arjuna greist
Greenfield, Massachusetts, United States | INDIE
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While I was in Madison, Wisconsin, for the Turkey Day weekend, I chanced to see Arjuna Greist in performance at A Room of One's Own feminist cafe and bookstore. This was the second time I have had the good fortune to see her perform, though I must confess I have worn out her album between those two times. Odd Numbers is a record that draws you in, through the enticing folksiness of the music, and then keeps you there with Arjuna's sweet and powerful voice and the strength of what she has to say. Her show at Room was better than the album, mostly because of its inclusive nature. Arjuna doesn't just play at an audience, she plays to it, and with it, and is kind of among the people who are enjoying the show. Indeed, Arjuna gives the distinct impression that she is very much enjoying herself, and the overall effect of her in concert is uplifting and somewhat spiritual - even if you have no spirit and are determined not to be uplifted. This is never more powerful than on Arjuna's spoken word pieces, when she seems to be talking directly to you, exposing herself to you and forcing you to look at yourself reflected in the mirror of her words. Arjuna has recently won the Just Plain Folks Spoken Word Award for her piece, "normal is..." So listen up - go get as many copies of her album as you can, support her, and go hear Arjuna Greist!
Indie-Music.com - Squidbag Radio
Arjuna Greist has a voice like the sea sirens, pulling you in with its sweetness and pure angelic tones. But there’s a sharp mind and wicked smile behind that voice. Once you’ve succumbed, she hits you with strong opinions and brutal scenes and other truths as she sees them, and if that voice is too irresistible for you to pull away, you’d better strap on your helmet and protective padding and brace yourself... bluntly honest and real, Greist is worth getting to know. - Indie-Music.com
Cut from the same Ani DiFranco cloth as many other young, female singer/songwriter/spoken word performers, Arjuna Greist has distinguished herself by employing a sense of humor on her album Odd Numbers (Apple Fall). Tracks such as “Free Bird” (the best musical response to audience requests for “Free Bird” since Aimee Mann and her band broke into “Sweet Home Alabama”), “Talkin’ Anniversary Blues,” and “Suck & Blow.” There are also plenty of serious moments, including “Mariana,” which makes reference to Rose Polenzani’s “Olga’s Birthday” and the Matthew Shepard tribute “Song For Matthew.” - Windy City Times
This is a CD for cross-country road trips, for calm coffee shop silence and reflection, for spoken word compilations, for attentive and gentle ears, for vehement debates over the dinner table, for shocked laughter, for the politically-minded who need the right music to keep them mobilized, for miscellaneous mixtapes for a significant other--- just keep it in your stereo. Odd Numbers is raw. Greist's words are on fire, and you can't help but listen. I'm not a folk music person, but the few 'folkish' music CDs that I own (Melissa Ferrick & Ani DiFranco, and now Arjuna Greist's: "Odd Numbers"), I keep in circulation and treasure, especially for its lyrical content. The lyrics of Odd Numbers must be listened to. - Smith College Music Reviews
Discography
Discography:
Odd Numbers 2003
Some Chick Sings 2000
Appears on:
Linq- Life Goes On 2009
(harmony vocal)
Linq - Change the Picture, George! 2007
(harmony vocal)
Chris Pureka - Driving North 2004
(harmony vocal on Grey and Burning Bridges)
Books:
Bullying: Replies, Rebuttals, Confessions, and Catharsis
(Contributing Author)
Edited by Maria Luisa Arroyo and Magdalena Gomez of Teatro V!da
Published by Skyhorse Press May 2012
Better Read Aloud (Self-published poetry book) 1998
Producer Credits:
the lovesongs of joe bridge- gooselove 2005 (co-producer, with gooselove)
odd numbers- arjuna greist 2003 (co-produced with Marty Helly)
some chick sings- arjuna greist 2000 (co-produced with Jef Scoville)
Current Projects:
Liminal - full length CD
To Be Released Winter 2013
Photos
Bio
In her acceptance speech for the Just Plain Folks International Songwriting Award in the spoken word category, arjuna enthused, "I am so honored, and so joyous... the fact that my queer-happy, anti-establishment, freakazoid, punk-ass manifesta passed the muster of my peers to win an award lets me know, in an official way, that messages of peace, and change, and hope, and non-violent revolution are both wanted and needed in this world... we just need to keep getting louder."
A performer since before she can remember, arjuna spent her formative years singing in choirs and at open mics before graduating to professional gigs during college. In 2000, arjuna answered fan demand for an album with a six song demo CD, "some chick sings," which she supported with her first nationwide tour in 2001. She continued to expand her performance horizons, singing solo as well as sharing the stage with such lovely folk as Pamela Means, Edie Carey, Trina Hamlin, and Adrianne. arjuna has been getting louder every year, criss-crossing the continent to bring her deeply personal music and poetry to appreciative audiences at women's festivals, pride events, colleges, coffee houses, and living rooms from Southern California to Toronto.
arjuna moved to the Pioneer Valley area in January, 2002. Since then, she has played at area performance spaces such as The Elevens, The Ironhorse, The A.P.E. Gallery, and Diva's Nightclub in Northampton, P.A.C.E. and Flywheel in Easthampton, The Open Square in Holyoke, The Java Hut in Worchester, Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls, and Earthdance in Cummington. She has been a featured performer at area college events, including various benefits, Queerfest 2003, and concerts at individual colleges, plus rallies for National Coming Out Day, Northampton Pride, Southbridge Pride, and New England Trans Pride. arjuna has appeared regularly at feminist poetry happening Sisiter Spit Northampton, and one of her songs was chosen for a compilation CD of the Northampton Music Festival.
The collection of folks she has shared the stage with has been growing happily, and now includes Ember Swift, Lyndell Montgomery, Erin Smith Band, Meg Hutchinson, James O'Brien, Chris Pureka, Laura Love, Aisha Ayers, God-des, Tribe 8, Juha, Ferron, Alix Olson, Evelyn Harris, Eric Schwartz, Dan Bern, We're About 9, Chris Pureka, Alix Olson, Doria Roberts, Bitch, Sister Funk, Antigone Rising, and Michelle Tea.
arjuna joined forces in 2002 with gooselove, Lenelle Moise, and Chris O'Carroll to form The People's Poetry Theater, a spoken-word troupe presenting what is best described as "the Vagina Monologues of social justice poetry." They can be found performing in theaters, presenting programs in schools, and sharing the stage with poetic luminaries such as Saul Williams.
The Springfield Journal featured arjuna as a recent cover story, citing her as "one of the up-and-coming politically charged folk musicians in the valley."
arjuna is a performing member of Indiegrrl, Outmusic, Just Plain Folks, and People's Music Network, Songs of Freedom and Struggle.
'odd numbers,' arjuna's latest release, has garnered accolades from fans and media alike, as well as airplay on college, community, AAA and internet radio in the U.S. and abroad. In a recent Valley Advocate article, odd numbers was ranked as the #2 top-selling local album at Night Owl Records in Easthampton, MA.
arjuna is currently taking some time off regular touring, (still playing the occasional benefit show, house concert, or Pride rally) both to write songs for her upcoming album and to seek out a booking agent, but plans to increase the volume with several tours in late 2013 around New England and New York.
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