While we're in post-production with our upcoming music video for Blinding, we decided to release the single online. Check it out on CDBaby and iTunes. Please write reviews on these sites, too - We want to hear what you think - and others want to know what you think, too!

We recently got yet another request from a fan for "More Merch!"
Well, we've got a little something for ya. A live recording from our
trio show in October on Yoshi's San Francisco's Main Stage is featured
on Songwriters Unplugged Volume 1.

You can purchase this compilation, produced by Bay Vibes & Sonic Zen Records, at all of our live shows or online at CD Baby. Proceeds
benefit Bread and Roses.

So many great Bay Area songwriters are also on this compilation: Justin Ancheta, Robin Applewood, Garrin Benfield, Brad Brooks, Jeff Campbell, Heather Combs, Amity Eliaz, Ziva Hadar, Francesca Lee, Anita Lofton, Matt Lucas, and Megan Slankard.

Sign-up for our e-newsletter by May 31st at http://valerieorth.fanbridge.com/ and get a FREE download of our brand new recording of "Maribel"! The download link for "Maribel" will be sent to you as an email confirmation to your inbox.

Valerie wrote "Maribel" in Portland, Maine, watching her big sister, Annemarie, fall so deeply in love with her newborn. Never quite figuring out how to fit this lullaby onto one of our rock albums, we decided it'd be most appropriate to release it on May 8, for Mother's Day. So while touring in Southern California, we spent our down time recording this song for you, our fans, to show our appreciation for your love and support, to thank you for believing in our music - just like our Mamas would. :-)

DOWNLOAD YOUR FREE MP3 OF "MARIBEL" TODAY by signing up at http://valerieorth.fanbridge.com/.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

A labor organizer funnels her message into folk music
By Rachel Swan

Valerie Orth's cell phone isn't working. Her apartment is cold. She has no central heating, and the large windows make the rooms feel drafty. Orth paces the floor in hiking boots and a long knit scarf. She piles blankets on the sofa and stocks the cupboards with Throat Coat medicinal tea. Even in such conditions, she remains relatively sanguine.

"If I were going to be sponsored by a company, it would be Throat Coat," the singer said, setting her kettle to boil on a recent Wednesday afternoon. She smiled facetiously, brown eyes twinkling.

Despite her humble living conditions, Orth has a lot to be happy about these days. Five years since leaving an activist job with Global Exchange, she's become a successful folk singer, clocking two full-length albums. Her current one, Faraway City, took a year and half to make, and the effort shows. Orth plays guitar and sings multi-part harmonies over tracks provided by a seven-piece band. Her personnel include pianist Julie Wolf of Ani Difranco fame, and free-jazz titan Scott Amendola, playing the part of a rock drummer. For a fledgling singer with a completely intuitive composition style, it's a remarkable piece of work. Read entire featured article.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

I have been a fan of Valerie Orth for years, and her latest CD Faraway City is in constant rotation on my CD player. She has catapulted herself to the likes of major artists such as Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco. There is an honesty to Valerie's music that is both brilliant and heartbreaking. See article.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

San Francisco singer-songwriter Valerie Orth blends rock and soul with a penchant for Ani DiFranco. Her second full- length, "Faraway City," features Julie Wolf on piano and organ, Scott Amendola on drums and Jon Evans on bass and electric guitar. Tonight's CD release is also a donation drive for BOSS (Building Opportunities for Self- Sufficiency), so bring canned food or other goods. See article.