Dina Gathe

Dina Gathe (www.dinagathe.com), truly an L.A born and raised Songsalive! Artist member (and that's rare!) was up next. Sultry and strong, she is a chic and also rebellious performer, with cap sitting low over her eyebrows keeping mysterious all the way. Her guitar licks and melody lines are what make her songs unique and great. She plays guitar like a bass, a percussion instrument, a voice, all at once. You can hear the whole orchestration just by watching her play. It's dynamic! With a voice reminiscent of Chrissie Hynde, Melissa Ethridge, and any other vixen who truly spoke their feelings strong and with conviction, Dina has an edge about her that is also totally undefinable, and that's the great thing about her. Her songs are hooky, anthemic, and totally hit material. Her lyrics are introspective, filled with questions about life and definitive I AM statements on her life and the world around her. With Pk on percussion assisting in a smooth acoustic performance, interesting and unique rhythmic arrangements, this performance was heartfelt and world class. - songsalive.org

"Material: A singer/songwriter with both style and substance, Dina Gathe's guitar-centric alt-pop contains bits of funk, roots and blues, which keep things interesting. Gathe's lyric's go beyond self-discovery and often address a larger social context. While she resists the role of a preacher, Gathe tackles topics like consumerism and social responsibility. In addition to those themes, there's also plenty of talk about love and relationships.

Musicianship: Well rehearsed and loving every minute onstage, this cast of accomplished players does a fine job of presenting Gathe's musical vision. The rhythm section constantly delivers high enery performances. Gathe's fiesty lead guitar, edgy vocals -- think Chrissie Hynde -- and a ton of conviction make her the fuel that powers these songs.

Performance: This show was a CD release party and turned out to be an awesome celebration for both the performer and her fans. The set built nicely and the energy was so high it was hard to tell who was having more fun, the performers or the crowd. In fact, the intensity may have overwhelmed Gathe who, at times, seemed to stall between songs.

Summary: Gathe is an exceptional artist who relates well with her audience. Her versatility and willingness to explore what lies below life's surface is impressive and refreshing. Well beyond sonwriting 101, Dina Gathe could be poised for a long and meaningful career."

-- Lisa Elaine Scott - Music Connection Magazine Club Reviews

Next up was Dina Gathe (www.dinagathe.com). This chick rocks. She has a huge voice, killer guitar chops and an in-yo-face stage presence that is infectious. She was accompanied by percussionist P.K. and together they locked in and assumed full command of the Moonshadow Groove for the duration of their set.

Dina’s songs are written and delivered with an intimate bare bones honesty and energy that is reminiscent of Melissa Ethridge but with a voice as big as K.D. Lang’s. Every song in her set was full and strong. “Harmony,” about a relationship between opposite personalities, opened up with a cool, funky riff and then blasted into a full on strummer. “Is My Everything Enough?” was a naked exploration of the insecurities we all have faced at one point or another when involved in an intimate, loving relationship. This had a very strong and direct chorus that was chock full of emotion. “The Sweeter Side” was built on a cool two chord vamp that did eventually evolve into a full throttle strummer and then eased back down to the ground again and back to the vamp. It sounded like something Dido might have wanted to cover. Dina Gathe is an incredibly talented, all around performer with a unique style and a catalog of well-crafted songs. - Scott Detweiler, NohoArtsDistrict.com

I’m tired of the fact that there’s still a majority of music industry folks who think that girls can’t rock out and hold their own versus the boys. Dina Gathe is yet another singer/songwriter who proves that stereotypical theory wrong. She hauls up the guitar distortion and wails against it, but she also has a tender and wispy sense often leaning back and pleasantly vocalizing her most inner thoughtful emotions. “Bother Me” is an impressive debut work of art of which Dina published herself and she also co-produced the album. Her voice is strong, vibrant, and daring in a pop-rock realm that’s too often left to her male counterparts. - J-Sin - Smother.net, J-Sin, Editor

..."Last week, another phenomenal Indie Pop artist sent me her album, and once again I am at a loss to explain how commercial radio hasn't latched onto this thing like a corporate Remora.

Dina Gathe is her name, and she's been rocking L.A.'s classic venues for so long, it's kinda strange I haven't run into her before. I mean, even considering that I don't go out anymore. Well, no matter -- I've got her new album Bother Me now, and if you want my copy, then you'll have to have Chuck Heston pry it out of my cold, dead hands.

Bother Me is a huge album, both in content and ambition. There are 15 tracks, and each song is a work of high quality. While listening to the album, I got the distinct impression that Chrissie Hynde was there in spirit. Then I read Ms Gathe's bio, and sure enough, Ms Hynde was listed as a major influence. But I also heard echoes of everyone from U2 to Faith Hill. Ms Gathe is a strong enough songwriter that she can ease into different genres without sounding like she's stretching.

I'd also like to point out that the album was produced by Gilli Moon, an Indie Pop artist in her own right (also heard on Estrogenius), as well as a producer, promoter, and motivator extraordinaire. Ms Moon runs her own label, Warrior Girl Music, and a publishing company, with the mission of providing exposure to deserving female artists. In other words, it's exactly like what I'M trying to do, but fortunately Ms Moon also has talent.

I've added three tracks from Bother Me to the playlist of Estrogenius: "Solid Ground", a crackerjack album opener with a cool rock riff; "Story", a ballad with a beautiful melody and vocal arrangement; and "Is My Everything Enough?", another rocker, but with some odd synth breaks that make it sound like a cross between Duran Duran, Billy Idol and... Dina Gathe, of course.

The expert songwriting and production on Bother Me also reminded me of my favorite Pop artist of last year, Ana Lovelis. Honestly, these women are making my job very easy, and they're making terrestrial radio programmers look really dumb. Well... more dumb."

http://estrogenius.blogspot.com/2006/01/its-no-bother-at-all.html - MINOR NOTES: The Estrogenius Radio Blog

"Bother Me is the debut CD from this talented indie performer and it offers a great platform for her to shine with some powerful vocals, great guitar licks and sharp songwriting on display throughout.

Bother Me features 15 songs that sees Dina handling all of the guitar chores with ease and which takes the listener on a journey through a number of styles all of which Dina seems comfortable in playing. Her voice at times is reminiscent of a younger Pat Benatar during her 80's heyday or Chrissie Hynde's vocals (Solid Ground) from her time with the Pretenders. As you might guess with the above comparisons I very much enjoyed the CD as a whole and even after several complete run throughs I don't think that there is a weak track among the 15 songs offered on this CD.

Dina does not simply sing/perform her songs in a manner that is similar to the above artists instead she stamps them indelibly with her own personality and style while bringing to mind the strong female vocalists that were mentioned previously. It is a great thing for an artist to be compared to such well know performers but in the end Dina's music is strictly her own and performed with a sense of who she is and what she wants the music to communicate to her listeners and she succeeds on both levels.

It is always refreshing to listen to a female rocker who is not afraid to let it out both in how she plays the guitar but in also allowing her vocals to project the emotions that are needed to bring out the feeling contained in her lyrics. For a great example of Dina letting go on guitar check out her licks on the song called Holiday and tell me this girl can't wail with the best of them.

The recording quality is excellent through out the disc and the music shows this quality in the sound that comes out of your speakers. Gilli Moon is a great match for Dina's vocals and the two of them create some smooth harmonies in the midst of these rocking tunes. Adam Gust's drum work acts as the backbone that drives the music forward and creates the perfect palette for Dina and crew to paint their word pictures on with their voices and their instruments.

Some of the standout cuts are A Perfect Love, Story, Holiday, The Edge, Sweeter Side and of course the title cut Bother Me. By actually naming a few of the cuts here don't think that your opinion won't differ because these were just my impressions and with a loaded deck like Bother Me I'm sure you will be able to pick several other songs that will become some of your favorite tunes and find a long term home in your car player, your iPod or on your home stereo system.

Besides which you don't have to take my word for how great these songs sound. Head on up to CD Baby and check out a generous 2:00 minute sample of each and every cut on this CD and I'm sure you will walk away with the same impression that I had when I first heard Dina's music and that is that Dina Gathe has a rocking future ahead of her in the music business and she had better get used to the idea of success."

A CEV recommended CD!

Reviewed by Michael Foster editor CEV

http://www.cuttingedgevoices.com/01192006.htm#botherme - Cutting Edge Voices