Jodi Shaw
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Jodi Shaw

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"StarPolish Magazine"

I have to say that there aren't many -- if any --female singer/songwriters "on the scene" today whose voices I like as much as I love Jodi Shaw's voice. Shaw is a local NYC folk-pop artist who -- based on talent alone -- should be huge. Her songs are exceptional and her lyrics are tightly woven word puzzles conjuring razor sharp mental images. "The President Knows" is a story-song of cryptic political intrigue with an almost whimsical feel to it, thanks to Jodi's clever phrasing and high-spirited backing vocals. It's really a great song. While Jodi's songs often recall the quiet beauty and subtle-yet-visceral impact of Chan Marshall's Cat Power, her uncommonly pretty voice and straightforward delivery is comparable to vocalists like Edie Brickel, Suzanne Vega, Natalie Merchant and Heather Nova. Her music is a strong acoustic blend of indie and folk with Jodi's melodically intuitive style of guitar playing recalling that of Joni Mitchell. Absolutely amazing.
- Gail Worley, July 2003


"Cosmik"

They just keep coming. Women with a knack for cryptically witty lyrics and voices that fall just short enough of crystalline to be truly intriguing. I've heard a bunch of them in the last couple years, and raved about several of them here. Well, here I go again.

Add Jodi Shaw to the list of gifted women on the folky end of the musical spectrum. It's not the easiest route to break through on, because there are so many outstanding examples already out there, but if talent is enough (if only!) then Jodi Shaw is a star in the wings. Talent won't, unfortunately, always lead to fame. Heck, it won't always pay the light bill. Perseverance helps, though, and Shaw seems to have staying power. The Pie-Love Sky is her second full length release, and she's enlisted first rate talent to put it together in the person of producer Steve Addabbo (Suzanne Vega, Dar Williams, Shawn Colvin). She's made the move to New York City, where she's getting strong bookings and favorable attention. I've got my fingers crossed for her, because this one's so damn good that there just has to be another.

She distinguishes herself from the pack with an offbeat lyrical gift and a deft touch with melody, as well as her exceptional performance skills. This one's worth a search.

- Shuan Dale, September 2003


"Echo from Esoterica"

You say you want a revolution. Well get back to the books, kids. The new school step down and make way for the tried and true school. No abrasion, just good intellect. Beat them with your words, not your chords. Something like that. Hello, Jodi Shaw. Goodbye, Ethel Merman. All lost in the supermarket and nowhere to run to, baby. This is The Pie-Love Sky.

Shaw, a New Yorker with a beautiful voice and some wonderful songs to go along with it, has been making the rounds for a decent amount of time now. This is her second release, and it caught my attention immediately. For what it's worth, Jodi plays a brand of intelligent and thought-provoking folk-pop that should silence all those who shudder at the mere f-word. Even Shaw admits there is a stigma to the genre, but one listen to this album and any listener should be able to bury any preconceived notions of what they had burned in their minds.

Teaming up with producer Steve Addabbo (who's worked with ultimate folk-pop icon Suzanne Vega), Shaw delivers a set of eleven indelible tunes that never pander to the stereotypical coffeehouse delights. And perhaps I'm even getting stereotypical in pointing that out, but it's true. And I think it should be pointed out. After all, what genre doesn't bring up a string of images whenever someone mentions one? Ponder what comes to mind when you read the words garage rock, punk rock, classic rock, country music, classical music, and so forth.

The fact is that Jodi stretches well beyond the fences of the folk-pop phrase while perfectly straddling the same fence beautifully. With the opening "The President Knows", The Pie-Love Sky kicks in with a flourish. A beautiful melody, crisp production, and a set of lyrics that should make any of those burying their noses in some pseudo-groovy book down at Border's while sipping their Starbucks envious, the tune is just one of many jewels to be found on the album. And if you aren't caught off guard by the song the first time you hear it as well, then perhaps you should stick to the obvious lard that MTV feeds you.

Shaw lists Lisa Germano and Juliana Hatfield among other artists she loves, and those influences can be heard hovering over the proceedings here from time to time. But unlike them, Jodi brings a full-tilt warmth to her songs that are sometimes missing from Germano's and Hatfield's. She certainly delivers consistently throughout here, which is something Juliana Hatfield has yet to do through an entire album. From the more traditional involvements found in "The Forger" to the sublime "Dumbo's Feather" and wonderful "White as the Stars", Shaw has an impeccable sense of herself and the words she's singing.

"In Cabrini-Green" and "Is" are so excellent in fact, that it makes one wonder why Jodi hasn't been elevated to some near mythic status. Perhaps it's just me, but dammit, I like this work very much. Shaw should certainly be right up there with Suzanne Vega in terms of visibility. She's already got the talent, proven time and again with each song that plays here. Even the closing cover of "Only You" stands as testament to the great things Shaw can achieve with her perfect phrasing and wonderful voice.

This is one of those works in which I don't want to give the whole tale away. You need to go pick yourself up a copy of The Pie-Love Sky and experience it for yourself. Rediscover (or discover for the first time) what excellent folk-pop is all about. This is a beautiful album through and through and Jodi Shaw should indeed be a force to be reckoned with. If the world is right for once in its history, she shall be.
- Jason Thompson, August 2003


"Ink 19"

Steve Addabbo (Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin, Dar Williams) produces this sophomore release from the cogently lyrical neo-folk artist Jodi Shaw. The talented lyricist's words in sophisticated arrangements recall witty lyrics and developed songs of The Beautiful South. Jodi herself has a basic, direct delivery that recalls Edie Brickel or Natalie Merchant. The songs tend to have a narrative quality exemplified by the captivatingly complicated spy story "The President Knows". "But while you were dreaming/ The lilies were screaming" is a cunning couplet from "Dumbo's Feather" and is the class of vivid metaphor that calls out from this excellent album of songs delivered in a charming and sweet voice.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

- Tom Schulte, August 2003


"Venus Magazine"

Like Dar Williams, the Canadian-born New York City-based singer-songwriter Jodi Shaw is yet another literate acoustic-guitar-slinging songwriter with an academic past in creative writing. Certainly her dabbles in academe must aid in her colorful narrative song structures. With tracks about shadowy figures such as the woman stuck in a canvas of political intrigue ("The President Knows") or the life of an art forger ("Forger") and love even in difficulty ("In Cabrini-Green"), The Pie-Love Sky, Shaw's sophomore release, is a charming storybook to peruse before bed. Each song is a new character with a new chapter, yet these all melt into one seamless interlude, completed by captivatingly gentle guitar pickings that accentuate delicate vocals.

With an intricate phrasing and a rhythmic style reminiscent of an early Suzanne Vega with whom she shares a producer (Steve Addabo), Shaw seems to have a knack for penning dreamy lullabies that effortlessly succor and calm. On The Pie-Love Sky, such beautiful elegies are in abundance, particular with the aptly titled "Kristine's Lullaby". It's nearly impossible to remain wired and tense listening to Shaw's airy and innocent vocals whisper about sinking off to sleep as Christopher Robin and Pooh Bear come to play. It just might be her breathy poetic childhood yearnings or the soft piano or even the tender voice warning of the expectations to come with adulthood, but whatever the case, this track offers a luminous safety, as does the rest of these lulling tales. - Kim Newman, August 2003


"A&A"

A&A's featured Artist for July 2003: Jodi Shaw

There are lots of people who believe that all modern folk singers sound alike. Jodi Shaw is the sort of singer who can prove that notion wrong the moment she opens her mouth.

Her lyrics are tightly-wound, thoughtfully-considered and astonishingly easy to comprehend. She sings with a melodic style that manages to drop in a wide range of notes without sounding forced or mannered. Her voice is lithe and supple enough to wander all over the map and still sound off-the-cuff.

The production here allows her voice and guitar to do most of the work. There are the usual latter-day folkie accouterments (scratchy percussion, loops, etc.), but Shaw's voice and guitar accompaniment reign supreme. As they should.

Shaw has the assured presence of a 20-year veteran of the club wars, but she's just starting out (this is her second album). With stuff like this, I can't imagine what will stop her. - Jon Worley, July 2003


"Girlfriends Magazine"

“The Pie-Love Sky” is the first thing you'll want to hear in the morning, and the last sound you'll want to hear at night. The tunes are infectious and Jodi Shaw's sweet voice delivers lyrics you could sail away on. Sublime, profound and groovy, this album is poetry, lullabies and love. - Naomi Graychase, July 2003


"Time Out NY"

At this point it's hard to inject any kind of vibrancy in the shop-worn folk-pop genre, but Jodi Shaw succeeds on The Pie-Love Sky - Time Out Magazine (NY)


"The Pawtucket Times-National News"

Songs In The Key of Life: The Pie Love Sky, -- Jodi Shaw
A Review By Mark Kirby

The lyrical imagery of Jodi Shaw’s song “The Forger,” from her debut CD the pie-love sky, recalls the haunted face of Gene Hackman in the classic film The Conversation. Both the movie and song deal with an obsessive man battling head and heart. “The Forger “ was inspired by the life story of one William Ireland, a master literary forger. He produced a number of documents purporting to be in the handwriting of William Shakespeare and came out with two new “Shakespeare” plays, all of which proved to be fraudulent. The forger in the song, though, is a master with the paint brush. : “My hands are steady, my eyesight sharp as a razor/ The great Mona Lisa, and still no one can duplicate her/ Like I can, oh I am the man.” In both movies there is a master craftsman who takes pride in his work and, in a society that devalues simple working-class pride in a job well done, goes about it in a lonely, thankless way until they’re pushed over the edge by a conflict between professionalism and the human heart, much like the protagonist of the song: “And babe if you / Get on that train / My heart will never Beat again/ There’s so little truth / Left to bend / The truth is not my friend.” The simple chord changes are given a whimsical outlet by “virtual” synthesizer (which sounds like a disembodied calliope organ), kalimba (African thumb piano), live percussion loops and Jodi’s guitar, all of which frame and create the perfect atmosphere for her close-talking-in-your-ear voice.

Though the production is atmospheric - and grows on this listener with repeated plays - and puts her voice and lyrics front and center, the recording of this song doesn’t completely capture the magical realism she creates in her live shows.

Q. What do I mean by ‘magical realism?’

I mean that hearing this song live creates the same experience as when you’re reading a good book and the images and sounds of the story spring forth, vibrant and alive, from your own imagination. It’s very intimate, like dreaming while sleeping with someone during a mid-afternoon nap.

I use this song as an entry point to the world of Jodi Shaw. There are many beautiful babes who can sing and play guitar. But few, if any, have the depth, song writing skill, and mellifluous voice of Jodi Shaw. While other singer song-songwriters and anti-folkies solipsistically mine personal experience (emo geeks) or journalistically rant at the world from afar (slam poets, the vaguely Dylanesque protest singers), she takes characters or nuggets of the experiences of others and injects the “what if” question that empathetic, gifted writers in any form would ask.

For example takes the song “Cabrini Green.” Jodi says of this song: “This is one in a series of media inspired songs. I read an article in which a woman talked about life as on of the residents of Cabrini-Green, a notoriously dangerous neighborhood in Chicago. She was asked why she continues to live there, and she replied ‘Because it used to be so nice.’ Her song is told from the woman’s point of view and poetically depicts that which keeps people in places called home, no matter how hellish. The music is simple, a lilting, Celtic waltz played only on guitar (one of her best live moments) It captures the nostalgia and dreaminess people attach to place: “Treasonous treasures these towers of steel/ Nothing so broken, nothing so real / The season’s keep turning . . . Hard to believe a mother’s dream/ The most beautiful thing You’ve ever seen / That’s why we stay in Cabrini Green.” She is a young singer but her song craft is of the old school. She sings about life, as real people live it.

While the heroine of “Cabrini Green” is in a state of denial, the woman in “The End,” another song that is perfectly bare bones in its production, is clear about her feelings about the dark side of intimacy: dissolution of self. Seemingly about the end of a relationship at first, this song is a tale rendered poetically with images, and a slight narrative; it’s about a relationship - abusive or incredibly close - where the man is persisting to “go where nobody’s been” forcing his way. Is it sex? Is it wanting some form of power? Maybe she’s closed off the best or worst of herself from this . . . lover, husband, or girlfriend. I assume it’s about a man, and I was never this guy. I hope. But enough about me. The lyrics and her voice lend emotional meaning that is beyond the words, the melody, and guitar chords. This song, like others on the pie-love sky, goes where most writers fear to tread.

At the other end of production spectrum is the song “High.” Though strong and brilliant when played live and direct, on CD it benefits from the color of added instruments. The trip hop drum beat is the sound of isolation (thank you Portishead), and the piano and violin add visual elements that are perfectly blended to the music. The off-kilter arrangement and inst - Mark Kirby


Discography

Snow on Saturn (forthcoming September 2005)
The Pie-Love Sky 2003
Lo-Budget LIVE 2002
The Myth of Patience 2000

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Born in Newfoundland Canada, Jodi began her writing career as a poet. After a short stint as a student in a creative writing program, she left academia for the world of music. Her debut album The Myth of Patience, was selected by Boston's Metronome Magazine as one of its Top Five Album Picks for July 2001.

Her second record, The Pie-Love Sky, was released in May 2003. Several tracks from this record receive airplay on nationally syndicated radio programs, including Acoustic Cafe, which named her named her as “One to Watch” for the month of August 2003.

Her song "The Forger" was a winner in Rockrgrl Magazine's "Discoveries 2005" Song Contest and appears on the recently released “Rockrgrl Discoveries 2005” compilation CD. Another song, "In Cabrini-Green," was selected as one of the few songs that now comes pre-loaded on every new RAVE-MP3 player, and her song "Out of Love" was chosen by JPF Music to appear on Vol.2 of their compilation entitled "Fifteen Minutes."

“Savannah Smiles” a track from her latest collection (Snow on Saturn, forthcoming Sept. 2005), was runner-up in the folk/country category of 2005 U.K. Songwriting Contest. Five other songs were chosen as finalists in the rock/indie, pop, and folk/country categories.

Jodi was named Artist of the Month by Femgirl Magazine in September 2003 and was featured in Womanrock Magazine in Spring 2004. She has performed at numerous New York City venues, as well as clubs and music conferences around the country and in Canada. In September, Jodi will travel to Europe to pursue her latest passion: street performing.