christine thomas: Press

cd review
boise singer christine thomas likes her guitars a little dirty and a bit dangerous. dreamy and kaleidoscopic in her approach to tune-crafting, she exudes a gypsy-tinged fusion of acoustic-, alt-and soft-rock, suggesting influences ranging from caterwaul to fleetwood mac.

...she possesses a confident, gently sweeping voice and a talent for harmonies.

mostly, its a bittersweet reminder of how rarely local female singers choose to rock a little-and how cathartic it feels when they take that risk.

although thomas's sound has been compared to that of natalie merchant's, she truly possesses her own unique style, her voice rich with passion.

thomas's songs present a pleasant mixture of instruments from the cello, bongos, maracas, tamborines, and mandolin, to an assortment of guitars. combine this with thomas's enticing, mesmeric voice and you have yourself an exquisite musical treat.

also not to be missed on tonights bill is thomas, an extraordinary artist whose insightful songs and natalie merchant-esque vocals are highlighted on her new album "neighborhood of nine." fulton who co-produced the album with thomas has nothing but praise for her.
"she is one of the most creative people i have ever met," fulton said. "it is so cool that she can be a singer/songwriter and not play any instruments-which i think is even harder. she writes the lyrics and melody and then we get together and either she shows it to a group that she is playing with and they interpret it, or she brings it to me and we create it from scratch together and lay it down."

unique quality no.1: christine thomas. with thomas's strong, bluesy vocals there's no mistaking a trailerpark song. she really adds alot of energy to their live shows dancing around, full of life, her thick, dark hair in dreadlocks or some other stylish do, falling around her sweet face while she sings to the microphone like a lover.

The song starts out with a few simple guitar lines, the twang of lap steel and a mellow drum beat-comfy. Vocalist Christine Thomas starts to sway a bit. Sweet vocal harmonies start to change telling the future. Thomas, whose voice is like the song title, "Honey" -thick and rich-sings from her soul.

"In the middle of the line-up, Christine Thomas, a close friend of Monica Steward's, boldly took to the stage to sing a song she had written in honor of her friend. The crowd, which had just minutes before moshed to Static-X, quietly and repsectfully listened to Christine's song (sung acappella) and clapped enthusiastically to her performance. It was such a compelling moment for a crowd so pumped that host Sal Masakela thanked them for "making me feel proud for all of you there today."

Take a groove-rock band add a velvet throated singer and you have the makings of Boise band Jackson Thorne. The band cuts a strong groove, one that's perfectly led by vocalist Christine Thomas's powerful, emotive delivery. Her voice is reminiscent of Natalie Merchant or Margo Timmins, and she's a riveting presence on stage with her long curly black hair and heartfelt style.

Another important element of Major Lingo is the sensuous vocal combination of John Ziegler and Christine Thomas. They avoid the romantic cliches that have plagued so many other male-female duos but still manage to project a warmth that can be felt in the midst of even the band's most frenetic numbers.