Patricia Vonne
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Firebird is the third album by Austin, Texas-based singer and songwriter Patricia Vonne. Since releasing her self-titled debut in 2003 and then the glorious and critically acclaimed Guitars & Castanets in 2005, Vonne has rapidly risen within the UK roots music scene thanks to an infectious mix of the musical styles she loves that inspired Q to dub her “a gypsy Polly Harvey”. Patricia and her dynamic band have also experienced equal recognition on the international stage as well with releases all over Europe including Holland, Germany and Spain.
As with previous cracker Guitars & Castinets, Vonne takes an expected course of celebration of the state that is her home and all that music means in her life. However, Firebird ultimately reveals an ever-growing and progressively strong female voice caught up in folkloric fantasy, tales of love, loss and adventure and the quirky observations of a wandering traveller. Lyrically, Firebird is a narrative strewn with vibrant personalities, charming anecdotes, lessons learned and meaningful events in history. Musically, the record is a luscious layering of addictive melodies led by Vonne’s powerful and ever-expressive vocal. In her own summary of the song selection and making of the album, Patricia explains that “the album symbolizes strength in adversity, dignity, grace, and perseverance. The ‘firebird’ is an incendiary spirit who is encapsulated in a song on the album entitled ‘Torera’. This is the overall message of my album. I write about the Spanish poet Lorca in ‘La Huerta de San Vicente’, who also possessed this spirit and expressed it through his writings and through his passion for life and art.” She goes on to say that lead track “‘Missing Women’ is the core of the album in which I dedicate the song to the families of the missing women of Juarez, Mexico. I try to tell the story of this trail of murdered and missing young women whose perpetrators have yet to be brought to justice. It brings to light the tragedy of violence against women, the abuse of power and veil of secrecy that haunts their lives. It’s a cry for hope through despair.” Lastly, she fondly remembers the recording of the album as she says, “the recording sessions were tremendously inspiring. The musicians truly brought the songs to life which ultimately brought a cinematic flair and richness to the diverse sounds on this album.”
Vonne also sticks with the old adage of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and has once again worked with the usual suspects for the second time around such as nylon string guitar wizard Rick Del Castillo (of the rising Austin Latino rock band Del Castillo), San Antonio guitarist Joe Reyes (of Lara & Reyes), keyboards player Michael Ramos (known for his work with The BoDeans, Lucinda Williams and Patty Griffin), among others. Produced by Carl Thiel and co-mixed by veteran drummer Dony Wynn (Robert Palmer, Patti Labelle, Dr John), the new album features everything from such melodic heartbreakers as “Battle Scars” and “Missing Women” to dance-floor fillers like “Dutch Cigarette” and “The Dogs Dance” to bluegrass-inspired, hook-laden ballads like “Karolina” and “Will We Ever Be”.
Vonne’s UK success thus far can no doubt be attributed above all to the electric presentation she so energetically displays on the stage and in the studio. Past achievements in the live sector have included vibrant and delightfully rowdy performances at such seminal venues as The Borderline in London and King Tut’s in Glasgow. As a result, Patricia has been embraced by both national and regional TV, radio & press alike. An assured appearance came on the critically lauded women’s daytime talk show ‘Loose Women’ (ITV1) and she was personally invited to perform at Michael Parkinson’s Royal Oak Pub in Berkshire. In addition, she played a live session on Dave Lee Travis’ seasoned BBC radio show. Whilst in the press, she was artfully described as “a young Chrissie Hynde fronting the Mavericks with a little help from Calexico” by The Independent.
Vonne attributes her genre-fusing style to growing up in San Antonio on “my mother’s music and my brothers’ record collections.” The Spanish folk songs sung by her mother and Saturday afternoon matinees at San Antonio’s Olmos Theater watching classic movies and MGM musicals formed the foundation of her aesthetic. But her musical fate was sealed by her first live concert by Reno and his band The Sax Maniacs and fed by such favourites as Ely, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Los Angeles-based Chicano rockers The Cruzados. Vonne honed her talents in New York City singing back-up and playing bass in the band Mick & The Maelstroms, and then began writing her own songs after meeting her creative partner and husband Robert LaRoche at a show by his band, Virgin recording artists The Sighs, at Manhattan’s China Club. After developing her Tex-Mex musical brew in New York City and building a following with gigs at some of Manhattan’s premier rock clubs, Vonne and LaRoche moved to Austin in 2001 to bring her music back home to Texas.
Although her priority has been her musical career in the past couple of years, Patricia has maintained an alternate professional life as an actress. Most recently, she played the part of Dallas / Zorro Girl in aforementioned big brother Robert Rodriguez’ movie, ‘SIN CITY’. The film had Patricia cast alongside several A-list actors such as Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Jessica Alba, and Michael Madsen. Other Rodriguez-directed films include ‘From Dusk till Dawn’, ‘Spy Kids’, and the ‘El Mariachi’ trilogy concluding with ‘Once Upon A Time In Mexico’.
