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Marie Black Biography
"Black’s deep vibrato and confident delivery could distinguish her in the femme-folk-rock sweepstakes . . . "
Jeff Rosenberg -- Willamette Week
On the edgier, noir side of acoustic driven rock, Marie Black's lyrical tales of existential, political and emotional groove dwellings take you from a starry desert night . . . to a moonless night in the Tenderloin . . . where you can get in touch with your insides. Austin Music Magazine called her voice “a unique blend of heartbreak and defiance.†Most of the songs sway with elements of rock and a touch of twang, each having its own feel and personality, yet woven together by the personal style that makes her unique.
A compelling performer, her vocal expression can leave you on the edge of your seat or with a tear in your eye.
Writing songs about love, loss, rape, despotism, healing, strength and hope, Marie speaks the unspeakable through song and brings you up on the other side. Drawing from a deep well of personal experience, her songs reflect a spectrum of the human condition.
One of her latest songs, "Amphibian," is about the destructive abuse of power in religion which she knows extremely well having been shunned from her religiously zealous family at age 16.
"Hollywood Sage" foils a dark irony between lyrical sarcasm and a deceptively cheery melody. It is a somewhat autobiographical account of having been an 18 year old girl from the cornfields of Pennsylvania who bussed it to Los Angeles where she tried to find her way into show business, of which she knew nothing. Through many trials and errors in a nine-month span, she only found herself in a sleazy peripheral sub-culture of Hollywood wanna-be’s and dark stars, a place where a lot of young women find themselves and some lose themselves forever.
"Her sultry voice, smooth and sweet as honey, is a perfect foil to her bittersweet songs". . . SF Weekly
"Raw, powerful, dynamic, silky smooth vocals". . . Texas Beat
"She's the real thing"... Lloyd Mains, Steel Guitarist
Having performed throughout San Francisco and Austin for over fourteen years, she now lives and performs in Portland, Oregon.
'Saints' is her first album (under the name of Marie Swan) that she wrote, produced and performed on with some of the bay area's best musical talent: David Denny, formerly of the Steve Miller Band on electric guitar; Pete Scaturro, known for his keyboard artistry on albums by Joe Satriani and Chris Isaac and soundtracks for television's "The Practice" and other TV soundtracks; and Naomi Ruth Eisenberg (a.k.a. Naomi Vice) delivering an emotionally charged violin performance on "Obsessed," and formerly with Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks.
Her second album will be released in 2008.
"Saints" received critical reviews throughout the US and radio airplay in the US, Canada and Europe.
Guest singer at Bobbie McFerrin's Chant for World Peace, on the New Years Eve preceeding the impending first Iraq War.
Winner of songwriting contests including Bay Area Music Referral for her song "Rude Boy" featuring Alex Weir of The Brother's Johnson and the Jonathen Demme / Talking Heads film "Stop Making Sense" on guitar.
Marie studied voice for five years with Raz Kennedy of Bobby McFerrin's Voicestra.
Marie has had live accompaniment at her performances from lots of talented and generous musicians, including Spot on bass (Black Flag Producer), Dave Shul (Spearhead), and Naomi Ruth Eisenberg (Dan Hicks).
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