Album Notes

Wendy Woo and Robin Hoch are proud to announce the release of Saving Grace, which is Wendy Woo’s third acoustic recording and Robin Hoch’s debut album. Included are four of Robin’s original songs, two of which are "Saving Grace" and "Say Goodbye," that have easily become crowd favorites for their catchy lyrics and smooth instrumentation. “I Love You” and “Country Song” were co-written with Wendy Woo. The added elements of Robin’s vocals and viola make this release different from anything Wendy has done before.

Fans will be excited to know that Wendy’s own “Another September” is on this recording. The song has been played at shows for several months and hits a chord with the audience for the song’s ability for mothers and fathers to reflect on raising children and how fast it all goes by. Wendy’s other original songs are “Walk Along the Water” and “Better Me.”

“I Don’t Know,” a song she co-wrote with Chris Maestas, closes out the album. It was recorded live at the Soiled Dove. All other songs were recorded at Globalsound Studio.

Saving Grace has two covers, the Plain White T’s “Hey There Delilah” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On?” The album was produced by Wendy Woo and Robin Hoch and mastered at Colorado Sound.

In fifth grade Robin began to learn the viola, but she has been singing her entire life. In fact, Robin would sing every song from the musical “Annie” and she has always enjoyed listening to the music of Motown. Robin has played in a few cover bands, putting her ability of remembering so many lyrics to use, but with Wendy, she has been given the opportunity to grow as a lyricist and to explore her use of the viola in songs. With these original songs, some of Wendy’s and a few covers, comes the debut of Robin’s first album. She teamed up with Wendy in September of 2008, after meeting at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and has been playing duo acoustic shows, as well as with Wendy’s full band, ever since.

A family friend gave Wendy her now infamous acoustic guitar when she was ten and at 18 Wendy started to learn how to play it. Having just finished high school, Wendy figured learning guitar would give her the chance to keep singing. It definitely has. Wendy has released seven of her own recordings in the past 12 years and has played a plethora of shows. Wendy’s early influences, the folk-rock music of Suzanne Vega and Paul Simon, inspired Wendy to stick with the acoustic guitar, rather than switching primarily to electric, and to take from her roots in Boulder and add her own style to it. Her early recordings, Angels in the Crowd (1997) and Wide Awake and Dreaming (1999) are a reflection of this influence. The release of Saving Grace, marks Wendy’s third acoustic album, with Ecolalia (2001) and Angels Laughing (2005) being her previous releases. Her ability to bring the acoustic sound to her more rocking songs from Luxury (2007) is heard in Angels Laughing and this new release.

Written by Linzy Novotny