Meet The Band

MJ BISHOP

Bishop's No Pawn

MJ Bishop is from out West but sounds more Appalachia than Rockies. Reared in Seattle on Nashville-style country, she's often compared to Lucinda Williams and Natalie Merchant, though I suspect she has more than one Woody Guthrie record in her collection. On her two releases (2001's Hometown Address and last year's Feel Good), crisp vocals layer with dobro, mandolin and pedal steel. Bishop's sound is focused squarely on her well-honed storytelling ability, harmonies and impeccable musicianship... You can call her country cross-over, or a folkie that's unafraid of rocking... Call her whatever you like, just make sure you check out one of the best shows this side of Fogartyville...

Mark Sanders, Weekly Planet
Sarasota, Florida
SW Florida Tour, March 2004

Singer's mid-life crisis leads to her passion: guitar

Seattle-based singer-songwriter MJ Bishop has come full circle musically. While many singers start off solo and then hook up with a band, Bishop began her career singing in rock, pop and jazz bands and eventually discovered folk music and the joy of playing solo at the age of 40. Bishop credits her musical direction to a mid-life crisis. During a recent interview, she said, "When I turned 40, I decided rather than get the little red sports car, I'd get a guitar - it was cheaper. I've been obsessed ever since."
Bishop's voice is reminiscent of k.d. lang's - she has that clear, crisp vibrato-less sound topped off with a country catch at the end of phrases. Her songs are rooted in folk, but occasionally blues, rock and hard-core country work their way in...

Amy Abern, Englewood Herald-Tribune
Englewood, Florida
SW Florida Tour, March 2004

"Another Country Bar Band? NOT!" says
Bill Fisher in his article on the MJ Bishop Band.

"Beneath her gentle exterior, this mild-mannered reporter harbors a vast quantity of drive, and it seems to be fueled entirely by a passion for music and love of performing."

Bill Fisher, Victory Music Review
Tacoma, WA, Nov 2003