Girlyman

After spending the last six years living, cooking meals, writing songs, and even attending therapy together in a cramped New York City apartment, the members of Girlyman are ready to make a change. Perhaps the title track off their new CD, "Joyful Sign," says it best: "Sometimes leaving is a joyful sign/Like a little child singing, 'This little light of mine, gonna let it shine.'" Band member Nate Borofsky admits that leaving is a major theme throughout the CD. "When we moved in together and started Girlyman six years ago, we all kind of fell in love and had this creative explosion. Now that we're all moving out, there's a sense of possibility and excitement about what could happen next."

Girlyman (Nate Borofsky, Doris Muramatsu, and Ty Greenstein) isn't always so introspective - with a tongue-in-cheek moniker, they try not to take themselves too seriously. "Girlyman is a great name for us," says Muramatsu. "It's playful and fun, and that's who we are. But we also like that it hints at how we've never felt like we fit in. Nate wears make-up onstage, I'm a Japanese-American playing to mostly white audiences. Ty is a grown-up tomboy. The name Girlyman puts that all out there and lets us play with it."

Co-produced with Bob Harris, "Joyful Sign" features the band's folk/pop/bluegrass sound but with a sense of confidence, energy and spirit that the trio has become known for live. The album is a showcase for memorable, well-crafted songs, graced by the group's signature three-part harmonies. And after six years of living, playing and touring together, the chemistry between Doris, Ty, and Nate has never been more evident. The members of Girlyman, all classically trained, trade off songwriting duties and a slew of instruments including acoustic guitar, banjo, baritone guitar, djembe and mandolin. "We're also big harmony geeks," adds Greenstein. "Our arrangements definitely reflect that."

After releasing two CDs ("Remember Who I Am" and "Little Star") on Amy Ray's hugely respected indie Daemon Records, the group decided to self-release their latest offering while Daemon undergoes a restructuring of its operations. Yet another example of life imitating art: "Daemon is another thing we've left behind with this CD," says Borofsky. "We've been fans of the Indigo Girls forever, so to be able to record for Amy's label, as well as tour with the group, was incredible. Daemon is a label with a lot of integrity, but it's been empowering to release this CD ourselves."

Since touring with the Indigo Girls, Girlyman has become a national headlining act in its own right, selling out major folk venues across the country, playing on internationally syndicated radio shows, and earning the kind of loyal following that no record label can manufacture. The band's growing legions of "girlyfans" frequently drive hundreds of miles to follow the group from show to show.