Aoede

On Bios, me and what I don’t want you to know:

Bios are kind of ridiculous. What do they really tell you except things someone wants you to know? Take mine, for example. On the advice of industry types, I paid someone to write one up for me. It invokes some beautiful metaphors for Aoede using a wall, ties my career together seamlessly, and makes me sound, well, more removed from my art and from you the reader than it does most anything else. Read it. You’ll agree. I was recently working with a guy from an Artist Management company on my own artist plan. He said after reading my bio, “I don’t know who you are and why I should care.” He challenged me to dig deeper. That really struck a chord with me because I’m all about connecting with you my reader and listener in ways that make you feel and experience parts of yourself and hopefully resonate with you who has been there & can say, “yeah, I feel that too...” Yet I’m not even letting you in on who I am and why I have no choice but to do what I do.

So I’ve decided to accept his challenge to dig and be bold and put myself out there. Tell you things I don’t want you to know. Not what I’ve done, Not why I think you should drop everything you are doing to come see me perform. Not even why you should listen to and buy my new album. That’s totally “me-centric.” But that’s not why I do what I do. Many have told me it’s my Voice, with a capital V, that’s unique. The guy who mastered our new album told me he was immediately struck by my Voice-that it has an authority & command to it compelling him to listen. Another told me he was hooked from the time I opened my mouth and just wanted to keep listening. I think it’s just the mouthpiece to my muse.

Here’s where the honesty comes in. It’s so much easier to put the pen to paper when it comes to writing what I have done or even reflecting on others… but it takes everything I’ve got to look inward and reflect on myself. It’s like that song on the new album, All I do is scratch the surface. Only recently did I discover that one of the main reasons I write is to get up close and personal with my own skeletons. The guy at the Artist Management company gave me an exercise that I immediately failed at the first time: writing down the 10 most traumatic things that had ever happened to me. “Dig a little deeper,” he said when I quickly assembled and emailed him a list of only 5 things that I wasn’t afraid to admit and wouldn’t be fired over or make headlines. He shared his 10 with me as an example. It was then that I “got it.” So I dug deep and couldn’t even type my 10 out and email them to him because I was so ashamed and scared to write them down…I handwrote my private skeletons, all the repressed, forgotten experiences that I considered somehow taboo, like how I early on stumbled into sex…I think it’s only fair to you that if I am billing Aoede as a “muse,” as an indie alt pop rock band with dark undertones, that I bring my own private darkness to the page and to the stage. It’s already started with a new song I’ve written entitled, “Skeletons.” It took me a lifetime of not dealing with these skeletons to realize that that song I wrote about you or some seemingly removed event is actually about me too. Lastly, maybe I have been put here for reasons I don’t understand to create-to give You something-maybe after reading or listening, you experience some part of your own self that you forgot about. Maybe you are inspired to live life a little more fully or feel something.
Because if I am doing what I Have to do, I don’t succeed unless I reach something inside of you. Plain and simple.

Now scroll down for more on Aoede, "resume style"

It is invisible, yet its presence is undeniable. It is the wall that separates the performer from the audience. This barrier has been known to cripple some artists while forcing others to break through, thus allowing them to discover their audience and themselves. The folk-laced, pop-rock San Francisco duo of Lisa Sniderman and David Sands, better known as Aoede, have recently garnered positive reviews for their ability to seemingly demolish this wall.

Inspired by their desire to connect with audiences, Aoede formed in 2005. Sniderman drew from real-life personal experiences to conjure up songs that were as revealing as they were melodic. Armed with well-written tunes that combined the sincerity of Aimee Mann with the dark undertones of Nick Cave, Aoede immediately grabbed listeners’ attention by crafting a debut EP, Ear Candy, that was “emotive and emotionally intelligent” (Corazine).

Most appealing, however, was Sniderman’s “catchy lyrics coupled with strong vocals” that promised to keep listeners “coming back for more” (GoGirlsMusic.com). With a strong - yet warm and inviting - voice, Sniderman offered a penchant for distinct vocal melodies. She allowed her enunciation on Ear Candy to ebb and flow in a manner not heard since Morrissey.

Aoede soon embarked on a nationwide radio and print campaign for Ear Candy. Promoted by Massive Music, the EP was picked up by nearly 50% of the radio stations to whom it was advertised. Notable markets included Chicago, Portland, Olympia, and San Antonio.

Ear Candy’s retail and on-air success have since allowed Sniderman and Sands to perform extensively throughout their region. They have established themselves in the competitive San Francisco café and club scene - no easy task, by any means. Finally, with a recently recorded album set to be released in the summer of 2007, Aoede are now poised for considerably more exposure.

In Greek mythology, Aoede was the muse of song. Sniderman is the rare vocalist who draws inspiration from her many muses and then is able to transfer that inspiration to listeners. If there really is a wall that forms once an artist takes the stage, it may help to think of Aoede’s music and lyrics as the powerful - yet gentle - hammer capable of bringing down the wall. For more information on Aoede, visit www.aoedemuse.com.

Check out http://myspace.com/aoedemuse to see list of radio stations playing Aoede and please request!