BioMULTI-CULTURAL BOSTON BASED ALT/POP ROCKER
NAREE TURNS TRAGEDY INTO TRIUMPH
ON HER EXPLOSIVE YET HEARTFELT NEW INDIE ALBUM
'DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE'
Perhaps if fate had treated her differently, the big story behind Berklee School of Music songwriting major Naree's exciting emergence as an alt-pop rocker would be her unique multi-cultural background: her mother is Thai, her dad British and she was born and raised in Abu Dhadi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Or people would focus on her dynamic hybrid vibe that draws from rock, classical, indie and even Japanese pop. A definite selling point leading up to the release of a five song EP that is setting the stage for Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, her third album--
--and first as a co-producer--is the fact that Naree opened for pop superstar Pink in front of 10,000 people at Dubai Festival City in 2007.
But the dark tragedy that lies behind her burgeoning success makes her story, and the emotionally compelling songs she writes and performs, all the more fascinating and heroic. Naree was diagnosed at 14 with ovarian cancer, battled through two operations, a massive heart attack, the extraction of a 15.4 lb. tumor and more--yet throughout it all, she always maintained a sense of hope and she used music to help her deal with the fearful experience and its aftermath.
Her first two independently released albums, I'm No Fool (2004) and Proud (2005), which featured her playing acoustic guitar and were helmed by outside producers, laid the groundwork for the career she's building now with her Boston based band of Berklee musicians Tony Song (lead guitar), Casey Marks (bass), Jaime Jimenez (keys, synth) and Alex Santiago (drums). In only four months, Naree and this incredible unit have built a growing following in the region with gigs at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, O'Brien's Pub is Allston, Massachusetts and TT The Bears and All Asia in the college town of Cambridge.
The new lineup is also featured on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde EP's bonus track, the party rocker "Glamour Kills," which Naree originally entered in the Glamour Kills clothing line song contest. As with most of her songs, her instantly infectious melodies back heartfelt, personal lyrics--in this case, an inspirational message to people to be who they are, battle their doubts and pursue their dreams. The EP also includes one of her most popular live songs, "Life's Lessons," which chronicles her experiences battling cancer and the ongoing complications and fallout she deals with now. Musically, it evolves from a gentle acoustic reflection about longing to be free into a fiery rocker about her defiant strength in the face of adversity.
Another positive to come out of Naree's experience with her illness is her involvement with several major cancer charities, which began with a concert she did at a mall in Abu Dhadi when she arranged for a local hospital to have a booth there offering free cancer screenings. Before she moved to the U.S. for school, she also helped raise money for the Canadian based charity the Terry Fox Run, a marathon put on by a foundation dedicated to a man named Terry Fox who died of cancer. A large percentage of the singer's merch sales (T-shirts, pendants, etc) goes to her own Pick Life Cancer Foundation, which turns over its proceeds to an org called Teenage Cancer Trust in the UK. While currently trying to collaborate with other U.S. based charities, Naree is planning for her official Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde release party to be a Pick Life event.
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