FACES
& PLACES
ART & HISTORy
MARCH 2007
 Just The Right Key (Of She)
By: Megan Wetzel
As they prepare to perform
an original song at the Stockton Inn on March 9th and
11th, the all-female
a cappella group Key of She is both excited and proud!
With the addition of this new chart, written by Lambertville
singer-songwriter Carol Heffler and Doylestown singer-songwriter
Lori Rosolowsky, Key of She is taking a nice side step
from covers, their usual fare.
Last fall Key of She’s 2nd CD, appropriately
titled “In The Key of She,” was nominated
for four international music awards by Just Plain Folks,
an independent grassroots music organization of over
40,000 musicians and industry professionals. At the
2006 Just Plain Folks Music Awards ceremony, considered “the
Grammies for the other 98%,” Key of She won 6th
Best A Cappella Performance (worldwide!) for their
cover song, Spider Web. It was chosen from 350,000
songs and 25,500 albums.
The sextet was launched in January 2001 and successfully
sang to 2,000 people at their first gig in Center City
Philadelphia two months later. In 2002, they competed
in the New York Harmony Sweepstakes Regional where
they were awarded 2nd place and Audience Favorite.
After that, they opened for the late Ray Charles and
appeared on the national Jane Pauley Show.
The ladies of Key of
She are six individuals with an array of personalities.
They are: Lisa Ernst, Sue
Jaques, Dyann Mazzeo, Debbie Nutt, Amy Raditz and Pat
Stearman. All are dedicated and accomplished musicians
with many years of experience, but their a cappella
avocation is only part-time. To pay the bills, they
hold a variety of 9-to-5 jobs – everything from
5th grade teacher to district managing consultant at
DBM to an account manager for a medical publishing
company.
Key of She, through performing
and recording, has expanded the traditional a cappella
repertoire of American
Songbook, Broadway and Popular to include Jazz, Rock,
and Country. Like many other groups today, they use
their voices to imitate drums and a variety of instruments
in the style of “vocal percussion” popularized
by Bobby McFerrin. All of the ladies do lead vocals,
background harmonies and backbeats. They are a self-proclaimed “new-age
group on the cutting edge of a cappella.” The
group’s repertoire consists of their favorite
cover tunes – songs like Something To Talk About,
Moondance, Fever, I Think I Love You and even current
hits such as Dido’s Thank You and Kelly Clarkson’s
Breakaway.
The group performs all over New Jersey and Pennsylvania
and has traveled as far as two islands off the coast
of Maine (where they plan to return this summer). They
list The Stockton Inn and The Kalmia Club as two of
their favorite places to sing and are grateful for
every opportunity to do so.
You can experience Key of She for yourself on March
9th and March 11th at The Stockton Inn. Reservations
are selling briskly so call 609-397-1250 to reserve
a seat as soon as possible. For more information about
the band and future shows, please see their website:
www.keyofshe.com
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