Trish Murphy

For Austin's Trish Murphy it's been a stormy ride between records. But sometimes the pain makes you stronger and that is certainly the case with her splendid new release, Girls Get In Free. With a new found confidence, Murphy unleashes ten new songs filled with passion and charm as well as a tantalizing and rowdy duet with Austin heart throb Bob Schneider on Lyle Lovetts Cowboy Man. The Austin Chronicle has summed up the album and Trishs talents best: A striking tableau of empowerment, whimsicality, and longing set to rich, rootsy textures, Girls firmly secures Murphys place in the upper echelon of Austin singer-songwriters. And its the songs on Girls Get In Free that are the real stars. From the first notes of the jangly set opener All I Want to the defiant The Trouble With Trouble to the impassioned country rocker Crying As Fast As I Can to the bittersweet atmospheric I Don't Want To Believe, this is easily Trishs best work to date. Murphy has been a musician most of her life. In 1996, she moved to Austin to nurture a solo career and became one of the fastest rising musical stars in Texas. Her discography now includes three solo albums, two of which she recorded and released on her own label. Crooked Mile was released independently in April 1997 to widespread critical raves. National distribution soon followed, along with constant touring throughout the U.S. and Europe. Tour highlights included a week with Lilith Fair and appearances on Mountain Stage and World Cafe. Her follow-up CD, Rubies on the Lawn (Doolittle/Mercury 1999), garnered national press, mainstream radio airplay and more international touring, including a return to the Lilith Fair in its final season. Captured, independently released in late 2001, found Trish returning to her Texas roots in a stripped-down, live acoustic setting, doing what she does best: telling stories and shooting from the hip. Murphy has staunch fans among her fellow artists as well. Her song "Wrong Side of Town" (Crooked Mile 1997) was recorded as a duet with Pat Green for his 2002 Universal release Three Days. This summer, she will join longtime friends Cross Canadian Ragweed in the studio to record her haunting "Boiling Water" for their upcoming fall release. "There's no deeper affirmation for a writer than having your friends want to cover your songs," she confesses. "The creative camraderie in Texas is unlike anywhere else. Maybe because the state is so huge it's almost impossible to escape," she laughs. Equally important to Murphy is her work as a volunteer board member of GenAustin, a non-profit outreach program that helps middle school-aged girls develop strong self-esteem (http://www.genaustin.org). Murphys dedication to the program is so deep seated that the CD release party for Girls Get In Free was a benefit for GenAustin.