Random Howse Presents: Women Songwriters in the Round

WHO: Mandy Troxel, Melody Funk, Madison West, and Carolyn Cruso

WHAT:   Women Songwriters in the Round 

WHERE: Random Howse, 365 North Beach Rd., in Eastsound  376-1111

WHEN: Friday, February 12th, 7pm, by donation.

Join Orcas Island women songwriters, Mandy Troxel, Melody Funk, Madi Jane West and Carolyn Cruso for a special night of original songs at the Random Howse. Come see these creative women share their stories through song in this unique format. This show is by donation.  Call 376-1111 for more information or visit www.randomhowse.com

The Songwriter in the Round format is a magical way to see and hear multiple songwriters share their musical stories. It’s a lot like sitting at a campfire and  passing a guitar around but in this case the songwriters are on a stage and there will be a piano as well as multiple guitars and possibly a ukulele or two. While all the performers are similar in that they are female singer songwriters, there will be a wonderful diversity of style, shared through their various approaches to writing and to life, based on years on the planet, musical influences, and how they use songs as vehicles to express insights ranging from the ordinary to the mysterious. Random Howse is a wonderful listening room for this kind of show.

Seventeen-year-old Madi Jane West strives for honesty in her lyrics. Her attention to melody is also paramount. Those elements combined with a delicately beautiful voice make for a wonderful sound. Last summer she attended the Berklee college of music in Boston. She was selected to work with Melissa Ferrick in a songwriter showcase. She has played many Orcas venues, fundraisers, Evergreen State Fair, Whidbey Island Fair, and San Juan County Fair, and has opened for Quinell and Jessica Lynne. To be on stage with Carolyn, Mandy, and Melody is an honor. You may also recognize her from Matthew Laslo’s Magic Now, or you can see her at the Aerial Silks performance at the Orcas Center in April.

Mandy Troxel jokingly describes her music as “Island Mama Americana”. She is no stranger to the Random Howse stage, most recently with her bandThe Bitter Ends. This performance is a chance for her to debut some new songs, as well as showcase favorites from her album “If Only Words Could Keep Me Warm.” Her songwriting has been described as having “the feel of an old friend, pulling the listener into heartfelt conversation with lyrics both wistful and wise.” Mandy has shared the stage with a wide array of seasoned musicians, including Victoria Williams, Jan Krist, Tom Kimmel and Robert Deeble, all of whom have capitalized on Mandy’s vocal chops by inviting her to sing harmonies during their performances.

Melody Funk comes from a musical family which allowed her to begin her musical career at a very early age, performing with her parents and siblings at concerts and benefits.  She studied voice and oboe, and attended Mt Hood Community College to study jazz. From the house band at Rosario Resort from 1975-80 to Corporate Functions, Festivals, Clubs, The Seattle Seahawk Band, and ten years of performing on Cruise ships, vocalist and bassist Melody Funk, has seen the world through music-colored glasses. Orcas Island called her home in 2013 where she continues to perform off island, and with Island musicians. Currently, she is writing and performing her own music.

From concert hall to campfire, troubadour Carolyn Cruso has traveled the nation and all over Europe sharing her contemporary acoustic songs, influenced by folk, rock, jazz and Americana.  She’s a multi-instrumentalist, playing hammered dulcimer, flute, guitar, and voice. She’ll be focusing on her songwriting talents at this Orcas show, accompanying her elegant vocals with a combination of intricate fingerpicking and rhythmic grooves on her often alternately tuned guitars. Her lyrics span from poetic to narrative and explore the backroads of the mind and of the heart with stories of seekers, divine misfits, tricksters and the glorious yet sometimes forgotten places of beauty on this planet we call earth. With a gritty, yet tender, wit she casts a welcome spell on the listener.