Bay Station Loves the Bay Video Series Launch! Episode 1 with Penny Opry

Bay Station welcomed nautical music duo Penny Opry to the sailboat Espresso for a later morning conversation and concert on the Oakland Estuary of San Francisco Bay.

Songwriter Showcase at The Octopus Literary Salon - June 21 in Oakland

Nothing like hopscotching across the country over the past couple weeks to appreciate the Bay Area and all it's amazingness that much more. I love travel and I love the return ...and I love love love that I'm sharing a show with three FABULOUS SF Bay-based songwriters - Aireene Espiritu, Claudia Russel and Paige Clem- next Wednesday June 21 at The Octopus Literary Salon in Oakland. These women are all on fire creatively (and there will likely be a special guest or two sitting in). Mark your calendars and join us.  

A post shared by Deborah Crooks (@deborahrcrooks) on Jun 5, 2017 at 8:42pm PDT

March 15, 2017: Original Songwriter Showcase at The Octopus Literary Salon, featuring Bob Hillman, Maggie Forti & Peter Whitehead

I'm hosting another run of songwriter shows at The Oakland Octopus Literary Salon this year, kicking off what will be a quarterly event, Wednesday, March 15, 2017 at 7pm.  March features three great artists: Bob Hillman, Peter Whitehead and Maggie Forti. Don't miss it! The entry ($5-10 suggested) is a steal, plus the Octopus is cozy, has delicious and nutritious food and drink. 

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SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE

March 15, 2017 7pm

Octopus Literary Salon

2101 Webster Street
Oakland, CA 94501

all ages, $5-10 suggested

[NBC] Peter Whitehead: Anything You Want to Do Is Going to Work Eventually from Oresti Tsonopoulos on Vimeo.

Heartened: Women's March Bay Area

I feel so heartened today, a day after the Women's March on...Everywhere. I participated in Oakland, along with 60-80,000 other people interested in peace, love, social justice, equal rights, black lives matter, the environment, acceptance, community, democracy and resisting the mandate of the new president. Wow! We lined up...and couldn't move for more than an hour, by that time, joining a re-routed bunch of marchers in downtown Oakland. Multi-cultural, men, women, children, peaceful, it was a day of renewed hope in humanity. And then coming home and watching the news reports of the millions of women all over the world participating andresisting. Wow! There's so much love! Wow, people DO have the power. Wow! Women are going to lead this. Let's go!

10 Actions for the First 100 Days

Daily Action

Obama Foundation 

ACLU

Songwriters in the Round at The Octopus Salon Dec. 21 w/Alex Walsh, Briget Boyle, Steve Waters & Deborah Crooks

Now, more than ever, I'm feeling its that much more important to gather to listen and to share. If we artists are doing our job right, our work will tap into, reflect and express all that it means to be human. Hopefully we'll build a bit more connection and understanding between all, and transcend some of our differences. Toward that lofty goal, I'm hosting another round of songwriters at the Octopus Literary Salon in Oakland this month. I'll hope you'll join me, along with Alex Walsh, Briget Boyle and Steve Waters, for an evening of song sharing. 

Wednesday, December 21, 2016, 7pm

Songwriters in the Round at The Octopus Literary Salon
2101 Webster Street
Oakland, CA The Octopus is close to 19th St BART. $5-10 suggested, all ages. 

Songwriters in the Round at The Oakland Octopus October 19 7pm

Songwriters in the Round at Oakland Octopus

Wed Oct 19 7:00PM $5-10 suggested

This month includes: Valerie Jay, Wendy Beckerman, Austin Willacy and your host Deborah Crooks.
Austin Willacy  “…an edgy adult contemporary sound that goes down easily and speaks to the heart.” — San Franciso Examiner 
Wendy Beckerman 
 A great singer/songwriter with a wonderful, unaffected voice. Amazing arrangements of acoustic guitar, vocals and strings. Gorgeous melodic songs with perfect harmonies. Her songs seem to aim not to impress, but to express. Very creative.”— Derek Sivers 
Valerie Jay 
“Valerie Jay has one of the best country voices I have ever had the pleasure to record, the way she phrases the lyrics makes you believe that every word is coming straight from her heart” – Tom Tyson, Producer, Music Farm “Valerie is singing great, it’s always a pleasure to hear her lovely voice” – Albert Lee England’s Calling 
Deborah Crooks
"Deborah Crooks’ is simply too original to be a singer who will be known as someone who sings like…like no one. She changes gears seamlessly and in regards to Lucinda [Williams], Deborah may have a wider pallet of styles than even Lucinda." — John Apice, No Depression

Songwriters in the Round at The Octopus Literary Salon March 16, 2016 with Annie Bacon, Maurice Tani, Matt Langlois and Deborah Crooks

The second of a new series featuring Bay Area and touring music artists. This month features:
Annie Bacon
www.anniebacon.me/
Matt Langlois
http://welcomemattsf.com/
Maurice Tani
www.mauricetani.com/
host Deborah Crooks
www.deborahcrooks.com

The Octopus is a literary salon,* re-interpreted in the 21st Century to engage and entertain readers, writers, musicians, artists of all ages in Uptown Oakland, California. The Octopus Literary Salon includes a most excellent café with delicious food, beer & wine, a small-scale specialty used and new bookstore (we sell used records too!), and a space for public readings and discussions as well as other literary spontaneity and, of course music performance.

Songwriters in the Round at Oakland's The Octopus Literary Salon, January 20, 2016

A new series at this heart-of-Oakland center for the arts! Every other month, featuring Bay Area and touring artists playing their music in the round. January's lineup is great!:

Melissa Phillips (with James DePrato)
www.melissaphillipsmusic.com/
Michael McNevin
www.michaelmcnevin.com/
Paul Griffiths
www.paulgriffithsmusic.com
host Deborah Crooks
www.deborahcrooks.com

The Octopus is a literary salon,* re-interpreted in the 21st Century to engage and entertain readers, writers, musicians, artists of all ages in Uptown Oakland, California. The Octopus Literary Salon includes a most excellent café with delicious food, beer & wine, a small-scale specialty used and new bookstore (we sell used records too!), and a space for public readings and discussions as well as other literary spontaneity and, of course music performance.

FAR-West Venues' Choice Concert October 15, 2015 at the Oakland Marriott City Center

On Thursday evening, October 15, FAR-West will kick off its 12th annual conference with the Venues’ Choice concert. Five venues from around the region, dedicated to presenting acoustic music year-round, will each present an artist(s) of their choice. The diversity of styles represented are indicative of the broad range of expression that makes the West such a rich cultural melting pot. FAR-West's opening night concert is always one of the highlights of the conferences and 2015 is shaping up to be another great night.
Public tickets ($15) can be purchased at the FAR-West Brown Paper Tickets site.
VENUES' CHOICE CONCERT Thurs, Oct 15, 2015 at 7pm Oakland Marriott City Center 7:00 PM  

Something Special EP Official Release

Big thank yous to those who helped me celebrate the release of the Something Special EP a few nights ago at Awaken Cafe in Oakland It was a great night of music and friends, with sterling performances by my billmates, Loretta Lynch and Yours Truly, Michele, and a great band at my back. Capped off with a big ole supermoon sighting at the end of my set, it really did feel like something special. Today is the EP's official release date, and its now available via iTunes, CDBaby and other digital outlets (as well as at my shows.) I invite you to take a listen, leave a review and share with your friends! Much gratitude for your continued support of independent music. 

Something Special (EP) Sept. 1, 2015. By Deborah Crooks, featuring Kwame Copeland (guitars); Andrew Gibson (bass) & Mike Stevens (drums) Recorded, mixed & engineered by Stevens at Lost Monkey Studio; art by Rebecca Stees; design by Alicia Buelow.

'Something Special' EP Release August 29 at Awaken Cafe

EP Release Party: Saturday, August 29th, 2015 in Oakland, with Deborah Crooks, Yours Truly, Michele, and Loretta Lynch 

Awaken Cafe

"Something Special" EP Release - 8pm

1429 Broadway (@ 15th Street)

Oakland, CA 94612

Price: $7 adv/$10 dos

I'm so looking forward to playing with the band in celebration of my Something Special  EP. Please join me, Saturday, August 29,  as I showcase songs from the EP on a bill with two of my favorite bands Loretta Lynch and Yours Truly, Michele.

Loretta Lynch: 8pm With dreamy three-part harmonies, raucous, surf-tinged guitar and more than a bit of tongue in cheek, the East Bay Area’s own alt-country outfit Loretta Lynch’s stirring songs reach the shady grove in all of us. A little tear in your beer, a little knife in the back – think "O Brother Where Art Thou" meets the Andrews Sisters’ disreputable cousins at a warehouse hoedown. It’s Americana Noir.

Yours Truly, Michele: 9pm Michele Kappel-Stone began singing onstage as a teenager, when she donned a head-to-toe white leotard and crooned “Sex in Wetsuits” as part of the multi-media avant theater company Impossible Industrial Action. The Baltimore native’s latest venture, Yours Truly, Michele, may best capture the heady mix of influences and experiences she can bring to any party simply by showing up.  With a sound infused with 60s pop and soul and infected by Americana Roots-Rock, YTM can evoke Debbie Harry, Erin McKeown, and Patsy Cline.

Deborah Crook: 10pm Deborah recorded Something Special earlier this year at Lost Monkey Studio in Hayward with Mike Stevens on drums, Kwame Copeland on guitars and Andrew Gibson on bass. The songs on the EP cover such topics as seeking transcendence in the myth of Bigfoot; recovering from a breakup in a 50s era LA Travelodge, and keeping the faith while being lost. Come take a listen!

Hear “India Street: on Soundcloud:

May Second Saturdays at Jingletown Jazz Room

I'm looking forward to being a part of this "a showcase and meeting place for all things Oakland-made." Aka Ale Industries' Second Saturdays event featuring  local artists, local food trucks and food vendors, local bands and musicians (this week, moui as well as King Cajon & The Country Gentlemen", art vendor markets highlighting artists and local. Plus Ale Industries is all about its East Oakland-made, BioEnergy beers! Stop by, 3098 E. 10th St. Oakland, CA 94601 from 12-10pm. 
We'll be playing at 5pm.

Warm hats and mistletoe

I don't know. I'm really liking this winter business. It seems correct, finally, for the season. Even if I did lose yet another hat on Friday. In the airport. I didn't want to look weird, or be asked to remove my black cap by security, so I took it off before going through the scanners on our way home from So Cal.  I am a cold wimp but you know it's winter if you have to wear a hat in Los Angeles. In any event, I wasn't the only one wearing a hat. But I was that person who lost another topper between security and 17A on the Southwest flight headed for Oakland.
Behind me is a long trail of lost hats: the cool wool hat from The Hat Shop with the felt flower; the Stetson; the the knit cap with the pink flower affixed to its side; the other knit cap with the knitted-in flower, as well as the orange striped Patagonia hat, the brown felt hat bought in Austin, and now the little black cap from REI, was missing.
I checked my seat. I checked my bag. I checked the guitar cases. It was gone.
It wasn't worth going back through security again for it. This last cap wasn't very expensive for that reason. My hat buying habits have gone the way of my sunglasses purchases, bought for price point and function more than style or brand (don't even bother trying to read my labels) because chances are I'll lose it. Perhaps this line of thinking is setting me up for lost, but whatever,  I'm beginning to think that hats and sunglasses just fly from my head.
I did notice how much I relied on a hat for warmth as we walked around Jack London Square the next day. It was of course colder here than in LA and as we walked, I felt a great bunch of heat was just leaving me. Fortunately, Encuentro, my favorite vegetarian restaurant in the East Bay, has started serving lunch as well as dinner, at their new location. On the opposite end of 2nd St. in Oakland to where they used to be, the new space is as warm as the first, and their soups and salads and sandwiches just as yummy.
Lunch was so good of course we had to follow it with good coffee. We could of had it at the restaurant, but the lunch necessitated a walk. So we ambled down 2nd across Broadway, to Bicycle Coffee, for one of their honest cups of joe. Bicycle Coffee is pretty minimalist: you can get a drip coffee or a cold brew coffee or a bag of beans to brew your own at home at their Oakland HQ. No fussy espresso drinks here. If you're a wholesale client, they'll deliver your coffee by bike. No nonsense folks, it seems, who also very much understand the need for a good hat. There amid the T-shirts, the beans and brewing gear, was a stack of beanies! Yes! Not pricey. Useful. Plus the purchase came with a free cup of coffee. More importantly,  my head was warm again. We continued our walk down to the waterfront to look at the Christmas Tree, which shimmered against a backdrop of palm trees and water. Though I can't confirm it, let's just say there was mistletoe. For a moment all was right with the world.

Read.Eat.Listen: Rainy days & Wednesdays

'Mad Scientist' is my term for someone who is passionate about something: their art or science or whatever. Something that keeps you turned on even if you haven't talked to anyone all day. Rainy days are made for mad scientists and I've been taking a cue from the mad scientist handbook, enjoying the weather, wood-shedding, holiday prep, recording prep (KCDC goes back to the studio this weekend), working on the house and otherwise wrapping up 2014 and looking ahead to the new year.

(I've also been getting up early and catching some lovely morning light: including this shot from downtown Alameda over the weekend)

READ: I was happy to discover there's a Mad Scientists Book list "Books involving predominant mad scientist characters." Some, I've read or know about (Jekyll & Hyde, Frankenstein, etc) but I may bookmark the Girl Genius series for days when I need some extra oomph

EAT: It's all about soup these days. And I'm having a week of loving Beets. This Vegan Creamy Winter Beet Soup from the Clean folks is pretty grand.

LISTEN: All sorts of good sounds have been released of late. While driving around last week, I heard an interview/performance by Pieta Brown and her dad Greg Brown that made me want to keep finding excuses to stay in the car. The music was great and the banter was, too. I couldn't figure out how to find the archived recording when I got home, but I did dig deeper into Pieta's latest release "Paradise Outlaw" which contains this apt-for-the-week tune, "All My Rain." 

Read.Eat.Listen: Warmth & Wonder

READ: "The Impossible Will Take A Little While: A Citizen's Guide To Hope in a Time of Fear." I'm reading this 10 years after it's initial publication but it seems more timely than ever. Fifty fifty stories and essays from activists across the globe.  "Even in a seemingly futile moment or losing cause, one person may unknowingly inspire another, and that person yet a third, who could go on to change the world, or at least a small corner of it." — Paul Loeb

EAT: A couple of weeks ago, playing at Off the Grid, we got re-clued into the wonderful empanadas made by El Porteño (I'm partial to the mushroom variety). Empanadas are really hand-pies, aka goodness in the form of warmth, comfort, nourishment and convenience.  El Porteño empanadas are available at a variety of locations, including its Bay-roaming food truck, a kiosk at The Embarcadero Ferry Building and at several area cafe/bars. We just noticed they're the snack of choice at the recently opened Woods Bar & Brewery in Oakland.

LISTEN: In truth, there's been a lot of listening to oneself going on around here. In the midst of getting ready for the next KCDC live performance on November 22, we're going back into the studio next month to record a new bunch of songs written earlier this year. But there's also been much wonderment, this week, over the news of a spacecraft landing on a comet, and I loved seeing this headline re: the comet's 'song':

Artist Mari Marks @ 2014 Annual Juried Show at the Piedmont Center for the Arts

A dear friend and one my favorite people, encaustic painter Mari Marks, let me know she has a piece in the Annual Juried Show at the Piedmont Center for the Arts in Piedmont CA. The public is invited to an opening reception this Saturday, November 1, from 5:00 to 8:00. You can also see the work on Saturdays and Sundays in November from 12:00 to 3:00. 
2014 Juried Art Show @ Piedmont Center for the Arts, 801 Magnolia Avenue, Piedmont, CA 94611
2014 guest jurors Carin Adams, Oakland Museum of California, Associate Curator of Art & Material Culture and Caitlin Haskell, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Assistant Curator of Painting and Sculpture selected 39 art works from 23 artists.

Mari also let me know this is the last week to see another show, Materia + Meditation, at Vessel Gallery in Oakland, that also includes her work:

  Material + Meditation, Installation "Taken/Vessel" by Beili Liu , Paintings by Mari Marks, Walter James Mansfield,
Sanjay Vora, and Tim Rice. 11:00 to 6 :00 pm, Tuesday through Saturday  through Nov 1 @ Vessel Gallery, 471 25th Street, Oakland, CA 94612

 More about Mari: http://www.marimarks.com/

Artist Interview: Songwriter Melissa Phillips

East Bay artist Melissa Phillips has steadily attracted new fans since leaving the songwriting gates in 2012 with the release of her debut album "Fits & Starts."  A song from the collection, "Centralia," was selected for the KFOG Local Scene 10 compilation (2013), and she  regularly appears at notable area venues with her stellar backing band The Sincerelys. After a whirlwind fall which included a performance at The Great American Hall and getting married, Phillips reflected on her songwriting process and what's currently feeding her muse.

  

Q: How did you first start singing?  Who are some of your earliest influences?
MP: I remember singing along with the radio pretty early on and being encouraged to "sing louder!" I loved picking out the harmonies. I didn't really start performing until later. Having access to music classes in school was huge for me. I had some great music teachers in junior high and high school who pushed me in a very positive way. I was in chorus, singing ensembles, I did district chorus competitions, musical theater, church choir — all of those things helped me figure out that singing was something I was good at and that I wanted to pursue it in a bigger way.
I grew up on Top 40 radio, that's the soundtrack of my childhood. If it got played on the radio between the 1970s and 1990s, I probably know the words! I loved Whitney Houston and the first tape I ever bought was "I Wanna Dance With Somebody". When I was 11 or 12 she was just it for me. But I grew up in small towns and you don't get a lot of variety on small town radio. I don't think I really had any idea what was out there until I went to college and I was exposed to what my friends were listening to. We used to sit around the dorm rooms with our CDs and a stack of cassettes and we'd make mix tapes. I still have those mixes and they have some really good music on them. It was the first time I heard Paul Simon, Crowded House, Van Morrison, [and] Indigo Girls. I really think that time spent making those tapes was more valuable than some of the music courses I took because it really helped me develop my own opinion about what I liked and ultimately, what I wanted to do.

Q How did you make your way to California from Oregon and have the different places you've lived influenced your work? 
MP: I did move to California from Oregon (I lived there for a few years in my early twenties) but I actually grew up all over the place. I had a sort of unconventional nomadic upbringing, we moved around a lot. I got to see so much of the country from the back seat of a car as a kid. I didn't start writing my own music until I was much older but I do think being able to experience that kind of a life as a young person informed how I see the world. It gave me a good awareness of how other people live, which is definitely something I find important, not just for writing, but also for being a human.

Q  Do you keep to a writing schedule or do you write as inspiration strikes? Words first or do you write to the music? 
MP: I get ideas in bits and pieces. Mostly lyrics first but sometimes they come with a melody. On any given day, my bag is full of post-it notes scribbled with lyric ideas. I carry a notebook to write stuff down and if I come up with a melody I record it into my phone. I don't have a writing schedule but I do sit down frequently with my ideas and see what I can wrestle into shape. Sometimes it comes fast and easy, but more often than not it is a slow process for me. I try not to rush, I'm not in a race. Songs will be done when they're ready. I just finished a song that I started back in 2010! I kept going back to it and I tried for a long time to force it into being done, but it wasn't ever quite right. I stepped away for a while and came back with fresh eyes and finally knew when I'd figured it out.

Q  Any current listening or reading obsessions feeding your muse? 
MP: I am in the middle of a lot of books right now, my goal is to read 38 over the next year! Here is what I currently have a bookmark in: "Where I Was From" by Joan Didion, she's a favorite, especially her non-fiction. I'm reading a book of short stories by Alice Munro, a memoir by Mary Karr, and a biography of Dorthea Lang. As for music, I have these in heavy rotation right now in my car: Rosanne Cash - The River and the Thread; John Hiatt - Dirty Jeans & Mudslide Hymns; Holly Williams - The Highway. I also really like the newest Tom Petty and Ryan Adams albums. As far as other obsessions, I am pretty addicted to Instagram. It's a nice community of supportive, creative people sharing interesting images of their daily lives — crafters, photographers, musicians, writers. Sometimes looking at beautiful stuff is what I need to simultaneously calm and stimulate my brain after a work day. Just seeing someone else do something creative can motivate me to do the same.

Q What can listeners expect in the next six months? Any big shows or new recordings?
 MP: I'm on a little hiatus from performing right now so I'm focusing on writing. I hope to go back into the studio next year with a batch of new songs. I'd also like to do some regional touring again and definitely get back on stage with the full band.

FAR-West Fun; Coming up on KZSU & @ The Cottonwood Truckee

Well, FAR-West in Oakland turned into a song-soaked, musical fun ride. I had a great time playing PGS rooms hosted by Bohemian Highway, Maurice Tani & Jim Bruno, Kyle Alden and Amy Andrews Music, as well as the pre and post-conference events at High St. Station and Awaken Cafe, and the gig with Kate Burkart at High Street on Saturday between everything. I heard SO MANY GREAT songs and met a slew of great folks. I feel both replete and reinvigorated for more!
On that note, I went straight from FAR-West to a rehearsal with KCDC. We'll be playing LIVE this Wednesday, Oct. 23 on KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM. Tune in!
Thursday, I'm hitting the road with Kwame to play in Truckee, CA. Got friends in this fun, mountain town? Send them our way as we'll be holding down The Cottonwood from 7-10pm. The award-winning restaurant "has it all; a rich and vibrant heritage, a lively music scene, a full bar, and an adventurous menu created by the Executive Chef of 17 years, David Smith."
Deborah Crooks in Truckee @ Cottonwood - Thursday, October 23rd, 2014 7pm Off Brockway Rd.(Old hwy 267) Truckee, CA 96160 (530) 587-5711

Thursday, October 23rd, 2014

Cottonwood

Deborah Crooks in Truckee - 7pm

Off Brockway Rd.(Old hwy 267
Truckee, CA 96160
(530) 587-5711

- See more at: http://www.deborahcrooks.com/shows/#sthash.UyYOb5vn.dpuf

Thursday, October 23rd, 2014

Cottonwood

Deborah Crooks in Truckee - 7pm

Off Brockway Rd.(Old hwy 267
Truckee, CA 96160
(530) 587-5711

- See more at: http://www.deborahcrooks.com/shows/#sthash.UyYOb5vn.dpuf

Red Meat, Run Boy Run, David Jacobs-Strain to Perform at FAR-West Music Conference Venues' Choice Concert, Thursday, Oct 16, 2014

Thursday, October 16, 2014 at 7:00 P.M.
Oakland Marriott

On Thursday evening, October 16, FAR-West will kick off its 11th annual conference with the Venues’ Choice concert. Five venues from around the region, dedicated to presenting acoustic music year-round, will each present an artist(s) of their choice. FAR-West's opening night 'kick-off' concerts are always one of the highlights of our conferences and we anticipate another great night!

Limited tickets ($15) are available for public purchase at the FAR-West Brown Paper Tickets site.

Folk Alliance Region West (FAR-West) is the western region of Folk Alliance International including Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Northwest Territory, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming and Yukon Territory.

FAR-West fosters and promotes traditional, contemporary and multicultural folk music, dance and related performing arts in the Western United States and Canada.

FAR-West supports this mission through its annual conference each fall, one of five regional Folk Alliance Conferences. The annual FAR-West conference provides a three-day, music-filled weekend for the folk and acoustic music community to unite, exchange songs and ideas, re-charge and do business.

Artist Interview: Michele Kappel-Stone's Full Heart

Oakland musician Michele Kappel-Stone is one of those rare hybrids of cool, talented and nice. The Baltimore native is always playing somewhere and she's a seemingly tireless advocate of her fellow artists. When she's not working on her own projects, she can often be found sitting in with another band, helping book a show or organizing an event for The California Roots Union.  
I've been catching  Kappel-Stone on various stages in various guises — playing as Tippy Canoe, putting together shows at The Starry Plough — around the Bay for years, but one of my favorite of her artistic incarnations is her recent collaboration with Laura Benitez, Heartache Sisters. The duo project is a winning spin-off of Laura Benitez & The Heartache in which Kappel-Stone plays drums and sings backup. The duo's voices blend well, they can play multiple instruments, they exude fun and look great doing it. Think Shovels & Rope crossed with Loretta Lynn and you start to get an idea of what the Heartache Sisters have going on.
After meeting up for coffee in the burgeoning Grand Lake District of Oakland, which she now calls home, Kappel-Stone answered some questions about the evolution of her musical life.

Q How did you first start singing and writing songs? Who were some of your earliest influences?
MKS: My professional singing debut was dressed in a head-to-toe white leotard performing a song called “Sex In Wetsuits” for multi-media avant theater company Impossible Industrial Action’s original play “The Pleasure Raiders.” This was 1990 in Baltimore. Before that it was mostly singing into a hairbrush in my bedroom and daydreaming. I started writing songs seven years later when I was the drummer in The Kirby Grips. I was learning to play the guitar and set my sights on becoming a songwriter.
A portion of my earliest influences include the Grease Soundtrack, Patsy Cline, The Monkees, Donna Summer, Barbara Mandrell, Earth, Wind & Fire, Eurythmics, and The Pretenders. That’s a combination of my mother’s record collection and my first order from Columbia House Record Club (cost just a penny). My first instrument is drums. I have the theater company, I.I.A., to thank for this, too. They gave me a shot behind the kit when the “real drummer” suddenly quit.

Q What brought you to the Bay Area? Does the East Coast ever pull you back?
MKS The Bay Area’s arts and music scene was the initial draw. Secondly, I was deciding between New Orleans and San Francisco in the heat and humidity of Baltimore in August and my air conditioning broke. SF sounded “cool.” Lastly, my best friend, Mandy, decided to move here first and that sealed the deal. One of the reasons I’m excited to return to touring next year (both solo and with Heartache Sisters) is to get to visit my homeland again. I miss it, but always feel connected.

Q You've got your finger on the pulse of the Bay Area music scene as a steadily performing artist and a talent buyer — whose inspiring you now?
MKS There are far too many to name and I’d hate to leave out someone I really adore. Instead, I think I’ll name the bands I’ll be sharing bills with coming up. The Demons I Knew (10/11 at Amnesia, SF), The McCoy Tyler Band, Secret Town (11/13’s The Heartless Woman Ball at Leo’s, Oakland), Maurice Tani, Loretta Lynch, and Yard Sale (featuring Jill Olson, Denise Funari and Melanie deGiovanni) (11/22 at The Starry Plough, Berkeley).

Q Describe your writing process. Do you write words first or start on an instrument?
MKS The melody and chord progression come along first, then the words fit themselves in. Sometimes a single line of a lyric and the melody occur together while driving in the car and I’ll develop the rest when I have a guitar or ukulele in my hand later, but that’s less common.

Q How do you feel to have your first solo show is coming up? What can audiences expect?
MKS I’m excited for my first solo show under my very own legal name. Audiences can expect a slight tingling sensation, but it won’t be anything to be alarmed by. Musically it will be a mix of my new songs, with a few older tunes from projects that have stuck with me and deserve to live on. Style-wise, I suppose you can revert back to the earliest influences question and imagine what that mix sounds like filtered through my personality.

Michele Kappel-Stone plays a rare solo show at Amnesia, 835 Valencia, San Francisco, October 11 at 6pm; Laura Benitez & The Heartache celebrate the release of their full-length CD Heartless Woman November 13 at Leo's Music Club, 5447 Telegraph, Oakland. For more information visit http://michelekappelstone.com/