My friend Cindy Lee Berryhill, who’s been a supporter and participant in the LOUIE project, is on a campaign to finish her new album, using Kickstarter to take it to the finish line.
This will be my first album in 7 years and it will be my 7th album and 7 is a real fancy number when you look at it mythologically. It’s the number of the Muse, otherwise known as Creativity and Love and Romance and all that juicy stuff of life. And that is just what this album is all about.
It’s been a road, as some of you know, my late husband, rock writer, Paul Williams, became ill and passed away last year. He left behind our little family, i.e. myself and our 13 year old son. What would Paul want for us? He’d want us to continue to pursue our passions. So Alexander is diving into technology and physics, and I have spent the last few years writing new songs.
My first album, Who’s Gonna Save The World, came out on Rhino in 1988 and was followed up by the Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group) produced, Naked Movie Star. Those first two albums got me a lot of attention and took me on tours around the U.S. and Europe with cool artists like The Smithereens, Billy Bragg and John Doe, Marshall Crenshaw and Keb Mo, Alex Chilton and Camper Van Beethoven. Doing shows with bands like The Violent Femmes, X, The Butthole Surfers, Weezer and Cake. Getting into trouble and making music alongside some of worlds finest.
By my third album I’d really come up with my own kind of sound, something I’d been looking for and it was quite influenced by the music of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys, with some Lou Reed and Patti Smith vibes mixed in. That album was Garage Orchestra.
In some ways this new album is a follow up to Garage Orchestra. I’ll have appearances from some of the GO’s original stellar players (Renata Bratt and Randy Hoffman) and the music will have a bit of that made-in-the-garage-orchestral sensibility. And like G.O. it will be an album informed by feelings of desire and love and the wild ride of the creative path.
But these songs are all entirely new, and, If I do say so myself, some of the best songs Ive ever written. And the sound has grown into a new more mature place especially with the inspiration of co-producer David Schwartz. Altogether we have about 12 or 13 songs to record and mix and master and post to online selling sources. Plus! we will definitely be making a limited amount of physical CD’s.
I would LOVE to see this album completed, and hope many of my friends will join me in supporting this project. I am a big fan of her music, and I can’t wait to hear these new songs she’s been working on!
Here’s a little preview of the project…
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Click HERE for the OFFICIAL KICKSTARTER PAGE!
For those of you unfamiliar with Cindy Lee’s music, here’s just a few of my favorite songs that she’s written…
1) Damn, Wish I Was A Man
The first time I’d ever heard her music was when I picked up a little compilation cassette called “Radio Tokyo Tapes Vol. 3, 1985.” There were some other great bands on this tape – the Knitters, the Minutemen, Henry Rollins, Balancing Act, Phranc, and all the others, but Cindy’s song was the ONE that always gave me a good chuckle every time I heard it.
What other woman would have the nerve to wish she “could have a belly like Jack Nicholson?” Too damned funny!
2) She Had Everything
I’ve always been fond of songs that tell intriguing stories with the help of a catchy melody, and this one was especially tasty!
3) Radio Astronomy
“Garage Orchesta” was the album that came out not long after I first met Cindy Lee and her future husband Paul Williams at the ABA Convention in Anaheim. There were some chapters in my life where it felt like this little masterpiece was practically glued into my CD player. Every song just seemed to ooze with the type of playful energy I’d expect within my favorite dreams, and “Radio Astronomy” was just one of those very special gateways.
4) Beloved Stranger
The first time I’d seen Cindy Lee after many years was the 2009 benefit concert for her husband Paul Williams, which took place in San Francisco. “Beloved Stranger” was the title song of her latest album, which focused on the challenges of loving someone whose very core of being was permanently altered by injuries. Like Garage Orchestra, it’s another excellent album filled with songs that received regular rotation in my music-playing devices.
5) When Did Jesus Become a Republican?
A question many of us have been asking for years, and I’m so glad someone put this concept into a song…
Anyways, this is just a small handful of the Cindy Lee Berryhill songs that happened to be posted on YouTube, including my own video of her San Francisco performance of “Beloved Stranger.” She’s got plenty of other great songs, and with your help, she can release even more!
This campaign is ending on Monday, December 15th – only 10 more days to go!
Please join me and support Cindy Lee’s Kickstarter campaign.
For more information on Cindy Lee Berryhill, please visit her official webpage at
CindyLeeBerryhill.com
UPDATE: Congratulations to Cindy Lee Berryhill on a successul Kickstarter campaign!