PRESS RELEASE FOR TORNADOES
Press Release

-”One of the best Austin albums released in 2010.” Austin Music + Entertainment

-Time and trauma have served Anthony’s music well as she’s developed a mature pop sound that carries echoes of Aimee Mann and Sara Hickman, all lofty hooks and keen observations. Jim Caligiuri, Austin Chronicle

-“In sharp contrast to the title of the album, her music is a discriminate, precise whirlwind that leaves a path of beauty in its wake.- Jon M. Gilbertson, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel”

Michelle Anthony virtually left the live music scene from 2007 to 2010 and spent much of that time being a mother to two children, all the while, writing and recording her third album, “Tornadoes.” In 2007, she experienced pre-ecclampsia and HELLP syndrome with the birth of her first child. The unexpected illness and its recovery forced a shift in her songwriting along with a new muse.

Michelle is joined by her friends and highly respected musicians: John Chipman (Band of Heathens), Grant Tye (Robbie Fulks), Gerald Dowd (Robbie Fulks, Justin Roberts), Jay O’Rourke (Robbie Fulks, Material Issue), and her long-time composing partner, musician and husband, Scott Anthony.

The songs on “Tornadoes” are thoughtfully organized on the album from start to finish. The album isn’t a chronological storytelling as much as it is an emotional journey, starting with the sweet but in-your-face, Prince-meets-Spoon, “Spare Me,” followed by the title track that was inspired by recovery after the life-threatening illness she experienced with childbirth. The love songs, “Permanent,” and “Beautiful,” capture the enduring love. “Vacancy” is a bittersweet song about artists’ passion for music. The album ends with the dissonant, ambient “Lights of Chicago.”

“Tornadoes” is dense with guitar solos, multi-minute-long drum intros and long, layered outros. The songs on the album have the energy of a late 60s, early 70s rock band, with the song at the helm. Deliberate attention was given to keep the musicians’ emotional performances palpable. Mixing engineer Jay O’Rourke, who also produced all of the guitars on the album, “was the key to keeping the energy on this album. We wanted it to sound like a band rather than a singer-songwriter’s album,” says Michelle. “I think everyone had a good time recording, and I hope you can hear that energy.”

STAND FALL REPEAT (2004)
Michelle’s first album, Stand Fall Repeat released in 2004, was recorded with a band of local veteran punk-country and rock musicians at the late great Jay Bennett’s (ex-Wilco) studio in Chicago. F5 (Wichita) summarized the album’s feel and writes, “Had Liz Phair gone to Los Angeles circa 1972 to make a record with Gram Parsons and the members of Sheryl Crow’s Tuesday Night Music Club, this might have been the result.” “Stand Fall Repeat” received acclaim from critics in the US and UK, including four stars from All Music Guide, and praise from the alt.country magazine, No Depression, in a “Town and Country” feature.

FROZENSTARPALACE (2006)
“Frozenstarpalace,” produced by Barry Goldberg (Smashing Pumpkins, Fleetwood Mac) was released in 2006. The album was well-received by critics and fans: “An artist who can claim brilliance as part of her vocabulary,” – Entertainment News and Views (Miami) and, “She has the unaffected delivery of her Midwestern heritage and the ability, reminiscent of Sarah McLachlan, to quietly insinuate herself into the spaces between conscious thoughts.” -No Depression Magazine.

PERFORMANCES
In October 2004, Michelle performed on the famed Mountain Stage (West Virginia), opening for k.d. Lang and Bruce Cockburn. She has performed on Chicago’s WGN-TV Superstation’s Morning Show, 2005 SXSW (Austin, TX) showcase, and the world’s largest outdoor music festival, Summerfest (Milwaukee, WI). Her live performances have been noteworthy critic’s pick for dozens of publications. She has performed on bills with Shelby Lynne, k.d. lang, Ben Folds, Mindy Smith, Amy Rigby, Robbie Fulks, The Silos, Junior Brown, Bob Schneider and Sophie B. Hawkins.

CREDITS
Michelle has contributed vocals and/or keyboards for The Silos, Jay Bennett, West of Rome, King Tears and the Voices and Faces Benefit Project Volume 1.

CAUSES
She is an active supporter of the Voices and Faces project and has contributed the song “White Lies” as a feature download for the organization’s website.

FILM AND TV
Michelle’s music has been featured in the independent film Black Cloud (Rick Schroder, Eddie Spears, Tim McGraw) as well in releases of the television series “The Wonderfalls” and “Roswell.” Her songs have been heard in the MTV shows “Pimp My Ride”, “Making the Band”, and “Operation 17.”