Biography
Nancy is thrilled to announce the release of her new CD, Runaway Train.
Nancy's laugh is the first thing you notice about her, and it is contagious. It erupts heartily and often, comes from deep inside and gives you a preview of the same rich tones found in her singing voice. The listener is put at ease and at the same time connected to Nancy's personal warmth and positive energy. When she sings, it's like that too.
With her latest release, Runaway Train, the first thing you have to talk about is the voice. How can you not? It's a Nancy Cassidy album and you come for that heart-stopping tenor with a platinum power-to-grace ratio.
But you stay for the heart.
Cassidy never hides. She has a voice that's carried and covered all the standards, but her own music is where it all comes home. Runaway Train is all original material, a showcase of songwriting where the Cassidy voice is a bonus; a huge, honey powered bonus.
With Runaway Train, Cassidy hits the tracks rolling again. Last time out (So Much Weather, 2006) she mixed a little blues, a little folk "and a kicker of country". This time she ups the ante, adding some foot-stomping gospel and swing to the mix. You end up wondering what she can't do.
Looking for a swingy blues thing with a little naughty attached? Check out Whoopee.
How about a foot-stomping come-to-meeting gospel? That would be Hallelujah.
One More Wave has a monster hook that'll take it straight to the swing charts.
Cassidy's back-up band knows exactly how to make it all come together whether they're taking it easy (Surround Me) or raising the roof on the title track, Runaway Train. The veteran band features Ronny Crawford on the drums, national touring John R. Burr on the piano, the multi-everything Dayan Kai on keyboards, fiddle, clarinet and harmonies. Santa Cruz folk-rock hero Keith Greeninger produced the album while doing it very right on lead guitar.
Runaway Train takes Nancy Cassidy to the next station on a career that's sold more than 2 million albums. With a pure voice and a signature style she has set up her own house in the folk/rock world with a platinum sound that's still picking up steam.
. . . Nancy began singing and writing as a young girl while growing up on a farm in the San Joaquin Valley, CA, with her 6 brothers and sisters. She sang in her living room, to the calves she was feeding, in the fields she was irrigating, and hummed her way through school. As a child, she dreamed about Marian Anderson, the gospel singer, landing by helicopter in her cow pasture to whisk her away so she could listen to her always.
At age 11, her Girl Scout Camp counselors inspired her with their songs and ukulele playing, so she started uke lessons in Merced with Mr. Wakiki. Several years later she took up the guitar and has been enjoying sharing music ever since - especially on the farm, on rivers, and around campfires.
As Nancy gradually studied her way through college, she supported herself at a variety of jobs: Taco Bell, canneries, and counseling at group homes. It was the group home experiences that inspired her to get a Masters in Counseling, and resulted in spending several years counseling teens at a non profit, New Morning, in Placerville.
She spent her summers as a river guide with non-profit, Environmental Traveling Companions, on the Stanislaus River, rowing less financially privileged groups of kids down the river. Later, she was a camp director at an environmental, multicultural camp, Hidden Villa, in Los Altos, where she was able to share music around campfires.
In 1986 she recorded her first children's album, KidsSongs, in Toronto with Ken Whiteley. Nancy was inspired to make her first children's song tape by the birth of her son, Cody. Klutz Press, located in her home at that time and owned by family and friends, distributed her music (with a book attached) through bookstores.
This first album, KidsSongs, was so successful that she received a gold record award from the Recording Association of America Inc. for having sold 500,000 copies. On this album, "Chicken Lips and Lizard Hips", a song written by Nancy and her husband, John Cassidy, achieved special acclaim. Bruce Springsteen recorded it on a benefit tape for the Pediatric Aids Foundation and has sold over a million copies.
Nancy has devoted fans worldwide. On her Jubilee CD, she recorded "I Wanna Be a Dog" which was beamed up to the astronauts on a shuttle flight, making Nancy one of the first childrens artist's with an orbital audience. So far, Nancy has a total of 5 childrens CDs, selling over 2 million copies worldwide.
Nancy's voice is frequently heard across the U.S. as she tours. She sings her classic KidsSongs in museums, schools, and libraries, and performs at folk festivals, house concerts, and clubs sharing her original folk music.
Some venues where Nancy has performed:
RADIO SHOWS (interviewed and/or played): KFOK 95.1, Georgetown, CA; KKUP 91.5, Cupertino, CA; KNBA 90.3, Anchorage, AK; KPIG 107.5, Watsonville, CA; KVMR 89.5, Nevada City, CA.
RADIO PLAY: So Much Weather got radio play on KCLA, KFOC, KKUP, KLCC, KPIG, KUSP, Radio Crystal Blue, Whole Wheat Radio, and Moozikoo Radio. You Reel Me In got radio play on KFOC, KKCR, and KKUP.
FESTIVALS: CA Bluegrass Father's Day Festival; Folk Alliance; FAR-West; Palo Alto Art & Wine Festival; San Francisco Free Folk Festival; Sisters Folk Festival; Symposium for Mothers.
CLUBS/CAFES: Bitter End, NY, NY; Club Passim, Boston, MA; Cozmic Cafe, Placerville, CA; Mississippi Pizza, Portland, OR; Pegasus Coffee House, Bainbridge Island, WA; Wilda Marston Theater, Anchorage, AK.
MUSEUMS: Austin Children's Museum; Bay Area Discovery Museum; Boston Children's Museum; Children's Discovery Museum of San Jose; Chicago Children's Museum; Children's Museum of Manhattan; Children's Museum of Phoenix; Hands On Children's Museum (Olympia, WA); Kids Discovery Museum (Bainbridge Island, WA); Port Discovery, the Children's Museum in Baltimore.
LIBRARIES/SCHOOLS/HOSPITALS: Numerous libraries and schools in AZ, CA, CT, DC, MD, OR. For example, in Washington, DC: WVSA ARTs Connection; Washington Middle School for Girls. Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford, CA; Ronald McDonald House, Stanford, CA.
CABLE/TV: "Ask 'Dr' Business," Palo Alto, CA; "The Sport of Motherhood," Palo Alto, CA; "This Morning Live," Montreal, Quebec.
SENIORS: Hearthstone Retirement Community, Beaverton, OR; San Carlos Adult Day Services, CA; "Singing from the Heart," Los Altos, CA
Music is broadcasted on PBS's "Bookworm Bunch"
In August 2004, Klutz released a two-CD boxed set and sing-along book combining Nancy's KidsSongs and KidsSongs 2 that received the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum Award for 2005. KidsSongs: A Holler-Along Handbook received a Gold Record from the Recording Association of America Inc. KidsSongs Jubilee received both the 1990 Parents' Choice Award for Audio Recording and the American Library Association 'Notable Children's Book' award.
COMMENTS ON RUNAWAY TRAIN:
Sing Out!
"...the tunes are upbeat and bouncy, the arrangements are lush and compelling, and Nancy's beautiful alto voice is always mixed to the front, so the lyrics stand out."
Vintage Guitar
"Cassidy's ability to assemble a balanced, well-paced album has caught up with her performing and composing talents, which have always ben ahead of the pack."
COMMENTS ON SO MUCH WEATHER:
Dave Stafford, KKUP Friday Folk-Off Show:
"Heartfelt, intense lyrics; memorable tunes; sweet soulful harmonies and a red-hot band..."
John Sandidge, KPIG Sunday Live:
"Boy, this is great music!"
Cheryl Gruedigam, Women's Rising Music, Zia Media Group:
"I love your music, absolutely love it!"
Robert Hahn:
"Nancy Cassidy's east Texas down on the farm fence rail sound is smoky, sexy and rare as real wood string pegs."
Sing Out!
"Her voice and songs are imbued with warmth and intimacy."
Cassidy has a total of ten CDs.
Five Twitter Twatter Music original folk CDs: Pocketbook Romance, Nights Skies, You Reel Me In, So Much Weather and Runaway Train.
Five Klutz KidsSongs CDs: KidsSongs, KidsSongs 2, Jubilee, Sleepyheads, Hullabaloo, and KidsSongs: 2 Compact Discs and a Sing-Along Songbook.
Nancy's music is available @ www.nancycassidymusic.com,www.itunes.com, www.cdbaby.com, www.klutz.com, www.moozikooradio.com
Instrumentation
Nancy Cassidy: acoustic guitar and vocals
Dayan Kai: multi-instrumentalist; mandolin, guitar, piano, percussion, clarinet, flute, sax, vocals, etc.
Steve Uccello: bass
Discography
Runaway Train (2009)
So Much Weather (2006)
Nancy Cassidy's Kids Songs: 2 Compact Discs
and a Sing-Along Songbook (2004)
You Reel Me In (2004)
Night Skies (2002)
Pocketbook Romance (1996)
Hullabaloo (1995)
KidsSongs Sleepyheads (1992)
KidsSongs Jubilee (1990) (sold over 500,000 copies)
KidsSongs 2 (1989) (sold over 500,000 copies)
KidsSongs (1986) (sold over 1,000,000 copies)
RADIO SHOWS (interviewed and/or played): KFOK 95.1, Georgetown, CA; KKUP 91.5, Cupertino, CA; KNBA 90.3, Anchorage, AK; KPIG 107.5, Watsonville, CA; KVMR 89.5, Nevada City, CA.
RADIO PLAY: So Much Weather got radio play on KCLA, KFOC, KKUP, KLCC, KPIG, KUSP, Radio Crystal Blue, Whole Wheat Radio, and Moozikoo Radio. You Reel Me In got radio play on KFOC, KKCR, and KKUP.
Links
| http://www.nancycassidymusic.com |