A Fine Frenzy (which I believe is one person… Alison Sudol) is a sassy red-headed piano player in the kindred spirit of Tori Amos and Regina Spektor. Her album, One Cell in the Sea, is due out July 17, and I must say, jump on this bandwagon now before it gets too full. Her sound even pushed Selma Blair to write a letter to Interview magazine stating:
Dear Interview, I found out about a band that you should know about. It is called A FINE FRENZY, but is really a young beauty named Alison who plays in her garage, and her mom brings out milk and cookies when people come to listen. I think her music is haunting. Love, Selma Blair.
If only we could all get a letter “Love, Selma Blair”.
In the three-song demo I had the pleasure of listening to, A Fine Frenzy quickly made a new fan. Sudol’s got a clean, solid sound that pulls you in deep with its simple piano and, as Selma correctly stated, hauntingly passionate voice. I recommend “Almost Lover”, yet the single they appear to be pushing, which is a little bit more hardcore, is called “Rangers”, and is another great song.
A glowing press release states:
Virgin Records newest sensation, A Fine Frenzy, has just been confirmed to open for some of today’s top artist/songwriters—Rufus Wainwright, Magic Numbers, Neko Case and Sean Lennon… A Fine Frenzy is the music of 22-year old Alison Sudol, a young woman whose musical skills, creative spirit, and beguiling good looks bring to mind a youthful Tori Amos. Inspired by bands such as Aqualung, Radiohead and Coldplay, Allison developed the sound of A Fine Frenzy – hypnotic piano arrangements under classical American melody fused into irresistible, atmospheric songs.
Her tour schedule appears as such:
Headlining Tour Dates
06/04 – Portland, OR – Berbatis Pan
06/05 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
06/07 – San Francisco, CA – Rx Gallery
06/08 – Los Angeles, CA – Viper Room
06/18 – New York, NY – Joe’s Pub w/ Tina Dico
Opening for Rufus Wainwright
07/29 – Seattle, WA – Moore Theatre !
07/31 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom !
08/02 – Santa Ross, CA – Wells Fargo Center for the Arts !
08/03 – San Francisco, CA – Nob Hill Masonic Center !
08/04 – Saratoga, CA – Mountain Winery !
08/06 – Santa Fe, NM – Paolo Soleri Amphitheatre !
08/07 – Denver, CO – Filmore Auditorium !
08/09 – Kansas City, MO – Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino &
08/10 – Grand Prairie, TX – Nokia Theatre &
08/11 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s &
08/13 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle &
08/14 – Nashville, TX – Ryman Auditorium &
08/15 – Charlottesville, VA – Charlottesville Pavilion &
08/17 – Philadelphia, PA – Mann Center for Performing Arts &
08/18 – Westhampton Beach, NY – Performing Arts Center #
08/19 – New York, NY – Central Park Summerstage #
08/21 – Boston, MA – Avalon Ballroom #
08/23 – Columbus, OH – Avalon Ballroom #
08/24 – Ann Arbor, MI – Michigan Theater #
08/25 – Highland Park, IL – Ravinia Festival #
08/27 – Milwaukee, WI – Pabst Theater #
08/29 – London, ON – Centennial Hall #
# w/ the Magic Numbers
! w/ Sean Lennon
& w/ Neko Case
I recommend seeing her at this stage of her career before she is opening larger 1000+ crowds and you kick yourself for not seeing her earlier at these “smaller†venues. I know that Ravinia isn’t exactly the smallest venue in Chicago, but when lawn seats are 10 bucks, who can pass that up?
Here are a few Internet sources to discover the talent that is A Fine Frenzy:
http://www.afinefrenzy.com
http://www.myspace.com/afinefrenzy
AUDIO: “Rangers”
:: Windows Media ::
VIDEO: “Rangers”
:: Windows Media :: Real ::
I am sure that you are going to hear more about A Fine Frenzy in my column sometime in the future, after “Rangers” is a featured song on Grey’s Anatomy and three different commercials. I’m not saying that she’s going to sell out, I’m just saying that this music is so emotional you can dub it over any image and pull at people’s heart strings. If I were a fat record executive in the ’30s I’d pull the stubby cigar out of my mouth and say, “This kid’s gunna’ be huge I tell ya. Just you wait and see.â€
