Jan Seides

Last week, I was an exhibitor at the Texas Librarian Association convention. Over 7000 librarians attended (exciting group). There were over 800 exhibits, mostly publishers. However, in addition to library furniture companies there were storyteller booths. Next to my booth was a singer/story teller. On Friday, there was an additional person there -- Jan Seides from Austin, Texas. We started talking and she invited me to JP Hops House to hear her sing on Friday night. It is a "long way" from JP Hop House to the Texas Librarians Convention, if you know what I mean. However, many of these artists have day jobs to support their habit. It turned out that it was only about 12 miles from my house, so I decided to go. In addition to Jan, April Kelley and Jim Kam also entertained. The following is a brief bio of each artist.

Jim Kam: Relatively new to the Houston music scene, Jim is developing a reputation and a following for his extraordinary albeit unorthodox ability as an instrumentalist. This Tomball, Texas-based musician, whose primary instrument is the Chapman Stick, was originally trained as a classical pianist. His repertoire on the Stick is an eclectic blend of classical, jazz, folk, rock, pop, blues, and traditional genres with the occasional Celtic ballad tossed in for good measure.

Jan Seides: Spanning genres, this singer/songwriter's songs combines down-home honesty with up-town sophistication. Jan has an eclectic writing and performing style: folk to pop to jazz. In 1992 she released her first solo album, Slowly but Surely which garnered national and international radio play."Everyday People, Jan Seides' latest recording, was released by Panda Productions in 2002. This CD has garnered glowing reviews, frequent radio airplay and has claimed songwriting awards.

April Kelly: Someone said that April writes like "Carole King meets Sheryl Crow" and has a strong voice reminiscent of Carly Simon. But, as nice as these comparisons are, April has a sound that's truly all her own. A songwriting chameleon, her music is a mix of emotional highs and lows: She'll take you to the depths of emotion and next, she'll 'zing' you with a humorous song that's witty, profound or just plain crazy.

Listening to Jan was a trip! She is an incredibly talented woman with a beautiful voice. Her soul soothing voice along with her penetrating blue eyes will grab your heart. She sounds like a folk singer on Broadway, or a blues singer at the Opera.

There are so many talented singer/songwriters in Texas. If you are in Texas, and live near Austin, go to Artz Rib House and hear the best of Texas music. Check out Jan's website, and find out when she is playing.

Do you enjoy live music? What kind of music do you enjoy listening to live?