THE ST. IGNACE NEWS
Thursday, January 17, 2002

MJ Bishop Records CD "Hometown Address"

Former St. Ignace resident Mary Jo Bishop has released her first CD, "Hometown Address," capturing glimpses of her feelings about the Straits region.  The daughter of Jim and Norma Bishop, MJ has resided since 1980 in Seattle, Washington, where she performs her songs with her band by night and works as a paralegal for a tax attorney by day.

Country and Northwestern is how she describes her musical style, and her lyrics are reflections of her roots in the Great Lakes.

"I recall blue-green sparkling glass where the iron now fights the wind," she sings in "Straits of Mackinac," a reference to the Mackinac Bridge.

"Many of my original tunes are about my St. Ignace childhood and those surroundings," she said of the album, which took 13 months to produce and was released December 4, 2001.  It contains 13 original songs, from lighthearted to poignant, silly to nostalgic.

The CD cover and lyrics booklet are laced with St. Ignace scenes taken from her family photograph album.

MJ Bishop was graduated from LaSalle High School in 1977.  She began her study of music in the third grade under the guidance of the nuns at the Ursaline Academy.  At LaSalle High School, she studied trumpet under Wayne LeGreve and participated in the symphonic band, jazz band, and marching band.

Her CD is available at the Village Inn in St. Ignace, from her sister, Ann Marie Dewey by calling 906.643.7802, or directly from Mary Jo Bishop at 4750 35th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA, 98105, from her web site, www.mjbishopband.com, or online at www.cdbaby.com/mjbishop.