2012 was a big year for Amy. After ten years of touring the West Coast (U.S.), she packed away all her belongings and left her town of Santa Cruz for a four-month tour. The tour led her across the U.S. from California to New York, to France and ended in the UK. Upon return she relocated to San Francisco, her new home base. Her trip led to the creation of her French band, who call themselves The Carbone Band. This summer she’ll be returning to France to tour with them for three months.
“It’s like falling in love with a group of musicians. We work perfectly together… despite me needing to learn French…” says Amy, with a chuckle.
Her haunting and ethereal vocals have been heard on the T.V. show, Grey’s Anatomy, and MTV’s reality show, MADE. Lyrically she’s been known to bring underlying thoughts to the surface– thoughts that most people have but don’t reveal. For this reason her music has been described as “gripping”, though musically she can be compared to mellow divas such as Sarah McLachlan or Norah Jones.
Amy’s fourth album, Grow to Catch the Wind (2011), took her multilayered sound to new levels. A string quartet, layered harmonies, and howling cello solos all join with her signature soaring vocals, piano and guitar. Amy’s lyrical confessions pierce through the sonic complexity, perhaps more than ever. The album, her most brave and honest work yet, is the culmination of several years of soul-searching, a cycle of death and rebirth.
Amy’s eclectic sound draws on her background in classical and jazz, and influences ranging from folk to funk. “Music has always been engrained in my life,” says Amy. “It’s in my breath. People ask my influences but it’s really hard to say. Mozart, Billy Holiday, Prince, Bob Dylan…. They’re all in there.” Amy began studying music at age five, and continued throughout her childhood, singing in her school choirs, taking piano lessons, and continued through college, eventually leading her to where she is today.
