Dawn Oberg
Dawn Oberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 or 1966 (age 57–58)[1] Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Genres | Cabaret, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, vocals |
| Website | www |
Dawn Oberg is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is influenced by multiple genres, including jazz and cabaret.
Career[edit]
Oberg was born and grew up in Minnesota, where she wrote her first song at the age of 14. She later wrote what she called "perverse drinking songs" throughout her twenties.[1] She attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, after which she moved to Nashville in the mid-1990s.[2] While in Nashville, she played in multiple country music bands, during which time she recalls having been influenced by Bob Dylan and Hank Williams,[2] before switching to playing piano-based songs influenced by R&B and jazz.[1] The first band she played in was Honky-Tonk Happy Hour; she contributed to their first album before leaving to form a cabaret duo called Blossom Theory, in which she played piano.[2] In 2008, she released her first solo album, Horticulture Wars, followed by Rye in 2013[2] and Bring in 2015.[3]
Reception[edit]
A review of Bring in L.A. Record said that, with regard to lyricism, Oberg "has all [the] lightly mocking wiseass of Noël Coward plus a sentimental side very much in the old Master’s line, if completely beyond most of his imitators past and present."[4] Robert Christgau also reviewed Bring favorably, giving it an A− grade. In his review, he wrote, "Delivering nine expertly wrought songs in 27 minutes, [Oberg] plays acoustic piano over G-B-D with jazz gestalt, zero-plus solos, and a beat more martial than swinging."[5] ChicagoPride.com contributor Gregg Shapiro wrote that Oberg "deserves a place alongside contemporaries such as Ben Folds and Aimee Mann," writing that on her songs, "Her lived-in voice is that of experience and she maintains a singular sense of humor."[6] Mic's Dan Weiss named Oberg's song "Nothing Rhymes with Orange" one of the 16 best anti-Donald Trump songs of 2017.[7]
Musicians with whom Oberg has recorded[edit]
Horticulture Wars
Chris Carmichael: strings, arranging; Dave Henry: cello; Matt Martin: drums; Al Perkins: pedal steel; Joe Pisapia: pedal steel; Jim Hoke: pedal steel, flute, clarinet, arranging; Kirby Shelstad: vibes; Jody Spence: drums
Recorded by Robin Eaton
Produced by Robin Eaton and Dawn Oberg
Mastered by Marc Chevalier
Rye
Denny Geyer: guitar on track 11; Andrew Launcher: drums; Dave Mihaly: drums; Bill Noertker: bass; Roger Rocha: guitar; Chris Von Sneidern: guitar on track 1; Erik Ian Walker: B3; Jeff Brown: bartending
Recorded by Nathan Winter at Hyde St. Studios
Bring
Mark Corradetti: bass; Billy Mason: drums; Roger Rocha: guitar; Erik Ian Walker; Jim Hoke: wind arrangement on track 4
Recorded by Nathan Winter
Mastered by Michael Romanowski
It's 12:01
Mark Corradetti: bass; Micah Dubreuil: B3; Andrew Laubacher: drums; Roger Rocha: guitar
Recorded by Scott McDowell
Mastered by Piper Payne
Nothing Rhymes With Orange
Andrew Laubacher: drums; Shawn Miller: bass; Roger Rocha: guitar; Erik Ian Walker: B3
Recorded by Nathan Winter
Mastered by Jonathan Rego at Coast Mastering
Discography[edit]
- Horticulture Wars (2008)
- Rye (2013)
- Bring (2015)
- Salvation Army Santa (single) (2015)
- It's 12:01 (single) (2016)
- Nothing Rhymes With Orange (EP) (2017)
References[edit]
- ^ a b c DuShane, Tony (3 October 2012). "Dawn Oberg is just getting started at 46". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ a b c d Fox, Randy (22 April 2013). "Aged to Maturity: Singer Dawn Oberg Makes a Rye Return to Music City". Nashville Scene. Archived from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ Hochman, Steve (25 July 2015). "New Music for Summer: Dawn Oberg, Miguel, The Bird and The Bee". KQED. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ Garmon, Ron (10 July 2015). "Bring Review". LA Record. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (13 May 2016). "The Poet and the Hustler: Expert Witness with Robert Christgau". Vice. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
- ^ Shapiro, Gregg (2013). "Dawn Oberg Interview". ChicagoPride.com.
- ^ Weiss, Dan (2017-11-08). "These are the 16 best anti-Trump songs from the past year". Mic. Retrieved 2017-12-23.