Monica Pasqual and the Handsome Brunettes

Monica Pasqual and the Handsome Brunettes will be performing at the Maybeck Studio on May 17 at 3:00pm, as a fundraising event supporting the production of their new album, Is Fortune a Wheel?

Here's Monica singing Down by the Mill in the Studio back in February.

After 13 years of playing, recording and touring, the band Blame Sally decided it might be time to take a bit of a rest. The last thing that pianist and songwriter Monica Pasqual expected was to find herself spearheading a new project, but then she met cellist Josh McClain and found the prospect somewhat irresistible.

A recent transplant from the greater Chicago area, Josh McClain “wields his cello like a post-impressionists brush”. Together Pasqual and McClain create a big, emotionally complex sound rich in dynamics, moving easily from quiet fragility to unrestrained propulsion. Monica’s lyrics run the gambit from intense introspection to incisive social commentary, from lush romanticism to clear-eyed scrutiny. The two of them are often joined by percussionist, Pam Delgado and guitarist, Velvy Appleton. Pasqual is the winner of 6 Emmy Awards and several Independent Music Awards.

Monica Pasqual and the Handsome Brunettes 
at the Maybeck Studio
Saturday, May 17, 2014, 3:00pm
Seating is limited. For your ticket, just contribute to Monica's New Album Project on Indiegogo. Specify "May 17 Concert Ticket" as your perk - it's the top "Featured" perk in the right column.

"Like Joni Mitchell and Rickie Lee Jones, San Francisco's own Monica Pasqual proves that strong songwriting and stirring singing will take comand of just about any stylistic setting."
-Derk Richardson, San Francisco Bay Guardian

"You do not listen to Monica Pasqual’s songs lightly. They stir you, they stab you, they create images of Spain and pain and joy and mountains and the Mediterranean and most importantly, of the contours of the human heart. Pasqual is best known as the soaring voice, crystal clear piano and modulated accordion in the band Blame Sally ... Of mixed American and Spanish heritage, she can mesmerize you in both languages. She knows how to craft lyrics that can simultaneously break your heart and sink permanently into your mind.”
–Patrick O’Heffernen, Vents Magazine