"Hypnotic."-Sacramento News & Review
"She'll sing an anti-war lament, a lost lovers longing, a glass of beer with the hippies in chicago, an errant piece of poetry, an accidental bit of whimsy, and a melody that tugs and pulls like an anxious steed."
-Ben Brenner, Singer/songwriter, Blues guitarist
THE CD:
Woman Mother Earth Sky, released in March 2004, is the long awaited follow-up to Roberta's self-released demo CD, Can You Hear This? While it contains many of the songs from the original demo in addition to the newer songs, the recordings of them are quite different on the two CD's-Woman Mother Earth Sky is folkier, funkier, more melodic, more thoughtful, and quite a bit more colorful. It is also more professional-the full-length follow-up to the original homemade demo has a 16 page booklet with hand-written lyrics and photos and much much more...
While still holding on the to minimalistic attitude, passionate vocals and percussive guitar work that made up Can You Hear This?, Woman Mother Earth Sky takes Roberta's work to a new level. Some of the tracks feature just Roberta on vocals and guitar (like "refrigerator poetry"), some get a little folkier with mandolin and banjo ("restless"), and others get a little funkier with the addition of percussion, bass, and even steel drum ("bending"). Perhaps the most beautiful, though, is "can you hear this?", the captivating anti-war ballad from the original demo CD, seen here in a completely new context. The CD also features two of Roberta's powerful spoken-word pieces, "I wish," and "not worried."
-----To join Roberta's email/mailing list to receive info. on tour dates and merchandise, visit her website, www.robertachevrette.com, email robertachevrette@yahoo.com, or call/write to earth girl records, P.O. Box 95, Plymouth, CA 95669. 1-866-436-5547-----
ABOUT ROBERTA:
Roberta Chevrette, a new face on the Sacramento music scene, has been successfully building an audience locally and beyond through her relentless playing schedule and the sales a homemade demo CD, released in February 2003, which with the help of online stores like CD Baby, attracted the attention of people as far away as Belgium, Germany and Tibet. Like many other artists today, Roberta is finding new and creative ways to survive independently, and her much anticipated full-length debut CD, Roberta Chevrette: woman mother earth sky, was just released (March 13, 2004) on her own record label, Earth Girl Records.
Roberta's dedication to her art and her independence shines through, and with her funky hairstyles, her untraditional approach on the guitar, and her direct personal-political-feminist informed lyrics, Roberta catches people's attention everywhere she goes. Playing solo or as a band (The Roberta Chevrette Trio featuring Ken Burnett on mandolin and harmony vocals and John Bellizia on percussion and banjo), her high energy performances blend percussive folk pop sounds with rootsy influences to create a sound that has been described as "groovy, funky folk music."
MORE HERSTORY...
Although she played classical piano for many years during her childhood in rural Plymouth, California, Roberta Chevrette did not pick up her first guitar until age eighteen. She taught herself to play using guitar tabs off the internet and, as a result, ended up with a unique playing style that mixes percussive plucking with alternate tunings, unusual chord formations and melodic fingerpicking. Now twenty-two, she has relocated to Sacramento, California (via San Francisco, Philadelphia and Quincy) where she has become a strong force in the local music scene. Making her debut in February 2003, Roberta caught the attention of many local booking agents, and was selected to perform at the Whole Earth Festival (in Davis, California) alongside such seasoned veterans as Utah Phillips. She has also appeared at Sacramento's Chalk it Up! Festival, the Sac-Town Xpress Political Arts and Culture Festival, the Women for Peace Festival, the Women's Choice Clinic Benefit for the West Coast Feminist Health Alliance (in Oakland, California), and various events hosted by the Davis Peace Coalition. Certainly no stranger to the areas bars and coffeehouses either, Roberta has played over 150 shows since her debut a year ago and hosts a weekly open mic and a monthly women's music night at the Fox & Goose. Having toured briefly in the Southwest and on the East Coast, Roberta is leaving on another Southwest tour at the beginning of April, followed by a North West and a cross-country/East Coast tour this summer.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING...
"The Sacramento folk music scene is lucky to have [this] dynamic artist."
-Steve Cagle, KVMR-FM, Nevada City, 3/04
"A smooth, sultry loving songstress...Roberta Chevrette is a siren for critical change...you'll want to sing along."
-Yasa Henson, The Muse Matrix, 5/03
"Fiercely independent and dedicated...
-Because People Matter, 3/04
"Her music won me over...her grainy voice and unusual guitar figures delivered me to a strange place."
-Sacramento News & Review, 5/03
"Rise up to the powerful words and the beautiful voice of this local singer/songwriter."
-Thomas Spahr, Entertaiment Coordinator for the
Whole Earth Festival
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