My good friend, Stephanie Morris passed away on June 1st. I met Steph and her soon-to-be husband, Nathan Keay at the Beat Kitchen, back when we were neighbors, living on the same block as that establishment. Stephanie was introduced to me as a singer-songwriter from Austin, TX who would be an excellent choice for my monthly songwriter series, Folk You! Listening to her music made it abundantly clear that she was a gifted and understated writer. Over the years, Steph played Folk You! a number of times, and was a frequent presence at the December "best of" shows capping off each year. I often joked -- seriously -- that I would have her play every month if it wasn't for the damn format hawking "three new songwriters" every show. She was never less than wonderful.
When The Injured Parties were recording our debut, I thought of Stephanie immediately as someone whose backing vocals would augment and improve two tracks on the album, "Dogwalker" and "Be My Jesus." A consummate pro, I sent her rough mixes of the songs and asked that she come up with some ideas. With those vague instructions, she came into the studio and was paired with another good friend of the band, Clarissa Novales. The two of them not only hit it off but worked together beautifully, creating lovely harmonies on the spot. She also sang with us live a few times, impromptu. It's a testament to her nature that she never balked at being asked to contribute, and always did an exemplary job.
Stephanie was one of those rare people who made everything she touched even better than you expected she would. You knew she was not only capable of rising to the occasion, yet were still surprised at how highly she elevated the quality and emotional level of the song. Her own compositions were like that, too -- songs that were laid back and discreet, in that they disarmingly struck you without resorting to tricks or histrionics. She was a deft lyricist whose words surprised and delighted.
Her husband has set up a memorial page on Facebook. I encourage everyone to go there and learn more about this talented and unique person. She will be missed.
When The Injured Parties were recording our debut, I thought of Stephanie immediately as someone whose backing vocals would augment and improve two tracks on the album, "Dogwalker" and "Be My Jesus." A consummate pro, I sent her rough mixes of the songs and asked that she come up with some ideas. With those vague instructions, she came into the studio and was paired with another good friend of the band, Clarissa Novales. The two of them not only hit it off but worked together beautifully, creating lovely harmonies on the spot. She also sang with us live a few times, impromptu. It's a testament to her nature that she never balked at being asked to contribute, and always did an exemplary job.
Stephanie was one of those rare people who made everything she touched even better than you expected she would. You knew she was not only capable of rising to the occasion, yet were still surprised at how highly she elevated the quality and emotional level of the song. Her own compositions were like that, too -- songs that were laid back and discreet, in that they disarmingly struck you without resorting to tricks or histrionics. She was a deft lyricist whose words surprised and delighted.
Her husband has set up a memorial page on Facebook. I encourage everyone to go there and learn more about this talented and unique person. She will be missed.
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