Kay Ashley: Home

So, after an incredibly tumultuous year—in which I released my debut CD, was shortly thereafter laid off from my job at a NYC hedge fund, sometime after that went on a road trip that led me to realize that NYC was slowly killing me, and then decided to move to northern California—I am finally settled in the San Francisco Bay area.

The weather is fantastic, the earth moves on a regular basis, the greenery is very kind indeed, and I'm as happy as a San Francisco Bay dungeness crab to be here. More to come soon...

...and please check out my calendar for upcoming gigs. The dark veil of NYC has been lifted and me and my guitars are basking in the California sun... lots of new songs in the pipeline. :-)

HELIOTROPE will be officially released on March 24th, 2009, just a few days after the Vernal Equinox. Whether heliotrope is your favorite flower, your favorite color, your favorite stone, your favorite surveying instrument, your favorite biological phenomenon (clearly I am in favor of all you people picking up a dictionary)—or perhaps even your favorite new CD—I think we can agree that the beginning of spring is a great time to release a record.

I'm excited to announce that the release party for HELIOTROPE will take place at DROM, a fabulous club in the East Village. DROM mostly caters to the World music scene (fabulous), but they do open their doors for the occasional singer-songwriter, and I'm honored to be able to present the CD release concert at DROM. And to really get this party started, the cover charge of $15 includes a free copy of HELIOTROPE at the door. Let's put the smack-down on the market collapse! Check out all the details on the Calendar page.

I'll be performing with a full band, and we'll do our best to recreate some of HELIOTROPE's lush arrangements. I'm thrilled to have the following brilliant musicians at my disposal: Michael Leonhart, Jamie Leonhart, David Pilgrim, V. Jeffrey Smith, elizabeth!, Jeff Jeudy, Shelley Nicole Jefferson, Maritri Garrett, Allison Tartalia, Bekah Gucciardo, Jenn Foster, and Martha Colby...

And to top it all off, the amazing Bulgarian vocalist Vlada Tomova and her band Balkan Tales will be my very special guests, opening up the night. Vlada will also be joining me during my set to sing some Bulgarian folk songs with me, a cappella style—a real thrill for me, and hopefully enjoyable for you. :-)

Recession?! What recession?! … Give the gift of music this holiday season. And at $15 per CD, "Heliotrope" is a true bargain! "Heliotrope" won't become commercially available until the official release date on March 21, 2009, but you can purchase the CD directly from me starting today.