The Muse's News
A National E-zine For and About Songwriters
March 2001, Issue 4.0

Katy Tessman - Fall, Review by Ben Ohmart

When a commercial for a new drug wants you to feel that the TV people have benefited from it, they have the actors smiling and tripping along a deserted beach or a deserted country field. Well, Katy commercializes herself, as if she has the beach all to herself thru "Wash It Away" that comes on like a happy bit of afternoon, with the waves clapping in, and some slight rhythm section coming in from the nearest ‚ but unseen, mind you ‚ populated coconut-groove grove.

However, for me, the CD really starts with "Bright Chair", a quiet folk-based tune upon which the acoustic guitar is lovingly held up high to the light of memories. "Will he ever come back down / Share a beer and hang around / Walk and talk along with me / And show me all the things I will see." More beautiful than sad, thank you.

The title song, "Fall", is an aggressive acoustic guitar song with a spot of electric sitting in. Katy does love her character-driven songs, and has a lot of poetry to give out. "Night kisses make her patient / For the morning / As she sleeps in the arms of his jacket / He memorizes her space." Some truly beautiful thoughts within this 11 track debut album. The Tessman voice is high like a folk festival road scholar, ever reaching for the notes on the wind, honed by years of coffeehouse performances.

Touring the cafes extensively in the Minnesota area, Katy has actually been playing the circuit since 1993 with her eclectic folk-rock band, Joe's Elevator. But since going solo in 1997, she's sold a lot of CDs, and has delighted in assembling this first of probably many self-penned CDs of obvious skill and refined moods.

"Forty pound pack on my back / Never felt so good / The trail opens to another piece of heaven / Again we dip, dip and swing." Coming with a slightly reggae beat, it musically gives rise to rock beneath the feet and an uneven approach to mountain trail scaling. "Dip, Dip and Swing" brings in a few bird and nature calls, proving that the all natural is the best port of call. "Supper has never tasted so good." One of the best on the disc.

Easy to see that this girl got her degree in Speech Communication. She knows how to share her surroundings with the other folk. Personal and home-spun grace, this is what Katy releases into the wild, and never bothers to tag for keeping track.

Photography by Jon Duder.