St. Cloud Times, St. Cloud, MN
March 14, 2001

Turn it up: She finds style in urban folk
Tessman will perform Saturday to promote her debut CD
by Lukas Johnson

Singer/songwriter Katy Tessman is what some call an urban folk purist, a title that sits well with her.

"Urban folk is my style of music, and purist -- you can interpret that however," Tessman said. "Purist means complete or exactly -- everything that I am. I write the songs I perform and they're based on an acoustic instrument, whether it's guitar or mandolin, and the song topics come from my heart and personal experiences."

Tessman was given the title by a disc jockey at KFAI-FM. Saturday she performs at the Java Joint, with opening artists Mike Rennee and Benn Afffleck, to promote the release of her debut solo CD, Fall.

This 11-song CD includes artists such as Richard Davis, who played with Van Morrison; Clyde Stubblefield, who played with James Brown; Randy Sabien, who played with Greg Brown; and Wally Ingram, who played with Sheryl Crow. Her CD is available at Electric Fetus.

In person or on CD, Tessman describes it as easy-listening music that's more danceable.

"Urban folk uses contemporary song topics for the lyrics as well as contemporary grooves and rhythms ... You may be able to tap your toe or you might be encouraged to stand up and dance," Tessman said.

Dancing or not, there's a message in the music.

"I think I'm telling people to smile more often," she said. "Some of my songs are feel good songs ... then some songs are about more serious topics. And even though some songs might be about serious topics, they usually have a positive twist."

As a middle child competing for attention, Tessman started performing at an early age in choir and musicals. She's a classically trained soprano turned folk artist, and she owes it all to her brother.

Tessman's brother in 1991 was given a guitar and lessons for a high school graduation present. He wasn't interested in the lessons so Tessman quickly agreed to learn in his place.

A year after college graduation in July of 1993, Christmas came early for Tessman and her parents bought her a guitar of her own. She couldn't stop playing and dreamed of little else.

Eventually, Tessman started her trek up the musical ladder with the band Joe's Elevator, which has since broken up. Tessman's first solo gig was ringing in the new year of 1997 at the Coffee Grounds in Falcon Heights, a suburb of St. Paul.

At the live performance, audiences can expect to hear a variety of songs from ballads to tunes that are a little more upbeat.

"I think they'll really enjoy themselves because it's a positive experience," Tessman said. "I'm having fun and that's contagious. You'll hear your favorites, but then you'll always hear something new."

Katy Tessman promotes the release of her solo debut CD, Fall with a performance on Saturday at the Java Joint.

Photography by Jon Duder.