Music
Press
The Golden gate bard is now creating in the shadow of Brooklyn's wire tracery. Jessica Star brings her Celtic folk, Blues rocking, visual imagery and brilliant vocals to a new coast. She weaves webs of illusion and lover's sighs amidst a righteous rock or folk backdrop or to the sparseness of solo artist and guitar. The influences of Fairport Convention and traditional English themes are co-conspirators with the Delta /Chicago and progrock which lends itself to a palpable fantasyland of rich and obscure lyrics as they weave epic traceries. Metaphoric dragons caress unconscious desire and a blues belter with fine boogie piano blasts "Better Left Unsaid"
with good advise. The rawness of emotion, life's tribulations and the pounding rhythms of primal energy is integral in "Watch America." "Cupid's Arrow" is suggestive and as warm as lover's breath, just as "Firewalk" is redolent of passion's lair and earthy rites of passage. "Stay Together"
opens with a heavy Judas Priest hammer. Star writes from a diverse palette. She can rock full-bore with a Ani DiFranco hysteria or a metallic sheen. Jessica is also a druidic priestess casting spells. Her music will capture you just as a magnet draws iron.
- Mark "Dr.Blues" Gresser for the Long Island Blues Society News
Singer/songwriter Jessica Star is a unique new voice as evidenced on her compelling new CD, Dragon's Lair. Sensitive yet hard-hitting, hers is a talent deserving far wider recognition.
- Evan Ginzberg,DJ~WBAI-FM's Light Show 99.5,NYC
“Dragon’s Lair”
Jessica Star is a Modern-Age Mystical Alt-Folk-Rock Goddess and she’s got the Music and the Voice to prove it. The Lyrics just reinforce that Idea. We really need to see her Live to Get the Full Effect of This Mystique. She plays out constantly so you’ll have Plenty of Opportunity. The Trick is to Just Fix our Schedules and Get out there to see what she and the Band can do.
- Mike Perazzetti~ "The Fevered Brain of Radio Mike"
With a style inspired by Cat Stevens, and a voice reminiscent of a more melodious Janis Joplin, Star has managed to craft an eclectic yet cohesive album.
While all the songs on "Solo" are original, they manage to speak to the listener as if they were timeless.
The songs are lyrically driven which makes sense when you have a voice like Star's.
Her poetic lyrics and strong song-writing style have garnered her a devout following in Northern California.
- California Song Magazine
“Dragon’s Lair”
From venomous rants and blues romps to acoustic folk
and a driving rock anthem like "Stay Together" this
12-song collection covers a lot of ground.
Star is blessed with a warm, operatic tone.
…There's something resonating and magical about the
exquisitely arranged "Rainbow Bridge," recorded at Fantasy Studios in
Berkeley.
- Santa Rosa, California Press Democrat
“If Janis Joplin lived and quit the Southern Comfort, she’d be Jessica Star.”
- Annmaria Mazzini, dancer with Paul Taylor Company, NYCThe
“Jessica Star~ a female powerhouse”
- Long Island Blues Society News;
“She’s the Marilyn Monroe of folk music”
- Folk Legend, Ramblin’ Jack Elliot;
Discography
"Dragon's Lair" ~LP, self-released in 1999. 12 original songs written by Jessica Star. This album was recorded partially at Fantasy Studios in Berkley, CA. with Bob Matthews producing(Grateful Dead producer~"Workingman's Dead",
" Aoxomoxoa")and with the late John Kahn (Jerry Garcia's bassist) arranging. The players on this album include Pete Sears on keyboards(Hot Tuna,Left-over Salmon, Jefferson Starship),Donny Baldwin on drums(Jefferson Starship),Mario Cippolina(Huey Lewis and The News), Jessica's touring band,and an orchestra of strings and horns.
"Solo"~LP, self-released in 2002. 10 original songs recorded solo-acoustic with the intimate feel of Jessica's coffee-house shows.
"Baby Blue" from "Dragon's Lair" has had airplay on NYC stations WBAI 99.5FM and WHCR 90.3FM.
and QVC television in London broadcasting to the whole of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and on the British armed forces radio station, which broadcasts to the Army bases in the UK and Iraq Belize – Central America, and the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
You can hear her music on her website www.jessicastar.com
and at www.myspace.com/jessicastarband
Photos
Bio
Jessica Star is a performer, singer, and songwriter based in New York City. Whether she’s performing as a solo artist or with a full band, her original country music (influenced by Blues and rock), moving vocals and guitar accompaniment totally fascinate and uplift her audiences. Jessica’s music is woven with fresh melodies, poetic lyrics, and powerful vocal arrangements.
Some of the venues she’s played with her band in N.Y.C. include B.B. King’s, The Knitting Factory, The Village Underground, The Bitter End, The Red Lion, and CB’s 313 Gallery. Some of the Northern California venues include The Maritime Hall in San Francisco, The Health and Harmony Festival in Santa Rosa, The Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa, and The Mystic Theater in Petaluma. She's performed at the Burning Man festival in Nevada almost every year since 1997.
When asked why she plays music and what inspires her she says,” I love the new friends, adventure, and magic that has come into my life by following my musical path.”
Jessica has been compared to Joni Mitchell and Janis Joplin while her original musical inspirations come from early Cat Stevens, Gordon Lightfoot and Johnny Cash.
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