Joan Enguita | OohYeah

It begins with a magical voice, warm enough to melt a glacier. The voice is connected to the soul of Joan Enguita, an accomplished singer/songwriter who distills her life's experiences into melodies and lyrics in the modern folk tradition. "I think of songs as tea bags," she explains. "They have to be in the water a certain length of time before they're ready."Judging by her outpouring of material, it's tea time. The Lancaster, California-based artist has two CDs. The first, Kiss Me Awake, is a suite of songs recorded acoustically as an expressive tableaux of guitar and vocals. Her second outing, Two Suitcases, released in 2005, features a studio of respected Nashville musicians tastefully accompanying Joan with dobro, accordian and traditional instruments.Joan's mother was a classically trained singer. Her father played clarinet in the Air Force band for 27 years. As a child of a military family, relocation was a key component of life. Her immersion in music began during her early teen years in Spain as she and her friends gathered around songbooks with guitars. She taught herself to play on her brother's instrument, albeit without his permission. "As soon as I'd hear him go down the stairs, I'd go in his room and grab his guitar and his Joan Baez songbook that had chord charts," she reveals. Her intricate finger-picking style was learned in classical studies during her college years in Minnesota.Time spent behind bars--not as an inmate but as a visiting prison performer--has had a profound impact on Joan. "You walk through many slamming doors," she notes. "But the inmates who choose to come to those concerts are so grateful because they have very little outside contact. It's a slap of reality." Other less fettered performances include a showcase at The Folk Alliance, coffeehouses and listening rooms throughout Southern California, Desert Song Music Festival, a Borders Books and Music tour, Kulak's Woodshed and an appearance on the 2004 Emmy Award-winning series, Street Music L.A.With the release of her two CDs, Joan tours the west coast regularly and has performed in Denmark, Ireland and Germany. Meanwhile, in addition to concert and festival appearances, Joan donates her performances to community, prison and charity groups, while she expands her burgeoning catalog of songs. "Songwriters are the eyes and ears of the world," she notes.Joan Enguita's music, like her life, has followed a path illuminated by faith, compassion and honesty. "Growing up, I had a lot of time to think," Joan says. "I have so many memories, because I moved so much. Much of my life is memory, not in the here and now, because many of those people aren't around me anymore." But the songs remember. And as they tell stories of the roads taken, her exquisite voice is a silver thread connecting all of the destinations right back to her heart.“It’s not often we find an exquisite folk singer who can really write songs about life, her life, that truly move us. Joan Enguita is one of those." --Harriet Schock. songwriting teacher and Platinum Songwriter. --Joan's trio took First Place in Vocal Competition: Topanga Banjo & Fiddle Contest and Folk Festival.--Featured in a one hour performance/interview with Roz Larmann of KCRW's syndicated FolkScene show.--One hour performance/interview with Tom May on River City Folk, nationally syndicated radio program.--$2500 awarded as runner up in MUSIC FROM HOME singer songwriter contest sponsored by SunCal.--SPOTLIGHT ARTIST OF THE WEEK, SONICBIDS--SPOTLIGHT ARTIST OF THE MONTH for Los Angeles Women in Music--BEST OF THE YEAR SHOW -2006--Radio Host Larry Wines2010 Performance of her 15 Minute Musical, "Green Thumb" at the Colony Theatre in Burbank. Lyrics by Joan Enguita and Karrie Vach, Bookwriter-Joan Enguita, Music Nancy Friedman.2011 Reading of her full length musical adaptation, "Peter Ibbetsen," at The Academy for New Musical Theatre in North Hollywood, CA. Lyrics by Joan Enguita and Karrie Vach, Book by Joan Enguita, Music by Bonnie Janofsky.2012 Performance of her one act play, "By The Way," at the Antelope Valley College One Act Festival in Lancaster, CAUPDATE: Joan survived a terrible car accident that occurred in May of 2014. She has recovered her voice and is performing again. In addition she is developing several new musical theatre ideas. She also performs with the group WOMEN ON THE MOVE TRIO. She is also developing a CD of Bible based songs.