KUNC 91.5 FM picks Colorado Music Buzz magazine picks
Cindy Bullens, Deborah Holland, and Wendy Waldman are The Refugees, a new band of critically-acclaimed singer/songwriters who perform their award-winning songs in glorious three-part harmony with high energy, humor, and stellar musicianship. Representing an incredible convergence of talent, each member performs her individual songs accompanied by the other two on guitars, bass, melodica, keyboards, percussion, mandolin, and harmonica, culminating in the creation of new renditions of their exceptional work. They have been described as a female version of Crosby, Stills and Nash with humor.
Cindy Bullens’ career, jump-started by a stint in Elton John’s band, has already included eight solo albums on major or national indie labels. Her debut solo album, Desire Wire (United Artists), scored a breakthrough hit with her song “Survivor,” earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Vocal Performance. Her critically acclaimed 1999 CD, Somewhere Between Heaven and Earth (Artemis), won the 2000 AFIM Award for Best Rock Album. Cindy’s current CD is dream # 29, which the Boston Globe declared a “gem” and features guest appearances by Sir Elton John, Delbert McClinton, and Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. Her songs have been recorded by the Dixie Chicks, Radney Foster, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Irma Thomas and more.
Deborah Holland’s tremendous singing and songwriting talents were first introduced via two critically acclaimed albums, tours, MTV videos, and television appearances with the seminal trio Animal Logic (with Stewart Copeland and Stanley Clarke). She has gone on to have a successful career as a solo artist releasing four CDs, the newest one entitled Bad Girl Once… (RageOn Records, 2006). Critics have praised her songwriting as “a lyrical ironist to match Warren Zevon” (Sing Out! magazine). In addition to making records, Deborah scores music and writes songs for film and television, is a full-time professor of music at California State University at Los Angeles, and is a mother to two boys.
Wendy Waldman has a distinguished career as both a solo artist on major labels and as a member of the favorite cult band, Bryndle. She is also one of the first woman record producers to have a major impact in the industry, and is a songwriter of multi-platinum songs in genres ranging from country to pop, film, jazz, children’s music, and R&B. Her list of songwriting and producing credits is extensive and impressive, and includes the Grammy-winning “Save the Best for Last” (recorded by Vanessa Williams). Her first album, Love Has Got Me, was proclaimed by Rolling Stone magazine to be the “singer-songwriter debut of the year.” Her newest CD, My Time in the Desert, was released in 2007.
