A Commentary by Chuck Rainey


Energetic, fiery, sarcastic, reflective, playful, passionate and intimate
Adult alternative pop / rock ● Singer / Songwriter

Athala is defined by the unpredictable. She can be so in your face that you smell her words; yet, on a dimes turn, give soulful tributes to our similarities, our frailties, our humanness. She has an engaging, dynamic sound with alluring, even endearing, qualities - enticing one to sit, contemplate and play over and over again.

Growing up in the eighties, one might think her influences would range from Elvis Costello to the Cure. However, a staunchly conservative upbringing limited her exposure to church music, Lawrence Welk reruns and yearly doses of old musicals like the Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof. In fact, Athala won her first musical competition singing “Sheltered in the Arms of God.” One would be hard pressed to hear the influence of Lawrence Welk in CATTY SIMPLE-MINDED THING.

Early on, Ath

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Commentary

Energetic, fiery, sarcastic, reflective, playful, passionate and intimate
Adult alternative pop / rock, Singer / Songwriter

Athala is defined by the unpredictable. She can be so in your face that you smell her words; yet, on a dimes turn, give soulful tributes to our similarities, our frailties, our humanness. She has an engaging, dynamic sound with alluring, even endearing, qualities - enticing one to sit, contemplate and play over and over again.

Growing up in the eighties, one might think her influences would range from Elvis Costello to the Cure. However, a staunchly conservative upbringing limited her exposure to church music, Lawrence Welk reruns and yearly doses of old musicals like the Sound of Music and Fiddler on the Roof. In fact, Athala won her first musical competition singing “Sheltered in the Arms of God.” One would be hard pressed to hear the influence of Lawrence Welk in CATTY SIMPLE-MINDED THING.

Early on, Athala would not be the best p

Similar Artists

Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones, Lyle Lovett, Nora Jones, Annie Lennox, Lucinda Williams, Carole King

Influences

Carole King, Randy Newman and Karla Bonoff

Bio

Athala on Athala

It is not Attila, Attalla, Alfalfa, Africa, Althea, Athena, Athellea, Athenian, Avila, Aphelia…I am Athala. Think of athlete. Born October 14th at Eglin Military Base, named after my great grandmother (Athala Lemon). Family heritage is of Irish and Scottish decent with a little French mixed in. I never thought of changing my name. It fits my personality well. I tell folks that my parents where drunk on tequila when they named me. Maybe that explains my affinity for margaritas. Truth be told, I was almost Michelle. But there were about 7 Michelle’s in the delivery area, so my parents nixed that name. My grandmother, Macon, suggested Athala - her mother’s and sister’s name.

I received an undergraduate and graduate degree in social work (which meant I was both a starving artist and starving social worker). While in graduate school, I had the honor of writing theme songs for several great organizations, The Ronald McDonald House of Denver (“Heroines, Godmothers and Fairy Tales”) and the OneDay Foundation, a foundation that works with children with AIDS and their families (“ONEDAY”). I was also awarded the Tommi Frank Memorial Award for scholarly and creative writing on an issue of concern to the profession of social work. It was a song about a homeless boy, “What About Joe?”

I began writing and recording in college. My first tune, “Destiny’s Call” was a dreadfully depressing song about death that I fortunately forgot how to play. Being

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