Mojo - The Music Magazine

The Royal Albert Hall may seem a million miles away from the Texas border town of Bethany, but for bewitching blues sister Amy LaVere, her opening performance for Seasick Steve last month was just another step in the right direction.

Throughout her childhood the double-bass wielding singer travelled the US with her family before settling in Nashville where she discovered both her skill for slap-bass and husband-to-be Gabe Kudela. After an extensive three week courtship, the pair wed and began gigging all the way to Memphis. “We were great!" she told MOJO's Phil Sutcliffe. We did our own songs...some Replacements and Hank Williams”. That is, until they broke up - an event that fuelled the melancholy behind LaVere’s 2006 solo debut This World Is Not My Home. Dissatisfied with the recording process, she quickly enlisted the help of Memphis' legend Jim Dickinson to capture the sultry shuffles and waltzing ballads that appear on her beguiling follow-up, Anchors & Anvils.

Of course, there's also her other job - a tour guide at Memphis' Sun Studios. And if that doesn't work out? "I always figure it out. If I need a buck I'll ask a neighbour if I can rake the leaves off her lawn..."

Couple the songs on Anchors & Anvils with her recent live successes and it becomes quickly obvious that, much her to neighbour's annoyance, the rake will stay firmly in the shed.

LISTEN! Amy LaVere's MySpace

Image courtesy of Crackerfarm