Monday, February 04, 2008

Angie Stevens - Singer/Songwriter

I'm sitting in a hotel in Moab, UT recovering from a harrowing 8 hour drive through a snow storm. Along the way, I did had time to do one of my favorite things, study a songwriter's CD. On this trip it was Angie Stevens newest EP, "Queen of this Mess." Afraid to take my hands off the wheel, I got quite the opportunity to listen again and again ...

If you haven't heard of her, get ready. She's has quickly become a favorite in the Denver area, for good reason. We saw her play recently and my best description is powerful! In my voice lessons with Ben Senterfit he always talked about planting your feet and then putting your whole body behind your voice. He must have been thinking about Angie. I could see her do just that.

In listening to her CD, I wasn't bored with any song (rare for me). One technique that she has perfected is the build -- starting quiet, building power, getting quiet to almost a whisper, then building again. There always seemed to be motion. The fact that most of the songs were less than 4 minutes also helped.

In her song, "Thrift Store Sweater," she gave a great example of painting a picture with your lyrics. The verse that immediately caught my attention was,

My thrift store sweaters
My painted pictures
My heartfelt letters
Scattered on the floor

The one trap that I noticed was that all of the songs were about the same tough period in her life. While its a great time to write and get it all out, a happy song or two would be a nice change.

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2 Comments:

At 9:23 PM, Blogger Suzanne Lainson said...

I just saw your post. I know Angie quite well and it was cool to see this. You mentioned the fact that there weren't any upbeat songs on this EP. True. Angie will be the first to admit she wrote these songs during some tough times. She's writes with her soul so whatever is happening in her life at the time is going to make it into a song. Her vulnerability is one of her trademarks as a performer and as a songwriter. It's all laid bare for the world to see.

 
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