Blame Sally

“Female quartet Blame Sally are a refreshing bunch and not in a dreary teeny-bopper hyped way. This is a group of experienced, passionate and dedicated musicians, all over 45, making thoughtful and sometimes rather dashing music...The self-produced Speeding Ticket and a Valentine is their second 'commercial' album. It's gritty and melodic as it zips in and out of different styles and at different paces.” - Martin Chilton

"With their decade plus of live performances and recordings, [Blame Sally] has established a legacy of song combining country, folk, rock, Celtic and strains of classical music, which has brought originality together with a roots sensibility and pop accessibility...through all of the beauty of the lyrics, their layered and crafted harmonies simply enchant with each listen" - Terry Roland

“There’s a lot of Stevie Nicks in Blame Sally’s countrified folk rock, but these veterans are less full of themselves, earthier, more self-assured – and more fun, too.” - Vintage Guitar Magazine

"A sensual vocal blend and their agile instrumental prowess find them
earnest and assertive in terms of parlaying the material. The brittle
emotions entrenched in "Bird In Hand" and the suggestive sentiments
conveyed through "Countdown" demonstrate a certain subtlety that makes their music all the more seductive." - Lee Zimmerman

"Before the first note is even sung, the opening groove from for ladies,
known collectively as Blame Sally, lets the listener know that they have
come to play, and do they ever play throughout all ten stellar tracks.
Lyrically, Blame Sally takes a sledge hammer to the notion that men are
from Mars, women are from Venus as they play and sing truth to humanity." - Carol Sandick

Excerpt:Dec. 2004/Jan. 2005
…”Blame Sally is Renee Harcourt, Monica Pasqual, Jeri Jones, and Pam Delgado, and like the vintage country rockin’ band Poco, all four play and sing up a storm… [They have] been working (or playing) out the kinks in their syncopated original and intimately quirky narrative material at café’s like the Bazaar, laying low in some of San Francisco’s hurricane-lamped hollows. Their self-released debut in 2001 was even recorded live, absorbing the spark and vibe that catches when these four spirited players pick up their instruments and bend their person-voices in sensually shaded harmony. …new songs feature a handful of simmering ecstatic breakthroughs like the wildly cathartic “Shame” and iconic Mexican myth of the Weeping Saint, “La Llorona”, along with the subversive gravitas of Pasqual’s “Stupid Mistakes…
- Dirty Linen Magazine, #115

September 2004
The fans who made ladies-only quartet Blame Sally a KFOG favorite (and highlight of the station's new local-bands-only CD) must be loving the band's eponymous studio album. Harmonizing femme-folk integrity with pop playfulness isn't as easy as they make it sound; this is sweet, charming stuff. -Jonathan Kiefer
- San Francisco Magazine

August 2004
by Heather Seggel
Without a major or even indie label to promote and distribute their self-released debut album, this quartet of Bay Area women has had to rely on more grassroots techniques. When one local DJ started spinning occasional tracks from their CD on his show, the switchboards lit up with curious, captivated listeners. And no wonder-these Chicas know what they’re doing. Monica Pasqual, Pam Delgado, Jeri Jones and Rene Harcourt trade lead vocals and instruments as well as writing duties, and every song benefits from their collaboration. Little accents find their way in—like the flourish of cantina-style trumpets in the opener, “Birds Fly South” – and give a sense of locale and mood to their creations.
Especially cool are the harmonized choruses, many of which feature striking lyrics. On “My Shame”, they sing, “Give it here/ I’m feeling it, tasting it, drinking it/ I want to swim in it, live in it, dive into it/ Then give it up.”  On paper, that’s a clever lyric, but in the context of the song, it jumps right out and charms the ear. In “Dead Horse”, a weird backward sounding guitar loop emphasizes the sneaky chorus: “I hope one day I can say I’m okay, that I’m out of the red and stop banging my head/ I hope one day you can learn how to say that you feel some remorse and I’ll stop beating a dead horse.” Sharp, funny and sandwiched into a funky little tune.
Very much in the realm of “women’s music”, Blame Sally is a fine debut that seems to be making converts wherever it’s played. The attention is deserved – this disc is a winner.
 

 
- Bitch Magazine

Folktastic Femmes
Blame Sally Blows Minds
By Glen Starkey

Even though Blame Sally hails from San
Francisco, I still like to claim them as our own.
After all, two members—Pam Delgado and
Jeri Jones—used to live and play here in SLO
County. Of course, theirs was a talent too big
to be contained by our bucolic Shangri-la, so
they joined up with Renee Harcourt and Monica
Pasqual and created what is arguably one of the
finest female folk quartets in the nation.

“The band has the songs, the chops, and the
pipes to back up their tough-talking, clear-minded
folk rock,” praised the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

“Collectively they create multihued sonic
and emotional tapestries, recalling the artful
romanticism of Jane Siberry, the rich folk
harmonies of the Indigo Girls, and the percolating
soulfulness of Joy of Cooking,” gushed the San
Francisco Chronicle.

“One of the finest Americana bands in the
country right now … like a folk-based U2,” lauded
the San Diego Troubadour.

“Better than sensual massage after a hot tub
soak while drinking champagne and being fed
peeled grapes by a team of beautiful attendants,”
said I.

After working their kiesters off touring and
recording on their own, last year they inked a
one-of-a-kind, five-year, three-album recording
contract in the mid-six figures with Bay Area
Opus Music Ventures. Their first album under the
deal, Night of 1000 Stars, comes out this month.

The lovely ladies of Blame Sally will promote it
locally with a CD release show on Saturday, May
16 at Downtown Brew (7 p.m.; $15 presale or
$18 at the door).
Folktastic Femmes

- Glen Starkey

Blame Sally celebrates release
of new CD

April 28, 1:31 AMFresno TV/Movie/DVD
Examiner Michael McGuire

Climbing out of Billboard charts to find out
what is not going on in New York, Los Angeles,
Nashville or London is a pleasant experience.
One of the best bands I’ve run across in recent
years is a San Francisco-based quartet who has
played music together in a variety of forms and
venues since the early 1990s, finally coalescing
into the band “Blame Sally” in 2000.

It was my intention to review their CD but I don’t
like CD reviews. They are written from someone
else’s perspective. One of the beauties of music
is several people can listen to the same songs
and react to them in different ways.

One of the drawbacks in writing about CDs is you
feel obligated to label the music as one genre
or another, and labels like country, folk and pop
have become meaningless.

The only labels I would place on their music
would be synonymous with “good.” So . . . I am
going to encourage you to look them up yourself
with the confidence you won’t be disappointed.

The obvious first source is the band’s official
web site. You will find their history as people,
musicians, recording artists and performers, as
well as music clips. Another great source is their
area on YouTube, which offers several videos you
can listen to and watch.

If you have the opportunity, visit them May 8
when they introduce their new CD, “Night of
1000 Stars,” at the Palace of Fine Arts, 3301
Lyon St., San Francisco. Doors open at 8, the
show begins at 8:30 and the performance is
appropriate for all age groups. - Michael McGuire

Blame Sally CD Release
Concert, “Night of 1000 Stars”
with Conspiracy of Venus
at Palace of Fine Arts
Concert Review
By Nova Brown/May 22, 2009

Blame Sally opened their CD release concert with
something a little bit different: “Vera Chiesa”
features the addition of an Indian singer Shweta
Jhaveri, a droning harmonium, eastern-influenced
vocal harmonies, and the haunting slinking of quarter
and half tones. While this may seem like a stray
from their “usual,” their usual is anything but. Pam
Delgado, Renee, Harcourt, Jeri Jones, and Monica
Pasqual clearly all come from different musical
backgrounds, but together their fluency in Folk, Rock,
Salsa, Rockabilly, and even Soul with some gospel
and Motown thrown in gives them the distinguishing
characteristic of being able to pull off just about
anything. With sass.

Night of 1000 Stars is sometimes spiritual, sometimes
thoughtful, sometimes political, romantic, rebellious,
and always sexy. Add to this the crowd pleasing
“classics” like “Orange,” a sweet and vulnerable
song Renee wrote for her daughter, “La Liorona” a
passionate salsa tune sung by Monica, and the most
soulful rendition of the cover “Chain of Fools” I’ve ever
heard (the priceless Jeri and Pam had us all picking
our chins up off the floor), and you’ve got the makings
of a beautiful sold-out night at the Palace of Fine Arts.
Their use of complex, syncopated rhythm structures,
breath-taking-head-shaking electric and steel slide
guitar work, moving vocals, and fiercely poetic lyrics
all make it clear why Blame Sally are poised for
national stardom.

The stage was set up like a beautiful (yet badass)
instrument store. There was one of everything on
display: electric guitar, bass, steel slide, banjo,
mandolin, two full percussion sets, piano, accordion,
harmonium, and, oh yeah, Pam’s boots, which came
in handy a number of times. Blame Sally were also
blessed with the incomparable Michaelle Goerlitz
on percussion, B.Z Lewis on guitar and harmonium,
Rob Strom on bass, and Sueta on vocals. And in a
classy move, instead of handing out programs, the
girls handed out a list of all the people they wanted
to thank, one for every member in the audience. Their
list, which included the Lyon Martin Foundation and
Bread and Roses (love them), was one full page in
small print. So, they get all kinds of cool points for
humility and gratitude.

Saturday night was a celebration of achievement and
years of hard work. Last fall, after playing together
for over nine years, Blame Sally signed a three-year
album recording contract with Bay Area Opus Music
Ventures. Night of 1000 Stars was recorded in a brand
new, state-of-the-art recording studio and in the very
capable hands of Grammy-nominated producer, Lee
Townsend. So, you know, he’s no hack.

If you have not seen Blame Sally live, you should do
so now. Tonight if possible. Do it. Here’s their tour
schedule

Pam Delgado: Percussion, guitar, vocals
Renee Harcourt: Guitar, bass, banjo, harmonica, vocals
Jeri Jones: Guitar, bass, dobro, mandoline, vocals
Monica Pasqual: piano, keys, accordion, melodica,
vocals

Conspiracy of Venus Opened…
Conspiracy of Venus, a 50-person women’s community
choir opened for Blame Sally with songs ranging from
Tom Waits to Leonard Cohen. Director and arranger
Joyce McBride took us on a jazz-influenced, syncopated
rhythmic journey of women’s voices in at least fourpart
harmony taking on such complicated folk and rock
songs as Björk’s “Venus as a Boy” and Joni Mitchell’s
“A Case of You.” And in true San Francisco style, their
dress was anything but uniform, proudly showing the
unique personalities of their wide-reaching choir. - Nova Brown

Band can only Blame Sally
for Success
Reyhan Harmanci,
Special to The Chronicle
Sunday, May 3, 2009

Bay Area band Blame Sally may have just inked a sixfigure,
five-year, three-album deal with Berkeley label
Bay Area Opus Music Ventures, but it is not your typical
band-on-the-verge-of-success story.

The band isn’t made up of four teenage guys who
practice in their parents’ garage. Blame Sally is four
women ranging in age from 44 to 53, who have been
playing music around the Bay Area for decades.

Pamela Delgado, Jeri Jones, Renee Harcourt and
Monica Pasqual began Blame Sally in 2000, with the
goal of just doing it for fun. They all had solo as well
as other group projects going on, and they wanted to
be able to play together and write music without any
consideration of commercial interests.

From the beginning, Delgado says, “everyone was going
to pitch in songs and singing.”

“It was a totally cooperative and fun effort and involved
a lot of wine and cooking dinners,” she says. “Of
course, once we said we didn’t care anymore, it all
came naturally.”

But although Delgado and Pasqual are thrilled by the
direction their musical careers have taken, it took
lots of sweat and tears to bring Blame Sally to its
current level. The musicians began by playing small
venues such as the Bazaar Cafe in San Francisco, then
graduated to music festivals.

“We had all played in a lot of bar situations, gigs that
were supposed to be good exposure, but it wasn’t fun,”
Pasqual says. “We avoided places like that - we wanted
people to listen, not talk over the band. ... We started
doing summer festivals, and that was great.”

“We produced a few shows - basically, made up our own
venues when none existed,” Delgado adds. “We got
creative with how and when we played.”

After a year or so, local radio station KFOG picked up
on Blame Sally and began playing the band’s music
on the popular “Acoustic Sunrise” show, leading to
more gigs and bigger venues. Blame Sally got national
attention through XM radio when what would become
the Starbucks channel picked up some songs. By the
end of 2006, the band was playing more than 50 shows
a year.

In addition to touring, the women have self-produced
a few albums over the years, but this spring, they are
releasing “Night of a Thousand Stars,” produced by
veteran producer Lee Townsend, who has also worked
with Noe Venable and Loudon Wainwright III. They will
also be starting a tour with a release party Friday at
the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco.

Blame Sally benefits greatly from its well-honed
performers and musicians. Their lush, lovely melodies
draw from folk and rock traditions, but they really
distinguish themselves through their unusual storytelling. Moving from personal accounts (Harcourt
has written about her struggles with cancer in songs
such as “Pass the Buddha”) to narratives inspired from
the headlines (the title track of the new album is about
suicidal war veterans), Blame Sally makes the political
personal.

Delgado and Pasqual say that working with a producer
helped them go in new directions with “Night of a
Thousand Stars,” choosing songs that, at first blush,
might not have seemed to be a good fit for the band.

“We handed him this pile of 40 songs - new songs, old
songs, originals, covers - and he picked them. That
was really interesting,” Delgado says. “It made it really
different from if we had recorded them ourselves. It
revealed our own source of prejudices. We had this
idea that this was a Blame Sally song, this wasn’t - and
he didn’t have that at all.”

While they all have been musicians for decades,
signing with Bay Area Opus Music Ventures marks the
first time the quartet has been able to work in Blame
Sally full time. All four women have had successful
careers outside of music - as a photographer, graphic
designer, soundtrack producer and ranch manager - but
Pasqual and Delgado say that none of their friends or
family were surprised that they leaped at the chance to
pile into a bus and rock out like kids.

“It’s been amazing,” Pasqual says. “With the
disintegration of the music industry model, anything
goes now, in a way.”

Besides, she says, people have been telling her she
was too old to play music since she began writing
songs in her late 20s.

“I think that was one of the things we decided from the
beginning. We thought, ‘Screw it.’ Age is not an issue
for us. It never has been. Maybe the media cares, the
labels care, but in the real world, our audience hasn’t
cared at all.” {sbox}

Blame Sally performs with the 50-voice, all-female
choir Conspiracy of Venus at 8 p.m. Fri. $20-$40.
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, 3301 Lyon St., San
Francisco. (415) 392-4400, www.palaceoffinearts.org.

To hear Blame Sally’s music online, go to www.
blamesally.com.

Reyhan Harmanci is a freelance writer. E-mail her at
pinkletters@sfchronicle.com.

- Reyhan Harmanci

Severland is the quartet's strongest and most cohesive album...To put it in Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young terms, Severland is their Déjà Vu.
That's actually not a bad starting point musically, either: acoustic guitars, piano, and creamy close harmonies predominate, with occasional
hints of banjo and lap steel…Stewart Mason, All Music Guide

- All Music Guide

"...Blame Sally has suddenly burst out of the pack as a Bay Area phenomenon, selling out shows, winning over new fans, enjoying tremendous response to their third CD, "Severland," a collections of "eclectic folk pop" songs that are personal, playful and political...." Paul Liberatore, Marin IJ - Marin IJ

“The band’s four-part harmonies should not be missed. Don’t blame us if you’re the last on your
block to check out Blame Sally.” Mare Wakefield ~ Performaing Songwriter ~ June 2007
- Performing Songwriter