Narissa Bond: Press

Discs from area musicians offer a variety of sounds. What do they have in common? Quality.

By SAM MCDONALD | 247-4732
March 2, 2008

…It's clear that local musicians don't slumber their way through the winter months. Many of Hampton Roads' best players and singers have been sweating it out in the studio, shaping cool beats and catchy riffs, sharp rhymes and sweet chord progressions.

Here's a closer look at five new CDs from some of the area's most talented — and industrious — melody makers.

NARISSA BOND "THREE WORDS"
Overview: Acoustic performer Narissa Bond returns with a mellow, well-crafted album focused mainly on the faces of modern love.

Backstory: A Texas native and former Williamsburg resident, Bond is a favorite on the Hampton Roads singer-songwriter scene. Now living in the Ghent section of Norfolk, she's made a third album that's intimate and contemplative.
Highlights: "Soul Touches Sky," a gentle, seductive charmer; "The Grocery Story," a tune that champions the working poor through a whisper, not a scream; "Unexpected," a dreamlike exploration of erotic love; "Little Town," a song about getting lost and found in a strange, small place.

For fans of: Anne Murray, Joni Mitchell, Janis Ian

Sam's take: Bond's music is pillow-soft. Even when she's singing about racial or economic justice, her songs set out to soothe and comfort. On "Three Words" Bond sounds comfortable in her own skin. Her confidence makes the disc work…”

Q + A Putting a Fresh Spin on Folk with Narissa Bond

By Patty Jenkins I (757) 446-2298,
The Virginian-Pilot
© July 3, 2008

Norfolk's Narissa Bond is a "new folk" singer who moved to this area from Kansas City, Mo.

She was asked to perform at a show for the National Organization for Women-Virginia Region. That was in May 2000, and by fall she was calling Hampton Roads her home.

"New folk is contemporary folk. It's pop music on an acoustic guitar," she said. "Of course, what makes it folk are the stories that we tell. People always relate to personal stories of life, love and politics." In February, Bond released her third CD, "Three Words."

"I'm kind of known for my love songs, and most of the songs on the CD are about romantic love, self love and loving our country and wanting to make it a better place."

Her previous CDs were "Knocking at the Doorway to My Soul" (1999) and "Between Two Rivers" (2001).

Bond, 48, picked up her first guitar when she was 8 and has been performing professionally for 15 years. You can catch her next week at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront.

What is your earliest musical memory?

Listening to my dad practicing jazz on his guitar, in the evening before we had dinner. I was around 4 years old.

What's your worst performance memory?

When a friend asked me to fill in for him as an opener at a club in Raytown, Mo. When I got to the parking lot I realized I was at a biker bar. Being the professional, I walked in and got up onstage and played my folk songs for a really rough rocker crowd. My friend who had asked me to fill in for him never confirmed the change with the manager. So, halfway through my set the manager angrily told me to get off the stage.

What's your day job?

This summer I don't have a day job. I'm working full time as a musician. During the school year I work part time as a substitute teacher for Norfolk Public Schools and play music on the weekends and some during the week.

If signed to a record deal, how would you spend the advance?

The very first thing I would do would be to buy an economical car that is big enough to transport me and my musical equipment. I drive a 1993 Toyota Corolla named Sylvia.

Patty Jenkins, patty.jenkins@pilotonline.com

Katherine Cummins
December 23, 2007

Memorial vigil takes closer look at Celia

"Celia was a young girl. Celia was afraid. No one heard the cries of a young slave. She was the property of a man, with power in his hands. For the slave there was no law or refuge in this land." --"Celia by Narissa Bond

Who was Celia?

That was the question guest performers and organizers of the third annual Celia, a Slave Memorial Program Friday night.

Approximately 100 area residents gathered at the First Christian Church in Fulton to hear from painter Solomon Thurman and singer/songwriter Narissa Bond -- both of whom tried to get to know Celia a little better as they sought to share her story through their art.

"...Celia was a young girl, no longer afraid. She did as she had promised, for freedom she had prayed. From being the property of a man, she took the power from his hands."
-- "Celia"...

Narissa Bond peforms during the Celia, a Slave Third Annual Memorial Program Friday. Bond wrote, "Song inspired by Celia."