"Exquisite…steadfastly original." - Anne O' Neary, Music Connection Magazine
“Alluring...Makes a powerful first impression, and then, even better, a series of more complex and lasting ones.” - Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone
“Soulful voice…excellent songwriting…Superb.” - Mike Cavanaugh, All Access Magazine
“Utterly fantastic…One of the best female singer/songwriters that come across during my time in new media.” - Zack Daggy, The MothPod Podcast
“Devastatingly beautiful songs…sends chills up and down my spine…excellent songwriter, excellent singer.” -Steve Shapiro, UBL.com/ ArtistDirect.com
"An honesty and elegance rarely found."
-Marcy Drexler, National Academy of Popular Music, Songwriter's Hall of Fame
“Riveting…Young, talented performer…daring.”
-Mark Fogarty, Music Editor, brokeruniverse.com
"Pop music could very well have a new diva…original…great voice, great lyrics, great music.”-Michael Johnson, hotindienews.com
"New York City’s best kept singer-songwriter secret.” - Tom Semioli, Amplifier Magazine
“Simply wonderful. (Sheri’s) interview segment repeating on our online stream has maxed out a few times the past few days due to so many of (Sheri’s) fans trying to listen in.” - Michael McCartney, KEAO Hawaii (TimeMachine.fm)
“Take Bob Dylan, change his gender, throw in The Beatles head-on lyricism…balances knife-blade cynicism with open-hearted sweetness.”
-Roanna Forman, Northeast Performer Magazine
“Sheri Miller delivers what so many only reach for: truly inspired, deeply personal, authentically original songs, delivered without pretense in a profound vocal style that transcends her young age. It's a rare gift to work with an artist of her caliber at the beginning of her career. Unless my long experience making records has taught me nothing, Sheri is someone we'll be listening to, and talking about, for a long, long time.”
-Ted Spencer, Legendary Engineer/Studio Owner,
Credits: Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Roberta Flack
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Once upon a time, in New York, a young musician and artist named Sheri Miller, armed with her acoustic guitar, her electric sunburst 1969 Guild guitar, her Yamaha keyboard, and a pen and paper, began to write songs. Dozens of songs. She had a great love and a deep, soulful connection to music, as her mother was an opera singer and classical piano player, and her uncle a recording engineer.
Sheri had released her critically-acclaimed debut record in 2008, “Mantra,” which people seemed to love, often asking her to buy Sheet Music from it. Upon releasing “Mantra,” Sheri was asked to join a 4-part vocal harmony group in Nashville, The Deiilahs, which soon signed to Sony Music. Sheri began co-writing with icon J.D. Souther (The Eagles), Jill Sobule, Shawn Mullins, Marcus Hummon (Dixie Chicks), Al Anderson (NRBQ) and many other incredible songwriters. But the group fell apart, and Sheri came back to New York with new inspiration, passionately, writing hundreds of pages of loose-leaf-strewn lyrics, dozens upon dozens of songs; channeling her anguish and heartbreak from a major break-up, dealing with tumultuous family issues, and finding new routes to make a living as a working musician. Sheri poured her struggles, inner demons and inner angels, and heart-drenched stories into creating a new, magnificent album; an album with integrity, soul, and artistry she’d be proud of.
But who would produce this authentic artist’s songs? Sheri reached out and contacted the amazing and legendary producer Kevin Killen (U2, Peter Gabriel). She played him a few songs from the inspired hurricane of titles she was writing, and shortly thereafter, with great joy, Sheri and Kevin began recording the new album “Winning Hand.”
Enlisting the all-star band of incredible, legendary musicians Will Lee (Fab Faux), Charley Drayton (Fiona Apple, Divinylis, X-Pensive Winos) and Gerry Leonard (David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Duncan Sheik), the artistic, poetic, and super-catchy songs of “Winning Hand” took shape. “Spoons,” the super-hooky, uptempo, beloved song dedicated to the art of “spooning” in bed. “Winning Hand,” the inspiring, “go for it, risk it all” anthem, with the uplifting, positive message “Bet we lay down a winning hand.” “Satellite,” a Led Zeppelin meets Joni Mitchell seductive love song, beckoning a lover, set in outer space; written in a rare, strange guitar tuning invented by Sheri. “Everybody Feels This Way Sometimes,” a highly melodic, deeply confessional, raw song, lifting with an anthemic chorus. “Hungry For The Truth,” a sassy, attitude-filled, poetic, rebellious declaration of owning one’s individuality.
Soon enough, the songs were recorded and “Winning Hand” was finished. Sheri had labored hard, faced struggles, but emerged proud of this CD, and couldn’t wait for the world to hear it. She excitedly released the stunning songs of “Winning Hand” out into the world, and watched these songbirds fly away. Higher and higher they went. Sheri smiled. She couldn’t wait to see what happens next.
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Hi. Sheri here. First secret admission...I discovered the Beatles late. Well, at least a little bit later than the people who pretty much claim they were chilling in the womb listening to the White Album on tiny Sony headphones. Jon Brion changed my life one Friday night, about 10 years ago at Club Largo in Los Angeles, when he played some wildly gorgeous, intricate, dark, songs with Elliott Smith. I was too young and naive to even realize what I was witnessing. Fiona Apple is a true original and so self-possessed artistically. Love her. Anyone named Elvis. Stevie Wonder's music makes me want to get up, clap my hands, and sing in a gospel choir. He is the human form of joy. Johnny Cash is the closest thing we have to a modern-day American hero and reminds me in some ways of my cowboy grandfather, Barney, who wears sunglasses and boleros at age 93. Lucinda Williams' songs are so amazingly simple and direct (Essence record and "Sweet Old World") they make me want to take up a drug habit. Just kidding, mom. Bob Dylan is some sort of prophet in black sunglasses, who makes me want to read the Bible. Etta James is my biggest singing influence, God bless her. Rodgers & Hart (Bewitched, My Funny Valentine), Ella Fitzgerald, Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Ron Sexsmith, The Stones, Donny Hathaway, Otis Redding, Nina Simone, Sarah Vaughn, Bach, Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Muddy Waters, Dinah Washington. I do love classical and jazz--I've been meaning to pour a midnight glass of red Shiraz and get deeper into Miles Davis. But, of course, Charles Bukowski's poetry, so raw and real and gross and delicate. What a beautiful monster man he was. Maya Angelou, who makes me want to crawl into golden-lit sunflower fields at dusk to write poetry as the sun fades into stardust. "The God of Small Things" tempts me to steal every line for a song. My tall and beautiful angels who protect me in their swirling white light. Dreaming and waking up in that groggy half-awake state, where the air is open and you can grab the little tiny particle things, the invisible beauty of creativity, passing by. Hopefully you'll touch inspiration. Even for just a moment.
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