Gardener

'Gardener' is the fourth release (and first for Appleseed) by this Berkeley, California-based trio of women who were voted 'Best Band with a Conscience' by San Francisco's Bay Guardian. Their music, performed acoustically, embodies the gentle yet powerful energy that has driven these singers/songwriters/musicians to downsize their teaching careers and carry their songs of personal, social and political concerns to clubs, festivals, concert stages, demonstrations and rallies around the country. The 16 original songs on 'Gardener' speak of life, death, love, sex, and the pleasures and pains of the world around us without proselytizing or passing judgment. Among the most moving selections are 'Gentle Rebellion,' 'Borrowed Clothes,' the surprisingly uplifting 'Cemetery,' and the title song, which reminds us, 'I am the garden but I'm also the gardener.' The call for personal and political responsibility has seldom sounded sweeter or more convincing.