ALBUM:
Religion & Release
TAYLOR USED:
712
SONG CLIPS:
My Favorite Me
28K | 56K | MP3
Bright Angel Creek
28K | 56K | MP3
CONTACT INFO:
P.O. Box 268
Williamstown, MA 01267
E-mail:
blewis@ williams .edu
Web:
www. songs .com/ bernice
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There is a delicious deliberateness about the sweetly quavering voice of Bernice Lewis, and the way she
breathes warmth and tender purpose into her melodic folk. Her lyrics blend a seasoned singer-songwriter's
confessional spirit with folk's affinity for storytelling, poignantly exploring life's core struggles and
yielding intimate glimpses of the heart. On her latest effort, Religion & Release, rich acoustic elements
converge, but rarely all at once; instead, subtle strokes are applied with both sensitivity and restraint
to artfully serve the song.
A native of Boston and a decade-long resident of Williamstown, MA, Lewis enlists some fine talent from New
England's fertile folk community for Religion & Release. Producer and multi-instrumentalist Adam Rothberg
(Dar Williams) leads the way, adding guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, even drums to the mix; behind the mixing
board, he arranges acoustic tones together with Lewis's voice to evoke an intimate warmth and balance. Dar
Williams, Jennifer Kimball, Ellis Paul, and Alisa Fineman supply vocal harmonies; folk flavor arrives courtesy
of Rick Tiven (violin), Rob Curto (accordian), and Brian Melnick (percussion); and superb guitarist Brooks Williams
cooks up some ever-tasteful acoustic slide guitar.
Lewis's themes encompass "sauntering through life's trials" as she sings in "Bliss's Child"; love, loss, and letting
go ("Getta Get Better"); and liberation from both religious dogma ("Religion & Release") and the painful memories of
family hardship ("Twenty-Nine Cents a Bottle"). "When the Guru Was Around" - a chronicle of a religious leader's fall
from grace - is at once spare and lush, as gentle modal-tuning fingerpicking and Lewis's main vocal are adorned first
by Alisa Fineman's ethereal harmonies, harmonic guitar accents, and Indian-tinged ceramic and talking drum, evolving
into a exotic Eastern ethno-groove with a hypnotic chant-like vocal riffing. Lewis visits the Grand Canyon in the
lovely "Bright Angel Creek"; lays into the a cappella spiritual on "More Than My Share", and celebrates a simpler life
surrounded by nature in "Little Cabin in the Woods". By the way, heartfelt doesn't mean humorless. Lewis has some fun
on a pair of sing-alongs: the swaying country-folk/honky tonk of "Normal's Just a Setting on the Washing Machine", and
the swinging Jewish (yep) country-blues groove of "Born to Schmooze"("My daddy used to sell used cars/ and he never
touched a bale of hay/ We ate bagels in stead of cornbread/ and we really said 'Oy Vey!'"). On both tunes, a chorus of
friends joins Lewis on the refrain.
Lewis is a mainstay on the coffeehouse circuit and at the major folk festivals. She studied vocal improvisation with
Bobby McFerrin; guitar with Alex DeGrassi and Guy van Duser; and songwriting with Roseanne Cash and Chris Williamson.
Lewis has also perfomed on NPR's Mountain Stage program and her ballad, "Bridges That Hold", aired in the PBS-TV
Lifelines documentary starring Peter, Paul and Mary. Lewis is an adjunct faculty member at Williams College, and
teaches songwriting, singing, and yoga at the Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, N.Y.
"Lewis' lake-clear voice and satisfying mix of heartfelt and humorous compositions make her worth hearing. Again and again."
— David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal
"…in the forefront of her generation of singer-songwriters."
— SingOut! Magazine
"...a rising star."
— The Washington Post
"Bernice Lewis may well be the frosting on the cake!"
— Rod Kennedy, Director, Kerrville Folk Festival
"Lewis' lake-clear voice and satisfying mix of heartfelt and humorous compositions make her worth hearing. Again and again."
— David Steinberg, Albuquerque Journal
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