MAIA SHARP PRESS QUOTES 　　 　　"Maia Sharp conjures the allure of yesteryears Brill Building luminaries....Sharp wields her crisp, alluring choruses like a temptress; listeners will surely be ensnared. Her tear-soaked lyrics and high-cresting melody conspire for a finely crafted lesson on invincible pop." -Billboard 　　 　　"Maia is making some of the most innovative and soulful music around with songs that are head and shoulders above the rest. She has become one of my favorite artists. Fine Upstanding Citizen is a brilliant album, start to finish." - Bonnie Raitt 　　 　　“Music runs in Maia Sharp’s blood, she continues to blossom as a performer as well on Fine Upstanding Citizen, her third solo disc. The album is a potpourri of pop, country and rock with hints of jazz, mixing banjos and mandolins with cellos and violas to produce a sound that’s polished without being slick. Sharp’s free-wheeling approach recalls the spirit of Dylan’s pre-motorcycle crash songs.” – No Depression 　　 　　“This title couldn’t be more fitting—it’s a fine upstanding album from one of the smartest songwriters out there.” – Performing Songwriter 　　 　　I first became aware of Maia Sharp when I heard her sing with Art Garfunkel on "Everything Waits To Be Noticed." That same year, Sharp (daughter of country songwriter Randy Sharp) released her second album, a self-titled disc that displayed her skills as a solo performer. "Fine Upstanding Citizen" (Koch) is a further exploration of Sharp's impressive abilities as both a singer and a songwriter. In addition to her own recording of "A Home," a song covered by the Dixie Chicks, this album features the multi-hued "Red Dress," the exotic instrumentation of "Regular Jane," the wise beauty of "Wisdom," the subtle Latin heat of "Fall Like Margarite," the tear-jerker ballad "Come Back To Me," and the shape-shifting shoplifting-themed title track. – Chicago Free Press 　　 　　"Maia has one of the most soulful and unique voices I've heard. I love her records for their organic feel, honesty - and you can believe she has lived every word the way she delivers. She is a true artist, a great songwriter, and plays a mean saxophone!" - Terri Clark 　　 　　"There is a string attached to Maia Sharp's voice. And when she sings, you find that the other end is attached to your gut. Her voice is lush and sensual and the emotions she articulates resonate with the small feelings we have that sometimes are hard to face..there is an edge to her songs, but also a softness...she is lyrical and conversational at the same time. Her CD was the only one in my machine for a month. Her work inspires me to dig deeper." - Kathy Mattea 　　 　　"Maia's CD is absolutely wonderful. I'm so glad I got to write with her. Maia is an old soul and a new friend." - Carole King 　　 　　"Maia Sharp is a musician's musician- her songs have the harmonic twists and turns that always kill me, her voice gets to my very heart and soul, and she still manages to deliver those classic, fabulous hooks." -Jonatha Brooke 　　 　　"In the tradition of great female artists, Karla Bonoff, Bonnie Raitt, Christine McVie, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan....now enter Maia Sharp." -Art Garfunkel 　　 　　 　　 　　MAIA SHARP DISCOGRAPHY 　　 　　ALBUMS: 　　HARDLY GLAMOUR; Ark 21 Records – 1998 　　MAIA SHARP; Concord Records – 2002 　　EVERYTHING WAITS TO BE NOTICED; EMI/Bluenote (w/ Art Garfunkel & Buddy Mondlock)- 2002 　　FINE UPSTANDING CITIZEN; KOCH Records – 2005 　　EVE AND THE RED DELICIOUS; Crooked Crown Records – 2006 　　 　　 　　SONGWRITER CUTS: 　　Mindy Smith Long Island Shores – 2006 　　“You Know I Love You Baby” 　　 　　Bonnie Rait Bonnie Raitt and Friends– 2006 　　“I Don’t Want Anything to Change” 　　 　　Edwin McCain Lost in America – 2006 　　“Black and Blue” 　　“The Kiss” 　　“Truly Believe” 　　 　　Bonnie Raitt Souls Alike – 2005 　　“Crooked Crown” 　　“I Don’t Want Anything to Change” 　　“The Bed I Made” 　　 　　Trisha Yearwood Jasper County – 2005 　　“Standing Out in a Crowd” 　　 　　Kathy Mattea Right out of Nowhere -2005 　　“Loving You Letting You Go” 　　 　　Lisa Loeb The Way it Really Is - 2004 　　“Would You Wander” 　　 　　Edwin McCain Scream & Whisper – 2003 　　“Say Anything” (Duet with Edwin & Maia) 　　 　　The Dixie Chicks Home – 2003 　　“A Home” 　　 　　Shivaree I Oughta Give You…. – 2001 　　“I Don’t Care” 　　 　　Kim Richey Glimmer – 2000 　　“Can’t Lose Them All” 　　“Good at Secrets” 　　 　　David Wilcox Into The Mystery- 2000 　　“Ask For More” 　　 　　Amanda Marshall Tuesday’s Child – 1999 　　“Wishful Thinking” 　　 　　Alannah Myles A Rival – 1999 　　“Motherload” 　　“Great Divide” 　　 　　Paul Carrack Beautiful World – 1998 　　“It Goes Without Saying” 　　 　　Cher It’s A Man’s World – 1997 　　“Don’t Come Around Tonight” 　　 　　 　　MAIA SHARP BIO: 　　 　　What do you do after scoring 2 top 10 Triple A singles on your latest release, headlining the country in support of that album, then taking off to tour with Bonnie Raitt on a 21 city run, all the while landing a cut on Trisha Yearwood’s CD, three songs on Bonnie Raitt’s latest, three tracks on Edwin McCain’s current album (lending your vocals to all three releases) and getting a song on Mindy Smith’s forthcoming record? 　　 　　Well if you’re Maia Sharp you start your own label, put out an acoustic album, tour behind it and then head back into the studio to make a full cd for a 2007 release. 　　 　　Sharp’s last studio album, 2005’s Fine Upstanding Citizen (KOCH) garnered her critical raves and nationwide airplay on the singles “Something Wild” and “Red Dress”. Now with 4 national label releases (3 critically acclaimed solo albums and a 4th collaborative effort with Art Garfunkel) to her credit she found herself in a position where most artists may have felt entitled to a small break. 　　 　　Her next release being slotted for early ’07 would have presented the ideal time to stop and smell the roses rather than race past them in a flurry of tour bus exhaust. However, with a growing demand for the songstress to perform, including 2 months opening for and singing with Bonnie Raitt in addition to her own headline shows, Sharp found herself with fans wanting more music faster than a label’s pace would allow. 　　 　　From that demand the idea for Eve & The Red Delicious was born. “The tours just kept going and more and more people were emailing me through the website, through myspace, coming up to me at shows etc. asking why I couldn’t do a record a year.” Sharp explains, “I’ve been fortunate to always have a label doing the behind-the-scenes work while still giving me creative control but the drawback is that I’m at the mercy of their schedules. 　　 　　With 4 album’s worth of label knowledge under my belt I thought, why not take advantage and do a cd that’s more reflective of the live show. I’m writing enough to release new material more often and I’m lucky enough to have loyal fans that buy every record. It quickly became a no brainer.” 　　 　　It’s that relentless drive that led Sharp to record an acoustic album with 5 new songs and 2 new versions of fan favorites from previous albums (Hardly Glamour Ark 21 Records, 1998 and 2005’s Fine Upstanding Citizen on KOCH). Eve & The Red Delicious (taken from a line from the impossibly hooky “Whole Flat World”) was done as a duo with bass player Darren Embry. 　　 　　“If I was going to pull this off it needed to be as true to the live performances as possible and with Darren’s top shelf vocals and musicianship I feel we were able to accomplish that and have fun doing it.” Sharp & Embry met while she and Jonatha Brooke were touring together. “I’m a huge Jonatha fan and I fully appreciate how musically challenging playing with her could be, so when I saw Darren up there slaying those bass and vocal parts I knew I had to work with him.” 　　 　　The album features Sharp on guitars, Rhodes, piano, saxophone (her first instrument) and percussion performing songs she wrote alone or co-wrote with, among others, acclaimed Americana songbird Kim Richey, Timbuk 3’s Pat MacDonald and Bonnie Raitt collaborator David Batteau. 　　 　　The Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist has seen about two dozen of her songs recorded by artists that run the genre gamut, from chart-topping pop acts to Rock and Roll Hall of Famers including Bonnie Raitt, Trisha Yearwood, Art Garfunkel, Edwin McCain, The Dixie Chicks, Paul Carrack, Cher and Mindy Smith to name a few. 　　 　　Maia has written with Carole King, Jules Shear, Timothy B. Schmitt, David Wilcox, Amanda Marshall, Edwin McCain, Lisa Loeb, Mindy Smith, Howard Jones, The Go Go’s, Billy Mann, Paul Carrack and many more. 　　 　　In 1997, she signed with Miles Copeland’s Ark 21 label, on which her debut CD, Hardly Glamour, was released. It scored a Triple A radio hit with the rugged and haunting "I Need This to Be Love." Later that year, she was nominated for Triple-A radio's Artist of the Year and Cher recorded a version of one of the cd’s highlights, "Don't Come Around Tonight” on It’s a Man’s World. 　　 　　Sharp then joined up with Art Garfunkel and Buddy Mondlock for their EMI/Blue Note trio project Everything Waits to Be Noticed co-writing several tracks, trading off lead vocals and harmonies with the legend and lending her saxophone chops to the project. 　　 　　Summarizing his time with Maia, Garfunkel simply says, “In the tradition of great female artists, Karla Bonoff, Bonnie Raitt, Christine McVie, Shawn Colvin, Sarah McLachlan.....now enter Maia Sharp." 　　 　　At the same time, Concord Records released her self titled second solo album Maia Sharp to critical acclaim. The singles “Willing to Burn” and “Crimes of the Witness” both landed in the top 10 in the Triple A radio format. This was a very busy time for Sharp promoting both the Garfunkel project and her own simultaneously. 　　 　　After almost a year of off and on touring Sharp was back in the studio to record what ultimately became ‘05’s Fine Upstanding Citzen on KOCH. 　　 　　Look for East coast headline tour dates to promote Eve & The Red Delicious as well as upcoming Canadian dates with Bonnie Raitt in October. 　　 　　It looks like, for now, the only roses Sharp will be able to stop and smell will be the ones backstage in her dressing room.