Vanessa VerLee
Vanessa Verlee's music is story music - her story, your story, our story. Her writing is honest and raw, like her voice.
Her influences include Patty Griffin, Janis Joplin, Ben Harper and John Prine, although reviewers have often had difficulty in drawing comparisons with Vanessa's style. Raised the daughter of a United Methodist minister, Vanessa has been singing in front of people since she learned the words to "Jesus Loves Me."
She studied journalism in school and people in life, and was never without a pen in her hand. At the age of twenty when she first picked up a guitar, her passions - singing, writing, and performing all met. Since then, Vanessa has been prolific in songwriting and active in performing.
In 1997, she began her performing career opening up for Mike Roe, lead singer of the 77's, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. After playing in Fort Wayne for about a year she moved back to the Northshore of Boston to finish college, where she lived and performed until 1999.
While in Massachusetts, Vanessa recorded and produced her first c.d. "Until It So Desires," released through Metanoia Records, with 13 original songs. Once the tassel was turned, Vanessa moved to San Francisco where she quickly became active in the music scene, running three different open mics in the city and playing about one gig a week.
In the spring of 2001 she recorded her second full length album "Wherever My Feet Are Planted," released through Flutterby Productions, including 14 original songs. The album was co-produced with Scott Urqhart of 2Kproductions and includes local artists John Merrill of MoodFood and Bitches Brew on percussion, Jason Muscat on Bass, and Jolie Holland on fiddle and background vocals.
When that album was finished, Vanessa hit the road for two months, playing gigs all over the United States. At the end of the summer Vanessa had driven 11,000 miles and played a total of 25 gigs, in 20 different cities.
Also in 2001, Vanessa started a regular yoga practice and in 2003 was trained as a hatha yoga teacher. Between 2001 and 2005 living mostly in San Francisco (but also a few months here and there in Vermont, Colorado and Indiana), playing music and teaching yoga. In addition to playing music on her own, Vanessa often played during this time with her partner Jeremy Rourke, in the duo "Francis and Larise." Vanessa contributed to Jeremy's 2004 album "Rain In the Woods Out Back" (available at www.cdbaby.com).
Vanessa spent much of the second half of 2005 at Dirty Biscuit Studios in San Francisco working with John Merrill on her new album, "I Don't Know If You Know." This album includes some live tracks, and a lot of additional guitar and some vocal work by Jeremy Rourke, among others.
"I Don't Know If You Know" was released in December, 2005, right before Vanessa embarked on a nearly two month journey to Thailand and India, where she was studying Thai yoga massage and the science of yoga. In late 2006 Vanessa began studying the science of Traditional Chinese Medicine thru the form of Acupressure at the Acupressure Institute. She received her certification as an acupressure there in 2007 and is continuing her studies.
Now Vanessa is playing music at venues in the Bay Area, continuing to teach yoga, and offering Thai yoga massage and acupressure sessions in the San Francisco apartment that she shares with her partner Jeremy.