Janet Lee Myatt's music reveals her deeply personal journey back to herself - an outward manifestation of the inward journey of becoming fully awake. Inspiring, touching, funny and ruthlessly honest, her songs compel the listener to question everything, remember a higher power, and to discover who one truly is.
When asked who she sounds like she says, "Me!" and laughs. "But," she continues, "over the years I've been told I sound like Stevie Nicks, Bonnie Raitt, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, even Janis Joplin!" She shakes her head and continues, "I don't believe I sound like any of these women and I don't believe they sound like each other. What these women have in common (besides being great!) is that they all have uniquely distinctive voices that are immediately identifiable. What I take from the comparisons is that I have a uniquely distinctive and, I hope, immediately identifiable voice - both in terms of tone and perspective."
And right she is! Her music plays nicely alongside any of these women as they have clearly influenced her over the years. Janet's sound is a creative, tasteful mix of folk, blues, rock and pop sensibilities with a distinct San Francisco flair! From the deeply spiritual In The Stillness, to the moving and inspirational Right Mind Again to the quirky She's So Insane, her music covers a broad range of emotions, moods and themes. Offering a unique point of view, Janet's music is current, original and relevant .
A Little Background
Music has always been a part of my life. One of my earliest memories is being on stage at about age six doing the "Cancan" in the children's show of an amateur theatrical group my parents belonged to. Every summer I'd be up there on that stage singing and dancing my heart out! In high school, music is what got me up in the morning. Participating in the choir, being in the musicals, performing around town in the small 12-person ensemble kept my spirits charged and gave me a sense of belonging. In college my creative outlet was singing in the large orchestral choir and in the exclusive 12-person Cal Jazz Choir - my first exposure to jazz. After college I continued to sing and perform when I could, mostly doing solo and duo gigs with the occasional rock-band thrown in for good measure! I eventually found my way into the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, which was an amazing experience. With this award-winning choir, I got walk the boards of such coveted venues as Shoreline Amphitheater and the Paramount Theater performing for sold-out audiences and having a ball! Recording at Fantasy Studios, performing for the 49er's and at the Russian River Jazz Festival are just a few of the many wonderful experiences I had during my time in the choir. Simultaneously, I was performing around the Bay Area in the coffee house circuit in an acoustic duo called Off Center with my good friend Donna Wishon.
In 2000, after the birth of my 3rd son, I felt I had to retire from the choir as I couldn't meet the time commitment with a newborn baby and two young sons to care for. The silver lining was that I finally began to write - something I had always wanted to do, but somehow never seemed able to do! Once the door opened, however, the music came flooding out of me as hasn't stopped since!
I was fortunate to live here in the Bay Area and thus be able to study songwriting with the fabulous Bonnie Hayes (Bonnie Raitt, Bette Midler, Natalie Cole, Cher). Soon I was crafting songs I really believed in. At that point my husband and I decided to invest in a ProTools home studio so I could fully develop my ideas. Learning how to write, arrange, produce, record and mix my music became my passion. Once I had about 50 songs "in the can" I began to feel the need to get them out into the world. This led to all kinds of adventures! So many wonderful, talented people helped me bring my creative visions to life starting with my good friend Garth Webber (Guitarist: Miles Davis, George Thorogood, John Lee Hooker, Greg Allman). This led to work with L.A. based movie-man Marcus Barone (Lifehouse) which in turn led to working in Nashville with talented producer Jerry Cupit (Dolly Parton, Tim McGraw, George Jones, etc.) Truly, one of the nicest people I've met in the music industry!
In 2005 I released two CDs on CD Baby and formed my own band. Highlights from this time include getting some radio play in Europe, the east coast and even Uganda! In 2007 I completed a 7-song EP with my band (mixed at Blue Seven Audio by the fabulous Chris Cooper). Due to family circumstances in that same year I never released the EP and ended up taking several years off from my music to focus on my family.
Life is finally back on track and I'm able to pay attention to my music once again. In some ways it's like starting all over - a rebirth of sorts. In other ways, it's like resuming an old friendship. I'm excited to be reemerging into my passion. I believe music is a strong, creative force in the Universe. It soothes, it excites, it expresses our deepest emotions. It's primal and necessary and deeply healing to the human spirit. My goal is to express myself and the world around me through my music. I want to touch people, to connect with people through my music. I want to make a difference!
Past Venues:
Past venues include: Kimo's (San Francisco), Good Old Days Festival (Pacific Grove, CA) The Brainwash Cafe (San Francisco), Freight & Salvage (Berkeley), the Sweetwater (Mill Valley), The Pioneer Saloon (Woodside), St. James Gate (Belmont), Borders (Palo Alto, Milpitas and San Francisco), Newark Java (Newark, CA), St Anne's Festival (Newark, CA). As a member of the Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir Janet has had the privilege of performing at Shoreline Amphitheater, the Paramount Theater (Oakland), the Russian River Jazz Festival and the Monterey Jazz Festival.