Karyn Oliver has a lot of options. An absolute powerhouse, she can belt out a rock anthem; she can croon an aching love song; or she can wring out a Janis Joplinesque blues number. She manages to do all these things and more, writing songs that captivate over the course of two key albums — her debut, Red Dress (2010), and her most recent Magdalene (2013). She’s also a leader and a team player, as evidenced by her position on the board of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance and her participation in the “Chicks With Dip” Joni Mitchell Blue Tribute album (2012) and tour and her current partnership in the No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow with Carolann Solebello (formerly with Red Molly) and Catherine Miles and Jay Mafale (The YaYas). Roots Karyn was born in Washington, D.C. Her family moved just outside of “the District” after a few years. The youngest of four siblings, she was lonely nevertheless. Compulsively creative, she used drawing to deal with her sense of isolation. She told me her mother’s radio seemed stuck on Patty Page, The Everly Brothers standards and early rock ’n’ roll. Karyn was 12 when John Lennon was killed. Her best friend’s mother, a huge Beatles fan gave all her albums to her daughter the day after. They listened voraciously and were hooked after a few days, likewise devastated that Lennon was gone. Karyn acquired her first guitar that same year and started writing songs. She was a Catholic school girl for all 12 years of her primary and secondary education. There was a lot of singing and a lot of choir. Her small, all-girl high school she attended had a private vocal teacher. Karyn participated in chamber music and musical theater, including The Sound of Music, Bye Bye Birdie and Carousel. The Catholic discipline and her lonely childhood had their effect. The title track of Magdalene brilliantly and succinctly says a lot about the dynamic of women in thrall to men but chafing underneath: They have a name for girls like me / Always there to wash your feet / I will always be your martyr / I’m not strong enough to call your bluff / How could I learn to walk on water? / I can’t even swim, but I dive right in… “My Paper Friend” is influenced by her early isolation and imagination: When I was three I drew you near / I drew you close to me / I knew that if I drew you’d stay / you’d keep me company… A cover of the ’70s hit “Baby Come Back” displays her vocal power and affinity for soul music. She went to community college for a year, but, unenthusiastic, she quit and took an eight-year break. During this time she was married and continued to sing. She sang lead in some bands, performing a little country, but mostly rock. She was also a dog groomer. This sideline lasted a couple of decades and helped make ends meet. After the eight-year hiatus, Karyn went to the University of Maryland in College Park and earned a degree in Natural Resource (Wildlife) Management. While pursuing her degree, she was given an award for musical theater. “The universe was telling me that I should be doing music but I wasn’t listening,” she said. After graduating in 2000, she tried in vain to get a job as a park ranger or researcher. At this point Karyn felt the need to play and sing again. She bought another acoustic guitar and started writing. Seeking a community, she went online and found the Baltimore Songwriters Association. She kept showing up and writing and after a couple of years she was elected president. “I just fell into it. I woke up one day and realized ‘this is what you’re supposed to be doing.’” She also had her own radio show on WLOY-FM out of Loyola University in Baltimore for five years. Boring? Anything But Around 2008, her marriage broke up after 16 years. Needing a place to stay, she lived in a friend’s attic in Baltimore for about a year. Then another friend who owned an abandoned farmhouse in Boring, Md. — horse country — needed someone to stay in the house and Karyn needed the solitude. Honing her craft, she then did some serious touring for the first time. Friends from the Dallas area she’d camped with the year before at the Kerrville Folk Festival helped her book gigs in Dallas and Austin. On the way down, she stopped in Nashville and recorded most of her auspicious debut album, Red Dress, in two days. On the way back, she stopped in Nashville again and added a little overdubbing and harmony vocals. In 2011, a year and a half after moving to Boring, she relocated to New York City. That year, she placed seventh as a finalist at Kerrville and was chosen for the Emerging Artists Showcase at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival. In New York, she was invited to join the “Chicks With Dip” singer/songwriter collective, taking part in the group’s Joni Mitchell Blue tribute project. A mutual gravitation developed with other “Chick” members Carolann Solebello and Catherine Miles. This led to a musical alliance which became The No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow. The group is scheduled to finish its debut album this summer and pre-orders can be made at: www.nofussandfeathersroadshow.com Many of Karyn’s live appearances are currently with No Fuss and Feathers and its schedule is posted on its website. We urge our readers to learn more about this intelligent and hugely talented performer at her website: www.karynoliver.com.

Karyn Oliver has a lot of options. An absolute powerhouse, she can belt out a rock anthem; she can croon an aching love song; or she can wring out a Janis Joplinesque blues number. She manages to do all these things and more, writing songs that captivate over the course of two key albums — her debut, Red Dress (2010), and her most recent Magdalene (2013). She’s also a leader and a team player, as evidenced by her position on the board of the Northeast Regional Folk Alliance and her participation in the “Chicks With Dip” Joni Mitchell Blue Tribute album (2012) and tour and her current partnership in the No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow with Carolann Solebello (formerly with Red Molly) and Catherine Miles and Jay Mafale (The YaYas).

Roots

Karyn was born in Washington, D.C. Her family moved just outside of “the District” after a few years. The youngest of four siblings, she was lonely nevertheless. Compulsively creative, she used drawing to deal with her sense of isolation. She told me her mother’s radio seemed stuck on Patty Page, The Everly Brothers standards and early rock ’n’ roll. Karyn was 12 when John Lennon was killed. Her best friend’s mother, a huge Beatles fan gave all her albums to her daughter the day after. They listened voraciously and were hooked after a few days, likewise devastated that Lennon was gone. Karyn acquired her first guitar that same year and started writing songs.

She was a Catholic school girl for all 12 years of her primary and secondary education. There was a lot of singing and a lot of choir. Her small, all-girl high school she attended had a private vocal teacher. Karyn participated in chamber music and musical theater, including The Sound of Music, Bye Bye Birdie and Carousel. The Catholic discipline and her lonely childhood had their effect. The title track of Magdalene brilliantly and succinctly says a lot about the dynamic of women in thrall to men but chafing underneath: They have a name for girls like me / Always there to wash your feet / I will always be your martyr / I’m not strong enough to call your bluff / How could I learn to walk on water? / I can’t even swim, but I dive right in… “My Paper Friend” is influenced by her early isolation and imagination: When I was three I drew you near / I drew you close to me / I knew that if I drew you’d stay / you’d keep me company… A cover of the ’70s hit “Baby Come Back” displays her vocal power and affinity for soul music.

She went to community college for a year, but, unenthusiastic, she quit and took an eight-year break. During this time she was married and continued to sing. She sang lead in some bands, performing a little country, but mostly rock. She was also a dog groomer. This sideline lasted a couple of decades and helped make ends meet. After the eight-year hiatus, Karyn went to the University of Maryland in College Park and earned a degree in Natural Resource (Wildlife) Management. While pursuing her degree, she was given an award for musical theater. “The universe was telling me that I should be doing music but I wasn’t listening,” she said. After graduating in 2000, she tried in vain to get a job as a park ranger or researcher.

At this point Karyn felt the need to play and sing again. She bought another acoustic guitar and started writing. Seeking a community, she went online and found the Baltimore Songwriters Association. She kept showing up and writing and after a couple of years she was elected president. “I just fell into it. I woke up one day and realized ‘this is what you’re supposed to be doing.’” She also had her own radio show on WLOY-FM out of Loyola University in Baltimore for five years.

Boring? Anything But

Around 2008, her marriage broke up after 16 years. Needing a place to stay, she lived in a friend’s attic in Baltimore for about a year. Then another friend who owned an abandoned farmhouse in Boring, Md. — horse country — needed someone to stay in the house and Karyn needed the solitude. Honing her craft, she then did some serious touring for the first time. Friends from the Dallas area she’d camped with the year before at the Kerrville Folk Festival helped her book gigs in Dallas and Austin. On the way down, she stopped in Nashville and recorded most of her auspicious debut album, Red Dress, in two days. On the way back, she stopped in Nashville again and added a little overdubbing and harmony vocals.

In 2011, a year and a half after moving to Boring, she relocated to New York City. That year, she placed seventh as a finalist at Kerrville and was chosen for the Emerging Artists Showcase at Falcon Ridge Folk Festival.

In New York, she was invited to join the “Chicks With Dip” singer/songwriter collective, taking part in the group’s Joni Mitchell Blue tribute project. A mutual gravitation developed with other “Chick” members Carolann Solebello and Catherine Miles. This led to a musical alliance which became The No Fuss and Feathers Roadshow. The group is scheduled to finish its debut album this summer and pre-orders can be made at:

www.nofussandfeathersroadshow.com

Many of Karyn’s live appearances are currently with No Fuss and Feathers and its schedule is posted on its website.

We urge our readers to learn more about this intelligent and hugely talented performer at her website: www.karynoliver.com.