 |
Dates Appearing: July 26, 29 Current Release: Once Blue |
Though their refined musical chemistry is indisputable, Martin and Harris come from very different backgrounds. Martin grew up in Maine as the daughter of a doctor and nurse. "When I was eight years old, my parents took me to New York City to see Andrea McArdle play 'Annie' on Broadway. I bought the record and became completely obsessed with it." Martin even went on to play "Annie" in several productions in Maine. "That was my first true singing experience." Later, as a determined youngster, Martin hooked up with a local recording studio not far from home. There she sang background vocals on most sessions that came through the studio, eventually recordirig her own projects.
Her musical tastes became more sophisticated. "My mother introduced me to the songs of George Gershwin and Cole Porter," Martin says. "Later came Joni Mitchell's records and other singer/songwrfters. My first jazz record was Sarah Vaughan's The Divine One which is still my favorite record today."
Harris is a born and bred New Yorker, the son of an actress and a lawyer. "When I was ten I took up the piano for about four years but wasn't much for practicing," Harris admits. "I was obsessed with buying records." Determined to find an instrument that he believed wouldn't require any formal practice, Harris started playing the harmonica. "I'd accompany guitar players and singers and eventually started to play the guitar," say's Harris. "I finally quit the harmonica when I heard John Popper of Blues Traveler play." With assiduous practice, Harris focused his energy on the guitar. After playing and writing songs for a variety of bands while attending Cornell University, he returned to Manhattan determined to pursue his ambition as a singer/songwriter.
At the same time, Martin moved to New York, hooked up with a guitarist and began playing acoustic gigs at small clubs throughout the city, some admittedly pretty divey. "New York was challenging, but I never lost focus on the music." Harris had his own challenges. "Singing was alway's my biggest hurdle as an artist though I was fronting bands and performing solo in the city," he says. "I alway's sang my own material until I met Rebecca, and she opened up a whole realm of possibilities."
"Jesse and I met through a mutual friend who had been trying for months to introduce us. She told me I would love his music," Martin recalls. Jesse finally came to see Rebecca perform at the Bitter End in November of `92. The couple formed a musical partnership about six months later, soon adding Street, Rosenwinkel and Dobrow. By the fall of `94, they had already played high profile gigs at Manhattan clubs such as Cafe Sin-e, CBGB's Gallery, The Bottom Line and Fez. They attracted a loyal, steadfast following of fans who thrived on the band's incomparable live performance. In fact, it was at a CBGB's Gallery gig that ONCE BLUE was signed - in true Cinderella fashion - by EMI president and CEO Davitt Sigerson who'd wandered in after seeing another band next door. He offered the duo a record deal on the basis of that night's performance.
Related Links
Return to Lilith Fair Artists