Have you ever heard a song that just moves you unlike any other? Well how about
hearing 23 such songs all on one double-CD album?!!
Welcome to the world of 'Uppers & Downers' by Fisher!
With a voice that's haunting at times, and smooth as velvet at others, Kathleen Fisher,
the lead singer and songwriter puts to music poetry that seems to speak what you yourself may have
wanted to say but couldn't find the words.
I personally first discovered Fisher while listening to the soundtrack for the Ethan Hawke/Gweneth Paltrow
movie 'Great Expectations' with their song 'Breakable' being #12. It sat alongside artists such as Chris Cornell, Tori Amos and The Grateful Dead.
Hands-down 'Breakable' was the best track on the album as it was the only one to truly encapsulate the movie in three short minutes.
Next I found their indie-release 'One' which is to this day one of my top 10 albums of all-time
and years later, still has a frequent recurring role in all three of my iPod's play lists.
Other Fisher CDs to look out for are December, their holiday CD, and True North, their first
major-label release. If you're very lucky, you may also stumble across their MP3-only 'EP' release
'Minus One' (which predated 'One') that has the haunting original version of 'Miss Kathleen' (the newer
of which is featured on this album.) Even though just a few years old, it's seems straight out of the lips
of those soulful, sultry singers of the late 70's like Carly Simon who still treated songwriting as a true
art form and not a commodity. The rest of that 'EP' is rooted in so many different genres, yet each remains
remarkably and undeniably Fisher.
And if all that wasn't enough, just turn on the TV and you'll undoubtedly hear Kathy's voice in several
TV commercials such as 'It's a Beautiful World' for Toyota (which has come to be known as the 'wheel' song
referencing the tire just rolling through life in the ad), 'L.O.V.E.' in Chrysler's PT Cruiser, and Hyundai's infamous
'Freedom is calling you' theme. Kathy is also the voice of the title track to the teen-themed TV show 'Sweet Valley High'.
You can also hear her most recently on the soundtrack to "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" also performing 'L.O.V.E.'
So why is a Pocket PC site going on about a band? Simple! They love technology as much as we do! By a chance exchange
of e-mails with their fan site, I ended up talking to Ron Wasserman who is the musician and producer of the band and who is to the
keyboards and production what Kathleen is to vocals. Almost everything you hear besides her voice is his mastery in the studio.
Quite simply you will not find better. I soon discovered that Ron, like me, is a complete techno-gadget guy. He loves XM Radio
(they were recently featured on XM Cafe) he loves computers and he loves music and if it can be plugged in, turned on or lit up,
chances are he (and I) have at least two!
After exchanging several correspondences back and forth, we finally all met at one of their shows at the House of Blues, Cambridge, MA
and have been really great friends ever since, even going to Vegas together to go check out a Cirque show. All this from a simple e-mail.
Plus, if you look real closely at their latest video for 'Beautiful World', you can even see my arm as I'm sitting at the bar!
(...and yes it's available for booking! Just call (800) 555-L-BOW!)
Of course my personal favorite piece of 'Ron' trivia is that arguably one of the most successful toy campaigns of all time, and one that struck
fear into the hearts of parents around the holidays when the shelves were bare, Ron Wasserman has the esteemed title of being the writer, performer
and singer of its oh-so catchy phrase "Go! Go! Power Rangers!!"
So that brings us to here as my way to pay tribute to a great band and the two great people
behind it. True friends and true musicians and lovers of technology let alone two of the nicest people
you could ever meet let alone in this industry. Truly unique and truly touching, hopefully, this will
introduce my customers to their music as well. That said, click away, download and enjoy!
Mark A. Donohoe
President & CEO - Pen & Inc. Software
Stay tuned... there's more Fisher stuff to come!
Click here for the official Fisher Website
