Dana Falconberry ◊ Leelanau (2012)

Dana Falconberry ≈ Leelanau
Location: Austin, Texas
Album release: October 9, 2012
Record Label: Antenna Farm Records
Duration:     39:28
Tracks:
01. Birch Bark      3:20
02. Lake Charlevoix      2:30
03. Sleeping Bear      1:48
04. Crooked River      3:48
05. Sturgeon Bay      0:44
06. Copperleaf      3:26
07. Sault Ste Marie      1:02
08. Petoskey Stone      5:13
09. Pictured Rocks      1:03
10. Maple Leaf Red      3:01
11. Muskegon      1:39
12. Please Sparrow      3:12
13. Tahquamenon      1:44
14. Leelanau      6:58
Members:
≡ Dana Falconberry
≡ Gina Dvorak
≡ Karla Manzur
≡ Matthew Shepherd
≡ Christopher Cox
≡ Liondsey Verrill
* All songs written by Dana Falconberry
* Co-produced by Dana Falconberry, Christopher Cox, and Grant Johnson
* Engineered by Grant Johnson at the church house in Austin, Texas
* Mixed by Danny Reisch at Lakeside studio in Austin, TX
LAKE CHARLEVOIX:
≡ Dana Falconberry - vocals, guitar
≡ Gina Dvorak - vocals
≡ Karla Manzur - vocals
≡ Matthew Shepherd - drums, percussion
≡ Liondsey Verrill - upright bass
≡ Christopher Cox - rhodes, melodica
Description:
≡ Dana Falconberry suffuses the majesty of nature in the orchestral pop-folk she elegantly crafts in her third full-length album, Leelanau. Finding lyrical inspiration in her idyllic childhood retreats to the Michigan’s Leelanau peninsula, she creates a set of eloquent verse reflecting upon the region to which she has returned almost every summer since she was born.                                       /  PRESS:   ¶   “Carefully performed, beautifully arranged, this is the kind of hand-made music that’s almost a family heirloom. Woven vocal harmonies, softly plucked strings, a cracked patina voice; it’s beautiful and fascinating and something you’d like to keep to yourself rather than share around.” Devon Leger, No Depression
¶  “Her poetic lyrics and gentle, rich voice are perfect for a day inside, hiding from t...he cold and rain.” VIDEO PREMIER at Bust Magazine
¶  “Dana Falconberry’s new EP Though I Didn’t Call It Came is quietly epic and ripe with wonder. The purity of her vocals and engaging presence make her live shows as captivating as a summer evening.” Philip Majorins, PopMatters
¶  “Falconberry, who in the past tended to keep things on the sparse side, branches out into an orchestral-folk arrangement, complimenting the high pitch that lines her voice with strings and harps.” SINGLE PREMIER at MTV Hive, Mike Ayers
¶  “Whether it’s Dana’s distinctively airy vocals or the deliciously vintage instrumentation that force listeners back to their happy place, there is no denying that Dana Falconberry is one of the most enjoyable young singer/songwriters to have landed in Austin in a long time.” Peter Babb, KUT Austin
¶  “Falconberry, of Austin, Texas, can knock you out with one push of a breath and just the introductory notes of a song that will continue to flutter and flit all the way to its high perches.” Sean Moeller, Daytrotter
¶  “As the title [Though I Didn’t Call It Came] reflects, this is the type of music that grabs you by the guts and takes over all your insides without you ever having asked it to.” Off The Air
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By Robin Hilton
≡ My favorite new artist seems to change week to week, or sometimes even day to day. It turns out there's a lot of great music being made. But for now, my new favorite is Dana Falconberry. She's been putting out records for a few years, but only popped up on my radar this week. She's got a fantastic new record coming out soon called Leelanau, which includes this meticulously crafted little gem, "Crooked River."
≡ Falconberry's songs on Leelanau are like magical but strange little fairy tales. They shimmer and creep. Listening to them is like the musical equivalent of bounding through a poppy field, with fluttering little butterflies dancing in the air. But Falconberry isn't overly precious. There's mystery lurking in the shadows.
≡ For "Crooked River," Falconberry says she was inspired by a sewer-creek in the back of an apartment building where she once lived. "I used to walk out there a lot and watch the water move. It always found its way through any obstacle, and that was inspiring to me. At the time, I was going through some rough stuff related to my career, and so I wrote 'Crooked River' as a sort of self-help song to get me through it. I wanted to emulate the different ways that water can sound, too; bubbly and quick, and also smooth and lazy. My good friend Christopher Cox arranged the strings for the song and really helped to bring that concept to life." (NPR MUSIC)

≡  Leelanau is an ode to rural Michigan with references to stories both real and imagined, a travelogue of both places on the map and of complex emotions stirred by memory. Themes of regret and estrangement are balanced by expressions of youthful joy and discovery, with many songs using real locales as starting points and interweaving the human experience with the world surrounding it. These forgotten memories leave tangible traces for us to rediscover as our lives go on, a concept summed up in the title track, a fable of a woman long lost in the woods, with her family finding traces of her journey for years to come. Copperleaf tells the story of two people who were very close friends as kids, reunited after years of divergent paths, with their love remaining but much more complex and daunting. Elsewhere, the song Sleeping Bear (based on a Native American legend of the same name) captures the despair of a mother bear who after escaping a fire by swimming across Lake Michigan, waits in vain for her two cubs who drowned on the way. In Pictured Rocks, a red fox laments that he's “only brought you grief”, while a Crooked River finds redemption and relief in losing itself and flowing into the sea.
≡ For the recording of Leelanau, Falconberry and her newly formed band sequestered themselves in a gospel church-turned-recording studio in east Austin, essentially moving in. “We would start working in the morning, get through the list of things we needed to record for the day, and play with ideas until the wee hours. There was a ton of creative energy flying around," Falconberry says. To say that the songs were rooted in places and visuals is no overstatement; Dana made prints of scenes for her bandmembers to study while recording their parts, like visual aids. Leelanau was recorded by Grant Johnson, mixed by Danny Reisch (of Shearwater), and produced by Johnson, Cox, and Falconberry. The same session also produced Leelanau’s acclaimed four-song prelude EP Though I Didn't Call It Came, released on Sacramento’s Crossbill Records in January 2012.
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≡ After a childhood studying classical ballet and modern dance, Dana Falconberry left Michigan when she was 18 years old to attend Hendrix College in Arkansas. There she discovered the timeless songs of the Ozarks and the Delta and devoted herself to songwriting, founding the Little Rock Songwriters Circle in 2003. In 2004, she moved to Austin, TX and joined the indie folk band Peter And The Wolf for a stint. Soon though, Dana broke away to focus on her own music: stripped-down songs inspired by dreams, memories, and landscapes.
≡ Falconberry self-released her Paper Sailboat EP in 2006 and followed it up with 2008′s more electrically produced Oh Skies of Grey. In 2010, she returned to a more sparse and organic sound with her album Halletts, featuring tight harmonies provided by Gina Dvorak and Lauren McMurray. She followed the release with extensive touring, including several runs through the United States and trips to Europe and Japan. In 2011, Falconberry took the ambitious step of assembling a full six-piece band (Dvorak, Karla Mazur, Matthew Shepherd, Christopher Cox, Lindsey Verrill) allowing her to explore a new world of bountiful soundscapes. Soon after, Falconberry set out to record the new collective, resulting in the Though I Didn’t Call It Came EP (January, 2012) and her masterpiece, Leelanau.
≡ Falconberry is thriving musically in her new hometown, heralded by the Austin Chronicle as one of the city’s “most arresting female vocalists” and in 2011 she starred in the critically-lauded documentary on the Austin music scene, Echotone, a New York Times Critics’ Pick. In addition to her solo work, Dana has worked extensively with her contemporaries, frequently collaborating with Matt Bauer (Brooklyn) and most recently providing backing vocals for the Heartless Bastards (Austin) for their spring 2012 tour. She has shared stages with Okkervil River, Shearwater, Megafaun, Father John Misty and Dr. Dog, captivating audiences with her powerful live shows. Falconberry has retained the Leelanau band to bring the songs to life on stage, receiving praise far beyond Austin’s city limits. In addition to extensive tours through the US, Europe, and Japan, Dana has recorded two Daytotter sessions and a Laundromatinee session for My Old Kentucky Blog.
≡ Antenna Farm is pleased to present Leelanau, Dana Falconberry’s third full length album, and her most realized work to date. Coming on LP, CD, and MP3 in October of 2012.
Label: http://www.antennafarmrecords.com
Bandcamp: http://danafalconberry.bandcamp.com/album/leelanau-available-10-9-12
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danafalconberry
Publicity:
Booking Inquiries:

 © On the picture: Christopher Cox & Grant Johnson © Image - from left: Christopher Cox, Matthew Shepherd & Lindsey Verrill © Our drummer Matt Shepperd Florida  © Amanda Longtain photographer

Dana Falconberry ◊ Leelanau (2012)

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