2008 Woodie Awards
Musical journeys
Jarrett Hothan - The Daily Iowan
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: 80 Hours
- Page 1 of 1
A meeting of the minds will be on display 8 p.m. today at the Mill, as some of the finest female singer-songwriters in Iowa come together for the annual "Women's Acoustic Showcase." Among artists featured are Nikki Lunden, Barb Ryan, and Laurie Hagg, yet perhaps none loom larger than Gayla Drake Paul, a world-renowned acoustic guitar virtuoso.
Drake Paul has been a professional recording artist since 1982, but her musical journey started when she was just a child. Picking up a guitar when she was only 4 years old, she turned to different genres growing up to help sculpt her identity as a player.
"My parents were really interested in traditional American music, you know, old-timey folk stuff," she said. "This music helped interest me to start playing fiddle at age 9, which in turn helped evolve my guitar playing from straight-forward into something more of a melodic, ornamented style."
As a teenager, Celtic music was her next love: a sound that helped her explore extended techniques such as open tunings and flat picking, both methods that have since become signatures of her guitar playing. In college, she interned at KCCK, Kirkwood College's jazz radio station.
"When I was at KCCK, I got to hear a lot of jazz, a lot of world music," Drake Paul said. "It introduced me to music with space and atmospheric, interesting sounds."
All of these outside influences formed her foundation as a diverse songwriter, allowing her to begin a prolific and award-winning career. Nationally circulated Acoustic Guitar Magazine selected her How Can I Keep From Singing? as one of the '90s' top-four contemporary albums, one of the many accolades she has received for her compositional contributions. Recently, Drake Paul has diversified her musical ventures. She collaborated on a score with Italian filmmaker Francesco Paladino, teaches guitar to eager students at workshops around Iowa, and has completed a song-cycle based on the year of the solar holiday.
Also appearing is Iowa City's own Lunden, a former member of local bands Heinos Canis and the Trollies. Now performing solo, she releases her own work on her own time, as well as collaborating with local musicians. Her music is a dusty blend of folk and blues that has energy to spare.
Anticipation for the Acoustic Showcase isn't reserved for just the fans but also for the artists themselves.
"I have such a busy schedule; I actually get a chance to hear other people," Drake Paul said. "You get to meet others who think like you. It's just amazing."
E-mail DI reporter Jarrett Hothan at:
jarrett-hothan@uiowa.edu
Drake Paul has been a professional recording artist since 1982, but her musical journey started when she was just a child. Picking up a guitar when she was only 4 years old, she turned to different genres growing up to help sculpt her identity as a player.
"My parents were really interested in traditional American music, you know, old-timey folk stuff," she said. "This music helped interest me to start playing fiddle at age 9, which in turn helped evolve my guitar playing from straight-forward into something more of a melodic, ornamented style."
As a teenager, Celtic music was her next love: a sound that helped her explore extended techniques such as open tunings and flat picking, both methods that have since become signatures of her guitar playing. In college, she interned at KCCK, Kirkwood College's jazz radio station.
"When I was at KCCK, I got to hear a lot of jazz, a lot of world music," Drake Paul said. "It introduced me to music with space and atmospheric, interesting sounds."
All of these outside influences formed her foundation as a diverse songwriter, allowing her to begin a prolific and award-winning career. Nationally circulated Acoustic Guitar Magazine selected her How Can I Keep From Singing? as one of the '90s' top-four contemporary albums, one of the many accolades she has received for her compositional contributions. Recently, Drake Paul has diversified her musical ventures. She collaborated on a score with Italian filmmaker Francesco Paladino, teaches guitar to eager students at workshops around Iowa, and has completed a song-cycle based on the year of the solar holiday.
Also appearing is Iowa City's own Lunden, a former member of local bands Heinos Canis and the Trollies. Now performing solo, she releases her own work on her own time, as well as collaborating with local musicians. Her music is a dusty blend of folk and blues that has energy to spare.
Anticipation for the Acoustic Showcase isn't reserved for just the fans but also for the artists themselves.
"I have such a busy schedule; I actually get a chance to hear other people," Drake Paul said. "You get to meet others who think like you. It's just amazing."
E-mail DI reporter Jarrett Hothan at:
jarrett-hothan@uiowa.edu
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