I'm just this girl see... and you could say I am borne of music. It has taken me all over the place literally, figuratively and no doubt emotionally. I'm a singer/songwriter and play a few instruments. I decided to plant some roots finally just south of Austin, Texas in a great town called San Marcos. When I moved here I had no idea I had landed in the heart of Texas songwriter heaven. Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, SRV and George Strait were all staples of the San Marcos music scene back in the day. Personally I've been compared to everyone from Ann Wilson, KT Tunstall, Mia Zapata, Heather Nova and Patsy Cline to a female Glenn Danzig. I look more like the lovechild of a punk rock Pippi Longstocking in a paternity suit with Gene Simmons and Bootsy Collins. Speaking of Collins, I love me some Phil and occasionally perform solo in my kitchen for unsuspecting friends and houseguests as a pre-dinner warm up act. I have also been known to play a mean kazoo on roadtrips and really you haven't lived until you've heard the horn section from Fleetwood Mac's Tusk played on a kazoo somewhere on I-80 at 2 am.
I've been lucky enough to record in some great studios, work with incredible talent from the U.S. and Europe and open for the late great Bo Diddley. Where I come from and where I've been makes for an interesting story and even if I stood right here the rest of my life I'd still have plenty of inspiration for the songs that crawl out of my head. I wear my heart on my sleeve and that is very evident in my music. I believe in the power of good food, a cold beverage and the hum of an old tube amp. I've seen them all bring people a little closer to Heaven. I've never met a stranger though I have met some strange characters during my travels. I'm lucky to have lived long enough to see some of my dreams become a tangible reality. I'd like to stand on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry just once before I die. I'd also love to see my name in the soundtrack credits for a Cameron Crowe movie. That dude knows and loves his music. In the meantime I'd like to think that this is my own soundtrack to a crazy movie where the script is mostly improvisation. I'm a little bit Nashville, a little bit London, a little bit Chicago, Seattle and run like the mighty Mississippi River soaked in delta blues. Texas seems to be creeping into this girl too and I can't help but soak in the sun of this beautiful hill country and let it radiate through my music. On any given day I could look or sound a lot of ways. Don't fence me in, man. To quote Steve Earle circa Copperhead Road era, if you insist on putting a label on me I'll take "heavy metal bluegrass".
You can catch me as a solo artist rockin' the piano and acoustic guitar and also as an occasional utility player and backing vocalist for The Olive Street Band . Keep supporting your local scenes, folks! It's important to us all to keep art alive.
<3 Bel
