Biography

ALANA AMRAM & the Rough Gems
SPRING RIVER (Kingswood Records)
US Release Date MARCH 4th 2014
Press: Team Clermont - Andy Barton 706-543-9455 andy@teamclermont.com
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Alana Amram’s third full-length album, “Spring River,” is slated for release March 4th 2014. Recorded live in 2 days, it features the ROUGH GEMS; Philip Sterk on pedal steel, Taylor Floreth on drums, James Preston on bass and Scott Metzger on guitar. The cover for the album was drawn by the notorious zine/comic book artist Avi Spivak, and the LP is available on digital, CD and vinyl.

With a mass of curly hair covering her face, a perennial voice billows from a tall, lanky frame. Alana Amram renders riffs and ballads both distinctive and robust, refashioning the archetype of the female troubadour. Sprouting from Peekskill Hollow Farm in upstate New York, she toured around the country with her musical family, napping in the odd guitar case at the foot of the stage.
As a teenager Amram pasted flyers, stapled zines and hid out in the vanishing clubs and D.I.Y. spots in the city. She attended SUNY Purchase College to study filmmaking but left to pursue music, hitting the road and tracking in the studio as a bassist with various bands.

Growing up a second-generation struggling musician, Amram has a work ethic like no other. Notorious for her wide array of employment, she writes from a place of experience. Running diamonds, slinging beer, driving vans, painting mansions and teaching kids music have made her art and music conversational and direct.
2010 ushered in Amram’s debut release, “Painted Lady.” Produced by Jesse Lauter, the record featured members of Dungen, Vetiver, Low Anthem, Marco Benevento, Scott Metzger and her father David Amram. In 2011, Amram paid tribute to VINCE MARTIN, recording “Snow Shadows: Songs of Vince Martin” (Kingswood Records). It features lush string arrangements by Van Dyke Parks. John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful) lends his iconic harmonica and baritone guitar. In early 2013 Amram released a SPLIT 7" with Invisible Familiars (Jared Samuel of Plastic Ono Band.)

Over the last decade Alana Amram has played with an endless array of great musicians, young and old and as varied as her musical taste. A short list includes: Pete Seeger, Peter Rowan, Abigail Washburn, Jimmy Dale Gilmore, Langhorne Slim, Nicole Atkins, Alberta Cross and Psychic TV. Her music has been featured in ads for Stetson, the web series “The Actress" and in several independent films. Alana is also a filmmaker and recently directed a short documentary called PORTAL TO POWER. She has played bass in Lights (Drag City), Cliffie Swan, Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black, Animal Cannibal Tribe, Sophia Knapp, The Fame and Blue Sparks.