Audrey Auld
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
Sweet-voiced but tart-tongued and no-nonsense, Auld, from California and East Nashville by way of Australia, is a singer, songwriter and storyteller deluxe. She’s touring with a new CD, “Come Find Me.” One of the best country singers anywhere, Auld is a troubadour who takes no guff while singing songs such as “You Wish” and “Nails,” but she can be tender as well as “Beautiful Garden” proves, and “The Butterfly Effect” is about as good as a common sense anthem gets. - My San Antonio
It's one thing for singers to write beautifully and sing beautifully, but when they're also funny, as in stand-up-comic funny, it makes going to their shows not only pleasurable but also memorable, well beyond the exit ramp headed back home. How many times do you leave a concert and finding yourself quoting lines the singer says in between the songs? Such is the case with Tasmanian native Audrey Auld, who came to Uncle Calvin's Coffeehouse Friday night and put on another killer show. I had it marked on my calendar: I saw Auld at last year's Woody Guthrie preview show, where she offered up ballads that made you want to hear them again while telling stories like no one else can.
Friday night elevated Auld to the status of headliner, and once again, she was terrific. She has a natural understanding of a sense of surprise and why it's important in a concert. She opened with the title song from her new album, "Come Find Me," which made me wonder not if but when Auld should and will become a major country star. My favorite, of course, is "I'd Leave Me Too," which is downright hilarious. She says it ended up on the television show Justified on the FX cable network.
Plenty of other lyrics got our attention: "Bury me at Wal-Mart, so she can see me every day." But Auld isn't just about humor. Her song "Bread and Roses," sung for the inmates at San Quentin as part of the late Mimi Farina's organization, Bread and Roses, is tear-in-the-eye memorable. All in all, a great show at Uncle Calvin's. - Dallas Morning News
"I have hosted over 700 live music shows on KPIG radio, and, if asked to give the top 10 performers Audrey Auld would be on that list. She has a great voice and writes serious songs and humorous song that make you think and laugh, but the best part is that she is a great entertainer." ~ Sleepy John, KPIG Radio
“If I managed to bring about world peace and end poverty and hunger, what I’d want for a prize would be Audrey and Andrew singing and playing at my supper every night till I expire with a smile.” Eddie Wilson, Threadgill's, Austin, TX
"Audrey Auld Mezera is a joy to watch, she loves to perform and it shows in every song she sings. I want to be entertained by artists that create what they perform and Audrey is the real deal, as she writes most or all of her show.She is brilliant. Audrey performed at the Fred Eaglesmith Summer picnic in 2005. To date no one has sold the amount of cds she did."
Suzy Miller, Manager, Fred Eaglesmith
"I have hosted Audrey Auld Mezera many times in many different circumstances and hope to continue to do so. Her music has been such a refreshing blast from Down Under. Her lyrics give voice to the gamut of emotions we feel and experience, conveyed in a beautiful, yet believable voice. Her singing sometimes sounds as though she's from Austin instead of Australia, with a country-type flair, and at times as sweet and tender as a voice can be. Auld Mezera's performances are always entertaining and fresh. She has a wonderful sense of humor and can read an audience and captivate and involve them. I was blown away by Audrey the first time I heard her and it's only gotten better in the ensuing years. I look forward to hosting her again and again." Laurie Schaeffer, Schaef-Abel Productions
www.northbaylive.com
"I first heard Audrey opening for Fred Eaglesmith and was intrigued. Some time later she approached me about the possibility of hosting her at a house concert in my home in Davis Ca. There is always a bit of trepidation when I bring in someone for the first time, such questions as will they be well received, can they carry an evening, are they personable go thorugh my mind. Audrey laid them all to rest very quickly. She is a great singer and a wonderful writer of songs. I love the stories she tells in her songs, they feel real and her voice is a good voice to sing them. It is a strong voice that can convey a whole range of emotion which enhances her songs. She also has great taste in the songs she chooses from other writers. I recently had the opportunity to host her a second time, this time being joined by Nina Gerber. Nina is well known in this area from her days with Kate Wolf and a number of people who came to the concert came to hear Nina, not knowing at all who Audrey is. Later I spoke to some who were won over by Audrey that evening. The two of them are a great combination and it would be nice to see them continue their association. I think Audrey is someone who deserves to be recognized." Bill Wagman, Wagman House Concerts, Davis, Ca. - Various
“She writes and sings songs with a worldly truth... She not only sounds like she grew up on Music Row in Nashville, but she writes the kinds of songs that built Music Row in the first place.
’In The House’ is a document of pure fluidity. Second to Mezera’s songwriting is her expressionistic phrasing, something that Lucinda Williams and Patty Griffin share. When this delicacy is augmented by Gerber’s sprawling atmosphere of arpeggios, absolute chemistry is at play.” ~ G Meline - NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN, Ca.
“A sharp-eyed storyteller... She also can flash some sly social satire or a powerful sense of moral indignation, all the while sounding like your good friend” - M Berick, No Depression
"... The range of her songs and the beauty of her voice transformed the facility immediately. Several of the women were moved to tears and others laughed knowingly... the show bonded us somehow and we were unafraid in Audrey's real and safe company.
In recent months I've been wondering about the efficacy of art, what it can really do to change, or at least influence society. Last night's show answered my questions. Audrey's music addressed difficult parts of being alive, of loving, of making a life work out. It helped us see that we are not alone in these struggles and it filled us with a recognition of one another. I was honored to be at this show." - D. Lomax
“Do believe the hype”
~ Matt Kramer, Pacific Sun, Ca.
“heartfelt and authentic”
~ LA Daily News
"This beautiful songbird has a voice that I am sure is making Tammy Wynette smile in heaven" ~bluntreview.com
"Her well-written, classic-country-style songs are a joy, all delivered with a Loretta Lynn cry in her voice."
~ Sing Out! Magazine
“a clutch of melodic, thoughtfully observed songs shot through with wisecracking humor... her most fully realized, polished effort to date.” ~ Bliss, Pasadena Weekly, CA.
“One of Australia’s best country singer songwriters” ~ M Regenstrief, Montreal Gazette - Newspapers & OnLine reviews
“a superb vocalist and songwriter in the roots tradition... excellent collection... an artist who deserves wide recognition...” - C. Baguely, Country Music People, UK
"If there was much meritocracy in the country music world, Audrey Auld might be a star." - SING OUT! Magazine
She holds a unique place in contemporary Americana/Roots music. I believe that this uniqueness is largely due to the fact that she is Australian. This affords her a totally different attitude as an artist than traditional American contributors to this genre. Audrey is one of the most honest original artists I know." - "Audrey Auld is a great singer songwriter.
Whether it be in a traditional country setting or on the more edgy tracks her voice stays honest and true." - “The beauty of Audrey's work is that she understands the power of simplicity.
“I just finished listening to “Losing Faith” and it levelled me - I had to crawl to the computer to let you know how much it moved me, even after only one listen - I’m hooked” - "I’m hooked"
Discography
* COME FIND ME (2011)
* WRITE OUT LOUD Songbook (2010)
* BILLABONG SONG EP (2009)
* LOST MEN AND ANGRY GIRLS (2007) #1 on FAR Chart Feb/Mar '07
* IN THE HOUSE with NINA GERBER (2006) dbl live CD
* TEXAS (2005) - ARIA nominee Best Country album
* LOSING FAITH (2003) - Top 100 A.M.A. chart 2003
* RECKLESS RECORDS GARAGE SALE : 1997-2003
* THE FALLEN (2000) - ARIA nominee Best Country album
* LOOKING BACK TO SEE - with BILL CHAMBERS (1999) Winner Best Independent Australian Country album
Videography:
* LOVE YOU LIKE THE EARTH (2005)
* I’D LEAVE ME TOO (2000)
* MORE VIDEOS ON YOUTUBE AND MYSPACE
Photos
Bio
"It's one thing for singers to write beautifully and sing beautifully, but when they're also funny, as in stand-up-comic funny, it makes going to their shows not only pleasurable but also memorable, well beyond the exit ramp headed back home. How many times do you leave a concert and finding yourself quoting lines the singer says in between the songs? Such is the case with Tasmanian native Audrey Auld." ~ Dallas Morning News, August, 2011
"Sweet-voiced but tart-tongued and no-nonsense, Auld, from California and East Nashville by way of Australia, is a singer, songwriter and storyteller deluxe. She’s touring with a new CD, “Come Find Me." One of the best country singers anywhere, Auld is a troubadour who takes no guff while singing songs such as “You Wish” and “Nails,” but she can be tender as well as “Beautiful Garden” proves, and “The Butterfly Effect” is about as good as a common sense anthem gets." ~ MySanAntonio.com, August 2011
Don’t mistake the title of Audrey Auld’s Come Find Me as any kind of shy retreat. Call it what she does: an “invitation.” “Come find me, come find me, I want to be found,” she offers on the album’s winsome opening waltz, then seals the deal with an offer hard to refuse: “You’re welcome to glorious me.”
She sings it sweetly, but with a flirty flash of unmistakable, cocky cheek — almost a dare, really, as befits a fiercely independent artist who’s been self-releasing albums for more than a decade now under the tell-all banner of “Reckless Records.” Simply put, Audrey Auld does not do coy. Songwriter’s songwriter Fred Eaglesmith calls the native Tasmanian “one of the most honest original artists I know,” and, true to form, Auld is candidly forthright in her pride over Come Find Me, her fifth full-length solo album and ninth release over all. “I’m really keen to show it off,” she enthuses.
From the 5-star review in the UK’s Country Music People magazine: “Audrey Auld is an amazing talent. Like a special flower in your garden. Her songs are a kind of beacon of hope, from a woman who cares, in this deeply cynical world we are all stranded in. You need to relax more, play this album.” ~ Paul Riley
Auld recorded Come Find Me with producer Mark Hallman (Tom Russell, Eliza Gilkyson, Hot Club of Cowtown) at the storied Congress House Studio in Austin, Texas. Although she’s lived mostly in East Nashville (after a 3-year stint in California) since moving to the U.S. back in 2003, Auld has had a thing for the Lone Star State for years — even naming one of her albums Texas. Not surprisingly, she calls working with Hallman — long on her list of dream producers — “a dream come true.”
“It was the happiest time I’ve ever had recording,” Auld continues. “No stress, no problems. I wanted to focus on the performance and work with someone who would get the best out of me, and we wanted to make the best record I’ve ever made. I think we succeeded on both counts.”
The end result is an album that’s equally appealing both as an introduction to Auld for newcomers and, for veteran fans, as the latest and greatest in a long line of acclaimed releases going back to 1999’s Looking Back to See, the country duets album she cut with Australian songwriter/guitarist/producer Bill Chambers. Auld made an auspicious solo debut with the following year’s The Fallen, which nabbed her a “Best Country Album” nomination in the Land Down Under, while subsequent releases like 2003’s Losing Faith, 2005’s Texas and 2006’s Lost Men & Angry Girls secured her status on the Americana music map right alongside such notables as the aforementioned Eaglesmith, Kevin Welch and Kasey Chambers. Her dozen new songs on Come Find Me find her confidently moving from folk and country to swinging jazz, rock and even an intriguing bit of talking-blues-style rap (on “Petals”). That it all holds together as a seamless whole is testament to both her impressive artistic range and seasoned, devil-may-care confidence. “For me, it’s more about the song than the genre,” she says matter of factly.
Subject wise, the songs are equally diverse, ranging from the surprisingly tender (for Auld!) “Just Love,” which she co-wrote with her husband, former Navy sailor-turned-“romantic”-plumber Mez Mezera, to the conversely snarling rocker, “You Wish.” It’s also chock-full of sincere, heartfelt tributes, with loving shout outs to her peers (Jon Dee Graham in “Petals” and Mary Gauthier in “Orphan Song”), civil rights icons Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King (“The Butterfly Effect”), her beloved homeland (“Tasmania”) and even, with “Bread and Roses,” the inmates of San Quentin Prison, where Auld has performed and teaches songwriting workshops. And what would an Audrey Auld album be without a Texas- (if not Australia!)-sized helping of her sassy humor? In “Forty,” the wickedly funny portrait of the artist as a hard-traveled and hardened middle-aged survivor, Auld observes with
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