MARTHA BASSETT
ELECTRONIC PRESS KIT (EPK)
Supported by a grant from The Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and the North Carolina Arts Council.
Martha's voice is the centerpiece of her fine band. Their originals and unique cover arrangements groove completely with soothing energy and reminiscence. Think Hank Williams meets Peggy Lee meets k.d. lang.
INSTRUMENTATION:
Martha Bassett, vocals/guitar
Justin Poindexter, guitar/lap steel/vocals
Nathan Scott, upright bass
Terry Lonergan, drums
Duo:
Martha Bassett, vocals/guitar
Pat Lawrence, vocals/upright bass
BIO:
You might describe their music as cocktail country or sultry southern swing. Martha's voice is the centerpiece of a fine ensemble of veteran musicians. Acoustic and dance sets nestle together in a genre-defying mix. Their originals and slinky takes on standards engage the listener from the first note! They recently opened for Lyle Lovett and His Large Band and continue on their run of festivals and concert venues throughout the Southeast.
DISCOGRAPHY:
"Moonshine & Starlight" (due in the fall of 2008)
"In Your Dreams" 2006
"Mortal Flesh" 2004
Martha & the Moodswingers "Hep Cats Holiday" 1999
Martha & the Moodswingers "Gone" 2001
Journeys Into Early Music CD for Hatch, Inc.
AUDIO SAMPLES:
"Moonshine & Starlight"
"Know My Name"
"Shake"
"Kippy Dooley"
"Midnight Daydream"
"My Heart Belongs To Daddy"
"Take Me In Your Arms"
VIDEO CLIP:
"Ooh Papa Do"
PHOTOS:
Click here for photo page
PRESS KIT:
Press Reviews
Recent Reviews
Magazines
Voted "Best Local Band"
--Smitty's Notes (July 2, 2008)
"Recently named Best Local Band in Winston-Salem, this combo from N.C.'s Triad area hangs out at the nexus where cocktail jazz, tearjerker C & W and classic torch-songs spoon up against cooler-than-cool Western swing. Vocal Bassett plays the role of sultry ingenue to the proverbial "t," and her come hither staare, vintage ribbon-style microphone and slinky duds have noir temptress written all over them. With instrumentation that includes lap steel guitar, upright bass and trap drums played with steel brushes, this is a group that knows how to draw the listener in with sparse arrangements and plenty of negative space. That austere approach may be a bit of a liability in a chatty room such as this, but something tells me this front woman, whose sound has been rather accurately described as Hank Williams meets Peggy Lee meets kd lang (now there's a dinner party!) can handle it with aplomb. That devil-may-care-attitude likely served her well when she recently had the daunting honor of opening for the one and only Lyle Lovett and His Large Band.
--Jim Reed, Connect Savannah (May 6, 2008)
Voted "Best Local Band"
--Winston-Salem Journal (August 5, 2007)
"Her music was as eclectic as her outfit. Wearing jeans and disco shoes, she began her show with a rollicking honky-tonk version of "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It." ...the group had an imposing presence. Her performance of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" was not the vampy jazz treatment...she rocked it. The highlight of the evening was her version of the Mick Jagger/Keith Richards classic "Loving Cup." It was much more country than the Stones but retained their menacing energy. For this former moodswinger, Bassett's new tempos have swung her in the right direction. This is one makeover that is truly star quality."
--Grant Britt, Greensboro News and Record (July 28, 2007 Review of Eastern Music Festival Concert at Triad Stage)
"When Bassett is playing music, a sort of focus occurs, akin to creating a love with others, and she feels inspired to make the most love possible within that intangible realm. She prefers the tempered restraint of the old jazz dogs, subscribing passionately to the less is more philosophy of the legendary jazz singers...very drawn to acoustic, pared-down music. Bassett's schedule is now spilling over with projects and touring that would make a mere mortal's head spin. And the new album is selling well.
--David Locklear, Greensboro News and Record's Go Triad Magazine (January 2007 Cover Story)
"Over the past few years, Martha Bassett has loomed large as one of the Triad's most impressive singers, impossibly pure of pitch, angelic of tone."
--Ed Bumgardner, Winston-Salem Journal's Relish Magazine In Your Dreams review(January 2007)
"Over the past few years, Bassett has taken a trained voice, applied it to a variety of musical settings--from swing music to rural Americana--and found a voice all her own...an instrument that can raise goosebumps. Bassett has found her niche with a new band and a new musical partner, guitarist Justin Poindexter...whose versatility, tasty, unobtrusive playing and strong songwriting provide Bassett with the shading and musical support needed to bridge her loves of swing and rural music. The buzz around Bassett is growing louder."
--Ed Bumgardner, Winston-Salem Journal's Relish Magazine (November 2006)
"At the microphone, Martha Bassett keeps flashing her megawatt smile. Bassett seems more energized than ever these days. She assembled an eclectic handful of young musicians fresh out of North Carolina School of the Arts and created a band offering modern takes on jazz, swing, and country." --Lisa Watts, Winston-Salem Monthy (Aug 2006 Cover Story)
"The full versatility of Bassett's voice has now come to the forefront with the release of Mortal Flesh, a stylistic reach for Bassett and a pitch-perfect album of faith that humanizes her angelic voice like no project before." "The album is extraordinary--by some margin Bassett's best and truest work." "Bassett sounds loose and relaxed, deeply in touch with the material and the musicians."
--Ed Bumgardner, Winston-Salem Journal's Relish Magazine
FIVE STARS!!!!!
"The album is strangely soothing and always satisfying. Though every track sounds as if it would have fit nicely onto the soundtrack of O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the source material is varied: a French carol with 4th-century lyrics, a song from the Carter family, an Irish melody, a traditional Shaker song. Bassett's beautiful voice becomes haunting....hear firsthand how Bassett explores life's mysteries without trying to answer them."
--Justin Hayes, Greensboro News and Record
Bassett has a penchant for folk and traditional music...of interest to fans of gospel music as well as those who are looking for material that might adapt well to the bluegrass "take."
--Hilary West, Bluegrass Now
Musical Resonance-- "How tedious and tasteless the hours when Jesus no longer I see," Martha Bassett sings halfway through Mortal Flesh, her clear voice ringing. Guitar, banjo, dobro, and fiddle accompany standards such as "Be Thou My Vision" and less well-known arrangements such as her rendition of "Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence," which combines the tune of a French carol with 4th century words from the liturgy of St. James. A smooth and satisfying sound.
--Sojourners Magazine
SET LIST:
There is an hour’s worth of originals ranging from folk to old-school jazz to boogie. They play up to 3 hours, adding in songs like the following:
My Bucket’s got a hole in it – Hank Williams
My Heart Belongs to Daddy – Cole Porter
Storm of Love – Buck Owens
Why Don’t you do right? – Peggy Lee
Veinte Anos – Maria Teresa Vera (from Buena Vista Social Club)
Loving Cup - M.Jagger & K.Richards
Mind your own business – Hank Williams
Pancho and Lefty – Townes Van Zandt
I’ll be your baby tonight – Bob Dylan
Sway – Dean Martin
Smoke Rings – Mills Brothers
BASIC REQ:
The Band employ their own sound manager and gear when necessary.
For more info contact Robert Kirk, email: robert@treehousemobile.com, tel: 336-724-1846
STAGE: For 4 piece band: stage no smaller than 12'x15'
MICS: 2 vocal mics, 1 bass di, 1 gtr di, 1 Fender tube amp (gtr) mic, 1 kick mic, 1 snare mic, 2 overhead drum mics
MONITORS: minimum of one monitor mix with two front of stage monitors (vocals) and one rear stage monitor (drums, bass)
LIGHTING: theater lighting with gels where available, follow spot where available
STAGE PLOT:
click here to view Martha Bassett stage plot
CALENDAR:
visit calendar as well as history page
