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Dates Appearing: July 5 - 22, 24, 26 Current Release: This Fire |
Cole grew up in Rockport, a small Massachusetts town and the "Bethlehem" she sang about with tender pain on Harbinger (her debut release on Imago, re-released on Warner Bros. Records). And while it revealed a childhood of poverty, diffidence and self-consciousness, This Fire revisits Bethlehem on "Tiger," its leadoff track, to announce that "...I've left Bethlehem and I feel free. I've left the girl I was supposed to be."Her family was her greatest artistic influence. Her mother is a visual artist, while her father has paved a diverse career path by using his varied musical talents. "My dad used to play bass in a polka band. He put himself through college, earning a Masters and then a Ph.D. in entomology, while supporting two children with his earnings from musical gigs, as well as other part-time jobs. He used to walk through the house playing blues progressions on the guitar and I would vocally improvise. Also, singing in three-part harmony in the car was an every day occurrence," remembers Paula. "They taught me the most singly important life philosophy: music is meant to be self-made, to be experienced directly. Therefore, we didn't listen to many records or spend much time listening to the radio. I see now how different I am from mainstream society in this way and it makes me very happy."
After high school, Cole attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she studied jazz singing and improvisation. "I learned a lot cerebrally; I learned a lot of old standards, eartraining, arranging and group singing, but I was ultimately driven to write my own music, poetry and prose. I could see that this was my path. I felt destiny in my own music. I found freedom."
Live performance for Cole, who has toured with Peter Gabriel, Melissa Etheridge and Sarah McLachlan, is a whole other area of expression. "I'm looking forward to touring. I love the physicality and yang energy of performance. I love playing the piano now. I love dancing; I can let go and feel the force. I just want to continue evolving."
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