Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
"..."Cold Weather"...is a gem. The resulting cinematic moodiness sneaks up on you, growing more compelling with each listen. The St Paul Pioneer Press called her 2000 album "Fly Me Back" her "great leap foward". In which case, "Cold Weather" is a shot from a catapult."
- The Oregonian (Portland, OR)
"As a singer, Weiler is growing into a Patty Griffin-like folkie, with the ability to sound sweet but not too innocent, soft but not weak. She also knows when and how to add sonic flourishes to her songs."
- Star Tribune (Minneapolis MN)
"Not as quirky or haunting as fellow folksmith Suzanne Vega, or as sleek and urbane as Beth Orton, Weiler falls somewhere in between: Her voice is comforting, resonant, and yes, folky, with that little twang that keeps it all real. In the pantheon of guitar-wielding women, Weiler is holding her own."
- Nervy Girl! (Portland, OR)
"(Brenda Weiler's) self-released Fly Me Back is a collection that would sound equally at home on the Lilith Fair big stage..."
- Seattle Weekly (Seattle, WA)
"Distinguishing oneself in the folk-pop arena is no mean feat these days, but there's something in Brenda Weiler's music that woos the listener and won't let go... With her own acoustic-guitar work serving as the basis from which everything else springs, Weiler utilizes subtle drum loops and lush (though unobtrusive) strings to make her melodies soar...The focus is kept on Weiler's eloquent, everywoman voice, and her exquisite sense of silence and space within her arrangements...Weiler appears poised to win audiences on a broader scale."
- Performing Songwriter Magazine (Top 12 DIY releases)
"Minneapolis songwriter Brenda Weiler's third album, Fly Me Back, comprises intelligent and achingly honest portraits of drama queens and dreamers, set to a backdrop of folky guitar and decidedly nonfolky drum loops."
- Bitch Magazine (national magazine)
"Brenda Weiler has created a solid album of thoughtful tunes...She explores topics of identity, independence and relationships without sounding too wordy. With hints of Dar Williams and Tracy Chapman, Weiler's voice is the attraction here... Brenda Weiler is someone to watch."
- Dirty Linen Magazine (national magazine)
"Brenda Weiler is one of the brightest lights shining on today's folk-rock scene. You don't want to miss her..."
- On Tap (Washington, D.C.)
"Brenda Weiler's latest release 'Cold Weather' sweeps across ethereal planes and captures both the imagination and spirit. Her deceptively sparse sonic canvases provide a haunting echo beneath her mesmerizing voice. The songs themselves play like Steinbeck novellas set to chilling emtions of isolation, regret, and loss. Weiler accurately paints heartache with a sensitive ear for detail and realism."
- ONE WAY magazine (national magazine)
"Brenda Weiler exudes a complicated sense of both ennui and determination, which, like most contradictory spectacles is simply transfixing. What this woman does with guitar and voice rivals the world's greatest symphonies, an admittedly presumptuous statement. But after hearing her achingly familiar vocal tones, one might decide that this
is an artist worth traveling 3,000 miles to hear."
- Willamette Week (Portland, OR)
Discography
Cold Weather (2003)
Brenda Weiler:Live (2001)
Fly Me Back (2000)
Crazy Happy (1999)
Trickle Down (1997)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
What started as putting off college for one year to explore music, snowballed into five critically acclaimed albums, the Minnesota Music Award for Best Singer/Songwriter, Best Female Vocalist, and Best Folk Artist, over 100 live performances a year, and a wide following throughout the country. After signing with independent label Virt Records, Portland-based (via Minneapolis via Fargo ) singer/songwriter Brenda Weiler released her fifth album COLD WEATHER , her long-awaited follow-up to 2001's FLY ME BACK and her first nationally distributed release.
Coming from a family with eight children, each of whom sang or played an instrument, and with a father holding a doctorate in music, Brenda learned early how music could affect people. Although she played cello for ten years and sung in choir, Brenda didn't pick up the guitar until the summer after she graduated from high school. She immediately started writing songs, and that fall, while taking a year off before going to college, started performing in her hometown of Fargo , North Dakota and soon released her first full-length album, TRICKLE DOWN . As her musical career rapidly grew, she decided to put off college indefinitely, and began touring full-time. Traveling across the Midwest and eventually, throughout the country, it wasn't long before Brenda played to packed houses at venues ranging from intimate coffeehouses to larger theaters and performing arts centers. Brenda has shared the stage with such artists as Joan Osborne, Dar Williams, Melissa Ferrick, Greg Brown, and Lucy Kaplansky.
Brenda, 27, has taken home multiple Minnesota Music Awards, was awarded the City Pages "Best of the Twin Cities" Critics Pick for Best Female Vocalist, and her last studio recording, FLY ME BACK, was designated a Top 12 DIY Pick by Performing Songwriter magazine. Brenda's previous recordings have also been embraced by college and non-commercial AAA radio stations nationwide. All told, these recordings have now sold close to 20,000 copies, primarily through grass-roots efforts and word-of-mouth.
COLD WEATHER was co-produced by Alex Oana (Semisonic, Alice Peacock; Minnesota Music Award for Producer of the Year) and Brenda, along with John Hermanson and Darren Jackson (aka Kid Dakota). COLD WEATHER was recorded at CityCabin in Minneapolis (home to recordings by The Replacements and Soul Asylum when the studio was known as Blackberry Way ). The album's eleven tracks, all but one written by Brenda, build on the insightful pop/folk that has won over a legion of dedicated fans, while offering new sonic explorations and delving into darker territory, both musically and lyrically. Topics range from love and its struggle to war and depression.
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