Faith In You by Dana LaCroix

As a vocalist I think I’ve probably taken a little bit from the blues and soul singers I’ve listened to over the years – Aretha, Bonnie Raitt and more recently Eva Cassidy - but the songs themselves...well, when you strip them down they’re essentially folk tunes.”

Born and raised in Toronto, Canada, LaCroix was weaned on the music of Leadbelly, Woody and Arlo Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Her father, a former singer who performed with Canadian vocal group, The Halifax Three, (which also included the recently deceased Denny Doherty of the Mamas and the Papas), was her earliest musical influence. One of Dana’s first experiences with 3-part harmony was listening to the different voices on her Dad’s old LPs and trying to guess which one was his.

After spending several years working the Canadian circuit, Dana decided to answer the call of her wanderlust and headed for Europe, where she busked her way through most of the major capital cities, learning to play the acoustic guitar along the way. ”When you’re travelling and living in youth hostels, the piano isn’t the most useful instrument in the world. I never saw mysef as a guitar player really, but playing on the streets, it was the only choice I had.” In the end she wound up buying a one-way ticket to New York City, where she worked as a side-musician, touring and recording with various bands and honing her skills as a back-up singer and multi-instrumentalist. During her early years in New York, Dana had the opportunity to open shows for many of her idols, including Johnnie Johnson, Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers, Blues Traveler, The Spin Doctors and Zydeco superstar, C.J.Chenier.

A chance meeting with songwriter, Ramsey McLean (’A Wink and A Smile’), was the beginning of Dana’s own foray into songwriting. Before long, she released her self-penned debut Cd, Pride, and she has been forging a name for herself as a singer/songwriter to be reckoned with ever since. The Performing Songwriter Magazine chose the EP from Pride as a Top Ten release and the press in Europe, where Dana tours regularly, have been equally enthusiastic, covering her concert appearances with consistently glowing reviews. Sought-after for her songs as well as for her live performances, Dana has delivered material to artists and feature films in Canada, the US and Europe, including BMG Holland pop singer, Hind, and European film director, Nicolas Winding Refn, who featured two songs from Pride in his mystery thriller, 'Fear X', starring John Turturro.

“I feel I’ve reached a new level with Faith In You,” says LaCroix. “We spent a lot of time working and reworking the arrangements for the tunes and I think we ended up with something really sweet. There’s a lot going on, the tracks are very layered and I think – I hope – that the album takes the listener on a little journey. My ultimate goal is to write albums, snapshots of a particular time or place that have a common thread, something in the vein of Tom Waits’ Heart of Saturday Night. I know it’s aiming high, but hey, it’s my life’s work. I don’t have a TV, so I’ve got a lot of time on my hands….”

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