Homecoming: Jodie Manross plans local CD release
In early 2007, singer-songwriter Jodie Manross bid East Tennessee farewell to try her luck in New York City. We wrote about that here. Turns out, she’s done quite well for herself in the Big Apple, collaborating with Mark Lamb, himself a Knoxville expatriate and Circle Modern Dance alum who’s found fame with his own dance company in New York. You can check out some press on a recent work the two put on here and here.
In a couple of weeks, Manross is returning to Knoxville for a CD release show to celebrate her fourth album, “Myth of Solid Ground.” According to a just-in e-mail she sent out, the new album feautures production work from Knoxville’s own Greg Horne as well NYC music producer Sammy Merendino, Andrew Carillo (Joan Osborn’s guitar player), Graham Maby (bass player for Joe Jackson and Natalie Merchant), Rob Hyman (co-writer of “Time After Time” with Cyndi Lauper; producer of artists such as Patti Smith and Joan Osborn) and Darden Smith (Austin singer-songwriter) on back-up vocals.
There’s a song on the album, “Strength in Peace: A Song for Darfur,” that earned Manross an invite to the United Nations, she tells us.
The show takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, at The Glowing Body, 711 Irwin St. in Knoxville, and will feature guest apperances by Horne (who opens the show), her one-time Knoxville compatriot Laith Keilany (now in remission from a long, arduous battle with Stage 4 cancer) and Nathan Barrett. Lamb will also perform improvised dance during the show. The cost is $5. For more information, call The Glowing Body at 545-4088.
Websites to check out: The Glowing Body online, Jodie’s website, Jodie on Myspace.