LOS ANGELES (Capitol Records) - Capitol recording artist Aslyn has been invited to open for
Bob Schneider and
Edwin McCain this fall. Lemon Love, the Atlanta, Georgia-based singer-songwriter's debut album, will be released in March of 2005. It was produced by Guy
Chambers (Robbie Williams, Jewel) and Eric
Valentine (SmashMouth, Third Eye Blind, Queens of the Stone Age).
Raised outside Gainesville, Florida, Aslyn began studying classical piano when she was seven. Throughout her school years, she played anywhere she could - in talent contests, at weddings, at church. After graduation, Aslyn was faced with the decision that would eventually bring her to a new phase in her musical journey. She could use her savings to buy a cheap car, or leave home in pursuit of something more. Aslyn, without a second thought, took off for Atlanta, where she gigged around town and crashed on friends' couches. (Eventually she did acquire a clunker of a car, which became an unusual metaphor for her love life, inspiring the album's title track, "Lemon Love.")
Aslyn remained dedicated to her craft as a songwriter and performer. Her colorful lyrics, infectious hooks and passionate vocals quickly stirred up music industry interest and Aslyn eventually went to Los Angeles to showcase for several labels. Capitol offered her a deal on the spot and, sensing it was a good match, she canceled all her other appointments and signed on. Soon after, she began recording with Guy Chambers. "I brought up Guy's name because I was moved by the work he had done with Robbie Williams," she says. "He has a strong song-oriented perspective with an English twist." She recorded eight tracks with Chambers and the remaining four with renowned LA-based producer, Eric Valentine.
The result: a dozen disarming songs that are the musical equivalent of a short-story collection, or as Aslyn puts it, "stories of love found and love lost, of loyalty ruined and masks mistaken, of the ironic freedom and glass box of religion, and of the desire and passion for an unknown tomorrow."
Every storyteller craves an audience, so naturally Aslyn's excited about taking her songs on the road. During her club days in Atlanta, strangers would often stop her on the street to ask her about her songs. "That was what kept me going...the feeling that I had connected with someone through the offering of song," Aslyn remembers. "That was my fuel." And it still is.
ASLYN - 2004 FALL TOUR DATES
10/30 Atlanta, GA The Roxy
11/4 New York, NY Joe's Pub
Opening for Bob Schneider
11/6 Lawrence, KS Bottleneck
11/7 Lincoln, NE Knickerbockers
11/8 Chicago, IL Schuba's
11/9 Milwaukee, WI Shank Hall
11/10, 11 Minneapolis, MI Fine Line
11/12 Duluth, MN Nor Shor Theater
11/14 St. Louis, MO Duck Room
11/15 Detroit, MI Magic Bag
Opening for Edwin McCain
11/17 Columbus, GA The Loft
11/18 Jacksonville, AL My Brothers Bar
11/19 Birmingham, AL WorkPlay Theatre
11/20 Asheville, NC Grey Eagle
11/21 Nashville, TN 3rd & Lindsley
11/24 Isle of Palms, SC The Windjammer
11/26 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
11/27 Oakboro, NC Oakboro Music Hall
