versatile singer with a bluesy alto voice that can deliver a soft, moving ballad one minute and rock the house the next.
With her new album, "One Time," Amy's powerful voice and presence are matched by the commanding range of her songwriting. The album's three covers are testaments to her feel for classic material. Combined with her original songs, "One Time" delivers one of the most evocative new Americana discs of the year.