CATHY-ANNE MCCLINTOCK: Former Canadian Bluegrass Band Tumbleweed Member Emerges With Solo Debut

CATHY-ANNE MCCLINTOCK FORMER MEMBER OF INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED CANADIAN BLUEGRASS BAND TUMBLEWEED EMERGES AS A SOLO SINGER-SONGWRITER WITH HER SELF-TITLED FOLK/AMERICANA/COUNTRY DEBUT

Cathy-Anne McClintockThe Multi-Talented Performer, Whose Song “I Wanna Live Like That” Has Been Covered By More Than 30 Artists, Is In The Top 20 On The HOTDISC Chart UK With “I Doubt If It Does To You,” A Duet With Grammy Winning Bluegrass/Folk Legend Tim O’Brien, And Has A New Single “Crazy Bout You”  Heading Up The Country And Hot AC Charts In Canada

Currently making a major splash in the indie Folk/Americana market with her self-titled debut on 37 Records, emerging singer/songwriter Cathy-Anne McClintock’s (www.cathyannemcclintock.com) incredible musical journey inspires people everywhere to echo the title of her best known song “I Wanna Live Like That.”

Who wouldn’t?

The track, which she recorded on her album as a duet with Grammy winning bluegrass/folk legend Tim O’Brien, has appeared on Disney Channel, HBO/Showtime and has been recorded and released over 30 times by a vast array of international independent recording artists. She’s also been featured in Billboard, The Record and Marquee magazine.

“The lyrics sum up everything I want to be,” she says. “Inspired by having my daughter and the happy hormones I was feeling, I wrote about family and friends, prayer and the importance of connecting with people. It’s about learning from my mistakes, giving back what I take and making the very most of every moment. The first time I sang it in the studio it was very organic, much like I recorded it for this project. It’s been interesting to see how others have interpreted it and very exciting to see ‘I Wanna Live Like That’ take on a life of its own.”

“I Doubt If It Does To You,” a duet with O’Brien from Cathy-Anne McClintock, is currently in the Top 20 on the HotDisc Chart UK and a popular country single in England, where it is receiving airplay on the BBC and across Europe.

Since moving to Southern California to focus on her solo career several years ago, she established herself as a formidable performer with gigs at hotspots like Genghis Cohen, The Mint, Kulaks, Hallenbecks and various special events, including Laguna Beach’s Pageant of the Masters, Sunset Serenade Series, Far West Folk Alliance, Canadian Music Week and the popular folk series The Living Tradition. At a particularly memorable gig at the House of Blues on Sunset, she opened for Canadian Celtic rockers Great Big Sea for an audience comprised of fellow Canadians; one of the highlights was Russell Crowe sitting in and singing a few Johnny Cash tunes with the band.

McClintock’s emergence as a solo artist is simply the latest triumph in a career that would make anyone want to “live like that.” Shortly after the Vancouver born and raised performer and her older sister Trisha Gagnon formed their bluegrass band Tumbleweed in the 90s, they played their first show on a slate in British Columbia with superstars Dolly Parton and Dwight Yoakam at Music 91, a government sponsored road show designed to boost tourism.

Tumbleweed enjoyed an incredible ten year run that included playing major folk and country festivals throughout Canada, performing in France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Switzerland, doing private shows for bigwigs like Rupert Murdoch and playing special engagements for thousands of schoolchildren. They were also winners of British Columbia’s Best Country Group, Best Country CD and nine time winners of B.C.’s Best Bluegrass Group.

With all the makings of a multi-media sensation, McClintock also made her on-camera feature film debut in Ed Zwick’s critically acclaimed “Leaving Normal.”

Strongly influenced by her 10 year tenure with Tumbleweed, McClintock’s debut is edgy and hip while also strongly reflecting bluegrass traditions. The expansive 13-track set features a duet with Alan Doyle from Juno Award winner Great Big Sea (“No Matter What”) and compelling guest performances by Grammy Award winning musicians, acoustic guitarist Jim Nunally (David Grisman) and mandolinist John Reischman (best known for his work with The Tony Rice Unit & The Good Ol’ Persons). There’s also an exciting family element, with her sister Trisha playing upright bass and McClintock’s young daughter Tessa adding vocals to the beautiful, mandolin and fiddle enhanced “Treat His Children Kind,” which she performed for the townspeople in a 900 year old Cathedral in Central France.

Another highlight is a sparse and mystical cover of Sheryl Crow’s “Strong Enough,” which McClintock originally recorded for a project a friend was putting together featuring ukulele driven versions of well-known pop songs. She also finds a lively way to tackle a sensitive subject on “Up,” which is about her mother’s bipolar disorder and the difficult journey her family has traveled in dealing with it. As a result of these experiences, McClintock is passionate about mental health awareness issues and the need from a better informed public.

The album’s delicate, impressionistic artwork was done by the singer’s good friend Brian Fox, a renowned graphic artist who has worked for National Geographic, The Turner Group, E Channel and the Warner Bros. website.

“I like to describe these new songs as a fusion between pop, folk, bluegrass and acoustic music,” says McClintock, who penned nine of the collection’s 13 tracks co produced by her husband songwriter Steven McClintock. “My songwriting is very personal, and while I love to write, I don’t usually write on command. I need to be inspired, and most of these pieces are based on personal experience, about the lives of people I know, places I’ve been and how I want to live my life. They reflect how I want to be and what I would like my children to know about me if I wasn’t around to tell them. ‘I Wanna Live Like That’ truly began as a message for them.”

In a shaky economy where people in so many industries are shifting career gears and finding new ways to generate income, McClintock complements her many musical activities these days with an environmentally friendly sideline, recycling gold. Teaming up with entrepreneurial friend, Erin Stevenson, in My Gold Party California (www.mygoldpartyca.com), she conducts well attended private house parties throughout Southern California where people come to recycle gold and receive a much better price than they can get from most jewelers and any online recycling services.

In addition to attracting professionals from all walks of life looking to cash in their jewelry and other items, the company has been featured on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, World News Tonight with Charles Gibson and Channel 7 ABC News Los Angeles. Because of its obvious benefit to the environment, various activist organizations have also expressed interest in working with My Gold Party. McClintock says that between 2004 and 2008, the ratio of recycled gold in the global market has increased dramatically; the percentage of recycled gold on the market went up 38 percent in 4 years.

While the singer spends part of her time sending in gold for refineries to recycle, she’s got a different kind of gold in mind (the musical kind) as she continues to establish herself as a force to be reckoned with in the indie music world.

“When I think about my road towards achieving success, my first thought is always with my kids,” McClintock says. “I’m thrilled that they can see me recording and performing and working hard for what I have. Kids today see ‘American Idol’ and think becoming an artist is just about surviving on a show for a few weeks, but for the rest of us, it takes years of hard work, dedication and passion. That’s a lesson Tessa and Jesse need to learn.

“I love being a songwriter and recording,” she adds, “but being onstage is just about the greatest natural high in the world. I love it when that one person in the audience totally gets where I am coming from and connects intimately with my experience. Now that the album is released, I’m looking forward to getting out there and doing a lot more shows, sharing my life with people who, like me, truly appreciate strong, heartfelt songwriting.”

Excellent singer, you need to take a listen to CATHY-ANNE MCCLINTOCK on MySpace.

Author: Losillë
Mother, wife and kinda old.

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