Amy Loftus: The way music should be

I love listening to singer songwriters. I love discovering new talent. I don't mean that in the arrogant sense of "I discovered them an introduced them to the world." I just mean, I like stumbling onto some new independent artist, either at a live music venue or through a friend who owns one of their CD's and being blown away by their music. I like listening to more than just the same 40 songs they play on every radio station. I'm by no means a connoisseur of independent music. I simply like what I like. The very first, and very best, singer-songwriter I discovered for myself was Amy Loftus.

One of the things that has always impressed me about Amy's music is that she doesn't fall into the same trap as a lot of other singer-songwriters where they focus their energy so much on the LYRICS that they forget about the actual MUSIC. What you end up with is an album full of songs that, while lyrically exceptional, all have the same boring indistinguishable sound so that you can't tell one song from another. Amy's album, Straight to Amy, doesn't do that. Embracing that folky, bluesy, country rock amalgamation favored by a lot of singer-songwriters, each song is yet something new and different, with both lyrics and melodies that keep you engaged throughout the entire disc.

Last night, Amy performed at a new live music venue called Milkboy Coffee about an hour down the road in Ardmore, PA. I, of course, made the trip. As always, the show was awesome. Although her guitar playing has improved tremendously since I first met her, her voice is still her most powerful instrument. She can send it to the rafters then draw it down to a soft vulnerable whisper. She can be convincingly breathy and sultry without sounding like she's trying too hard - another unfortunate shortcoming of many singer-songwriters. If the soul has a funny bone, Amy hits it with that voice of hers, sending radiating shivers and tingles down your spine. The last time I saw Amy perform was two years ago on our road trip and she was awesome then. Last night she was... incendiary. Performing with a drummer and backup guitar player, she sang familiar songs from her album as well as a couple of new ones which blew me away more than the others. I can tell her next album is going to be even better than the first.

The show was far too short.

Afterward, we went next door with her backup musicians, had a beer and talked for a few minutes before I had to run. Lauren was on call but she'd allowed me to go out with the strictest promise that I would come home as soon as Amy's set was done. Amy and I hugged goodbye, promising to keep in touch and giving each other respective words of encouragement on our continually evolving art forms... and vowing to meet at the top someday - her with a number one record and me with a best-selling novel. Someday.

If you haven't yet checked out Amy's album, I beseech you to go to her website and listen to the samples. Better yet, check out her list of show dates and go see her songs live. If they hit you in the funny bone like they do me, support the indie music scene and buy her CD. It's only a matter of time before Amy finally gets her big break and these discs will be going for twenty dollars a pop.

Thanks for the show Amy. You consistently amaze and inspire me.

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Links to other great singer-songer writers I've "discovered."

www.sarahborges.com

www.ninicamps.com