Album Notes

Ancestral Songs is an award-winning album of folk music that explores family history themes.

The song "Family Tree" recently won these awards:

West Coast Songwriters 2005 International Song Contest
1st place - Folk
3rd place - Overall

Just Plain Folks 2004 International Song Contest
2nd place - Americana

The Players...

Steve Lanza - fiddler, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter.

Steve has spent over 30 years performing in various San Francisco Bay Area musical organizations.From classical to Middle Eastern, rock n' roll to country and western, he has explored many of the creative currents that make up the California music scene. One of the highlights of his journey was a stint with Peter Rowan and the Free Mexican Air Force in the 80's. More recently, Steve served two years with the alternative country band Buckeye, adding his fiddle chops on two highly regarded albums with them.

Mario Cipollina - bassist.

Mario's contribution to Huey Lewis & the News as a founding member barely taps the surface of his all-encompassing skill on the bass guitar. After 15 years with "the News," he's decided to free himself creatively to explore other musical realms. Recently, he's been busy recording his first solo album and took time out from that project to lend his incredible musicianship to Ancestral Songs.

James Nash - lead guitarist, mandolinist.

This gifted musician is currently recording and touring with the San Francisco bluegrass band, The Waybacks. Keep an eye on this fellow - he's definitely carving out a special niche in the world of new-acoustic music.

David Freiberg - recording engineer, harmony vocalist.

He was a founding member of Quicksilver Messenger Service, then went on to play bass and keyboards with Jefferson Starship for many, many years. David's wisdom and musicality added immensely to the emotional depth of Ancestral Songs.