Album Notes

Generating basic emotions is pretty darn easy. Scream. Cry. Kick a car tire. Hug something. This is the realm of pop culture and faux-reality TV and everything you may love or hate about everything you absorb from modern media.

But evoking DEEP emotions that reach into the heart and soul and brain matter of an absolute stranger and CHANGES that person's perspective on humanity for but a moment or forever is like manifesting magic. Only certain people can do this, because it involves transcending mere notes or words or graphic content to deliver a visceral sucker punch to someone's psyche.

Eva Jay Fortune can do it. She's a fountain of depth and feeling and truth -- which is why you might want to think twice about spinning this disc, because it WILL affect you and change you and make you smile, laugh, gulp, tear-up, muse over your future, assess your present, and basically kick your butt. But, of course, you will definitely want to check out SUSPICIOUSLY BLUE because it does those very things!

A San Francisco-based artist, Eva Jay Fortune is blessed with a transcendent voice that wraps around her lyrics and energizes her every single word. Hers is a smooth, elegant, and flexible instrument that is almost cinematic in its scope. That's cool in itself, but partner the voice and the lyrics with her music -- an accessible, yet quirky take on famiiiar rock, blues, R&B, and world-influenced song forms -- and you have a delicious blend of sass and serious art. This is an artist who can take you places, but who also realizes that you may not wish to drift too far from your comfort zone. Listen closely and you'll hear bizarre melodic shifts, strange noises, off-kilter riffs, sexy harmonic juxtapositions, and any number of weird and wonderful musical elements. But kick back and just let the music billow around you, and you'll still hear brilliantly catchy songs with sing-along choruses. This album is truly an adventure, and you'll find new things with almost every listen.

Now, finding a band that can LISTEN closely enough -- as well as bench its individual egos to put each member's talents in absolute service to the song -- to translate Eva's creative twists and turns wasn't easy. You can't just find a bunch of rock dudes or jazz cats or folkies or prog-rock wackos, because each of Eva's songs is different, and shifting focus from, say, a Kinks-esque chordal bash-o-rama to a soaring ambient mood ain't something that a musician seeped in any ONE style is gonna navigate. Happily, Eva found a group of players who can tap into her artistry and make sounds that are diverse, vibey, and true to her songcraft.

Shig 33 is the drummer, and his encyclopedic knowledge of surf and instrumental music ensures that each groove is slammin' and emotive. Shig is also a one-man band who records his own solo CDs.

Edo Castro is a much-in-demand bassist around the San Francisco Bay Area, a talented composer, a home-studio producer, a certified "hunk," and a respected solo artist with his own CD releases.

Michael Molenda is a guitarist, engineer, and producer with a love-thing for E-Bows (a device that allows a guitar string to sustain endlessly) and a jones for glam rock.

What all of this adds up to is all over SUSPICIOUSLY BLUE. From the sideways funk of "(Welcome to Your) Little Hell" to the airy sadness of "Lonely Street" to the vicious guitar textures of "Box of Matches" to the warm caress of "The Rarest Thing," this is an album that glides through emotional and sonic landscapes to deliver an EXPERIENCE that will stay in your head for a long, long time. So if you love your music DEEP and BEGUILING, this is a CD that will totally rock your world.