Live music listings: April 2008

Doors 7.30
£7 via WeGotTickets

A Night with Strings sees three beautifully unique singer songwriters perform together in a one off event, showcasing their diverse approach to writing for and performing with strings.

My Brightest Diamond is Shara Worden, granddaughter of an Epiphone-playing traveling evangelist, fathered by a National Accordion Champion, and mothered by a church organist. Spanish tango, Sunday morning gospel, classical and jazz were the accompaniment to her home life. Her first song was recorded at age three and by age eight she was studying piano and performing in community musical productions.

Shara honed her musical prowess singing along to Whitney Houston music videos and Mariah Carey albums. Wanting to explore the voice more deeply, she enrolled in the music program at the University of North Texas, immersing herself in the songs of Purcell and Debussy. After college, she moved to New York City and fell in love with its cold winters and busy streets. She continued to study opera on the Upper West Side during the day, but at night she frequented downtown clubs such as Tonic, Knitting Factory, and The Living Room, catching performances by Antony & The Johnsons, Nina Nastasia, and Rebecca Moore. She began to spend less time sight-reading Mozart and more time de-tuning her Gibson electric guitar to play her own newly-written songs. On the small stages of Lower East Side bars and clubs, Shara assembled a coterie of musicians to accompany her with bass and drums, music boxes, wine glasses, and wind chimes.

About Clare and the Reasons:

First, Clare writes songs.
Then she brings them to the Reasons' test lab. There, the songs are submitted to a series of intense treatments and tests until they become what some people call: "lush and sinfully beautiful". This process named in the scientific community "Reasonitis Polymorpheus Synthesis" or RPS, lead to the making of "The Movie" (Frogstand Records) their debut album. (no known side effects. FDA approval pending).

But who is this Clare anyway?

She was born on the island of Martha's Vineyard, in a vegetable garden amongst the most incredible tomatoes grown by her mother Sheila. Her father, music innovator Geoff Muldaur, introduced her to artists such as Mildred Bailey, Bessie Smith and Sam Cooke. Clare rode hundreds and hundreds of horses and listened to these inspiring musicians on her walkman while working in the barn.

One day, she rode her horse all the way to Berklee College of Music. With a handsome scholarship she was able to study jazz arranging and composition. There, she met now long time collaborator Olivier Manchon. On their first encounter, he made her cry and then they got married.

But who are "The Reasons"?

Alan Hampton, Olivier Manchon, Christopher Hoffman, Beth Meyers,Greg Ritchie and Bob Hart can be found in Brooklyn, NY. Most of the time, they are rehearsing, singing harmony vocals, pretending that their string trio is an orchestra, or playing very embarrassing football (the real name of soccer) in Prospect Park while discussing how to get endorsed by big sports gear corporations.

"The Movie," was released November 2007. It features guests such as Van Dyke Parks, Gregoire Maret, Sufjan Stevens and an augmented string section of nothing but the best string players in the universe.

You can hear Clare sing 2 songs on the Fox show "Arrested Development". She also has songs in 2 Lion's Gate films. Most recently, her song "Cactus Tree", can be heard in the HBO show "Cathouse". Clare and Olivier have toured together in Japan, Ireland, France and the US of A.

In September 2007, Clare and the Reasons did a compact European tour and ate really good food, they returned to the UK and to France in early December 2007 for a tour supporting St. Vincent, Joseph Arthur and the amazing Duke Special, as well as headlining their own shows.

Paul Frith is an experienced and accomplished musician who has played with the likes of Sufjan Stevens and Rodney Fisher. His bardish lyrics recount tales of humanity with themes ranging from The Spanish Civil War to the Umpa Loompas of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory...

"...I'm not often inclined to offer up hyperbole, but I think the evening ranked among the top musical experiences of my life..."

"...I was overwhelmed with the feeling of needing to do more than listen... I needed to create - write, draw, sing, even dance!"

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