Baroque Pop Chanteuse Ann Vriend

Ann Vriend: Exquisite Folk/Pop Songstress

"With her soaring vocals, impressive songwriting ability, and multi-instrumental prowess, Vriend is truly an all-in-one package." --Obscure Sound

Whether at the International Leonard Cohen Festival in Berlin, the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, or at her hometown Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Ann Vriend mesmerizes audiences around the world. Her vulnerable yet exquisite voice is often the first thing which turns heads, while her songs maintain a natural knack for melody. Her lyrics reveal a literary depth which stand as poetry on their own, and Ann's stage presence, balanced perfectly between breathtaking, heartbreaking songs and charming, witty humor, make for a completely engaging show. Ann's albums have sold over 10,000 copies to date, independently.

Ann was born in Vancouver, BC, but moved to Edmonton, Alberta at age 5. Early on her parents discovered their 3-yr-old could pick out nursery songs on a Fisher Price xylophone. Ann's musical talent developed from there to the violin, but eventually she settled on the piano at age 9, which she chose in order to accompany herself singing. In her teens Ann was persuaded by her school principal to perform her original songs at a high school talent show. Encouraged by the success of this performance, she began singing in public more often, performing and co-writing in local bands. Ann then completed a 2-year music program at Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton.

Within 7 months of graduating, Ann was recording at Sony Studios in NYC, with complimentary tickets to a concert of Paul Simon, her favorite of her parents' vinyl collection. That same year she released an astonishingly popular demo, which garnered her immediate radio play on local stations across Alberta. Her debut full-length album, "Soul Unravelling", was released in 2003, and is now in its 5th pressing. "Waterfront," a romantic piano ballad from this album, was placed on the DVD release of the hit US TV series "Party of Five".

Ann's writing reveals melodic and lyrical influences of '70s singer/songwriters such as Simon, Leonard Cohen, and Cat Stevens, combined in some songs with piano styles of contemporary pop artists such as Sufjan Stevens and Coldplay; in others tunes Ann borrows from jazz, blues, and soul music. Ann's dynamic vocals are a stunning combination of old-school soul influences such as Aretha Franklin, and the honest, heartbreaking delivery of traditional folk/country singers such as Dolly Parton. Ann's overall sound has roughly likened her to innovators such as Kate Bush and Joni Mitchell, but, as noted by a number of critics, "Vriend stands out from the crowd" (Drum Media, 2007); "Her style is her own" (South Australian Independent Weekly).

Ann's 2nd album, "Modes of Transport", (produced by Paul Brill in New York City, 2005) garnered rave reviews in Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Australia, and charted in radio stations across Germany and Canada, including receiving commercial radio play in Ann's hometown of Edmonton with the cabaret single, "Feelin' Fine."

Ann spent 2005 and 2006 touring North America, Western Europe, and Australia, and also received songwriting commissions, including for the 2006 Commonwealth Games (Melbourne). She also was invited to perform at speeches made by honored humanitarians such as Romeo D'Allaire and Stephen Lewis.

In June, 2007, Ann released The Clandestine EP": a signed, limited edition, 5 song disk containing 2 live tracks and upcoming material from her next upcoming full-length album. The EP received commercial radio play, charted in the Top 30 on Toronto's CIUT radio, and received 4/5 stars in Toronto's NOW Magazine.

March 2008 saw the release of Ann's 3rd full-length album, "When We Were Spies", produced by Juno Nominated producer Douglas Romanow. The album tells the tale of the treacherous, clandestine love affair of "former agent Ann Vriend" and an agent from "the other side". In less than 2 months the album sold 1,000 copies. AnE Magazine rated the album 4.5 stars out of 5, while Drum Media (Australia) stated simply:

"When it comes to women with pianos, there are endless comparisons to make, but Vriend stands out from the crowd."

Ann spent 2008 - early 2009 touring Canada, Australia, and America in support of "When We Were Spies". Her next studio album is to be released May 2010. Prior to this Ann will release a live album of her concert at The Basement, recorded this past January in Sydney, Australia.

David Ritz, author of many biographies such Aretha Frankin and Marvin Gaye's, writes:

"Once every generation... a singer-songwriter emerges with the creative fire to set the music world ablaze. Ann Vriend has the fire."

Song by song Ann Vriend is doing just that.

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Photo by Leroy Schulz - www.leroyschulz.com

TRACK LISTING

1. On Your Street (3:57)
2. Central Park Monday (3:27)
3. Same Thing For You (4:01)
4. We Are The Champions (4:02)
5. Waterfront (4:23)
6. Where You Are (4:08)
7. The Agreement (4:38)
8. Rockin' In The Free World (4:27)
9. A Dollar and a Suitcase (in memory of Adriana Groenewegen) (4:18)
10. Crazy (4:06)
11. Radio (5:35)
12. Take My Hand (5:25)

YOU CAN WIN AN ADVANCED SIGNED COPY OF CLOSER ENCOUNTERS BY ENTERING THE CONTEST HERE:

www.pressplus1.com

Date: December 31, 2009
Venue: the Haven Social Club, www.thehavensocialclub.com
Address: 15120 A Stony Plain Road, Edmonton, AB
Description: A 2nd Hand New Year's. James Murdoch Band, Ann Vriend, and Amber Bissonette play the "Rumours" album by Fleetwood Mac. Tickets at the Haven Social Club, Blackbyrd Myoosik, Megatunes, and via this link: www.ticketmaster.ca

Date: January 17, 2010
Venue: The Railway Club
Address: 579 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, BC CAN V6B 1Y4 604-681-1625
Description: Double bill with Kate Reid - www.katereid.net, doors 7 pm, show 8 pm, tickets $10

Date: January 20, 2010
Venue: Old Fire Hall - www.oldfirehall.ca
Address: 2115 Queen Street, Rossland, BC, CAN
Description: with bassist; ticket price and start time TBA

Date: January 22, 2010
Venue: House concert
Address: Lethbridge, AB, CAN
Description: with bassist; contact booking@annvriend.com for details and map or call Judy at 403-328-8126. Doors 7:00 pm, 7:30 pm start, $15 at the door. BYOB event.

Date: February 1, 2010
Venue: House concert
Address: Saskatoon, SK, CAN
Description: with bassist; for more details contact Gillian by email at gillians@sasktel.net or call 306-382-5714

Date: February 4, 2010
Venue: The Cyrk - www.thecyrk.ca - House concert
Address: Winnipeg, MB, CAN
Description: with bassist; for more details contact Darek at darek@drekdaa.com for tix; start time TBA

Date: February 5, 2010
Venue: House concert
Address: 205 Marks St. South, Thunder Bay, ON
Description: duo with bassist, contact Dave at 807-472-5909 for details. 7:30 pm $15, $10 for students, kids free

Date: February 6, 2010
Venue: Loplops Lounge & Gallery - www.loplops.com
Address: 651 Queen St. E., Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN P6A 2A6
Description: with bassist; also on the bill: Andrea Romolo and Cindy Doire; start time TBA

Spies like us
Ann Vriend and Matt Epp bring the Double Agent Tour to Canmore

Hamish MacLean
hamish@canmoreleader.com

Ann Vriend's "When We Were Spies" has had music critics singing since it was released in 2008. The Alberta songwriter's third disk gets going with the background of star-crossed secret agents thrown into a complicated, tangled web.

Vriend is playing in the Bow Valley, with Matt Epp, on her prairie Double Agent tour this weekend.

"I am a spy," Vriend said from her Edmonton home. "As a result, I can't talk much about it, or I'd have to kill you."

It's a concept album, she offered. And a role the Vriend seems to like, it's one that may have subconsciously emerged through the time she's spent in airports and one that she plays well enough to have seemingly credible people ask her incredulously, "Are you really a spy?"

For a secret agent though, Vriend is very open when discussing certain aspects of her life. Her parents' recognition of some musical talent at the age of three when she picked out tunes on her toy xylophone, for instance. Or her strict upbringing that meant she could not listen to commercial radio or watch TV. The music she could listen to and did identify with, from her parents record collection, became for Vriend 'bright lights.'"

Vriend also talks about being younger and getting into the business (the music business not the spy business) easily as well.

"I was really shy and had never really done any performing at all, I played all the time in my basement where nobody could hear me, when I heard someone coming down the stairs, I would stop playing," Vriend recalled of her younger days.

As part of a self-directed school project, Vriend, rather ambitiously, wrote and recorded eight songs. Her project then caught the eye of the high school principal when a talent show came up and nobody signed up. Vriend was coerced into performing three of her songs at the show.

"I was mortified . . . I didn't sleep for months leading up to this show," she said.
People liked it. She next joined a band with a recent graduate. As a relatively unknown commodity, she won a songwriting contest in 2002 at Edmonton's gone but not forgotten Sidetrack Café which involved winning the studio time necessary to record her first album and a trip to Nashville.

While she recognizes the moment in her life as having significance, it was hard for Vriend to articulate what the contest win meant for her career.

"There are so many people that want to be musicians, obviously, and they all have myspace pages - you kind of go, 'Yeah, but do I have anything that anybody else really wants to hear, or is this just my own navel gazing? My own hobby?'" Vriend said. "That's a question that you have to keep asking yourself, it's not, you win a big contest once and then you know for the rest of your life you're producing quality music. Unfortunately, you're as good as your last show and you're as good as your last song. It's a very 'insecure' career. But, I still like it."

Vriend said she hopes to release a live, acoustic "stripped down" disk at the end of the summer. But in the meantime she is writing material for her next studio album.

The melodramatic pop on "When We Were Spies" at times verges on jazz.

"I did go to a jazz and pop school, so I did learn a lot of the jazz theory and improvisation," she said. "I'm a fan of jazz. I'm a fan of jazz just about as much as I'm a fan of folk, or Brit Pop, or . . . the list goes on. But it's really tempting, when you're writing and you have to play solo . . . . One thing I'm trying to get away from is trying to play as jazzy as I have in the past, to be honest. Keeping it simple is actually harder."

The jazz-informed style she has played in in the past, Vriend said, had more to do with her satisfying her own creative impulses than what "served the song best," sometimes.

These days, Vriend said, she's more concerned with "letting the song be what it is.

"Getting my ya-yas out when I'm practicing is one thing, when I'm performing it's just really trying to make it solid and, really, simple but powerful.

"I kind of believe that the craft of songwriting (works best) when the words and music are woven together so well that it just makes so much sense, emotionally and intellectually that you just go, 'yeah,'" she said. "That's not a very articulate way of explaining it, but that's what's important to me as a songwriter."

For the performing artist, performing was second and songwriting was first, in her approach, from the beginning.

Vriend has been known over the years for perpetuating an awkward, even goofy stage presence, something she now credits as a lesson learned in comic relief when reading Shakespeare plays in her youth.

Vriend said she's looking forward to her Canmore Double Agent show with Winnipeg's Epp. She's performed with him in the past, written a song with him as well.

"He's an interesting 'cat,'" she said. "He's a really good person to work with, he's fun to travel with . . . .I think Matt (Epp) is a really engaging performer, he has this natural charisma about him on stage, and off stage, as well, that really draws people in."

That must be a case of the pot calling the kettle black.

Ann Vriend and Matt Epp bring the Double Agent Tour to the Communitea Café in Canmore (tickets $10, or $12 at the door) Saturday, May 9, doors open at 7:30 p.m. the show starts at 8 p.m.