Jane Weaver
Opening act of the 2007 Moseley folk festival!
And what an act.
Forget Nico and Julie Driscoll, singer-songwriter Jane Weaver is a unique and talented vocalist with her own distinctive style and her own dazzling collection of songs.
Born in the same hospital as John Lennon, she had a strict catholic upbringing. Luckily for us, fate intervened and Weaver became seduced by the sight and sounds of Kate Bush bellowing Wuthering Heights on TOTP.
"It was like a visitation" she recalls fondly. "She had this other worldly quality that was very emotive and very fairytale like. I immediately wanted to become a singer."
She plays piano, violin, keyboards, xylophone and "various other bits'n'bobs", Weaver continues to write most of her songs on the guitar.
She also insists she still loves Kate Bush, though her list of influences now includes Mazzy Star, Broadcast, Yvonne Elliman, The Pentangle, Serge Gainsborg, Steve Albini, Cat Power, David Lynch, The Breeders and Neil Young.
When she's not composing spine-chilling songs, Weaver can be found fronting Twisted Nerve quartet Misty Dixon. A prolific chanteuse, Weaver's lengthy CV also includes stints as a DJ, remixer (D.O.T) and guest vocalist (Andy Votel's Girl On A Go-Ped and forthcoming album All Ten Fingers and Doves' Seven Day Smile).
Lest we forget, she also fronted indie outfit Kill Laura and released various critically acclaimed solo EPs in the mid to late 90s on Rob Gretton's Manchester Records.
"I'm still proud of those records, but Like An Aspen Leaf is the first record that feels completely mine" she reflects. "It's immensely personal and every song has it's own messed up little story."
