Alana Amram is a little Gram Parsons honky-tonk and has a slight Iris Dement-warble in her voice when she sings. She's slender and tall and her backing band, The Rough Gems, compliment her simple guitar playing. She's an urban cowboy with well-crafted lyrics, and she's familiar with the country-rock handbook. I think most people would like to compare any young attractive country-rock woman to Emmylou Harris, but Amram is a little rougher than the "Boulder To Birmingham" beauty. Not in her looks, but in her sound. Her voice has a little more punch to it and the sound has a little more rock in it. She's more Coat of Many Colors era Dolly, but even that is a bad attempt at making a comparison.

myspace.com/alanaamram

It all started out in 1997, when artist/painter and songwriter Ilias Muratov together with a Music College graduate and bass player, Leo Zanis, decided to form a music group. This group was going to be slightly different than others. Not only will Ilias sing in Russian, but the music would incorporate swing and Latin touches along with modern pop and rock. The duo performed in small clubs and cafes in the lower Manhattan area. Though the lyrics were in Russian, the audience response was very good. Inspired by this success, they decided to record an album. In the studio they were joined by a percussionist, Ernest Brown, and a talented arranger/guitarist, Ilan Frid. Ilias's songs are deeply rooted in Russian folk music. With Latin and Afro rhythms and Ilan's background in jazz, pop and rock, the different styles complemented and invigorated one another. Yoke's first self-titled album was released in March 1999. With no corporate label behind them, they've been on the road promoting since. The Russian lyrics are a lure to capture the listener while the music vividly draws images, each song a different story, time and place.

http://www.yoke.tv/

myspace.com/airthieve

"Meet Andrew Katz of The New York Howl, who has the charisma of The Lizard King without all that pretension or bloat. He heads up the New York Howl, a loose, free-wheeling, bluesy bar band. Underneath the beer-soaked good times are some enviable melodic hooks in tracks that will have you humming for weeks, anchored by a Clarence Clemens-like booming sax the likes of which hasn't been heard since the fall of Mark Sandman in Rome in '99 at Morphine's final gig. Beat that with a stick!" -- Ryan Henriquez, The Deli Magazine (1/24/07)

www.newyorkhowl.com