Cynthia Gayneau ‎– If I Had The Heart (2003)

Cynthia grew up singing country, church music, and show tunes. She began writing songs in 1970 while living in the Jemez Mountains of New Mexico. Music was put on hold while she started a family and pursued a career in photography. In the early 80's, she took up songwriting and performing again, playing the coffee house circuit around her home in Tucson, Arizona. She has since played clubs and festivals all over the the West and Southwest of the United States, as well as parts of Europe. She's been seen, on occasion, playing trumpet with the Violent Femmes' Horns of Dilemma and can be heard singing with the Femmes on 'Add It Up'(Slash 45403) and 'Hallowed Ground'(Slash 25094). Albums under her own name include 'If I Had The Heart' (B104), 'West of West Texas'(B103), 'Postcards From My Mind'(B102), and 'Blue Highway'(B101), all on Botte Music. Her songs are included on 'Rockin' At The Barn'(DUSTCD 1), and 'All I Want For Christmas'(DUSTCD 11), compilations of country and rockabilly artists on the Swedish label, Dusty Records. She can also be heard on 'Hitting The Ground'(INS570-2), an album of songs by her brother, Gordon Gano, on Instinct Records in the US, Cooking Vinyl in most of Europe, and soon to be released on Atmospherique in France. Grant Alden of 'No Depression' magazine has said of her, 'In range and phrasing, her voice is vaguely reminiscent of another late bloomer, Jimmie Dale Gilmore. Her songs, despite drawing from country's broken-hearted tradition, share the inner sense of peace that Gilmore exudes...' Says Cynthia, 'Many of my fondest memories are centered around the music my family made, sitting around the kitchen table, accompanied by my father's rudimentary, but heartfelt,guitar playing. Each year it was a different kitchen and the guitar strings were seldom changed, but the warmth and richness of our voices together expressed the love and unity we shared, and share to this day. This is the tradition that sustains me.'