Tracy
Walker -- Musician
"Playing for the crowd gathering for the
Indigo Girls, the guitarist-singer-songwriter held some 5,000
people spellbound with a haunting acoustic set." - Rick
Bird (Cincinnati Post)
Tracy Walker is on the verge of recording her
second self-released recording. And she's going to do it the way
fans have been urging her all along... LIVE and SOLO. "For my
first CD, Naked, I didn't have the confidence to be there
totally alone. Now its hard to imagine it any other way." In
December of 1998, Tracy released her first solo recording Naked.
For that Walker enlisted an assortment of Cincinnati-area Jazz
and Blues musicians including pianist Ricky Nye. The disc
contains ten original Walker tunes and in the words of
Cincinnati Enquirer Music Editor Larry Nager she was off to a
"superb solo start."
Not one to wait for hand-outs, Walker followed
the example set by renegade singer/songwriter/record label
executive Ani DiFranco by starting her own label, Gallimaufry
Records. "I'll always be this hodgepodge, stylistically," Walker
says of her musical style. "That is where Gallimaufry comes
from. It means hodgepodge and that's exactly what I am."
Walker's musical style sits at the crossroads of Folk, Rock,
Country, Jazz and Blues. Add to that Tracy's mixed ethnicity,
bi-continental beginnings (she was born in England) and being
raised in the free-thinking, creative town of Yellow Springs,
Ohio, and this is what you get... a cornucopia, a hodgepodge...
a Gallimaufry.
Along
the way, Walker has strengthened her proclivity for delivering
simple yet ironic lyrics against a backdrop of likewise simple
and melodic music. Adhering to the philosophy that growth
emerges from experimentation, she performs often in varied
venues from clubs to bars to benefits and festivals. Said of her
opening performance for the Indigo Girls at Pepsi Jammin On
Main, "...those who care about music ... were taken by Tracy. It
was a startling set. We got goosebumps backstage enjoying people
who were enjoying it," said Bob Elias, Event Producer. Tracy has
also opened for up-and-coming singer/songwriter Melissa Ferrick,
daughter of veterans James Taylor and Carly Simon, Sally Taylor,
pop-rockers Blessid Union of Souls, R&B legend "Iceman" Jerry
Butler and folk icon Tom Paxton.
Critics and judges are rewarding what fans
have known all along: Walker possesses a soaring alto demanding
of attention. To wit: Walker beat stiff competition and was
named 1997 Best Singer/Songwriter and 2000 Best Folk Artist by
the Cincinnati Entertainment Awards sponsored by Cincinnati
CityBeat, the city's leading weekly newspaper of arts and
issues. She was also awarded two CAMMY's, the Cincinnati
Enquirer Pop Music Awards, for Best Solo Act 1999 and Best
Folk/Bluegrass Vocalist 2001. Most recently Tracy was voted Best
Local Musician in CityBeat's Best Of Cincinnati readers' poll.
Walker has participated in many fund raising efforts and has sat
on panels at music seminars to share what she has learned about
the business of music.
Tracy
Walker recently returned from a short West Coast tour including
dates in Tucson and Los Angeles. Upon completion of her next CD
Walker will return to the road to promote the new disc. Although
she has performed with various musicians she has become best
known for her stripped down shows - just her acoustic guitar and
her voice. It is her own hybrid - call it Soul infused Folk -
that's capturing attention and garnering accolades and awards.
Gallimaufry Records ~ P.O. Box 140126,
Cincinnati, Ohio 45250 ~ 513-751-0037
Tracy Walker -- Naked (Gallimaufry Records) BY REBECCA JANE
ALBER
There's a lot to say about this folksy solo singer. Tracy Walker
first came on the scene with Ain't Helen, a band that seemed to
have taken her hometown and greater Ohio by storm. After five
years of local success, Ain't Helen disbanded so Walker could
head out on her own.
And a fine job she's done of it. Her voice has
depth, range and emotion. With soulful jazz accompaniment --
including horns, violin, rhythm percussions and keyboards --
Walker showcases original scores that combine folk and jazz
quite nicely.
Her lyrics offer a reminder of love lost, and she's hardly shy
in describing who that love is for: "I thought she was an angel
sent to make my life new/gave her rainbow, she left me blue...If
you see her keep your distance/She'll break your poor heart like
glass" ("Blue"). Other notable tracks include "All My Life,"
"Dorian Gray" and Draggin Me Back."
Walker seemed to be purging some pain with
this one. Sad, but lucky for us. It's a shining addition to
lesbian-made music.
Curve Magazine
July 1999
Source:
http://www.tracywalker.com/
http://www.citybeat.com/2001-05-10/cover5.shtml
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