Amy Obenski

Amy's fourth album, Grow to Catch the Wind (2011), takes her mul?ti?lay?ered sound to new lev?els. A string quar?tet, lay?ered har?monies, and howl?ing cello solos all join with her sig?na?ture soar?ing vocals, piano and gui?tar. Amy's lyri?cal con?fes?sions pierce through the sonic com?plex?ity, per?haps more than ever. The album, her most brave and hon?est work yet, is the cul?mi?na?tion of sev?eral years of soul-searching, a cycle of death and rebirth.

Amy's eclec?tic sound draws on her back?ground in clas?si?cal and jazz, and influ?ences rang?ing from folk to funk. ?Music has always been engrained in my life,? says Amy. ?It's in my breath. Peo?ple ask my influ?ences but it's really hard to say. Mozart, Billy Hol?i?day, Prince, Bob Dylan?. They're all in there.? Amy began study?ing music in kinder?garten, and con?tin?ued through?out her child?hood, singing in her school choir and tak?ing piano lessons.

The haunt?ing and ethe?real style of Amy's songs has drawn the atten?tion of audi?ences and crit?ics alike. Her track, Carousel, from Amy's sec?ond album, Kite, was fea?tured in the TV show, Grey's Anatomy, and numer?ous other tracks have been used reg?u?larly for pro?grams on MTV. Her music can also be heard reg?u?larly on KZSC radio in Santa Cruz as well as other sta?tions around Cal?i?for?nia and also in the doc?u?men?tary titled, I Do: A Mar?i?tal Dis?cord in America.

Amy's silky vocals would feel right at home in a smoky urban bar, but those famil?iar with nat?ural land?scape of Santa Cruz, Cal?i?for?nia, will hear the influ?ence of her cho?sen home in her music. Even on days when sun bathes Santa Cruz's rocky coast, a chill breeze can seep in from the bay and fog lurks in the mountains.

This close?ness to nature drove Amy to orga?nize fundrais?ers for the Sem?per?virens Fund, a non-profit that pur?chases red?wood for?est in the Santa Cruz Moun?tains for preser?va?tion. The ben?e?fit con?cert series, titled Take Back Your For?est, has already raised thou?sands of dol?lars for the fund.

In addi?tion to play?ing reg?u?larly for her loyal fol?low?ing in the Mon?terey Bay area, Amy per?forms up and down the West Coast of the U.S., includ?ing at venues such as Genghis Cohen in Los Ange?les and Yoshi's Lounge in San Francisco.

This Sep?tem?ber Amy embarks on her first Euro?pean tour. The song?writer has been work?ing over?time for the last year to make it all hap?pen. ?I couldn't wait to fin?ish the new album and I didn't want to put off the Europe tour either. Right now it's feel?ing like I just need to get some things out of my sys?tem. I'm purg?ing the old to make room for the new.?