Megan Slankard

Artist Information

Biography

Though only in her 20's, singer-songwriter Megan Slankard has independently sold over 30,000 copies of four independently released CDs. Megan’s newest release, A Token Of The Wreckage (2011), is "an edgy alt-rock release that is a breath of fresh air" (Maverick Magazine), “gleaming, grooving, and gritty” (Minor 7th), with "thoughtful construction and clever wordplay" (Performer Magazine). The CD, which was recorded with help from David Bryson (Counting Crows) and Jerry Becker (Train), held a spot in the 10-best selling albums on CD Baby for weeks.

In addition to 12 new songs, the CD also includes Megan’s first official music video, written and directed by Matthew Ward. The video has earned nearly 25,000 plays on Vimeo and You Tube combined.

In support of her new CD, the singer-songwriter toured her way across the US and back twice over the past year and a half, returning home three times to San Francisco, CA to sold out shows with her band in the grand ballroom of the venerable Swedish American Hall and the Café du Nord. In 2012 she and the band also opened for Train during Train’s CA 37 Tour kick-off week in San Francisco. Megan performed the duet for Train’s hit “Bruises” with Train’s frontman, Pat Monahan, and sang back-up vocals for the kick-off week shows. Her busy year included performances at the 75th Anniversary of the San Francisco Golden Gate Bridge and the Red Rock Women’s Festival in Utah, and singing the National Anthem in the San Francisco Giant’s stadium to their 42,000 fans.

Megan’s recordings have been gaining substantial industry attention: she won the 2011 IMA Vox Populi for “The Happy Birthday” a song from her newest CD, as well as the 2009 IMA Vox Populi for her cover of Paul Simon’s song “America”. Megan earned the January 2009 Top 5 artist in the Famecast.com Competition and was selected as a finalist in the 2009 and 2008 Musician’s Atlas/Borders Books Independent Music Awards. Additionally, she was selected as a semi-finalist in Discmaker’s 2007 Independent Music World Series and the 2007 International Songwriting Competition.

Megan and her music have appeared on TLC’s “What Not To Wear”, which generated purchases by TV viewers that placed her CD “Freaky Little Story” on the #5 spot on Amazon.com CD sales charts and on the Top-10 Rock Bestseller list on CDBaby.com. Because of the episode’s popularity, the show’s producers featured her in a follow-up episode a year later, bringing “Freaky Little Story” and her third release, “A Little Extra Sun” back into the Top-10.

In addition to TV, Megan’s music has also been featured on San Francisco AAA station KFOG's compilation CD. She has been featured in Rockgrl Magazine, Owl Magazine, The Synthesis, Fresh Tracks and Women In Rock, in addition to Acoustic Guitar magazine – whose editors named “Freaky Little Story” one of their top albums of 2005. She was a final selection artist for RPM Direct Presents: Unsigned Artists Volume 3 compilation CD; an A&R Online featured artist; a Song and Film Spotlight artist; and, an Acoustic Cafe featured artist on the “One to Watch” syndicated radio program (sponsored by the USA Songwriting Competition). Slankard also co-wrote and performed on the title track of Dire Straits founding member David Knopfler's new record, “Ship of Dreams”.

Megan has also showcased in Boston (NEMO) and Toronto (NXNE), toured three times as support for David Knopfler through Germany and England, and performed at the international festival InGuitar in Zurich (Switzerland).

Megan is currently writing new songs for her next album release (tbd).

Instrumentation

Kyle Caprista - Vocals, Drums
James Deprato - Vocals, guitars, Lapsteel
Jeff Symonds - Vocals, Bass
Danny Blau - Vocals, Guitar, keyboards
Megan Slankard - Vocals, Guitar, mandolin, ukulele

Discography

(A new CD is in the works for 2013)
A Token Of The Wreckage (March 2011)
A Little Extra Sun (September 2005)
Freaky Little Story (September 2003)
Lady is a Pirate (August 2001)

Official Website

http://www.meganslankard.com

Links

• Facebook
• Twitter

Audio

• The Last Thing You Say
  Listen  
• The Happy Birthday
  Listen  
• A Token Of The Wreckage
  Listen  
• Our Little Secret
  Listen  
• The Tragic Life Of Caleb
  Listen  
• You And Your Bright Ideas
  Listen  
• My Obsession With Bees
  Listen  

Lyrics

• The Last Thing You Say
• The Happy Birthday
• A Token of the Wreckage
• Our Little Secret
• The Tragic Life of Caleb
• You and Your Bright Ideas
• My Obsession with Bees

Video

A Token of the Wreckage OFFICIAL

Megan Slankard performs "Token of the Wreckage" with Jeff Campbell

Photo Gallery

Press

• CD Review -- A Token of the Wreckage [+ Show ]
  

  “Showcasing originality and embracing an astonishing story-telling technique, mixed with a sensation...“Showcasing originality and embracing an astonishing story-telling technique, mixed with a sensational vocal ability, this record has really shone through…
  Independent singer songwriter from America, Megan Slankard releases her fourth record an edgy alt-rock release that is a breath of fresh air. An artist who truly understands her style, her vocal ability and her overall sound, and she pursues al that with as much passion and intensity as humanly possible. Having completed the record with the help from David Bryson (Counting Crows) and Jerry Becker (Train) and featuring some wonderful musicians, the total package is blissfully easy to enjoy. The opening track, A Token of the Wreckage, is told with novel perspective, and crystal clear vocals that embrace soul and indulge in the rock influence. With sparse instrumentation at the opening you expect the album to be on the whole really quite laid back, but as you continue the journey lulls you into a sense of security that then gets quite a shake up as the rock influence kicks in with a vocal style that is inspirational. The Happy Birthday is one of my favourite tracks on the record for its astonishing story telling technique. ‘Paper plates will catch the wind, blowing of the T A B L E, Plastic spoons and sporks–watch them sail as the day gets started’. My Obsession with Bees is another fantastic song, this time a narrative about being attached to things and not being able to let go and the almost mechanical way we go about actions and decisions. Focusing on a vey lively alt-rock vibe, the instrumentation just enhances those sensational vocals and brings Megan’s music to another level entirely. Her originality and vitality as an artist really shine through making this a record to thoroughly enjoy. Only in her twenties, and four record in, there’s a lot to look forward to with this inspirational independent artist.”
  Lauren Bethell, Maverick Magazine
  

• CD Review -- A Token of the Wreckage [+ Show ]
  

  "What a difference a few decades makes in the record business -- or what is left of it! Had singer- ..."What a difference a few decades makes in the record business -- or what is left of it! Had singer- songwriter Megan Slankard been recording circa 1995, she would have ruled the Lilith Fair roost and racked up a few Grammys along with the queens of the alternative/adult rock genre such as Sarah McLachlan, Paula Cole, Beth Orton, and Mary Lou Lord, among others. But that was then, and this is now -- and now is the time for the resurgence of female singer-songwriters of substance in mainstream popular music. "A Token of The Wreckage," which was three years in the making, arrives just in time for such a revival. Slankard's third official long-player emerges as a gleaming, grooving, and gritty song-cycle which details the artist's transition from childhood to adulthood. But don't take my word for it: be advised to check out the official video for the title-track on YouTube.Com which is most representative of the spirit of this remarkable album. (Note the Lilith Fair quip at the onset of the clip and the Charlie Sheen look-alike sitting at the bar!) Co-produced by Slankard and Jerry Becker, every track on Wreckage is a work of art: strong melodies, literate lyrics, engaging vocal harmonies, dazzling accompaniment, and a killer rhythm section. Props to the Counting Crows' David Bryson, who mixed Wreckage with a fine, warm resonance that pleasantly highlights the rough edges of Megan and her band. The core ensemble of Danny Blau (B3, piano, guitar), James Deprato (slide guitar, lap and pedal steel, mandolin), bassist Jeff Symonds, and drummer Kyle Caprista can do no wrong whether in pop jazz mode ("Beautiful Makeshift"), cosmic country ("The Pain of Growing Up"),
  Americana ("Fair Enough and Farewell") or traversing from folk to full-fledged arena rock in the span of one cut ("Show Up"). Had the title of this album been Greatest Hits -- you wouldn't have known the difference. Slankard has been successful on the indie/grass roots level (and has shared billing with such notables as Colin Hay and Hootie & The Blowfish) -- and Wreckage certainly has the goods to push her into the major leagues Highly recommended for fans of the above mentioned references."
  © Tom Semioli, Minor 7th

• CD Review -- A Token of the Wreckage [+ Show ]
  

  “Sultry, warm with a golden glow” Megan Slankard releases her fourth record in good company, aide...“Sultry, warm with a golden glow”
  
  Megan Slankard releases her fourth record in good company, aided by engineers David Bryson (Counting Crows) and Jerry Becker (Pat Monahan). A Token of the Wreckage includes 12 tracks of polished singer/songwriter anthems. The record features a consistent Americana sound, leaving Slankard to shoulder the responsibility of standing out with her unique songwriting and sultry voice.
  The album opens with “A Token of the Wreckage,” a title track with such strong pop sensibilities it’s unmistakable as her first single. Subsequent tracks follow suit with comparably sharp production. “The Happy Birthday” offers a nice shift with its simple concept and upbeat swing. It’s songs like these that shine a light on Slankard’s clever lyrics. On “The Pain of Growing Up,” she itemizes a list of growing pains, including unfulfilled travel desires and working at Home Depot. It’s an honest track with an underlying melancholy that one can only hope isn’t completely autobiographical for her... not that there’s anything wrong with working at Home Depot.
  Thoughtful construction and clever wordplay are the highlights on Slankard’s new record. A Token of the Wreckage is a generous collection that maintains its momentum from start to finish.
  
  Performer Magazine

• CD Review -- A Token of the Wreckage [+ Show ]
  

  "This young lady has everything that it takes to go as far as she desires. An outstanding alt-rock r..."This young lady has everything that it takes to go as far as she desires. An outstanding alt-rock release from an artist that has talent to spare."
  Planet Weekly

• CD Review -- A Token of the Wreckage [+ Show ]
  

  "Please hear this: Megan Slankard’s CD “A Token of the Wreckage,” is a most significant musical work..."Please hear this: Megan Slankard’s CD “A Token of the Wreckage,” is a most significant musical work. On the basis of this premier CD, I have become Megan Slankard’s fan for life. The title song alone had done that, but it’s only the beginning of the wonders of this album. Throughout, she expresses her performer/writer/artist soul in the now- quickening, now slowing cadences of modern songwriting, using even pop gloss as a tool to get her substantial, complex, oddly beautiful artistic vision across, in ways that make me want to listen again and again to catch every nuance of language and melody.
  If you are looking for a review that says that Megan is a fantastic performer and that she makes really good pop music, well, that’s certainly extremely true. But please look under the hood with me:
  Careful reading of these beautiful and often unexpected lyrics is almost mandatory to get the full effect and benefit of Slankard’s artless-seeming art. Yet In tune after memorable and accessible and hooky yet deep and complex tune, Megan delights with unexpected musical changes and startling turns of phrase. “Token” and songs like “Fair Enough and Farewell,” (“I’m such a little girl”) “Our Little Secret,” “Soundtrack” (“You’re like a movie directed by me”), “Beautiful Makeshift” (where a jazzy feel to start gives way to buttery pop, but with incisive and almost angry lines like “Not that I am one for your destruction,” which seems to me to be pure Megan and only Megan) and “The Last Thing You Say” (with its modern propulsive shaker beat and pulse changes) show that good, poppy pop rock is a perfectly useful tool for presenting music of substance.
  There is real substance here. It took me a long time to get to the bottom of it, and please bear with me as I back into it. The third-to-last song on the CD is “The Last Thing You Say,” and I cried the entire morning after listening to it and reading the lyrics really closely. The singer of that song is lying in a pool of blood on the (kitchen) floor after being stabbed by her lover, and she is about to die. Her sight is dimming and she is listening, as the pounding of her own heart and blood (which you can hear in the percussion) make it hard for her to hear the last words he will say, as she says, and she is listening hard in case they are about her. She says that anything he does at this point will make her happy, and that she has loved him without thinking. And this is all rendered in hooky, delicious pop colors! When I grasped what the song was saying, when I realized that loss of life was an horrible possible outcome of loving for the character who sings these songs, I looked back at all the other songs that preceded this one and saw them in a new light, a new darkness, actually.
  It is the culmination of the themes on the album, and it is very much an album, with songs that connect with each other and have their strongest effect when played in order. The main thrust seems to me to be that an intensely wise young person who knows even her own paucity of experience in the world is bridling at the loss of selfhood that love can seem to demand, the deadness and boredom that conventional adult life can be, and the fact that marriage and other markers of growing bring us one step closer to the end of our lives.
  Though the album is predominantly about relationships and the young
  Though the album is predominantly about relationships and the young individual in relationships, the word “love” appears very infrequently, and some of those times it appears very darkly indeed. “The Last Thing You Say” starts “So love is this: A three-inch blade,” for instance.
  Youth is mentioned repeatedly; an irony for me is that Megan Slankard may be young but her wisdom and insight, even and maybe especially when acknowledging her own confusion or age- appropriate lack of experience in the world, is remarkable. It is here that I would like to speak about the wreckage in the title of the CD; it seems to me the wreckage is the possible destructiveness of a relationship a young person enters in hope of it being lifelong, only to find that it isn’t a relationship that sustains the partners for long at all, something that actually hurts them. In these songs Megan, as protagonist and first-person singer, is wise enough to know that she, and maybe her partner, are perhaps not ready to settle, either down or for less than a satisfying future.
  “The Pain Of Growing Up” is in almost same beat as the song before it on the CD, “The Happy Birthday,” but in urban and minor tonalities. I think it’s a key song, at the half-way point, the beginning of the second half. Here the singer confronts the realities that delimit the exuberance of youth. She and her lover, with whom she is kind of playing house though they don’t live together (“I love the thought of us, so young and mischievous, but oh so domesticated,” where “oh so domesticated” is not really domesticated at all) have to face the fact that they have big dreams, small money and will have to become more domesticated, perhaps, in order to have adult lives. And it’s not clear that an adult life is what they want if it means most of the deadening things that adult life has come to mean. In the end, the pain of growing up may be the pain of adult awareness about the many deadnesses.
  “The Tragic Life Of Caleb” is the best of country singer/songwriter acoustic fingerpicker music, but with an edge and personalness not common in country tunes, and its lyrics strike deep. The song is about the singer having called off her wedding to a man because “I’m scared of being bored with you.” The singer is aware enough of her own confusion to be apologetic, but she notes that her lover is mean and she would like to see him “choke and fight to breathe.” Yet the chorus, “When I die Caleb, what happens to the air I breathe? What happens to my hopes? What will happen to my dreams?” seem more about the death of selfhood the singer might suffer by marrying than about her physical death. But it’s clearly a life-or-death matter to her. We can clearly see how this is related to the murder in “The Last Thing You Say.”
  I could go on like this through each song, and I may do so in a continuation of this review, but there is something clear and brilliant here. It is Megan Slankard’s sure-handed presentation of major, major themes as the best drama, the best of the playwright’s craft, here rendered in song after arresting song.
  I want very much to mention that the production is highly polished throughout, and that the musicians and the arrangements and the musical underpinnings of the lyrics are simply superb. It’s clear the musicians and the producers and engineers understood Megan’s vision. I could single out James DePrato’s stellar guitar work on the title song ( a song so important to me that I will write an entire review of it separately), but the ensemble as a whole, the beauty of all the music by Danny Blau on guitars and keyboards (I assume it is he who plays the keyboard in the video, and he is a player after my own heart), Jeff Symonds on bass and Kyle Capistra on drums, unifies the album and provides such great underlying strength to the proceedings.
  From the cover art with the doll doubtlessly representing the singer being rowed either away from a wreck at sea or across the River Styx by the Ogre Boatman, to the included video (an incredible work in itself, another, different, drama) of the title song, this CD is a huge achievement for Ms Slankard and would be for any writer and performer. Individually, these songs will parse as the obvious hits that they are. Taken together they are an extraordinary document, the work of a budding genius. To Megan Slankard I offer this review as a token of my esteem for this ubertalented true artist who has so much to tell me, at so many years older than she, about her experience and understanding as an awake and aware young person with a unique perspective about self and relationships.
  I know I haven’t gotten it all, haven’t done this work justice. I’m still digging through. There is more to say about how “I’m not going to let you win” and “you’re not going to win” appear in different songs, about
  ??how getting the noise to stop in the last song cycles back to getting the
  ??how getting the noise to stop in the last song cycles back to getting the noise to stop in the first song, about “Show Up” and the singer taking charge at the end of the CD but I can’t write any more about this album I’ve lived inside for the last two weeks or so. I’m too busy listening again.
  I have said that if you only take one CD recommendation from me this year, please let it be this recommendation, this CD. It will pay you back so repeatedly and so strongly."
  Alan Monasch, Local Music Vibe

• CD Review -- A Token of the Wreckage [+ Show ]
  

  "Megan Slankard is difficult to pigeonhole. I hear equal parts of country soul, folk, pop, and alt r..."Megan Slankard is difficult to pigeonhole. I hear equal parts of country soul, folk, pop, and alt rock in her music. And you can't help but admire her industry – although she's only in her early 20's she's sold over 25,000 of her first two independent CD releases. Her third, Token of the Wreckage, amply demonstrates why she's so popular.
  Some of Slankard's original songs are bouncy and fun such as "The Happy Birthday" while others are dark and sad like "The Tragic Life of Caleb." But regardless of the mood Slankard connects with the essence of that emotion and injects it into her music. Even on the pop confection "Soundtrack" Slankard finds the right combination of perkiness and vacuity for that ideal girl-group vibe.
  Slankard's voice is a powerful musical tool. An exemplary folk-singer's voice , it's direct and disarming in its lack of artifice. With the help of co-producer Jerry Becker and David Bryson for Token of the Wreckage she's double and triple-tracked her voice into multiple musical personalities. Like different costumes for different roles, sometimes the lead vocal is clear, natural and unadorned, while on other tunes Slankard equalizes her timbre into a Borgish human-synth.
  The rich and full-bodied arrangements behind Slankard's vocals are equally ambitious and impressive. The player list isn't especially deep, but everyone contributes multiple instrument parts. Danny Blau plays electric guitars, Wurlitzer, and synths, James Departo plays electric guitars, lap steel, pedal steel, slide guitar, mandolin, and acoustic guitars, Dave Bryson plays acoustic guitar, bass, mandolin, and Jerry Becker plays acoustic guitar, keyboards, and percussion. There's an almost cinematic feel to some of the arrangements that's more like a tightly orchestrated pop than introspective folk, yet Slankard maintains her grounding in roots music while successfully taking advantage of the expressive possibilities of denser arrangements."
  EnjoytheMusic.com

• Performance Review [+ Show ]
  

  “Slankard’s vocal style is so distinctive that simply naming influences (Ani DiFranco, Alanis Moriss...“Slankard’s vocal style is so distinctive that simply naming influences (Ani DiFranco, Alanis Morissette) doesn’t do it justice. Her vocal melodies are immediately arresting, she uses hip-hop phrasing and whisper-to-roar dynamics like a pro, and she never lets her impeccable technique eclipse the emotion she pours into her performances.”
  Acoustic Guitar Magazine
  

• Performance Review [+ Show ]
  

  "Like the murderous rabbit from 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', San Franciscan acoustic folk-rock..."Like the murderous rabbit from 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail', San Franciscan acoustic folk-rock troubadour Megan Slankard has a cute, wouldn't-hurt-a-fly appearance that gives little indication of the power she commands. Rather than maiming with claw and fang, though, she kills the listener softly with her heartfelt lyrics, her bold, radio-ready voice and her memorable chart-wooing melodies."
  Metro Santa Cruz
  

• Performance Review [+ Show ]
  

  "It's as if you've opened an emo pop Jack-in-the-box–the outside is adorned with hearts, rainbows an..."It's as if you've opened an emo pop Jack-in-the-box–the outside is adorned with hearts, rainbows and peace symbols, but turn the crank, and after a little acoustic rock fanfare, out pop the twin figures of Alanis Morissette and Ani DiFranco in all their fierce, über-female kick-ass-itude. Such is the shock when an adorable 20-year-old hippie gal opens her mouth and belts out sharp, punchy original tunes with radio-quality professionalism. Tracy, California's Megan Slankard clearly aims to paint the music industry paisley, and let's be honest–it isn't exactly hurting her mission that her every molecule radiates disarming cuteness. Keep your eye on this one."
  Damon Orion, Good Times

• Performance Review [+ Show ]
  

  "The first thing that strikes you is her incredible vocal control. And if you've made the mistake of..."The first thing that strikes you is her incredible vocal control. And if you've made the mistake of thinking she's a cute little waif, it takes about 30 seconds into the first song for her confidence and musical prowess to make your jaw drop."
  True Wind Music

• Performance Review [+ Show ]
  

  “Nearly everyone who encounters this attractive and sophisticated singer-songwriter agrees that she ...“Nearly everyone who encounters this attractive and sophisticated singer-songwriter agrees that she has ‘star’ written all over her...She forges a distinctive sound with her smooth and courageous vocal dynamics, intelligent and diverse song styles, and sheer infectious enthusiasm.”
  Acoustic Guitar Magazine
  
  

• Performance Review
  

  "...Ridiculously talented..." Marijke Rowland, Modesto Bee

• Performance Review [+ Show ]
  

  "Everyone loved having her on campus. We truly enjoyed meeting her and listening to her. Thank You M..."Everyone loved having her on campus. We truly enjoyed meeting her and listening to her. Thank You Megan Slankard for a great performance!"
  Kellogg Community College, Michigan
  

• CD Review -- Freaky Little Story [+ Show ]
  

  "It’s a good sign when the first three songs of a record have you wondering “why haven’t I heard of ..."It’s a good sign when the first three songs of a record have you wondering “why haven’t I heard of this group before?” Such is the case with Freaky Little Story, the second release by 20-year-old Megan Slankard but her first with the Megan Slankard Band. Lady is a Pirate, Slankard’s impressive 2001 mostly acoustic home recording, showcased her vocal and songwriting talent but only hinted at her production skills. With the addition of drummer Ian Stambaugh, bassist Dave Moffat, guitarist Mike Hsieh, and co-producer Chris Holmes, radio-ready tunes like “Dirty Wings” and “Lose Me” groove and lift off. Throwing such curveballs as the DJ scratching and sampling on “Mockingbird” and the gorgeous cello lines on “Addy’s Tatoo,” the band lets the songs breathe and build beyond the confines of conventional pop song structures. The finely tuned arrangements don’t distract from the songs so much as cast them in their best light. Slankard’s vocal style is so distinctive that simply naming influences (Ani DiFranco, Alanis Morissette) don’t do it justice. Her vocal melodies are immediately arresting, she uses hip-hop phrasing and whisper-to-roar dynamics like a pro, and she never lets her impeccable technique eclipse the emotion she pour into her performances."
  Drew Pierce, Acoustic Guitar
  

• CD Review -- Freaky Little Story [+ Show ]
  

  "What Megan Slankard is selling on her self-produced album, Freaky Little Story, is bottled exciteme..."What Megan Slankard is selling on her self-produced album, Freaky Little Story, is bottled excitement... On ‘Too Bad You’ and ‘Dirty Wings’ close your eyes, it could be Sheryl with her foot on the gas. In between comes ‘Mocking Bird’ where she sounds sexier than Shania but it's a latent sexiness, more powerful because it's suggested. Her [music] is made all the more alluring by a real hunger; she's a girl with places to go. ‘Addy's Tattoo’ is breathless but it is also free from the cynicism born of experience...
  
  The album may well be entering a crowded market but its core radio friendliness sits neatly alongside the slightly quirky; ‘Lose Me’ is the kind of song Rickie Lee Jones sang at her peak. Freaky Little Story is a real find, an album packed with the kind of melodies that shift records by the van load but it will also satisfy those who think commercial success is akin to summoning Beelzebub, which is a pretty neat trick."
  MM, Maverick Magazine

• CD Review -- Freaky Little Story [+ Show ]
  

  "Megan Slankard proves that you don't have to play the same three chords over and over again to be a..."Megan Slankard proves that you don't have to play the same three chords over and over again to be a rock 'n' roll star. Welcome to Freaky Little Story, which is neither freaky nor little. The comparisons to Alanis Morrisette, Patty Griffin, and Ani DiFranco are scattered all over her press kit, and are certainly warranted. However, if you only heard the cut "Mocking Bird," it would become quite evident that Slankard has a lot of contemporary soul in her bones too, slipping slinky vocal phrases across the bar-line, complemented by DJ scratching. Throughout this deeply introspective song-cycle, Slankard's snappy, organic acoustic guitar rhythms and syncopated melodies serve as the perfect balance to her angelic harmonies which often break into dreamy falsetto multi-tracked passages. An artist with tremendous potential, I wouldn't be surprised if this is her last indie release. Get it now before you have to pay a fortune on E-Bay."
  Tom Semioli, Minor 7th
  

• CD Review -- Freaky Little Story [+ Show ]
  

  "Slankard has a knack for getting the max out of what would seem to be modest resources, putting tog..."Slankard has a knack for getting the max out of what would seem to be modest resources, putting together a tight little bandwriting a brace of vibrant songs, taking them into a local studioand coming out withan album that holds it own against the 'real' records pros made. Spin Freaky Little Story and you'll hear singing and lyricism reminiscent of the young Joni Mitchell while also picking up the intermingled vulnerability and attitude that characterized Chrissie Hynde when she exploded onto the scene."
  TAXI, The Navigator

• CD Review -- Freaky Little Story [+ Show ]
  

  "[Freaky Little Story] has lots of magic moments – lots of goose bumps, lots of evidence of hard wor..."[Freaky Little Story] has lots of magic moments – lots of goose bumps, lots of evidence of hard work... The vocals and harmonies are wonderful... love the arrangements... very exciting."
  David Knopfler (Dire Straits)

• CD Review -- Freaky Little Story [+ Show ]
  

  "Slankard possesses a range beyond her years. The fact that she can pull off high notes that sound e..."Slankard possesses a range beyond her years. The fact that she can pull off high notes that sound ethereal, and dip low into an earthy, smoldering growl indicates a level of versatility that will take her farther than her peers. Slankard's vocal risk-taking pushes her out of both the singer/songwriter and pop-star formulas, and showcases her own talent. ... Slankard's newest album [Freaky Little Story] reinforces her progress so far and promises a long-standing career in music for a talented young singer."
  Yvonne Chan, PerformerMag.com

• CD Review -- Freaky Little Story [+ Show ]
  

  "Great voice, great songs, great album [freaky little story] -- and if there's any justice in the wo..."Great voice, great songs, great album [freaky little story] -- and if there's any justice in the world, a great future."
  Jamie Field, Musical Discoveries

• CD Review -- A Little Extra Sun [+ Show ]
  

  "A true indie success story in the wake of the success of her 2003 debut, Freaky Little Story, the C..."A true indie success story in the wake of the success of her 2003 debut, Freaky Little Story, the California native -- a recent collaborator with Dire Straits founder David Knopfler -- has been compared to every great female artist under the sun. Yet based on the seductive modern rock vibe, crafty production, and soulful yet angelic vocals on this project, the most appropriate assessment came from Good Times Magazine: "She could make the Oxford English Dictionary sound melodious." It's wonderfully infectious stuff, from the trippy opening synth swirl of the anthemic and dreamy "My Hallelujah" through the heartfelt pop/rocker "Sails" and haunting, ethereal "You Love Like." There's even a little country in her soul on the gently rollicking "Planets." At five tracks, this is just an EP, but it's definitely quality over quantity for an artist who needs to be heard more of."
  AllMusic.com

• CD Review -- A Little Extra Sun [+ Show ]
  

  "[Megan Slankard's "a little extra sun" is] a remarkable five song goodie bag..." The Celebrity Ca..."[Megan Slankard's "a little extra sun" is] a remarkable five song goodie bag..."
  The Celebrity Cafe
  
  

Setlist

Each performance consists of all original music from her four CDs, new unreleased songs, and an occasional cover.
The length of each performance varies and can be from 30 minutes to 2 + hours.

Basic Requirements

Calendar