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Heather Alexander

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Heather Alexander
Alexander in Tacoma, Washington in December 2004.
Background information
Genre(s)	World, Celtic
Instrument(s)	Voice, violin, guitar, bodhrán
Years active	1990–2006
Label(s)	SeaFire Productions
Associated acts	Phoenyx, Uffington Horse
Website	www.heatherlands.com

Heather Alexander is an American singer, musician and songwriter in the Celtic and World music genres. Alexander blends mythical, fantasy, and traditional themes in her performances, switching between instrumental fiddle and songs accompanied by her guitar, bodhran, and fiddle playing. In 2002, Alexander told Strange Horizons that she is "a musical entertainer. I sing, play, compose, and tell stories." She has also been a popular and influential artist in the field of filk music. As of OryCon 2006, Heather Alexander retired. Her music is being carried forward by Alexander James Adams, who made his debut at Seattle's Norwescon 30, on April 6, 2007.^[1]

1 Career
2 Discography
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

Career

Heather Alexander Live cassette, recorded in 1992.

The cover of 2001's A Gypsy's Home shows Alexander and her horse.

2003's Album of Secrets. The cover is a parody of Gilderoy Lockhart's book, Magical Me.

A native of California, Heather Alexander began performing her original music in the mid-eighties for friends, renaissance fairs, and filk conventions. Off Centaur Publications was recording performances at one convention and asked to include Alexander. This began an association where Alexander recorded for Off Centaur and later Firebird Arts and Music, primarily work for hire. ^[2] In the late 80s Alexander founded the Celtic fusion rock band Phoenyx, with which she released one album, Keepers of the Flame; the band disbanded in 1991 after achieving a high degree of local fame, and that album is no longer in print. ^[3] Alexander returned to her acoustic roots and embarked on a solo career, including a live concert recording produced by Firebird Arts and Music. She released her first solo album, Wanderlust, on her own label (Sea Fire Productions, Inc) in 1994. Two live concert albums and several studio albums have followed. ^[2] ^[4] Alexander also moved to the Pacific Northwest, settling in Banks, Oregon in 2002. In 2001, Alexander founded a new band, Uffington Horse, together with Andrew Hare and Dan Ochipinti. Alexander continued to perform solo gigs in between Uffington Horse appearances. In 2004, a limited run of the Uffington Horse promotional CD was offered to fans to help finance recording their first studio album, Enchantment, published in 2004. ^[4] Heather Alexander and Uffington Horse have performed at numerous science fiction and furry conventions, such as OryCon, Norwescon, Further Confusion (2004 and 2005), Eurofurence (2005 and 2006), and CascadiaCon (2005). She was Music Guest of Honor at FenCon in 2006. Alexander also performs at Highland Games, Renaissance fairs, coffeehouses, and weddings.

Literary collaborations

Several of the Firebird Arts and Music albums include songs inspired by the writings of Mercedes Lackey and Andre Norton. (See the discography below for more information.) In 2002, Alexander released the album Insh'Allah on her own label, inspired by Steven Barnes's novel Lion's Blood. The songs and the book were written concurrently, and several of the songs are quoted in the book and its sequel. ^[2] In a similar vein, Alexander's 2006 album Merlin's Descendants is based on the fiction of Irene Radford. ^[4]^[5]

Cultural references

1997's Midsummer featuring her signature song March of Cambreadth.

Heather Alexander's songs have been featured in the novels of John Ringo. An MP3 of March of Cambreadth was included on an accompanying CD and is available for download at the publisher's site. ^[6] S.M. Stirling's quotes Alexander's lyrics in his Island in the Sea of Time trilogy. His Dies the Fire series features a red-haired musician who plays guitar, fiddle, and bodhran named "Juniper Mackenzie". The lyrics of "Mackenzie's" songs quoted in the books are Heather Alexander's, and Alexander is credited in the Acknowledgments. (Juniper and heather are both plants.) ^[7] Mike Shepard used the song March of Cambreadth in his book Defiant. Defiant also has a character named Heather Alexander. Several of Alexander's songs have been parodied, most notably March of Cambreadth.

Pegasus Awards

Heather Alexander has won the Pegasus Award three times:

1996: Best Performer
1996: Best Writer/Composer
2006: Best Battle Song, March of Cambreadth

Discography

Uffington Horse's promotional CD of live recordings. The band offered a limited run of the CD to fans in 2004.

Solo albums

The albums listed through Everafter are billed as "Heather Alexander". Alexander sang lead vocals on all, accompanied by herself and other musicians. Unless otherwise noted, albums feature a mix of traditional Celtic music & Heather Alexander-penned originals. Cat and the Fiddle, Balance of Nature and WinterTide are the work of the Heir, Alexander James Adams.

Freedom, Flight and Fantasy 1990 (Firebird Arts and Music)

Lyrics: Mercedes Lackey. Music: Leslie Fish. Arrangements: Cecilia Eng.

Heather Alexander, Live 1992 (Firebird Arts and Music)

Alexander accompanies her vocals with guitar, bodhran, and fiddle.

Songsmith, 1993 (Firebird Arts and Music)

Songs based on the book Songsmith by Andre Norton and A.C. Crispin.

Wanderlust 1994 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

First studio recording on her own label with backing musicians.

Shadow Stalker 1994 (Firebird Arts and Music)

Lyrics: Mercedes Lackey & D.F. Sanders. Music: Heather Alexander & Cecilia Eng. Arrangements: Heather Alexander.

Life's Flame 1996 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Second live album. Alexander accompanies her vocals with guitar, bodhran, and fiddle.

Midsummer 1997 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Second studio recording on her own label with backing musicians.

A Gypsy's Home 2001 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Third studio recording on her own label with backing musicians.

Insh'allah -- Music of Lion's Blood 2002 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Songs based in the world of Steven Barnes' book Lion's Blood. The book and album were written concurrently; Barnes quotes song lyrics in the book.

Festival Wind 2003 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Third live album. Alexander accompanies her vocals with guitar, bodhran, and fiddle.

Album of Secrets 2003 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Primarily bloopers and outtakes from the recording of Festival Wind.

Merlin's Descendants 2006 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Songs based on the Merlin's Descendants series by Irene Radford.

Arms of the Sea 2006 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Traditional and original sea shanties.

Everafter 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Studio recording on her own label with backing musicians.

Cat & The Fiddle, 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Compilation of instrumental fiddle tunes from previous Sea Fire Productions recordings.^[8]

Balance of Nature, 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

A transformational album, debuting the Heir to the Heatherlands, Alexander James Adams. He is billed as the Faerie Tale Minstrel, and this album also included Heather Alexander's voice in several backup vocals and melody lines.

Wintertide, 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Yule album featuring traditional and original songs by Heather Alexander & Alexander James Adams, featuring duets between both voices.^[9]

DVD

Everafter February 2007 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Recording of the November 2006 Orycon concert. Alexander accompanies her vocals with guitar, bodhran, and fiddle.

Band albums

Back cover of Keepers of the Flame.

Keepers of the Flame, Phoenyx 1990 (Phoenyx and Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Issued by the band in 1990. No longer in print.

Uffington Horse Promotional Album, Uffington Horse, 2004 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

Created for promotional purposes; a limited run was offered to fans in 2004.^[10]

Enchantment, Uffington Horse 2004 (Sea Fire Productions, Inc.)

The band's studio album.

Guest appearances

In addition to her own albums, Alexander has appeared on several concert collections and other performer's albums.

Balance of Nature, Alexander James Adams 2007. Heather Alexander is credited with vocals, notably on the tracks Fae Hollow Magic, Sidhe is Here (a reworking of her song They Are Coming from Everafter) and Blood and Passion (a rerecording of her song from Merlin's Descendants.)
Gaia Circles, Gaia Consort 2000. Alexander played fiddle on most of the tracks.
Firestorm: Songs of the Third World War, Leslie Fish. Alexander appears on the track Better than Who.
The Constellation, Hank Cramer 2003.
Roundworm, various artists, 2000. Song parodies by Bob Kanefsky. Heather Alexander performs December of Cambreadth, a parody of March of Cambreadth, and Something's Under The Bed, a parody of her Up In The Loft.