Introduction

The Blues Cowgirls Debut CD Ask Any Woman has been awarded the CanberraRootsMusic.com "2004 CD of the Year". It includes a mix of country, blues, gospel and folk songs. Their original material ranges from roots-inspired emotive songs to raunchy blues. It was recorded before Col and Brian joined the group.

Ask Any Woman is the title of one of the original tracks from the album, written by Judi Pearce. It was written as a reaction to the expectations that society places on younger women in relation to body image.

While the feature of the group is their dynamic 3 part vocal harmonies, you'll hear the bluesy-style harmonica being played by DJ Gosper on many of the tracks. Her favourite harmonica piece can be heard on She Can’t Turn Back, a country-blues song written by her sister Lyn.

Track 7, Fall Down is written by Juanita Cucinotta, it deals with her recent experience with depression and anxiety. Juanita is the driving force behind the group.

Ernie Van Veen joins the Cowgirls on the CD playing bass and acoustic guitar, and Kev Austin plays percussion on some of the tracks.

Biography

The Blues Cowgirls specialise in satin-textured three part harmony that frequently tingles the spine. The 'Cowgirls captivate their audience with a satisfying balance of moods - from sensuous and soulful ballads to catchy toe-tappers, down-to-earth blues and uplifting spirituals, all delivered with the Cowgirls' delicious blend of grace and humour.

The group emerged from the desire of 3 women to express their passion for acoustic roots music. "We knew each other from the Canberra Blues Society - Juanita and Judi from soul band The Business and DJ from blues-rock band The Dynamic Lifters. We felt a need for a stronger female presence in the blues scene. From our first session together early in 2002, it was apparent that our combined voices merged beautifully. Considering that our individual voices are very different to each other, this was a pleasant surprise. It was also fun to work without blokes for a change." This, and the support and encouragement from the Canberra Blues Society and Merry Muse Folk Club inspired us to move forward."

The Blues Cowgirls are:

Juanita Cucinotta – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar and Piano Accordian

Juanita has a variety of music influences including jazz, blues and country. During the nineties she sang and played keyboards with her own jazz combo Two Steps to Heaven for five years in Sydney doing everything from Billie Holiday to John Coltrane. Juanita became interested in the blues a few years ago and played in Sydney for a couple of years with Marcel's Band of Gypsies before moving to Canberra in 1997.

In Canberra, Juanita joined the soul, blues and R&B based band The Business, as a keyboard player and vocalist and performed with them for 6 years. Early in 2002, the formation of The Blues Cowgirls gave her the opportunity to perform acoustic roots music. "I love to play acoustic country, blues and gospel. It's purity and simplicity speaks to my soul".

DJ Gosper – Vocals, Blues Harp, Piano Accordian and Percussion

DJ was tutored by harmonica maestro Juzzie the Harmonica Man. Her fine harmonica playing was recently recognised, when she was awarded the Canberra Roots Music's "2004 Instrumentalist of the Year". "I'm so pleased to see an increasing number of women playing blues-harp in public - there should be much more of it!"

Raised in a musical family with sing-a-longs being a regular occurrence, DJ had piano lessons for many years. "Years of piano lessons have helped me to adapt to playing the piano accordion". She was influenced by the blues and bluegrass records her family played. Her professional musical career began in 1995 fronting The Dynamic Lifters as singer, keyboard and harmonica player. This band went through a few transformations over the years, ranging from playing her own original songs to obscure folk songs to pub-rock and blues-rock covers. She had a stint with the Hoskinstown Drop g's rocking the floorboards in country halls and pubs playing reels & jigs for folk dances and at country-rock gigs. She also spent two years as lead singer and harmonica player for the blues, rock and soul duo Ruby Blue & the Beatman.

These days, besides the Cowgirls, DJ performs with Canadian-Australian guitarist/singer/song-writer, Van Veen, who played bass and guitar on the Cowgirl's debut CD Ask Any Woman.

Judi Pearce – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar and Percussion

Judi has been singing professionally in Sydney since her teens when she made quite a stir on the folk music circuit as a young singer guitarist. In the mid eighties she fronted Sydney soul band The Convertibles for three years until career and family took her to Brisbane. In Brisbane she sang with a number of duos and trios around the clubs before another move to Canberra about nine years ago.

Since arriving in Canberra, Judi has fronted blues and soul band The Business which she continues to do, and was recently voted "Best Female Singer" in the 2003 Canberra Blues Awards. Looking for a change in the male-dominated local blues scene, it was Judi who initiated the formation of The Blues Cowgirls.

Recently, 2 fabulous musicians have teemed up with the Cowgirls:

Col Bernau is a sought-after guitarist, well known for his proficiency and versatility. He has a keen interest in roots music and has recently been getting more involved in the folk music scene playing mandolin and joining Canberra's Mandolin Orchestra. Col has worked with an impressive list of well known artists, ranging from Australian acts - Jade Hurley, Daryl Braithwaite, Simon Gallagher, Jackie Love and Normie Rowe in the cabaret and rock fields and Ricky May and Erroll Buddle in the jazz field, to international stars - Al Martino and Thelma Houston, plus supported a broad variety of international and national artists - B.B. King, Joe Cocker, Leo Sayer, the Pointer Sisters and Hot Chocolate to Renee Geyer, Split Enz , John Paul Young and Jon English. Col has most recently been working with local showbands Big City and Mumbo Jumbo.

Brian Taylor on upright bass. Brian is a founding member of legendary blues band Blind Freddy. He has played on the same stages as the mighty Albert King, Junior Wells and Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers. Formerly a member of renowned Chicago jump blues band The Groove Kings and winner of the Canberra Blues Society's "Best Bass Player" award, Brian's prowess on the upright bass provides a solid foundation and authentic rootsy sound for The Blues Cowgirls.

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Website

Web address: www.karismakatz.com/
Email: cowgirls@canberrarootsmusic.com

Gigs/Tours

At a Cowgirl's gig, in addition to the heavenly harmonies, you'll hear plenty of rootin' tootin' wailin' blues-harp, lead guitar, mandolin and even some piano accordian which both Juanita and DJ have recently taken up.

From laid-back ballads to rollicking country and spirited gospel songs, The Blues Cowgirls are witty, earthy, soulful and moooving.

For the latest details, see www.karismakatz.com/

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