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Neko Case

Hometown:

"Neko Case is on her way to well-deserved status as a music legend for our generation." —Bust Magazine

Neko Case has The Voice, rough around the edges but possessing a formidable strength and range, that causes critics and fans to swoon. To go with that Voice, is an artistry with a trajectory that is fascinating to watch unfold and grow. Where it will take her, and us, is the thrilling part.

Neko was born in Alexandria, VA and grew up all over North America, spending enough time in Tacoma, WA to consider it her hometown. Fellow homeboys and bestbandever Girl Trouble even wrote a song about her, which is a decidedly cool thing. When she was 18 and already on her own, she began playing drums in several punk rock bands including Cub and Vancouver trio Maow. It was during her days as a drummer that she made her first forays into songwriting, and then to singing. Once she started, she couldn't stop.

She is not simply a solo artist; she dives into any opportunity to work with other musicians. Recordings made at BS included split 7" singles with Whiskeytown, Kelly Hogan and the Sadies. All are loooong out of print. Find 'em on eBay if you can. Among her other projects is the beautiful old-time country she sings with Carolyn Mark as the Corn Sisters. She also records and performs as one of The New Pornographers and has lent her considerable talents to projects with Howe Gelb (Giant Sand), Jon Rauhouse, the Pine Valley Cosmonauts and many others. Helping her out on the road and in the studio these days are pedal steel whiz Jon Rauhouse, singer Kelly Hogan and bassist Tom Ray of Devil in a Woodpile.

"That voice: tall and mighty as Washington State's Grand Coulee Dam, a rushing brook laying down the silt of years, hydroelectrifying every note with a torrid stream and blinked-back tears." —Village Voice

"So what does her country stuff sound like? Goddamned exceptional is what it sounds like. Dramatic, gutsy, mysterious, powerful; you name it. It's forthright and passionate, and it sincerely knocks my socks off." —Bust Magazine

"She treats Americana like a wellspring of weirdness, not a retro refuge, keening over ghostly pedal steel like a twangier (and more lucid) version of Mazzy Star's Hope Sandoval." —Spin