He did an article about Dana and talked about Tracy and mentions my Tropical Weather Update on Saturday night, the day the TD#1 formed:
Click on Music Events Link to read and see Dana's picture in color. (She's playing my new acoustic Ibanez)
http://www.rickatnight.com
Dana Salmela Caught Live at House of Jam
BY RICK GRANT
Dana Salmela is a talented signer/songwriter who is touring with her solo acoustic project with Mary Kirk playing bass. Dana is also a permanent member of the revered all-female rock band, Too Many Shoes. I caught Dana Salmela live at the House of Jam last Saturday night. In addition to Mary Kirk on bass, Dale Eisman, who is with the rock group NH3, sat-in on drums. NH3 performed earlier in the evening. I arrived just as NH3 was playing their last two songs. The group came off as a solid blues rock band with Eric Eisman (Dale’s borther) on guitar, and Ed Trotzke on bass.
Dana performs intelligently conceived original music with selected covers. She has a powerful wide-ranging voice and is an advanced guitarist. Her HOJ set with Mary and Dale on drums sounded surprisingly tight considering Dale had never played with Dana and Mary.
For the past seventeen years, Dana has been singing and playing guitar professionally and writing songs. He first band was called The Constellations, an acoustic duo with Tracy Howard. The duo played gigs in Valdosta, Georgia. Later, Dana joined the band Lost Southern Boys as a vocalist, playing rhythm guitar. After a couple of years, Dana decided to move to Jacksonville and continued playing with the Lost Southern Boys until she met another Valdosta musician, Eric Gant. The two formed an acoustic duo keeping the name The Constellations.
A few years later, Dana and Eric decided to move to Atlanta, Georgia. They used Atlanta as a base and toured up and down the East Coast. Then they decided to add some other members. This created a new sound for them which served them well until Dana got a call from Tracy Howard who was playing with an all-female band called Too Many Shoes. Tracy offered Dana the position of lead guitarist and singer of the band. It was an offer she couldn’t refuse, and so Dana became an important member of that band, which has built up a stellar reputation throughout the region.
Today, Dana has branched out with her solo project and is in the studio recording a special project with the other members of TMS as a tribute to Dana’s friend and fellow band member Tracy Howard, who has terminal cancer. Dana said that it’s a race against time to complete the album. The album is a celebration of Tracy life. She is in the last stages of melanoma which started as a small mole-like growth on her arm.
"Tracy just ignored the growth, put a band-aid on it, and got on with her life. By the time she got sick, it was too late. She’s on heavy medication for her continuous pain, but the music is keeping her alive longer that her doctor had predicted. All the members of Too Many Shoes are praying for her every day," Dana said.
Dana’s solo set at HOJ was an enjoyable interlude of acoustic music. Having the impromptu drummer added a taut groove to Dana’s repertoire of originals and cover tunes. Dana is blessed with a distinctively gritty voice that cuts through the mix with a solid verve. Mary is an accomplished bassist who was playing a five string electric bass with great confidence. Funny, Mary’s hobby is following storms. In between songs, she gave us an update on the tropical depression threatening South Florida.
The saga of TMS and Dana Salmela has come full circle, as she and the other members of TMS rally around their dying colleague in her time of great need for the love of her friends and family. Recording the album as a celebration of Tracy’s life is a loving tribute to her as she crosses over to he other side. Music heals the soul in this life and the next.
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I didn't know Mr. Grant was going to put the article up this soon.... Dana called and told me a little while ago and told me what he wrote about my weather report. 