Mary McCaslin's Roundup
Nov. 4, 2006
SHERRY AUSTIN CD RELEASE CONCERT
Sometimes it's best to get a late start. This approach seems to be paying
off for singer-songwriter Sherry Austin, who came into the Americana music
scene almost by accident.
Though Sherry started playing guitar when she was 15, she has only seriously
worked at a musical career for the last few years. In her 20s she moved from
Atherton, CA. to Hawaii and played some small clubs, but later married and
then raised her daughter. Music took a back seat for many years and she quit
playing altogether. Eventually she returned to California and worked full
time at a plant nursery. Horticulture has always been dear to her heart and
in the 1990s she moved to the Santa Cruz area to become involved in the gardening
community.
She did connect with this community, but luckily for music fans, she also
reconnected with music. At the time, she was just beginning to find her musical
path. She had discovered Mary-Chapin Carpenter and was inspired to try her
hand at writing. She later discovered radio station KPIG and its roster of
Americana artists, such as Robert Earl Keen and Fred Eaglesmith, even becoming
a "Fred Head."
Sherry's writing and reputation has gained notice and respect from her musical
peers. She was asked by Lacy J.Dalton to be the opener for Lacy's special
two-night engagement at Don Quixote's on October 21st and 22nd. A couple of
years ago she was invited to play Fred Eaglesmith's music festival in Canada
and last summer she played the KPIG Songwriter Festival.
On Saturday, Sherry will be celebrating the release of her new CD, Drive On
Back, with a concert at the E3 Playhouse in downtown Santa Cruz. This is the
second recording on her label, Barking Topiary. (I had to see the graphics
to get the pun.) Her 2003 CD, Drive-By Romance, has received accolades and
airplay from around the country, and Drive On Back is following suit. Cuts
from both CDs are heard on KPIG and the public radio stations. Sherry's smooth,
low voice brings a pleasing dimension to the songs she covers. Her version
of Tim O'Brien's "Less and Less," on the new CD, is particularly
ear-catching.
She will be performing songs from her recordings on Saturday night, accompanied
by an all-star lineup of musicians. Joining her on stage will be Charlie Wallace
on dobro and pedal steel, Jim Lewin on guitar, Lisa Burns on bass, Jim Norris
on drums and Sharon Allen on harmony vocals.
She has contributed tracks to the anthology recordings 20 Odd Hollers, Tribute
To Fred Eaglesmith (2000); Sounds For Hope, Vol. 1, Walk For AIDS (2003) and
this year's Take Me Home, American Artists For Peace. Her timely classic,
"I Wouldn't Lie To You," first appeared on the Take Me Home CD,
and is featured on Drive On Back. She seldom does a performance without including
it. "Someday," she says, "I hope this song won't be necessary."
Email Mary McCaslin at roundup@marymccaslin.com.
WHAT: Sherry Austin CD Release Concert
WHEN: Saturday, November 4, 8 PM
WHERE: E3 Playhouse, 435 Front St., Santa Cruz
Details: (831) 466-9033