Biography of Ani DiFranco

What does androgynous twentysomething alternative folk-punksinger Ani (Ah-nee) DiFranco have in common with feminist author/speaker/activist Gloria Steinem? They both have developed ardent followings through preaching a contemporary commonperson's gospel; they both are charistmatic onstage; they both believe in the power of the Revolution Within.Ani DiFranco is the inadvertent messiah to the "Nose Ring Generation," identified by body piercings, undaunted attitude, and haircuts that would get you fired from the bank: tufted, dyed, and shaven to the scalp. They are spunky, dramatic and brimming with awareness, bursting with social consciousness unimagined by their forebears at the same age.Her understated voice powers her unflinching lyrics. She delivers the intensity of Janis Joplin but will never drown in the discontent that she stirs. Her songwriting melds the down-home sensibility of Dolly Parton with the biting energy of metal, with the jittery beat of thrash. The beat used to come from her guitar alone. Now drummer Andy Stochansky joins her gigs.DiFranco's genuine warmth takes some of the edge off her righteous rage. The unarguable rightness of her vision and the tunefulness of her compositions temper the harsh details of her vignettes.In her native Buffalo, she briefly attended art school, then enrolled in New York City's New School for Social Research. At the same time playing gigs in bars, she quickly built a strong local following. A west-coast live event producer, Tracye Lawson, had brought a relatively-unknown DiFranco to Santa Cruz early in 1993; by the time of DiFranco's return engagement, in the Fall of the same year, her audience had multiplied incredibly. Following startling popularity of her sparely self-produced debut recording, Ani DiFranco (Righteous Records, 1990), she generated enough revenue to finance a second album, Not So Soft, in 1991. In 1993, she released Puddle Dive (Righteous Babe Records), which spent 10 weeks on the college charts, providing another quantum leap in the direction of recognition. Having employed a small posse of session players on Puddle Dive, Ani gave the same treatment to some of her older solo material on 1993's Like I Said/Songs 1990-1991. Out of Range was released by Righteous Babe Records in 1994. Upon its release in 1995, Not A Pretty Girl earned DiFranco positive reviews in maisntream publication, which helped her expand her audience. Dilate, released in the spring of 1996, signalled a shift toward a more textured and produced sound and, in doing, so it earned her new fans. The following year, DiFranco released the live double-album Living In Clip. ~ Laura Post

Biography of Utah Phillips

Phillips is an entertaining (and just plain fun) singer/songwriter and guitarist in the traditional style. Famous for his jokes, hobo and railroad songs, and sound effects, he is a well-known and popular performer on the folk and concert circuit. ~ Michael Erlewine