Linq is an edgy, emotional, often political, singer/songwriter. A serendipidous series of events has propelled her out of a career as a retail pharmacist/pharmacy owner onto an exciting musical path. Her songs are a unique blend of folk and rock, and she's uncompromising about expressing her music exactly as she's feeling it, even if genres get blurred in the process. She's not afraid to tackle controversial issues, and she uses the wisdom that she's gained through life experience to bring a strong, reasoned voice to whatever topic she's addressing. Examples include war, marriage equality, bullying, environment, religious-based homophobia, healthcare, and the importance of being true to yourself. Her top-notch studio musicians include June Millington, Julie Wolf, Jami Sieber, Allison Miller, Jean Millington, Lee Madeloni, and Ruth Davies.
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Linq was named OUTstanding OUTMusician at the 7th Annual OUTMusic Awards Show in May 2011 for her song Oh Bully and related activism. The show was presented by LARA (LGBT Academy of Recording Arts) at Irving Plaza in New York City.
She was also one of the finalists in a Songwriter Showdown held at the Annual We R Indie International Conference in Knoxville, TN, in August 2011.
From Healthcare to Harmony
She saw Led Zeppelin on their first US tour and loves Joan Baez, but don't expect some wide-eyed hippie in tie-dye cooing about love and daisies. Sure, if you went to the first Woodstock and you want peace-loving music, you've come to the right place, but your kids will also love her refreshingly direct folk-rock with a touch of blues, vintage R&B and yep, even techno, with anthems that'll make you dance around your living room or call your congress person, some at the same time.
Like so many others, she took piano as a kid and taught herself the guitar as a young adult, but she made a detour to become a pharmacist. Not just one of those white-coated clerks at a chain store, but at her own store. At the young age of 55, she climbed up on stage, sans the lab coat, and sang for an audience that was so enthusiastic that soon after she sold the pharmacy and made music a focus. Linq does nothing halfway, diving into the music world with a single in 2003 and then her first album Journey in 2004. Another full-length album, Fast Moving Dream, came out in 2006, and a 2-song enhanced CD with video, Change the Picture, George!, was released in 2007. Full-length albums Life Goes On and Rx and the Side Effects were both released in 2009. Oh Bully was released as a single in 2010 and a full-length live solo album Caught in the Act Acoustic in 2011.
Linq performs around New England and at selected gigs outside the region including BB King's Blues Club in Nashville in 2009 and the 2011 We R Indie/Indiegrrl International Conference in Knoxville. Her first video, "George Orwell Where Are You?" has remained near the top of the list of Neil Young's Living With War Today Top Protest Videos since it debuted in 2007. She's been the featured artist on several sites including Indiegrrl, Gay Guitarists Worldwide, GoGirls and more.
Awards include an Honorable Mention for "Tired" from the International Narrative Song Competition, in the top 50 in the American Idol Underground ("Victim of the War"), and Fast Moving Dream was in the top 40 on the Outvoice charts for an entire year. "Change the Picture" from Change the Picture, George! and also available on Life Goes On, was nominated for the 2009 Just Plain Folks Music Awards (world's largest with 560,000 song submissions) in the Political Song category. Linq was also one of the five nominees for OUTMusician of the Year (music + activism) in the 2009 OUTMusic Awards, and she was named Musical Artist of 2009 in the 2009 Pride in the Arts Awards. David Byrne of The Windy City Times (Chicago, IL) named title track "Life Goes On" the 2009 Song of the Year. She was named OUTstanding OUTMusician at the 7th Annual OUTMusic Awards in May 2011 and was one of the finalists in a Songwriter Showdown in Knoxville in August 2011.
Rx and the Side Effects broke into the Roots Music Report Top 50 Folk the first week out and remained there for five weeks, peaking at #23 the week of September 25, 2009. The album also peaked at #4 in the Massachusetts Section (all genres) the same week. Curve Magazine calls "No Person on the Line" the "best healthcare rage song ever."
Linq believes that music is the most effective tool we have to bring people together, to celebrate each other and to break down barriers. And if it takes a former pharmacist to do that, all the better. It's a medicine we can all use.