Biography
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Born
2 December 1982 (age 41)
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Born In
Syracuse, Onondaga County, New York, United States
Her first recording endeavor was “Here and Nowhere” in 1999. A string of pop songs tinged with a touch of garage rock, showcasing songs of teen angst, love, life, and the many confusing emotions of a teenager. Her second recording was a guerilla-style secret recording worked on one day of the week for of couple months along with her friend Grant Capes. A much darker recording than before, Amanda was now honing her skills at incorporating her classical background into her song writing. Many shows later… Amanda was introduced to friends at Immigrant Sun Records out of Brooklyn, NY. She showed them “The Grant Sessions EP“, and soon she was off to record her first Indie-label recording. She flew to California to record with her friend Grant Capes again. The 2003 release, “The Places You Dwell“, was the outcome of this organic, analog, lo-fi, ambient experience, ” I wanted it to be haunting. I wanted the listener to feel like it was for their ears alone. I call it bedroom ambience.” With this record, Amanda soon started touring more rampantly. With her aleotoric music, she even caught the attention of major labels.
She went on to record “Daily News” in 2004. This record gained her a lot of deserved attention from t.v., radio, and press. Her songs were maturing and her sound was becoming hers alone with her strong lyrics,arrangements,melodies and harmonies. You can even hear her hinting at her new found love of the Tin Pan Alley sound with it’s jazz and blues influence. Amanda was then touring the U.S., Canada, and Europe supporting many emo, hardcore, pop-rock, and punk bands all of which are name-dropper worthy. In Germany she met her friends at 2nd Records who later released “Daily News” in Europe which helped to further burgeon her fanbase. This overwhelming small taste of success was a bit much for a young solo artist who was also wearing the hat of manager, booking agent, and accountant. So when she did a tour with her long time touring friends “Jupiter Sunrise” on a 3 month long stint across the U.S., and then was asked to join their band, of course she said yes. A change was just what she thought she was looking for. For over 2 years she lived and toured with them in a vegetable oil-powered R.V., during which time they did all of Vans Warped Tour 2005 as well as many other tours. Also in 2005, Amanda again recorded with her friend Grant Capes and released “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” which was a 5 song e.p. of 3 originals and 2 covers showcasing Rogers’ indie roots and love of art-rock. This record also fulfilled Amanda’s deal with Immigrant Sun Records.
In 2006, the band called it quits. With no home and no money, Amanda had to re-evaluate what she was doing with her life. Music was the obvious and best choice and some universal power made it a possibility to start anew. She went to Los Angeles, California in April of 2007 to record another full-length record with producer Warren Huart (the Fray, Anna Nalick, Augustana) and Dan Rothchild (Tonic, Fiona Apple) and a more than stellar backing band including David Levita (Alanis Morrisette) on guitars, Dan Rothchild on bass, and Travis Mcnabb (Better than Ezra) on drums. This record would be her most upbeat and positive record to date.
“Heartwood“, Amanda’s long-awaited 6th record was released on August 8th, 2008 with friends at Expect Candy Records in Germany, and on D.I.T. Records in the U.S.
Do It Together Records is a label Amanda started to help indie artists work together to release and promote their music on their own terms. Most of 2009 was spent running a record label, touring extensively throughout Europe and the U.S. for Heartwood, Guest appearing on some friend’s records, Facilitating a worldwide artist collective called “The Notebook Collective“, Creating a sustainable clothing company called Recycle My Heart, and becoming part of a Duo called The Pleasants with Mike Matta (The Sketchy Indians). The band was born in VT where they lived in a small cabin in the woods- simply and to the fullest. They recorded their first record “Forests And Fields” with their neighbors at Mt. Hollywood Studios in Belmont, VT. This record will be out in Spring 2010. They plan on touring together throughout most of the U.S. in the spring and Europe in late summer. Amanda’s new record, Hope From The Forgotten Woods, is already in the works.
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