carolann ames

Congratulations ToThe January Austin Music City CD Voter’s Poll Winner, Carolann Ames!
Carolann Ames's song, “Almost Lucky” was the winning entry and it’s very obvious that she not only brings a lot of songwriting and vocal ability to the table with a killer band and an excellent production on her album, she is also very intuitive with a keen understanding of her material, her goals and her mission in the music business.

With the release of her album “So Long Abilene”, a tough, tight album that spans a variety of styles and influences, there came a blitz of appearances and engagements from coast to coast and recognition from radio and internet listeners across the country. Though recorded in Los Angeles, there is a sound to this album that would go over with Austin and other Texas audiences very easily, Ames being raised in Houston may have had some influence on that.

There’s a special kind of sparseness in this album, an understatement that fits very well with Ames’s vocals, a kind of outdoor grit that’s uncommon to many female singers. “Bridgewater Creek”, “So Long Abilene”, “Letting Go’, “7th Avenue”, all written with a combination of beauty, expanse and toughness that only someone who has “been there and done that” could write.

A winner of numerous songwriting awards, including the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, Ames continues to write and sing what she knows and will undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with for a very long time.

For more information on Carolann Ames, check out http://www.carolannames.com/ or www.myspace.com/carolannames .



- Austin Music City

San Diego's Carolann Ames recieved the Grand Prize in the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The song honored was "West Virginia" off of her newest CD"shades of Indigo."
"I'm really honored that they choose my song;" said Ames in an interview shortly before a show at Humphrey's by the Bay.
"I didn't realize how respected it was," she said."I've had so many people call to contact me".[
"Shades of Indigo is Ames third CD, and she produced it herself."I feel this CD has captured my true voice". she said."it's like coming into my own"
Though Ames award was in the country catagory, she describes her music as Americana, a fusion of country, rcok and pop.
It's anything American,"she said.
Ames, who was raised in Texas and is from a family of musicians. She used to fall asleep at night listening to her mother playing classical music on the piano....... - San Diego Beacon

April, 2008
Carolann Ames

So Long Abilene

Self Released
Given how the current glut of Americana artists has devalued the field to sub-prime mortgage crisis levels, to come across one that restores your faith in the genre is some kind of miracle. San Diego’s Carolann Ames, the Grand Prize winner in the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, she’s touched by angels as her rich, supple voice (a cross between Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Shania Twain) soars skyward. But in such confessional numbers as the strummy ‘70s pop of “Broken Down Dream,” countryish desert-rocker “Lavender Sky” and the bluegrass flavored “Bridgewater Creek” you can tell she’s done a lot of livin’ and probably a fair share of sinnin’, too. Backed by a sharp crew of players (secret weapon: fiddler Melissa Harley), Ames traverses the Americana spectrum without repeating herself a single time, and it’s this journey she takes you on that’ll be your ticket to heaven.
By Fred Mills - HARP Magazine

Saturday September 20, 2008 at 10:00pm
Sullivan Hall

214 Sullivan Street
New York, New York 10018
Category: Music
Website: http://www.sullivanhallnyc.com
Price: $10
CAROLANN AMES & BAND
TO PLAY NEW YORK CITY'S SULLIVAN HALL

SO LONG ABILENE Hits a Mix of Americana Flavors

Austin, TX -- Texas-born singer Carolann Ames, whose strong but tender vocals send shivers down the spine and whose latest album hints at her country roots while detailing Americana's wide range of sound and emotion, travels to New York City next month for a special show with her band, Silverlake.

Ames (now living in California) and Silverlake play at 10 p.m. Saturday, September 20, at Sullivan Hall, 214 Sullivan St. Tickets are $10, on sale only after 9:30 p.m. Information: www.sullivanhallnyc.com; guests must be 18 to enter, 21 to imbibe. Solas will play the early show at 8 p.m. and Gig Brazil the late show at 11:30 p.m.

HARP magazine praised Ames' independent springtime release, SO LONG ABILENE, as a gift from above. "Given how the current glut of Americana artists has devalued the field to sub-prime mortgage crisis levels, to come across one that restores your faith in the genre is some kind of miracle. San Diego's Carolann Ames is a born faith healer.

"The grand prize winner in the 2004 John Lennon Songwriting Contest, she's touched by angels as her rich, supple voice (a cross between Linda Ronstadt, Emmylou Harris and Shania Twain) soars skyward. But in such confessional numbers as the strummy '70s pop of 'Broken Down Dream,' country-ish desert-rocker 'Lavender Sky' and the bluegrass-flavored 'Bridgewater Creek' you can tell she's done a lot of livin' and probably a fair share of sinnin' too. Backed by sharp crew of players (secret weapon: fiddler Melissa Harley), Ames traverses the Americana spectrum without repeating herself a single time, and it's this journey she takes you on that'll be your ticket to heaven."
The guitar-playing songwriter has earned an armful of honors and has served as producer on her last two records, this one and SHADES OF INDIGO, which features "West Virginia," for which she won the JLSC grand prize. In addition to fiddler Melissa Harley, the members of Ames' band, Silverlake, are Hector Maldonado on guitar and vocals and Ken Dow on bass and vocals.

L to R: Hector Maldonado, Carolann Ames, Melissa Harley and Ken Dow
Interview times are available as well as press kits.
To listen to MP3s and to download hi-res images and more, visit:
http://www.mcguckinpr.com. Also see www.carolannames.com.

Contact: McGuckin Entertainment PR
Heidi Labensart, 512.478.0578; heidi@mcguckinpr.com
Jill McGuckin, 512.217.9404; jill@mcguckinpr.com
- Yahoo

Ames Abilene Album

Bruce Von Stiers

In my review of her album, Shades of Indigo, I called Carolann Ames very talented with an instantly recognizable voice. That was a while back. I recently listened to Carolann’s new album. And I can still stand by the statement that I made in the other review. Carolann is indeed talented and keeps bringing forth beautiful vocals.

The new album is titled So Long Abilene. The album was released by Ear Candy Records.

Carolann wrote most of the songs on the album. She also produced the album. It has a dozen songs and lasts close to an hour.

Dave Curtis plays piano and organ on the album. Larry Grano is the drummer. Melissa Harley plays the fiddle and Rick Schmidt is on steel pedal. Hector Malanado played acoustic guitar and provided backing vocals for Carolann. Dennis Caplinger played mandolin, banjo, Dobro and fiddle on one of the songs. Duncan Moore was on drums for two of the songs. And Carolann played acoustic guitars and did all the major vocals on the album.

Smooth and easy, Almost Lucky is a nice start for the album.

I really liked Broken Down Dreams. Carolann has a lilt to her vocals on the song that is light, yet slightly aching.

A slight toe tapping beat makes for a nice backdrop for Love Is A Wildfire.

Another really good song is 7th Avenue. A bluesy country tune there is great fiddle backing wonderful vocals.

Speaking of wonderful vocals, Carolann has gentle aching vocals on the title track So Long Abilene.

Another toe tapper is Lavender Sky. You can almost hear the smile in her voice as Carolann sings this one.

Bridgewater Creek is more of a traditional Country song with decent fiddle and old style vocals.

Almost whispery vocals bring a special touch to Cheyenne. Then the chorus has nice harmonies.

I couldn’t help but to start to clap along with the music for Answer The Door. The song has some tough steel pedal supporting nice vocals.

One interesting song on the album is Where To Now, St. Peter? This is a wonderful early Elton John song. The song was recently covered by Ann Wilson on her solo album, Hope & Glory. I reviewed that album and really liked the hard hitting rock edge of Ann’s rendition. Plus the fact that she had Sir Elton doing a duet with her on it. Carolann’s cover of the song is a bit different than Ann’s. Whereas Ann had a rock music foundation for hers, Carolann brings a gentler, Country fused tone to the song. Carolann’s vocals were terrific; smooth and easy. Not that it was any better or worse than Ann Wilson’s version, it just brought out a different contrast for the song.

Haunting vocals with good acoustic guitar and piano make I Remain a great song.

Carolann ends the album with Letting Go. The song is a bit Country, a bit alt folk, a bit alt rock.

Once again, Carolann Ames has proven that she is extremely talented. Her voice is smooth when needed, and can break your heart with aching lyrics. The material for the album was well written and the musicians did a superb job on the songs.

So Long Abilene is available at selected traditional music retailers and through online venues like amazon.com and CDBaby.
- BVS Reviews

Carolann Ames is one of those rare triple-threat artists. Besides being an electrifying performer, she is also a top flight writer and producer. This is further evidenced by her recent crowning as Grand Prize winner in the prestigious international John Lennon Songwriting Contest (JLSC) for her song “West Virginia”. This song easily won over the judges on the merits its lyrical originality, pristine production values and Carolanns soaring, playful vocal performance.
Lonny Brooks, Taylor Guitar Festivals and Special Events
- La Jolla Arts Festival

So Long Abilene is proving to be yet another momentous feat for the award laden Carolann Ames.
Ms. Ames has time and again proven that she is without a doubt the real deal.
In a music world where maintaining a consistent presence has become an almost impossible pleateau to attain, Carolann appears to continue on her merry musical way with ease. Her latest release "So Long Abilene" is absolutely real and a wonderful listen.
It's no wonder Carolann has collected a ton of awards throughout the years as she's found a way to put into words what the vast majority of us can't seem to say in our daily lives.
A"true" singer/songwriter it would appear that Carolann's songwriting talents are only improving with time much like fine wine as demonstrated on the title track "So Long Abilene" and the upbeat vibes of "Lavender Sky".
Boasting numerour numerous honorable mentions in music awards showcases the past year and a nomination for album of the year in 2008 at Kweevak.com, Carolann is definately keeping her craft in top notch form and we're hoping that she'll bless us with her future musical releases so that we may share what is obviously no less than a true musician creating"real music" at work.
If you haven't yet, be sure to visit her site and take in the gifts she has to offer your ears.
Duss Rodgers
- Duss Rodgers