Bio
On Bios, me and what I don’t want you to
know:
Bios are kind of ridiculous. What do they really tell you except things
someone wants you to know? Take mine, for example. On the advice of industry
types, I paid someone to write one up for me. It invokes some beautiful
metaphors for Aoede using a wall, ties my career together seamlessly, and
makes me sound, well, more removed from my art and from you the reader than
it does most anything else. Read it. You’ll agree. I was recently working
with a guy from an Artist Management company on my own artist plan. He said
after reading my bio, “I don’t know who you are and why I should care.” He
challenged me to dig deeper. That really struck a chord with me because I’m
all about connecting with you my reader and listener in ways that make you
feel and experience parts of yourself and hopefully resonate with you who
has been there & can say, “yeah, I feel that too...” Yet I’m not even
letting you in on who I am and why I have no choice but to do what I do.
So I’ve decided to accept his challenge to dig and be bold and put myself
out there. Tell you things I don’t want you to know. Not what I’ve done, Not
why I think you should drop everything you are doing to come see me perform.
Not even why you should listen to and buy my new album. That’s totally
“me-centric.” But that’s not why I do what I do. Many have told me it’s my
Voice, with a capital V, that’s unique. The guy who mastered our new album
told me he was immediately struck by my Voice-that it has an authority &
command to it compelling him to listen. Another told me he was hooked from
the time I opened my mouth and just wanted to keep listening. I think it’s
just the mouthpiece to my muse.
Here’s where the honesty comes in. It’s so much easier to put the pen to
paper when it comes to writing what I have done or even reflecting on
others… but it takes everything I’ve got to look inward and reflect on
myself. It’s like that song on the new album, All I do is scratch the
surface. Only recently did I discover that one of the main reasons I write
is to get up close and personal with my own skeletons. The guy at the Artist
Management company gave me an exercise that I immediately failed at the
first time: writing down the 10 most traumatic things that had ever happened
to me. “Dig a little deeper,” he said when I quickly assembled and emailed
him a list of only 5 things that I wasn’t afraid to admit and wouldn’t be
fired over or make headlines. He shared his 10 with me as an example. It was
then that I “got it.” So I dug deep and couldn’t even type my 10 out and
email them to him because I was so ashamed and scared to write them down…I
handwrote my private skeletons, all the repressed, forgotten experiences
that I considered somehow taboo, like how I early on stumbled into sex…I
think it’s only fair to you that if I am billing Aoede as a “muse,” as an
indie alt pop rock band with dark undertones, that I bring my own private
darkness to the page and to the stage. It’s already started with a new song
I’ve written entitled, “Skeletons.” It took me a lifetime of not dealing
with these skeletons to realize that that song I wrote about you or some
seemingly removed event is actually about me too. Lastly, maybe I have been
put here for reasons I don’t understand to create-to give You
something-maybe after reading or listening, you experience some part of your
own self that you forgot about. Maybe you are inspired to live life a little
more fully or feel something.
Because if I am doing what I Have to do, I don’t succeed unless I reach
something inside of you. Plain and simple.
Now scroll down for more on Aoede, "resume style"
“Aoede conjures a sound all its own yet referential of similar artists such as Aimee Mann. Emotive and emotionally intelligent” Corazine
It is invisible, yet its presence is undeniable. It is the wall that separates the performer from the audience. This barrier has been known to cripple some artists while forcing others to break through, thus allowing them to discover their audience and themselves. The folk-laced, pop-rock San Francisco trio of Lisa Sniderman, David Sands, and John Walden, better known as Aoede, have recently garnered positive reviews for their ability to seemingly demolish this wall.
Inspired by their desire to connect with audiences, Aoede formed in 2005. Sniderman drew from real-life personal experiences to conjure up songs that were as revealing as they were melodic. Armed with well-written tunes that combined the sincerity of Aimee Mann with the dark undertones of Nick Cave, Aoede immediately grabbed listeners’ attention by crafting a debut EP, Ear Candy, that was “emotive and emotionally intelligent” (Corazine).
Most appealing, however, was Sniderman’s “catchy lyrics coupled with strong vocals” that promised to keep listeners “coming back for more” (GoGirlsMusic.com). With a strong - yet warm and inviting - voice, Sniderman offered a penchant for distinct vocal melodies. She allowed her enunciation on Ear Candy to ebb and flow in a manner not heard since Morrissey.
Ear Candy’s retail and on-air success have since allowed Sniderman and Sands to perform extensively throughout their region. They have established themselves in the competitive San Francisco café and club scene - no easy task, by any means. Finally, with a recently recorded album set to be released in the winter of 2007, Aoede are now poised for considerably more exposure.
In Greek mythology, Aoede was the muse of song. Sniderman is the rare vocalist who draws inspiration from her many muses and then is able to transfer that inspiration to listeners. If there really is a wall that forms once an artist takes the stage, it may help to think of Aoede’s music and lyrics as the powerful - yet gentle - hammer capable of bringing down the wall.