Album Notes

East Bay (San Fransisco/Oakland) troubadour Caren Armstrong sings from her heart, tackling such taboo emotions as anger and fear, along with the more sought after feelings of joy, hope, and love. “Leave no emotional stone unturned” is her motto. Hanging contemporary subjects on traditional musical bones, she entices her listeners to explore their own inner landscapes. “Her guitar playing and music writing is influenced by the folk and acoustic music of years past, and is on the cutting-edge of today’s great acoustic/folk music”- Erik Deckers of Indie-Music.com. But this is no new age, la de da princess. She’s a woman with a full set of emotions and she lets you know about all of them. Take, for example, the opening line of Stay Away From Me: “Well, I wish you where a snake so I could skin your ass and roast it on the fire.” As Grammy winning songwriter Steve Seskin put it: “Songs about real life sung with passion and precision.” Caren’s soaring vocals and intimate, dynamic performances have endeared her to fans nationwide.

Raised in the LA basin, Caren taught herself to play guitar at age 10 and was teaching guitar at a local music store by the time she was 13 (yes, thirteen). While still a teenager, she was the lead singer for the jazz trio led by West Coast jazz stalwart Gene Leis. Caren now lives in Oakland, CA, tours nationally, hosts a monthly songwriter night at The Sweetwater (Mill Valley, CA), is still in high demand as a guitar teacher, and has produced albums by artists such as the new acoustic string band Calavaras, art-folkie Lori B, and Marin County’s Ilene Adar. She has won the Emerging Songwriter Award at the Napa Valley Music Festival, and the Songwriting Competition at the 15th annual Tucson Folk Festival.