Patricia Vonne

Guitars & Castanets is the second album by Austin, Texas-based singer and songwriter Patricia Vonne. Since releasing her self-titled debut in 2003, Vonne has rapidly risen within the Texas music scene thanks to an infectious bilingual mix of the musical styles she loves that inspired the Austin American-Statesman to dub her "a Tex-Mex spitfire with a rock'n'roll heart." Her vibrant stage presence and stirring performances won her the #2 slot as Best New Live Act in the 2003 Austin Music Pundits Awards.

Produced by Carl Thiel, known for his work with such Austin musical heroes as Bob Schneider and Monte Montgomery, Guitars & Castanets features everything from such stirring rock'n'roll tunes as "Texas Burning" and "Lonesome Rider" to mariachi-inflected charmers like "La Gitana de Triana" and "Fiesta Sangria." It includes tributes to such inspirations as Joe Ely ("Joe's Gone Ridin"), Alejandro Escovedo ("Guitarras y Castañuelas") and Johnny Reno ("Sax Maniac"), and counts among its musical guests some of Austin's most noted players: guitarist Charlie Sexton (hailed for his work in recent years with Bob Dylan), acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist Jon Dee Graham, nylon string guitar wizard Rick Del Castillo (of the rising Austin Latino rock band Del Castillo), keyboards player Michael Ramos (known for his work with The BoDeans, Lucinda Williams and Patty Griffin), bassist Mark Andes (veteran of such classic rock acts as Spirit, Jo Jo Gunne and Heart), San Antonio guitarist Joe Reyes (of Lara & Reyes) and saxophonist Reno (longtime member of Chris Isaak's band), among others. Rounding out the collection is the bonus track "Traeme Paz," featured in the film and on the soundtrack album for "Once Upon A Time In Mexico."

Vonne attributes her genre-fusing style to growing up in San Antonio on "my mother's music and my brothers' record collections." The Spanish folk songs sung by her mother and Saturday afternoon matinees at San Antonio's Olmos Theater watching classic movies and MGM musicals formed the foundation of her aesthetic. But her musical fate was sealed by her first live concert by Reno and his band The Sax Maniacs and fed by such favorites as Ely, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Los Angeles-based Chicano rockers The Cruzados.

Vonne honed her talents in New York City singing back-up and playing bass in the band Mick & The Maelstroms, and then began writing her own songs after meeting her creative partner and husband Robert LaRoche at a show by his band, Virgin recording artists The Sighs, at Manhattan's China Club. After developing her Tex-Mex musical brew in New York City and building a following with gigs at some of Manhattan's premier rock clubs, Vonne and LaRoche moved to Austin in 2001 to bring her music back home to Texas.

Releasing her debut album of recordings made in New York on her own Bandolera Records, Vonne was hailed by the Austin Chronicle for her "bilingual tour de force [that] melds eclectic with electric and exudes an elegance seldom associated with rock." Similarly, Texas Monthly editor and writer Joe Nick Patoski noted how her "confidant, tuff gal vocals, sharp musicianship and smart lyricism don't just promise the total package, they deliver the goods from the get-go."

Vonne has also become one of the busiest artists on the Texas live music circuit. In addition to headlining her own shows, she has opened for a wide range of artists like Ely, Escovedo, Los Lobos, Raul Malo, Buddy Guy, Cyndi Lauper, Johnny Lang, Pat Green, Charlie Robison and Tito & Tarantula (with whom she also toured Europe with as a special guest musician in 2002). Since the release of her debut, Vonne has also toured Europe three times, appearing in Germany, Austria, France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Norway and the United Kingdom.

And now with Guitars & Castanets, Vonne celebrates her return to the state that is her home and all that music means in her life. "It's a musical reflection of my heritage," she concludes. "It's my way of giving thanks to my family, these wonderful musicians that have had such an impact on me, and all the inspiration and joy that I've gotten from music since I was a child."