Liz Janes grew up in a Virginia suburb of Washington D.C., listened religiously to Casey Casem's Top 40 on the radio Sunday after church, then spent her formative high school years sneaking into Philadelphia jazz clubs, came of age musically in Olympia, Washington, as a horn-squawking member of the Northwest punk-improve scene, recorded her own songs on lo-fi cassette tapes and after a lot of life changing devices emerged to my ears and heart through the Asthmatic Kitty label... which led her to be where I found her, at San Diego's Casbah.
That night her husband, unsuspecting to me, sold me her LP, Sufjan Stevens opened and Johanna newsom's angelic childlike voice accompanied a beautiful ensemble at a memorable Casbah night. So it was a moment, which is safe for me to say, I, and everyone there, will never forget. I found talent, beauty and a stage presence that I'll cherish till my dying day. No one comes closer to Liz Janes' soul power than Cat Power and both women deserve their alone time with listeners. What Cat Power is to sinful pleasure, Liz Janes is to righteous love... and as we all know, we need both in massive daily doses to remind us that angels do walk amongst us, even if only in voices.
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