Biography
Born in the woods of South Carolina, Hope Nunnery experienced gospel music from an early age. As a little girl, she listened in awe to the Southern Baptist Church music, and was fascinated by the genre’s melodic, melancholy undertones. She has kept this influence tight and close to her heart, adding blues, country, old time and bluegrass to create a cornucopia of pure American roots music.
Hope’s poignant lyrics evoke a determined passion for the expression of what has been lived and felt, leaving little room for double entendres or half words. The result is a constant tapping into far corners of childhood memory to paint haunting images of life, religion, family, and love, like these verses in “Little Pink Radio:”
“Mama got a black eye, she staring out the window
Puffin on a Pell Mell, coffee getting colder, she
Big and fat and pretty, better than a movie star
Mama sweet foot tapping to the sound of the soft guitars.”
Hope’s evocative vocals add credence and seriousness to her lyrics. She sings with an authority that is at times motherly, at times sisterly, infusing the accompanying chords with a sense of urgency that is primal, not hasty.
Steve Tarshis—an accomplished musician who has been involved with American roots music as a player, composer and educator for his entire adult life—has been Hope’s “partner in crime” for many years now. Inspired by the Delta musicians, particularly Son House, Steve complements Hope’s vocals by adding his own voice to the mix, together with an extra dose of melodic, tasty guitar playing.
Steve—a talented player with a penchant for endearing sweet slides on the resonator—has worked with artists ranging from Bo Diddley to the Joffery Ballet, as composer, guitarist and arranger.
The Hope-Steve duo packs a punch together, creating music that, it feels, is relentlessly looking for a passage to freedom, a feeling perhaps better explained by Hope’s own words in “Spare Me a Set of Wings:”
“Just say a little something, just send a little sign,
I’m all racked up with worry, till you ease my mind.
Can you spare me a set of wings when I die?”
This is not your run-of-the-mill, dentist-lounge music, this is, as the title of Hope and Steve’s album says, “Wilderness Lounge” music.
News and Awards:
Number 24 on the WUSB top 30 playlist - July 8 - 15, 2007
2007 Winner Independent Music Awards Vox Populi Americana category "Sweep My Yard Clean"
2007 Honorable mention Independent Music Awards Vox Populi Americana category "Spare Me A Set of Wings"
2007 Finalist Independent Music Awards Americana category "Sweep My Yard Clean"
2007 Finalist Independent Music Awards Gospel category "Spare Me A Set of Wings"
2006 Finalist NewSong Mountain Stage New York Regional River to River Festival "Watch Man"
2006 Honorable mention NewSong Mountain Stage Rock and Blues category "Judgment Day"
Instrumentation
Hope and Steve usually pick and sing as a duo, but they also have a fabulous group of musicians who is always looking for any excuse to get together and play.
The lineup of musicians for "Wilderness Lounge" album is:
Hope Nunnery - Vocals, Guitar, Resonator and clawhammer banjo
Steve Tarshis - Vocals, Guitar, Resonator and Percussion
Bobby Baxmeyer - Fiddle, banjo, clawhammer banjo and mandolin
Charles Giordano - Accordion and piano
Richard Hammond - Upright bass
Dave Hofstra - Upright bass
Jim Watson - Harmony vocals
Discography
Steve has just produced our first album "Wilderness Lounge" and it's available on iTunes and CD Baby. We had been writing pretty steady and just felt like it was time to put some seed in the ground and see what wanted to take root.
Links
| http://www.hopenunnery.com |
| iTunes |
| CD Baby |
| Hope Nunnery and Steve Tarshis' Website |
| Hope Nunnery and Steve Tarshis' MySpace |
| Steve Tarshis' Website |