Artist description I was conceived sometime in the month of September in Missoula, Montana during a cross-country road trip. I would like to say that my parents carefully planned the event, had an attachment to Missoula, picked the music, created the mood, readied themselves to bring a new life into this world, but in reality, a condom broke. Following a fairly unexceptional geeky art and music-filled, rejection-driven high school experience, I went off to the University of Michigan to study classical voice. Whereas high school was not what you might call a real social Mecca for me, I had been told that college would be different. It was true -- once there, I was finally able to find people with similar interests – namely loud music, drug use, and general self-destruction. Needless to say, college was a blur, but I did learn one thing: I did not want to be a classical musician. After graduation and a short period dedicated to getting to know my parents as the people they really are (read: moving home with Mom and Dad), I decided to go to New York City to explore the option of rock stardom. I picked up a guitar and wrote songs, played at clubs throughout the East Village, and subsequently pursued my other dream of becoming a waitress. The waitressing went well, with the exception of a few spills here and there and one unfortunate incident involving a plate of chicken curry and a designer handbag. After absorbing everything the service industry had to offer, I hit the road and booked a national tour. This resulted in high gas and mechanic bills and an offer to move out to Los Angeles to work with acclaimed producer Paul Fox. So here I am now, a successful screenwriter. (not really) Here are some facts that seem to be included in most of the musician biographies I read: Some musical influences: Joni Mitchell, Elliott Smith, Patty Griffin, Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, Radiohead, James Taylor, Aimee Mann, Carole King, Lucinda Williams, Elton John, Ella Fitzgerald, Chet Baker, Nirvana. Some achievements: Toured Europe as a choir soloist when I was 17, sang in the Aspen Music Festival when I was 20, they tell me I graduated with honors from U of M, played in the 2001 CMJ music festival, the 2002 Midwest Music Summit, and the 2002 Bumbershoot festival in Seattle (that was really cool), booked a 20+ date summer tour in 2002 including a performance at the Bluebird Caf� in Nashville, Independent Songwriter Webzine’s March 2002 “Featured Artist,” Performing Songwriter Magazine’s “Top 12 DIY Releases” for December 2002, featured in Dirty Linen Magazine, Indie-music.com and Indiecrit.com. I also sang on Secret underarm deodorant commercials for cash. I now live in Los Angeles where I write songs, practice guitar and piano, go to shows, and play in the sunshine. I look forward to my first boob job and the subtle yet lasting personality changes that occur as a result of living in such a vacuous city.

Music Style singer/songwriter, acoustic rock

Musical Influences joni mitchell, tracy chapman, fiona apple, aretha franklin, nina simone,, patti griffin, chet baker, chris whitley, leonard cohen, johnny cash

Similar Artists joni mitchell, sarah mclaughlin, patti griffin, aretha franklin

Instruments piano, guitar, vocals

Albums terranaomi

Press Reviews Performing Songwriter, December 2002: "Every once in a while a singer-songwriter comes along that is both compelling—Terra’s lyrical content isn’t your typical somber diatribe—and emotional. A New Yorker at heart, Terra’s music is as innocent as Joni Mitchell while being as emotionally charged as Carly Simon. From the opening notes of “So Nice” to the closing measure of “Mama,” Terra puts her vulnerability on display without the slightest hesitation." Terra Naomi: Terra Naomi (Terra Naomi)Website | Buy on CDBaby Terra Naomi's self-titled debut folk EP sounds not unlike what Jewel's debut album would have sounded like, had Jewel had a brain that fired on both hemispheres at the same time. This may not sound like much of a compliment to Terra Naomi, who I expect would prefer a comparison to someone like Ani DiFranco (not to mention that it's not especially nice to Miss Kilcher), but I will ask you to remember that Jewel has a captivating voice, which was used to excellent effect on "Who Will Save Your Soul," the one song off Pieces of You that actually can be listened to without urge to garrote one's self with a high-E guitar string (Jewel has since gotten better). Like Jewel, Naomi has a pretty impressive voice -- a forcefully sweet pipe that can surge forward from a whisper and then back again as need be -- but she's also got good songs, which really is the key. It's all solidly in the "folky chick with a guitar" scheme (Naomi's only instrumentation here is said guitar) so if that sort of unadorned, confessional music gets to you, don't go here. However, if you stick with it, Naomi rewards you with lyrics that are smart and sharply observational, regardless of what she's observing.The album's centerpiece is "Flesh For Bones," the lament of a lover who misses what she's left behind, even though she knows "it's true what they say, you can't go back home once you've cast it away." Album opener "So Nice" is also a keeper, as Naomi gets a bluesy groove going. In "No Justice" Naomi takes on the role of someone who feels she has betrayed a child, and does a good job of encapsulating the emotions someone in that position rolls through without getting musically bogged down in the sad subject matter. There's a misfire in the ranks -- "Sunday's Best," a swipe at religion that's too heavy-handed -- but that's one out of seven, which is not at all bad for a first-time singer-songwriter. Actually, one out of six, since one of the tracks is a cover. But that's still pretty good. After all, Jewel hit one for 14 in her debut, and look where she ended up. By those standards, Terra Naomi should make its namesake a superstar.~ www.indiecrit.com 3/18/2002 Tulsa World, 3/26/2003: Ex-ugly duckling unleashes inner beauty in graceful pop songs Terra Naomi was the fat, ugly girl you poked fun at in high school. Now all the fellas pine after her — especially when she kills them softly with her songs. When someone tells Naomi, "Oh, being an ugly girl is what made you what you are today," she wants to roll her eyes and laugh. "When you're a fat fifth grader with glasses and a bowl cut you're not really excited about how interesting you'll be when you grow up," she said. She decided to shed her ugly duckling hang-ups — and some pounds — during her senior year of high school. "I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I went to the Diet Center and got weighed every day," she said. "I lost a whole bunch of weight, got contact lenses and grew my hair out." The guys in her own school still saw her as the "fat geek," but when she visited a friend in Connecticut, Naomi realized just how significant her transformation was. "I had all these boys interested in me," she said. "I was like, 'Wow, this is cool.'" Despite a youth spent despising the image she saw in mirrors, Naomi said she wouldn't change a thing. "I'm glad that I struggled and had to deal with all sorts of rejection and cruelty," she said. "I don't regret anything. I'm happy with the way everything played itself out." When Naomi went to college to study opera, she indulged. She smoked, drank and dated. Along the way, she realized she didn't want to be an opera singer. She wanted to perform her own songs without limitations. "One of the things that I love about writing and performing my own songs is that I can use all the sounds and textures of my voice," she said. "In opera there's only one right way to sing. In my music, if I want to make it sound ugly or whisper something, I can." On stage, it's just her, an acoustic guitar and tunes from her self-titled debut that rifle through her innermost thoughts on adolescence, religion and the boys who thought she was beautiful but broke her heart anyway. When she sings the words escape her mouth in a soft, almost whispery tone reminiscent of Norah Jones. When Naomi isn't on tour, she's in the studio writing and recording songs for her next LP. "I'm trying to write songs with a lot of different themes," she said. "I'm actually a really happy person, but a lot of my songs come from places of loss and have a more melancholy vibe. "Before this whole war thing started I was going to write some happy songs, but now I'm like, 'How the (expletive) am I supposed to write a happy song?' But my eternal quest is to write a happy song that doesn't sound trite or contrived." So what would her happy song be about? "Anything. There's so much if you just look around," she said. "I feel lucky all the time but it's hard to put that into a song and express it the way I feel it — especially right now."

Location Los Angeles, CA - USA

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