This song is a mostly true story about Alison's mother. Mark Twain said, "Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn't." Also, the sunny skies of 1970'sCardiff-By-The-Sea, California are easy to put into a song. This song features the Alison Pipitone Band: Pat Shaughnessy, Graham Howes, Natalie Howes, Marc Hunt. Special guests Damon Pipitone and Zadra Ibanez provide backing vocals.

Green is the game. Blues feel the same. Re(a)d all the names. Pink is the dawn. Yellow is my song.

www.alisonpipitone.com

Alison Pipitone, vocals and guitar; Pat Shaughnessy, drums; Marc Warner Hunt, Bass; Graham Howes, guitar and backing vocals; Natalie Pipitone Howes, backing vocals and percussion; special guest Tony Christiano, guitar.

Justin Rose: engineer; Marc Hunt: mixing engineer; Recorded at GCR and Black Rock EPS (Buffalo); vocals and some guitars recorded at home by AP and TC; Mastered by Bryan Lowe for Jaoa Caravalho Mastering (Toronto). Produced by Alison Pipitone.

Written by Alison Pipitone, Songs O' The Pie, BMI

"Retrodyne", the brand spanking new release from Alison Pipitone, rocks. It is a collection of vibrant, pulsating rock and roll songs with Alison's signature lyrical purity.

There's nothing timid about the latest release from Alison Pipitone - Retrodyne. She kicks the door open with the first track - the rollicking I Don't Remember You - and doesn't let go, even with the ballads. Pipitone, who has a talent for bringing to life the phrase "Wearing your heart on your sleeve," has created another batch of songs with emotionally intimate lyrics encased in achingly tender vocals. I Don't Remember You is the perfect opening to this masterful music compilation. Its resoundingly urgent opening chords blasting out from the speakers accompanying the fervently emotional lyrics - "I remember the breath I breathed when you held me/I remember the strength you had when I cried/I remember the love I felt when you felt me/I remember that long terrible sad goodbye" - readies the listener for the musical odyssey to come. The next tune, Sticking Real Good, is so incredibly sexual and hard driving with lyrics comparing her girl to a fast car - Darlene my queen you know you are the best ride in town/To hear your engines roar only makes me want you more/I would live to drown in that sound/the boom boom of your wheels against the ground/I'll be the first to admit if you throttle me a bit/I will turn those curves till sundown " - I dare you not to smoke a cigarette after listening to it. Okay, so maybe you won't, but something inside of you will be smokin'. If not, you should check yourself for a pulse. Even with the harder-edged sound than her previous releases, Pipitone doesn't totally abandon the ballads that she has a knack for. Retrodyne is filled with beautiful harmonies and overpowering sweet lead vocals in melodious tunes such as Cee Cee, Sean and Getting Married. Once again, Pipitone shows she has the gift for expressing the wonder, magic, loneliness and eternal optimism of the human spirit, whether wrapped in strong electric guitar chords or the wistful vocals of one whose experienced all of it and is longing for more.

• Sandra Molina on Retrodyne

This is an all-acoustic album. Fans of Alison get ready to hear what happens when the electric guitar gets unplugged long enough to bring you 10 beautiful songs -or better yet, 10 beautiful stories. A must-have for fans of Alison's music.

Alison Pipitone I'll Ask Her Slice Records by Samuel L. Wereb for rockzilla.net

Alison Pipitone writes poetry that rocks. She's one part cover girl, two parts Springsteen, one part Liz Phair and a bucket-full of Kurt Cobain. Blended together with a whiskey-laced voice, she's a powerful concoction of lyric-driven, folky alternative rock with sharp, 100-proof melodies and scorching full-on performances.

I'll Ask Her is her fifth record and it is a significant departure from her previous work. This one is completely stripped down to just her vocals and acoustic guitar and it features contemplative, introspective songwriting for somewhat quieter moments. It's her Nebraska, and I'll Ask Her is meant to play on the rhyme. Even the cover photo of a bleak Buffalo streetscape harkens back to it.

Ironically, this is an artist who has those highly coveted right-now pop songstress looks, but she doesn't show the slightest glimpse of them on this CD. She seems to have set aside her outward looks and expressions and turned entirely inward. This is a very fine record, which may reach a wider audience than her previous Grrrl-rock recordings. There is some superb songwriting here.

Pipitone played more than 150 dates in 2002, and those who only know her live or by her previous releases may not immediately get this one. She is a complicated, enigmatic artist, and analyzing most of her lyrics is way above my pay grade. Still, like the best songwriters, when she wants to make imagery perfectly clear she makes it look easy. "1969 Cobalt Blue Camaro" is a good example. It immediately evokes some of the best Simon and Garfunkel ballads or Bruce Springsteen nostalgia.

Stripped down like this she sounds a little like Lucinda Williams, an artist she admires. Other times she's more playful and romantic, like Liz Phair sans the overt sexual content. She has a full, robust voice, and the whole record is done with about twice Lucinda's talent and maybe one-tenth of Phair's typical budget.

The rest of the album is romantic, complex, and a little melancholy, containing devotional love songs and nostalgic reminiscences of her childhood. "Bring It On" is a semi-autobiographical adolescent anthem told in another's voice. Springsteen used to do this stuff. Only he doesn't fuck with the listener's head like she does or Cobain did. "I Am Not Yours" is so ardent and searingly good it sounds like it was stolen from Cobain's estate. There are a lot of different styles in here and they all work. "Secret Lover" could have been one of those lost songs Steve Earle says he sold for dope. She's that good.

Alison Pipitone is on her way to becoming a star. She sings with charm, vim, and vitriol; lightning in a bottle, basically. She's a top-flight songwriter with a wicked vocal left-hook and serious attitude.

Her earlier records are damned good, too. Don't pass them up if you like smart alternative rock, sung like Hell-on-wheels.

AltRockBluesChickAmericanaSongs that you will love like your mother

The Alison Pipitone Band came together as one in 2005. Veteran rocker Alison Pipitone was already working with drummer Patrick Shaughnessy when they were joined by upright bassist Rebecca Mercurio, and then guitarist Graham Howes. 2005 was the Year of the Rooster - flamboyant and expressive, and promised to be a time of opportunity and sentimental fireworks. And so it was.

Since its inception, the band - which Pipitone refers to as “a blessing”- has toured extensively, adding scads of new fans to an already loyal base across the United States. They won the Top Original Rock Band and Top Original Female Vocalist awards at the 2005 Buffalo Music Awards. Around the same time, the band was offered a running gig at Buffalo’s legendary Sportmens Tavern, owned by producer and musician Dwane Hall. Hall liked what he heard and approached Pipitone about making an album together. The band jumped at the chance, and nine months later, Tigerbabies was born.

With the release of Tigerbabies, the APB delivers a magnificant blend of musical styles and moods - rock, blues, pop, alt, country – inspiring you to dream, to dance, and to take your air guitar out of the closet (well, maybe not that). Pipitone’s heart-tugging lyrics, laced with bits if irony, read like a book of poetry. You find yourself leaning a little closer to hear everything she has to say.

On the first track, “sunShinestar”, Pipitone speaks of “just a little hard luck” being “all you need to feel a little bit better bout your life.” Like a splash of cold water in the face you realize things maybe aren't all that bad. By the end of the song you feel as if you’re in the middle of a summer afternoon, serenaded by your favorite band in a room filled with strawberries, daisies and beer. Summer's day turns to night with “Sitting on Top of the World,” where you gaze at “plum trees” and “licorice rooftops.” The melody is light, loose and lazy – the feel, reminiscent of Van Morrison’s early offerings. You'll hit the rewind on this one again, and again, and maybe, probably again.

The band fluidly transitions to its signature style on songs like “You Can't Keep a Good Woman Down,” “Tiger” and “Good People, Dirty Lives.” With Will Holten’s molten sax and Graham Howes’ pumping lead lines, you find your feet do the talking, taking you up and back and forth, head bopping, arms swinging. On “Honey Do” Rebecca Mercurio handles the lead vocal atop a lovely, somewhat nostalgic melody. The song feels like a walk down a summer street, heat rising from the sidewalk, italian ice waiting for you at the next corner.

Ultimately, Tigerbabies is an electric escape, a rousing good time, a party you just don’t want to leave. It is bits of wisdom delivered from Pipitone with a wicked little grin from across the room.

-Margaret Shaughnessy, June 2006

Home-made, state-of-the-art music to live by.

"Shake It Around" was recorded at Alison's apartment on a digital 8-track recorder.

Then it was mixed in a "real studio" We mention this because because the result is amazing -- both highly intimate and sonically powerful.

The songs are great, the mood is great.

Oh yeah, and it rocks.

Check it out.

A brand new batch of songs from one of WNY's top rated rock bands.

This CD is Alison's 9th... and once again contains her trademark style : Great songwriting, great musicianship, story songs, love songs and hope despite tough times. The band has been playing together for almost a decade, and it shows! Strong, tight, creative and confident performances.... The list of Alison's friends who make guest appearances on this album reads like a Who's Who of the Buffalo area top players: Mary Ramsey, Theresa Quinn, Susan Rozler, Michael Skowronski, LIz Holland, and Holly Christiano.... Produced by Mike Rorick and recorded at California Road Studios, and at Alison's home, this record will immediately become one of your favorites!

The new song by Alison Pipitone

Alison Pipitone has enjoyed an incredibly loyal following throughout her 22 years in the WNY rock/indie music scene. Under her belt: Nine albums, thousands of performances across the U.S., hundreds of print and radio interviews, scores of TV appearances…in other words, a storied career in music. Pat Shaughnessy on drums has been her solid backbeat for a dozen years; Graham Howes has been her lead guitarist for ten years; Natalie Howes on backing vocals for the same. Their shared history has ultimately produced a sound that is simultaneously tight and loose, always confident.

Her music has a distinctly American sound, alt-rock injected with equal parts of punk, country, blues, and folk. It is true that the band can veer to the left or right of any given style, but Pipitone’s voice remains instantly recognizable at the center.