Jean Synodinos & Stefanie Fix will be showcased at the Rear Window. This will be a great night of awesome singing & playing as they trade songs and accompany one another on occasion. More information will follow soon.
Jean Synodinos (say it like this: sin-uh-DEE-nus) delivers grit, grace and acoustic soul with a voice that's been hailed by critics as “big league” and "show-stopping." Her award-winning writing digs deep, moving from big affirmations to little ironies at the turn of a phrase. Deftly skating between genres, Jean easily slips from folk to pop to jazz to blues and more to create dynamic live performances and recordings that make audiences ask for more.
It’s been five years in the making, but Jean's third studio disc, Girls Good & Otherwise, has been released and has just received a 2012 Texas Music Award for Artistic Excellence. As always, Jean has attracted some of Austin's finest players to the studio, and this new collection features Bruce Hughes on bass (Jason Mraz, The Resentments), Rob Hooper on drums (Carolyn Wonderland, Guy Forsythe), and Charles Rieser (The Scabs, Boombox) on electric guitars and production. Guest performers on select tracks include Redd Volkaert (Merle Haggard) on blistering guitar, Red Young (Joan Armatrading) on B3 and piano, and John Pointer on beatbox and cello.
Jean's previous releases, Breathe and Lucky, received critical acclaim nationally and locally. Third Coast Music raved, “Synodinos is amazing… She has excellent moves as a songwriter and is an accomplished acoustic guitarist, but her big gun is the marvel that is her voice.”
Jean has performed coast-to-coast as a solo artist at premier listening rooms, house, concerts, and coffee houses, from Passim in Cambridge, MA to Urban Campfires in San Antonio, TX to Linnaea's in San Luis Obispo, CA.
In and around her adopted hometown of Austin, TX, she has played solo, duo, and band shows at such venues as the Cactus Cafe, Saxon Pub, and Momo's.
She lives with her husband, guitarist and producer Charles Rieser, and their superior mutt Freida. Jean gardens in spite of repeated failures and is always kind to animals. A breast cancer survivor, she appreciates all opportunities to remind women (and the men who love them), that early detection not only saves lives--it saves the quality of lives.
And finally, because Jean philosophically believes that generalization is far more fun than specialization, she's embarked on a three-year odyssey to work her way through the badges in the Junior Girl Scout handbook. You can follow her (mis?)adventures on her other blog, The Big Scout Project.
Jean's Recent Highlights...
Winner: 2012 Texas Music Award, Founder's Award for Artistic Excellence for Girls, Good & Otherwise
Winner: 2011 Songwriter Serenade Competition (Halletsville, TX)
Semi-finalist: 2011 Dallas Songwriter's Song Contest, Americana Category, for "Enough is Enough"
Semi-finalist: 2011 Dallas Songwriter's Song Contest, Country Category, for "The Perfect Crime"
Honorable Mention: 2011 Folks Festival Songwriting Competition (Lyons, CO)
Stefanie Fix:
The musical journey of Stefanie Fix is a diverse and fascinating adventure; a rising star on the acoustic songwriter’s circuit, touring nationally and internationally; she mysteriously stopped touring in 2006. Spanning from her folksy, blues roots to folk-pop/americana, to experimental-psychedelic, to indie rock and finally all the way back again to her acoustic heritage. Stefanie Fix is back and ready to start sharing her songs again live.
As a teenager Stefanie was enchanted with acoustic music and found herself hanging out at song swaps, learning from legends like Pete Seeger and Arlo Guthrie. This is where she learned the craft of songwriting and performing, and where she absorbed the values and traditions that she would carry with her through a myriad of styles and incarnations. Traveling like a beatnik throughout North America she’s lived in New York and San Francisco and now calls Austin, TX her home.
While living in San Francisco she recorded her first CD, Footprints in the Sky. Rather quickly she began to rise on the national folk-songwriter circuit garnering respect and recognition at a rapid pace. In that same year she was a finalist in the Sierra Songwriters competition and the KRCL Songwriters Competition at the Founder's Title Folk & Bluegrass Festival. In 2000, she was chosen as a finalist in The Lake County Folk Festival Competition. In 2001, the USA Songwriters Competition- top 20. In 2002, the International Billboard Songwriter's Competition; in 2003 she was chosen for the second time as a finalist in the KRCL Songwriters Competition...and was invited to perform in the Formal Showcase at the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance Conference (NERFA) as well as the prestigious Emerging Songwriters Showcase at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (NY).
Along the way she began attracting an impressive assortment of musicians; by 2000 she had moved back to upstate New York where she recorded and released her second CD Survival which was co-produced by Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan) and the late Bob Mayo (Peter Frampton/Hall & Oates). In the first four months of release, tracks off SURVIVAL received over 5000 downloads and to date has received over sixteen thousand downloads on MP3.com.
Ever curious, Stefanie began to stretch beyond the confines of folk and in 2002 recorded an experimental EP called Limited Sight Distance (LSD). Produced by Kevin McMahon (The Walkmen/The Mooney Suzuki), with contributions from Adam Snyder, Jason and Justin Russo (all formally of Mercury Rev) and John Parker (Varnaline). It was becoming clear that Stefanie has an uncanny ability to attract a musical “crème de la crème” no matter what genre she’s exploring.
In 2004 Stefanie moved to Austin, Texas and 2006 she recorded her third full length CD, Crooked Smile. Released in 2007 Crooked Smile was produced by Stephen Doster (Willie Nelson, Nancy Griffith, Dr. John) & Johnny Goudie (Goudie, Canvas, Endocine). The CD also features the likes of Dony Wynn (Robert Palmer, Steve Winwood), Brad Houser (Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians), Stewart Cochran (54 Seconds/Jimmy Lafave) and Jon Sanchez (the Summer Wardrobe/Freedy Johnston). In that same year Stefanie was featured as the subject in a full length television documentary called “In Sound” about roots and acoustic music that was hosted by Tony Trischka and aired on PBS- NJ.
Crooked Smile received rave revues but Stefanie didn’t support the release with a tour. She says, “I never stopped writing songs during that time. The music buisness can really take a toll on your creative energy and I think I just needed to pull out of it for a while. Now, I’m just really excited to start sharing my songs again and I'm grateful that I still have the opportunity ” . Stefanie performs regularly as a solo artist, with a duo/trio, as well as with her full studio band. Look for her in a town near you!
MENU: Smothered Pork Chops, Rice, Mixed Veggies, Tossed Salad, Roll, and Dessert (Chef's Choice) Served with Iced Tea or Water
$15 Show Only $25 Dinner & Show Age limit: All ages