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J O A N N E R A N D
B I O G R A P H Y“Psychedelic-Folk-Revivalâ€
Opening hearts along a wide spectrum of human existence, Joanne Rand spins anthems of grassroots power and personal transformation. In 2005 Rand released “Where Our Power Liesâ€, her eighth independent recording of original material and some of her best work to date.
Born and raised in the Deep South, Rand’s connection to the natural world and to the “collective unconscious†has always inspired her muse. A graduate of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, she cut her performance teeth in Alaska, then as a wilderness homesteader in Northern California, touring repeatedly from Canada to the Mexican border. Just try to peg Rand’s music, it’s impossible: radical, classical, earth-based, politico-spiritual, folk-rock â€song poetry†of the ages, written for the masses, but really appealing to the individual. In 1990, while collaborating with celebrated guitarist Steve Kimock, Rand emerged from the wilderness, formed a band (voted Best Band in Sonoma County, CA in 1995), and went on to anchor in Seattle’s home-town music scene. In Seattle Rand collaborated with her songwriter-brother, Jordan, who died of AIDS in 1995. Rand’s twenty-year career has included performances with Bonnie Raitt, John Hartford, Janis Ian, and members of the former Grateful Dead. She has performed in Manhattan, Los Angeles, Atlanta, San Francisco, Toronto, Hawaii, Anchorage, Santa Fe, Ecuador, and beyond. Her last four CDs are co-produced with Stephen Hart, chief engineer of Berkeley’s legendary Fantasy Studios.
Rand now lives in Arcata, CA, with her husband and young daughter, where she is earning a degree in music, teaching privately, and performing with her band “The Rhythm of the Open Heartsâ€. Her current recording project is an album of traditional folk tunes played in Rand’s own inimitable style.
