LOS
ANGELES (Sliced
Bread Records) - Bet Williams celebrates her new CD
with a gala record release party and performances at World Caf� Live on
Saturday, May 14.
Working with her band at 8:30PM and 10:30PM
shows, Philadelphia's effervescent and ever popular singer-songwriter
performs her old favorites and exciting new songs from her album, "Bet"
her first release on Sliced
Bread Records.
When Bet Williams was
20 she was living the Bohemian life. Traveling around, playing her
songs, and making recordings with hand-drawn pictures for the cover
artwork. She didn't want to succumb to "industry exploitation" and even
turned down an offer from RCA when they wanted to change her to suit
"the market." When she was 30 she moved to Los Angeles and started to
think that maybe a record deal wasn't such a bad idea after all.
Following a series of near misses with various labels, Bet moved back
East to continue to nurture her cult following and embark on new
recording ventures.
Six CD's later and approaching the big 4-0,
Bet is married, has a baby boy named Jack, a farm house in Woodstock,
NY, and an apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Just when she
let go of the idea of landing a record deal along came the right deal
at the right time�her latest album, Bet, being released on the Sliced
Bread label.
"It's perfect timing" says Williams. "Sometimes you
let go of something you were trying for and it lands in your lap. We
were going to put the record out on our own Epiphany label, but when
the guys at Sliced
Bread heard it and wanted to talk, it made perfect
sense."
Sliced
Bread is none other than legendary radio
personality Gene Shay and label partner Carl Apter. "I've known Gene
for a long time and both of these guys are like family," continued
Williams. In fact the whole recording was a family affair. "My husband
[composer John Hodian] produced the record and I was pregnant with Jack
when we started. He was 9 months old by the time we finished mixing."
The
end result has Bet pushing the production envelope, with contributions
from musicians in
David Bowie and Moby's bands, and everything from a
string quartet to exotic hand percussion from all corners of the world.
Still the focus is on Bet's brilliantly poetic word play and huge
voice. "Bet's in the prime of her career," says Shay. "These are her
best songs yet and her singing is unbelievable.".
Now Bet is
getting the whole family ready to embark on a tour this summer. She
wanted to start off with a few dates in her home town, beginning with
two shows on May 14 at World Caf� Live. Three weeks later she'll return
to the Appel Farm
Music Festival in Elmer, NJ, and cap it off with a
return engagement at the Philadelphia Folk Festival in August.
Her
band, too, is composed of some fabulous Philadelphians: Dave Biddison
on drums,
Christopher Colucci on guitar, Steve Demarest on bass, and
John Hodian on keyboards.
The street date for the new CD isn't until July but the new CDs will be available at the show.
