Music
Press
"Her voice is amazing. That's a given. But what puts it all over the top is the way she uses it. Danya's in command when she's on stage, such a dynamic and captivating stage presence that you're not forced to watch - you're compelled to."
-Matt Smith, Club Passim (Cambridge, MA)
"Danya has a very profound gift... wonderfully inventive, uplifting, startling, and incredibly evocative."
-Rosanne Cash
"Danya River is an inspiration to all musicians. She is a songwriters' songwriter, a singer's singer and a spirit that ups the ante when she comes to town.
"Like an athlete who makes his or her team better, she instills focus and creative spark to those around her. No one can win over an audience like Danya.
"It's the music, stupid. That's what Danya reminded me it was all about for her. First and foremost she accepts her gifts as a talented musician, story teller, wordsmith, who is not one to sit on her laurels. She is always striving to be better and better at her craft. She would be making brilliant music if she was stuck on a desert island with no chance of being rescued for decades to come. It's about the music, stupid.
"Danya River is a thousand pound gorilla strutting through a China shop of mediocre songwriters."
-Patrick Simms; Voodoo Lounge, San Francisco
"There's a light that seems to emanate from Danya's soul as she engages each member of the audience."
-Craig Ferguson; President, Planet Bluegrass
"Intimate, mesmerizing, entrancing, and transfixing"
-Fort Collins Coloradoan, Ticket to Entertainment
"She is a powerful performer -- great voice, great songs -- the word "riveting" is more than a cliché in her case"
-Christopher Smith; Marin House Concerts
"Slow and sensuously earthy lyrics paired with a smooth creamy voice."
- San Francisco Art Magazine
"a stark honesty, an uncanny charisma, an overwhelming intimacy in the way she [sings] into each person's eyes."
- Scene Magazine
"Danya's songs remind me of some of the better work of artists like Joni Mitchell and Shawn Colvin. Add to this her skillful guitar work, a warm voice that stays with you long after the show is over, a delicious debut CD that you'll keep on repeat for hours, and you have a young artist who has quickly created a buzz in the Bay Area."
-John Miller (A.K.A Johnny Raven); Bay Area Bunch (BAB) News
"She kept up entranced in a miasmic mixture of weaving guitar and sensual vocals that left us in a dazed silence on the drive home. She's the most spectacular singer/songwriter I've ever seen...no unnecessary words, nothing missing from the chords. Incredible guitar playing, her voice was exquisite, and she was visually stunning. I just sat in awe of Danya River...I'm at a loss for words.
"Exquisite...Fascinating...Beautiful. A creature that kept me wishing for eye contact. She played like a goddess. What else is there to say?"
- From the Tour Journal of Maryland's rock duo, Ilyaimy
"Independent producer and engineer Michael Hynes, who co-owns Hideout Studios in Austin, Texas with partner Mark Cravotta, has recorded Danya River's newest album, a follow-up to River’s critically acclaimed 2004 EP, Bone By Bone. River has been described as a melding of Bonnie Raitt, Sheryl Crow and Shawn Colvin.
'Hynes relied on a Crowley and Tripp Studio Vocalist ribbon microphone to capture River’s four-and-a-half octave voice. "The female voice is very complicated," Hynes says, "and Danya's voice is particularly so. She has a very rich, even low-end and captivating breathiness. I searched high and low for a vocal microphone that would capture that nuance..."
-Mix Magazine - ---
Discography
Danya River, 2008 (LP...unreleased)
Kirtana, 2006 (LP)
Bone by Bone, 2004 (EP)
Within/Without, 2001 (LP)
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CONTACT INFO:
Danya River
Danya@danyariver.com
(720) 309 5904
Boulder, CO
Photos
Bio
Welcome!
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CLICK THE "VIDEO" LINK ABOVE TO MEET DANYA RIVER!
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The audio tracks included in this press kit are a sampling of tracks from Danya's unreleased album produced by Michael Hynes of Hideout Studios, Austin, TX. www.hideoutstudios.com
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BIOGRAPHY
MUSICIAN:
Mentored by her father, composer/producer Robert Gass, Danya River started playing guitar and writing original songs at age fourteen and, through high school, performed as a solo singer-songwriter and as a member of an competitive, a cappella jazz choir. After high school, she went on to study vocal, world and experimental music at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. Danya released her first, self-produced album of original works at the age of 21.
As an independently touring and recording singer-songwriter, Danya has spent eight years managing all aspects of a solo singer-songwriter career from: song writing, management, marketing, booking, promotion & performance, to record production & distribution. She is a fountain of ideas for new, innovative models in the areas of: marketing & promotion, music production & recording, professional & artistic development, and song writing, and is presently focused on expressing her musicality offstage.
Danya River's 2004 EP, "Bone by Bone" was selected as one of CD Baby's favorite albums and was featured on their front page drawing the following review from the CD Baby staff:
"A perfect meeting of the obvious and the subtle, the coarse and the silky, the warm and the rugged. Female, country-tinged, folk- based pop, unlike the cliches, sparkles through this album. Taking bits of bluesy ache, the 70s folk rock tradition, Americana and plenty of other little nuggets of goodness, she's created a lush composite that
pushes ahead with a stylistic mix that's too elusive for simple descriptions, too speckled with ambivalence to be summed up in a few words. Every track is a volume in itself." -CD BABY
Danya River is an ambitious young artist who lights up the country with her exquisite mix of "evocative writing, dark intriguing guitar work, and a velvet voice that ranges from formidable to ethereal." (KRFC, Fort Collins) She has opened for national acts such as Shawn Colvin, Melissa Ferrick and Matt Nathanson and at 24 was named Boulders "Best Artist" in her hometown of Boulder, Colorado. Rosanne Cash calls River's songwriting "uplifting, startling, and incredibly evocative."
On stage River reveals a "stark honesty, an uncanny charisma, an overwhelming intimacy in the way she sings into each person's eyes" (Scene Magazine). She is a regular at venues including The Fox Theatre (Boulder, CO), Club Passim (Cambridge, MA) and the Bitter End (NYC). And she has received recognition for her song writing through the Northern California Songwriter's Association, The Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.
Danya River is living in her hometown, Boulder, CO. She is currently off the road building a team to help release her new, self-titled CD produced by Austin-based producer/engineer, Michael Hynes of the Hideout Studios.
http://www.hideoutstudios.com
STUDIO VOCALIST AND PRODUCER:
Danya has over 13 years of studio vocal work experience on many varied recording projects throughout the US and the UK. She grew up in the studio assisting her father, Robert Gass, with his elaborate choral productions that have sold over 600,000 units. She now co-produces with him and is the lead vocalist for their new release, Kirtana, a collection of devotional Sanskrit chants.
VISUALS/FINE ARTS:
Danya is also a professional painter and mixed-media artist. She brings a highly developed and a uniquely beautiful aesthetic to everything she does. Her visual artistry is a powerful adjunct to her performances and marketing.
LIFE & SONG-WRITING COACHING:
Founder of Everything Is Art Creativity & Songwriting coaching, Danya is a powerful leader and team player. Raised by parents who teach communication, relationship and leadership seminars her emotional intelligence and respect and care for others is exceptional. Danya additionally has seven years extensive training in personal transformation, communication, and global leadership with Landmark Education. As a creativity coach and consultant she provides infrastructure and accountability for her clients to lead inspiring, joyfully-expressive lives. As a song-writing coach, Danya helps songwriters go deeper into the songwriting process and translate more profoundly to their audience.
MUSIC EDUCATION SOFTWARE DEVELOPER:
Danya is a head content developer for Midisofts upcoming guitar teaching software, My Guitar Teacher. She brings a torrent of fresh ideas, enthusiasm, and visionary leadership to each project. She has worked on the Midisoft tea
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