Karli Fairbanks – Bitter Blue
Karli Fairbanks is having a yard sale and everything must go! Including apparently her brother’s clothes. That’s right, she’s selling her house and most of her possessions and is about to embark on the peripatetic journey of the itinerant musician (itinerant in the “bohemian rover” sense, not in the “moth-eaten vagrant” sense). Scary, yes, but I predict great things.
Karli is from the Pacific Northwest corner of the United States, but (gasp!) not from Portland. She is in fact a native and citizen of Spokane, Washington, which is situated only a stone’s throw from the Idaho and Montana borders. I asked her about the “scene” up in Spokane, and apparently the place is blooming with singer-songwriters these days, and there are plenty of places to play, so perhaps taking up a musical life isn’t quite the roll of the dice that it might otherwise be.
Anyhow, I found Karli’s music on myspace, and when I first heard her my reaction was complete shock. From her pictures she looks like a little sprite of a thing, but I can assure you that girlfren’ has some pipes, people. Such an incredibly evocative, soul-stirring voice, which she accompanies beautifully with a delicately strummed banjo or guitar. If there’s anything better in this life than a pretty woman playing a banjo I haven’t heard it, unless perhaps it’s a pretty woman playing an accordion. And hey! She plays accordion too. Is there anything she can’t do? Just achingly gorgeous. I’ve been listening to her music incessantly for the last week or so, and I hear echoes of Samantha Crain (she just keeps coming up, doesn’t she?), Ghost Bees, whose “ghostly, spectral folk tales” were reviewed by Matthew back in March, and perhaps even a bit of Pittsburgh’s own Emily Rodgers. Yes. That’s right. I just name-dropped. But sometimes you just gotta.
Karli has a splendid full-length called “Bitter Blue” out that you can buy through the link below, and the record is also available for digital download on Amazon. The two tracks posted here are from that record. And she also has a 4-song EP that she’s been kind enough to make available for free download here.
If you can’t get to the yard sale at least buy the record. I’m so happy to have found this.
Karli Fairbanks – Take Me Home
Karli Fairbanks – Canyons
Karli is wonderful. My name is Noah Gundersen, I’m actually a friend of her’s. If you have a chance, please check out my music at myspace.com/noahgundersen.
Thanks
sweetness indeed, C&B. sweetness indeed.
I’m off to see Anni Rossi support The Ting Tings tonight (*ahem* on the guestlist*cough*) @ The Casbah (San Diego). If anyone’s around/going, give us a shout.
Confounded hi-falutin insider! Take your f-ing guestlist and put it where the monkey put the peanut. We of the low-falutin’, paying public empty our noses at you!
Heh. What can I say? ‘cept, perhaps, nyah nyah
frasier got a radio slot in spokane on the hit tv series frasier. if i recall correctly the place was quite backwards.
I have a friend in Spokane. She’s not from their orginally, but she is a little ditzy.
What is this assault on Spokane? I live in Virginia for Chrissakes, and I seriously doubt that Spokane is any more backward than Roanoke.
Er, I’ll stay out of the “Spokane: Cosmopolitan Hub or Backmost Backwater?” debate. But I will go out on a limb and say this is gorgeous stuff. Thanks, Dearest C&B!!
what a strange comment conversation. spokane isn’t backwards at least on my end of it, but i suppose people who live here who aren’t doing anything see it as that. aren’t there ditzy people everywhere?
thanks for blog post!
Karli – this is far from strange – keep readin other posts, then you’ll see strange!!
He’s right I’m afraid Karli. Honestly – I go away for a couple of days and all hell breaks loose.
BE NICE TO THE MUSICIANS, PEOPLE!
Now let’s all raise a glass to Spokane! The Athens of easternmost Washington. SPOKANE!
Hey FiL! Karli is playing Lugz Coffee in Vancouver on June 23. Be there, mon frer.
You’re an ‘e’ short, C&B.
e
e
e
A thousand times e
Christ that poor girl is going to think we’re bonkers.
Thanks C&B! I might just be able to make it out there.
And Dearest Toad, it’s probably best that poor Karli knows the truth straightaway. Mad as hatters, the lot of us.
*FiL raises a pint of Jack Daniels to Spokane*
hahaha! this is amazing!
Isn’t Spokane total Bush territory? And christ, C&B, “where the monkey put the peanut?”
Letting all things go, these songs are lovely.
Did someone mention Roanoake?
The kid’ll be better off dead.
Erm. Thanks C&B. Are you available for children’s parties?
I kid because I care.