ABOUT PAULA:

Although she shares a common musical background with her contemporaries, Paula Sinclair’s approach to songs is unique. Braiding music and poems into her own distinctive weave, Sinclair is not only a remarkable singer/songwriter, she is also an extraordinary musical interpreter of American poetry.

“The great poet Langston Hughes entered my life quite by accident a couple of years ago as I was leafing through an anthology at home,” she explains. “I happened to glance down at ‘Lament over Love’ and I was so touched by it that I almost immediately put the verses to music. Then one morning a few weeks later I stood in my kitchen and played it for a friend. She sat there stunned and moved to tears. At that moment it dawned on me that I had made a magical connection with poetry.”

The love affair between Sinclair and poetry turned serious when she included the Hughes’ poem/song among her own originals on her critically acclaimed album AVALANCHE in 2006. She then made a bold move.

“After ‘Lament’ I realized that there was something mystical and soothing about giving music to poetry that nourished me in a vital way. I continued writing songs to any poem that struck me. By the time I’d finished AVALANCHE, I had completed seven new poem/songs. All the poems were, coincidentally, by Oregon poets.”

From her fertile creativity, Sinclair has grown THE GOOD HORSE, a collection of ten stunning songs with lyrics contributed by preeminent Oregon poets William Stafford, Dorianne Laux and Joseph Millar, as well as emerging poets Jarold Ramsey and Debbie West.

Upon release of this CD, music critic Don Campbell of The Oregonian wrote, “For poets and songwriters, there is great power in the word. Portland singer-songwriter Paula Sinclair…has released a project that will thrill poets and listeners alike.”

As Sinclair now adds bookstores, libraries, and literary festivals to the more conventional music venues at which she performs, she is discovering another gift: the capacity to cross-pollinate music and poetry audiences. Her Stafford songs in particular have been embraced by his many admirers as well as by his son Kim and his widow, Dorothy – no small feat considering that the late William Stafford was once U.S. Library of Congress Poet Laureate and is revered as arguably the finest poet in Oregon’s rich literary history.

Energized by her achievement integrating Stafford’s poetry with her own musical stylings, Sinclair now has ten new songs of his poetry ready to bring to her next recording project. She hopes that the new album will find grant funding to move forward. Until then, listeners have the good fortune to enjoy THE GOOD HORSE.

One of fourteen siblings rich in creative talents, it’s no wonder Sinclair is a multi-faceted musical artist. Demonstrating these considerable gifts in her performances and her albums, she rivets audiences with confident, fluid guitar-playing and vocals as brassy, sweet, and earthy as the soil on the Lexington, Kentucky farm where she grew up. A sultry alt country crooner, raw emotion spills out of her adeptly crafted original tunes with muscular power and tender grace.

Sinclair’s music career began at age 14, playing around the Kentucky area in a country duo back when there were no TV sets in bars and people came to hear live music to accompany their conversations. Over the years, she moved around from state to state and band to band playing for tourists at the Grand Canyon, in venues on the Virginia coast, in a punk folk band in Boston, and with renowned guitarist Steve Sadler.

Sinclair says that she can't remember a time when she didn't love music.

“At first, whatever I heard on the radio or what my brothers and sisters were spinning on the turntable caught my interest,” she recalls. “Then Motown became my passion and I was buying 45’s whenever I could afford them.”

But it was singer/songwriters who really put her under the spell that grasped her heart. Artists who resonated with her most were the ones who sang poetic lyrics – songwriters like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor, and Joan Armatrading, among others.

After several years in the Boston music scene, Sinclair eventually moved to Portland, where she did some solo work as well as fronted her own band, Paula Sinclair & Bloodhoney. She has recorded seven albums in the past 15 years, including her solo CD AVALANCHE (2006) and her recent opus THE GOOD HORSE (2007).

These days Sinclair continues to perform as a solo act. In addition, she is the lead guitarist and one of the vocalists in the all-women trio Sisters in Crime, which also features Kate Mann and Reina Collins.

To book Paula Sinclair and/or Sisters in Crime contact Rob Barteletti at 503.524.6635 (office) or 503.307.5995 (cell) or at robbartmusic@comcast.net.