Ashland, OR (Top40 Charts/ Alice Otter Music) - Alice Di Micele returns rested and rejuvenated with her 2007 release of "by ebb & by flow." Widespread radio airplay and touring kept her busy and on the road until 2002, when she decided it was time to take a break. After a five year sabbatical spent whitewater kayaking and raft guiding in the Oregon Wilderness, Alice releases an album steeped in her love for life and passion for the natural world.
Throughout a 20-year musical career Di Micele toured the country tirelessly playing festivals, venues and house concerts. Performing at many benefits, to support environmental, peace and progressive causes, Di Micele is dedicated to changing the world through music. Many of the themes on "by ebb & by flow" reflect her environmental and social activist interests. "Take Me Out to the Water" and "Downstream", and "Made Out of Water, " are inspired by the beautiful Rogue River and Siskiyou forest and natural world that surround Di Micele in her home in southern Oregon.
"I've spent the last 6 summers taking folks down the wild and scenic Rogue River in a raft, playing music under the stars at night for a very small crowd. It was quite refreshing after so many years on the road. Now I know I can have both time in the wilderness and time to travel and sing about it all over the world."
Recorded with Rob Kohler on bass, Brian West on drums, and produced by Rob Seifert Gage; "by ebb and by flow," is gorgeously filled with Alice's five-octave range that is intense, sensual, rich and soulful. Alice is a vocalist and singer songwriter that moves people. Acoustic guitar mixed with percussive polyrhythms, bass lines, and melodies, perfectly frame her vocals whether the arrangement is bluesy, jazzy or melodic.
Her song "Promise of the Sun" on 'by ebb & by flow' was originally written to honor the spirits of murdered forest activist David Gypsy Chain who was killed when a logger felled a tree on him in the Headwaters Forest in California; and for Matthew Shepard, a gay man killed in a hate crime by homophobes in Wyoming. Today, Promise of the Sun's universal theme of love and acceptance, calls out to the global peace and anti-war movement with it's healing positive and affirmative lyrics: "May I be kindness. May I be patience and hope. May I be healing. Even my enemies I will give my love."
On "by ebb & by flow" Di Micele also performs an original arrangement of a traditional, "Wayfaring Stranger" which has also been performed by musical icons Burl Ives, Joan Baez, Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, and Emmylou Harris.
Di Micele's rich songwriting has covered a lot of ground. Recording on her own label, Alice Otter Music, Di Micele lists 10 albums and 3 compilations to her credit. Her early albums are filled with folksy anthems to the earth and as her music has grown so has her ability to express universal themes touching on politics and environmental concerns, human relationships and emotions. Her song "Chinook Blues, " on her "Alice Live" album provided the backdrop to the video "Source to Sea: the Columbia River Swim" about the declining native salmon population in the Pacific Northwest ecosystem.
After spending time in the wilderness to find inspiration and energy to give," by ebb & by flow;" marks a powerful return to recording that is musically rich, sensual and passionate. With Di Micele as your guide, "by ebb & by flow," this is a musical journey that will take you out on the water, float you note by note down the river and out underneath the stars.
