::::::::::::::::::: about
See links above for EPK's and further information.
The Basic run-down....
~ Born in Perth, Australia
~ Currently resides in Harlem, NYC.
~ Completed Certificate of Music (1995), and Associate Degree of Performing Arts - Music (1998) from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts. Always wanted to go to a school like the "Fame" school in NY, and decided to be a musician at age 14.
~ Started and did not complete Bachelor of Arts - English (1993) or Associate Diploma of Art & Design (1994) as could not draw or read on demand. Now does both as much as possible.
~ Moved to Melbourne in 1999 and didn't dig it.
~ Decided to try New York City instead in 2001 and loved it. Is still there.
~ Released two albums as an indie-jazz singer-songwriter. Paint Me Orange in 2003 and Musings of a Telescopic Tree in 2009.
~ Has toured with and sung on two albums by post-metal band, A Storm of Light. Primitive North (A Split with Nadja) 2009 and Forgive Us Our Trespasses 2009.
~ Continues to write music, draw in pen, learn to cook, travel and have fun. See links above for more info on all of her current projects. Loves collaborating.
~ Available for private functions, house concerts, singing lessons, illustration work & catering. Please contact at nerissacampbell [at] gmail [dot] com
Musical Biography
NERISSA CAMPBELL started her music career in her hometown of Perth, Australia in 1996. Singing from the jazz standard songbook, she entertained West Australians for 5 years before starting to write her own songs and imagining life in a bigger city. She moved to New York City in 2001. She knew no one, but a love of adventure and travel (encouraged by her Mother at a very young age) was enough to get by. Starting out by 'sitting in' wherever she could, singing jazz standards in corners of busy restaurants and waiting tables to pay the rent, she soon moved towards performing her own material in places where people listened. Her heartfelt howl and whispers of love enthralled her audiences, and slowly her attention shifted from being an interpreter of song to an inventor.
Her music - its roots in jazz, also weaves its way through somber pop-ballads, bluesy folk songs, moody instrumentals and a lyricism full of thought and space. There's an easy, swingin' film noir feeling that evokes dark bars and mystery dames - her voice wistful and melancholy. The blues is there, too, but it plays hide and seek with space and sound, creating a depth of feeling beyond the obvious. It is a fine blend of styles dipped in a smoky beer batter of late night living.
Nerissa has released two cds of original material on her CROOKED MOUTH MUSIC label, "Paint Me Orange" in 2003, recorded with her Australian band on a visit back to Perth, and "Musings of a Telescopic Tree" in 2009 with her New York band.
Among her many and ever-growing influences are Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Tom Waits, Cat Power, Janis Joplin - musicians with the power to move an audience with their voice and music. She has a love and affinity for South American writers, and there are flavours of latin music that have also crept their way into her music.
Nerissa performs regularly in the New York City area and enjoys organizing small tours based around her love of travel. Roadtrips, return visits to Australia, a summer spent with her family in Iowa all serve as places to play. There's a laid-back feel to her tours, a part of her Australian background, where you can tell that life is being explored and enjoyed. Where experiences come with the performance and where you know you've found someone who loves what they are doing.
Where she came from (further background)….
Nerissa Campbell comes from an un-musical family ** and was extremely disappointed when her Mother sold her piano when Nerissa was 7. Two years later, after acing her recorder lessons, Nerissa got her Mum back by lugging home a French Horn. A musician was born. Learning early on the hardships of being a musician, Nerissa practiced endlessly in the family laundry, and carried her instrument (which was half her 9-year-old size) to school every day. She moved schools and switched to trumpet, which she was asked to practice in the back yard with the cabbages, then added flute, which she was allowed to practice inside as long it entailed a gripping rendition of Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin.
A school excursion to the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts when she was 14 sealed her decision to become a professional musician. After auditioning on her various instruments of choice, Nerissa was accepted into WAAPA majoring in vocals, of which she had no experience, but an immense love for. Destiny showed her the way!
** This is not entirely true. While there was no one in her immediate family who played music as she grew up, there was definitely some generational skipping going on. Nerissa's great -Grandma and -Aunt were an opera singer and concert pianist respectively.