2007 YEAR IN REVUE: From an Arm's Length View
(December 2006 - November 2007)
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Girl meets Girl. Girl becomes Boy. Girl and Boy become a band.
Meet COYOTE GRACE.
If you want a lesson in organic chemistry, take notes as you watch the sparks fly between the acoustic downhome duo, COYOTE GRACE. This folktastic phenomenon is the result of combining one guitarist Joe Stevens, a transman from Northern California, with one upright bassist Ingrid Elizabeth, a sassy femme originally hailing from the hills of Southeastern Ohio. Together, they capture the eyes and the hearts of live audiences nationwide with their bluesy folkgrass sound, sweet harmonies, poignant songwriting, and mid-song dance moves.
Coyote Grace has shared the stage with such folk icons as Indigo Girls, Melissa Ferrick, Cris Williamson, and Lowen & Navarro. They can also be found wooing the crowds at colleges, festivals, conferences, coffeehouses, pubs, house concerts, farmers markets, and community centers alike. Although they spend most of the year on the road, the duo now resides in Sonoma County, California.
Spring 2009 brings the release of Ear to the Ground, the duo's long-awaited sophomore studio album. In this latest evolution of their unique Americana/roots sound, Coyote Grace displays a striking musical maturation from their debut effort, filling out the duo's sound with guest musicians on fiddle, mandolin, guitar, keys, and drums. Ingrid Elizabeth shows a stronger songwriting & vocal presence, while Joe Stevens continues to wear his heart on his sleeve with his emotionally charged, raw lyrics. The album's mood ebbs and flows, winding from a sparse banjo/vocal duet, through a slow bluegrass ballad, to blues-driven full band sound to swinging country fiddle tune to pensive piano-kissed lullabye -- a soundscape as tangible as the duo's newfound home in the rolling hills of Sonoma County.
The two met while living in Seattle, and have been performing as a duo since December 2004, sharing the stage with bluegrass, old-time, folk rock, jazz, and cabarets alike. Coyote Grace spent the entire year of 2007 touring the country in their 1978 Chevy RV (Harvey), promoting their debut studio album, Boxes & Bags. Aptly titled, the album pays homage to the trademarks of their nomadic troubadour lifestyle, featuring 12 original tracks of acoustic alt-folk sounds, weaving fabrics of upbeat folkgrass, front-porch blues, lovesick serenades, broody funk, and freight train folk rock into a curious tapestry conveying themes of transformation, introspection, and the impermanence of identity.
During their travels, the troubador pair became a trio when they invited Tucson-based songwriter/guitarist Courtney Robbins to join the tour. To commemorate their year on the road, they released The Harvey Tour, a collection of live recordings, in Summer 2008. The live album features new original songs from Robbins, Stevens, & Elizabeth, as well as old favorites from each of their debut studio albums, with a handful of fun cover tunes for a true taste of the live show experience. All albums are available on their website: www.coyotegrace.com
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