On her latest release, "Magazine and Race" (her first full length CD of all original music), she deftly moves from the sensual stroll through the New Orleans blues of the title cut to the radio friendly drive of "I Just Missed You" to the striking Texas flavor of "Waltzing On Water" with its Gospel tinged organ and vocals that combine the best of Lucinda Williams and Willie himself. The spare lyrical directness of "No Such Thing As Love" confirms that hope survives even in the face of loss and yearning and the bouncing "Sea of Dreams" marries Dire Straits to Texana with such original flare that it dares you to sit still.

Recorded at historic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama with some of that legendary music town's most revered players, "Magazine and Race" finds Julieann Banks at the top of her game. Her lyrical precision has sculpted songs of emotional honesty that never fail to touch the heart from ballad to boisterous. The production on "Magazine and Race" (by Banks and Jimmy Nutt) paints with a palette of gospel, folk, rock, and Texas music that creates a canvas both eclectic and electric. This is the mature work of an artist honoring her influences while striking out down her own road with a confident certainty of where she's been and where she's going.

An award winning fixture on the Austin, Texas music scene from 1991 until returning to her hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana in 2000, Banks has absorbed the rich musical heritages of both cities. She has been honored with an array of ASCAP awards, received the prestigious "Best Female Vocalist Rock" award from Austin Music Magazine two years in a row, and was named to the Top Ten in "Best Songwriter" and "Best Vocalist" categories by the South by Southwest Austin Chronicle Music Awards. Banks was also voted "Best Pipes" in the "Best Music of the Last 100 Years" by Austin's Local Flavor Music Magazine.

A seasoned performer whose two previous live CD's and EP have garnered critical praise and earned her a dedicated following, Julieann Banks' commanding stage presence and heartfelt vocals have caused Texas Beat writer Keith Ayres to proclaim "Julieann Banks' fans are so loyal they'd probably sit on cactus to hear her."

Awards and Recognitions

• Yearly recipient of the ASCAP Popular Awards Panel Program award from 1995 thru 2004
• Selected for inclusion in the Shreveport Regional Arts Council's Artist Roster for October 2003
• Two of her songs are to be included on the Shreveport Regional Arts Councils upcoming Northwest Louisiana Compilation CD 2003, 2004
• Received recognition from the Senate of the State of Texas in Senate Resolution No 1056 for "innumerable contributions to the world of music" with the Austin based band "The Big Time" in 2001
• Nominated for a Humble Award from "Humble Time The Texas Songwriters Radio Showcase"
  in the "Outstanding Performance Female" category in 2001
• Voted "Best Pipes" in the "Best Music Of The Last 100 Years" listing from "Local Flavor Music Magazine", Austin TX in 2001
• Received the award for the "Best Female Vocalist Rock" category of "Austin Music Magazine" in 1993 and 1994
• Has placed in many different categories in the "SXSW Austin Chronicle Music Awards" 1993 1999, including Best Songwriter, Best New Band, Best Vocalist and Best Rock Band
• With her band "Apaches of Paris" won first place in the "Austins Best Unsigned Band" showcase in 1994
• International Tours and Shows of Note
  • 2002 Portugal with the "Percy Sledge Band"
  • 2001 Performed at the Texas/Wyonming Inaugural Ball for President Bush in Washington DC with "The Big Time"
  • 1992 1998 Invited to play Austin's "South By Southwest" music conference
  • 1995 Japan with "Legends of Las Vegas" show troupe
  • 1994 "Apaches of Paris" invited to perform at the "Ticketmaster" unsigned band showcase
  • 1994 New Zealand as opening act for one month tour with "The Midge Marsden Band"
  • 1993 New Zealand as opening act for two month tour with "The Midge Marsden Band"
  • Performed in Austin Texas with "The Big Time" at two gubernatorial inaugural balls for then Governor Bush

Press Quotes

• "Great Lone Justice style rock!"
  Tom Duffy Billboard Magazine
   
• "The new recording finds her exploring new musical territory known alternately as Roots, Americana, Alternative Country or my personal favorite Ya'll ternative. Whatever you call it, the music is fresh, exciting and alive with the singer in magnificent voice."
  J Thomas The Advertiser, New Braunfels
   
• "Clay Pigeons" gets a smashing sendup from Julieann Banks & Apaches of Paris, sounding a great deal like Nanci Griffith...."
  Lee Nicholes The Austin Chronicle (review of "Blaze Ablaze Volume II)
   
• "A powerhouse vocalist with the ability to sell songs, both originals and cover, and a young woman who knows how to work a crowd, Banks puts on a cool show while delivering hip music."
  Jim Beal Jr San Antonio Express News
   
• "Julieann Banks' fans are so loyal that they'd probably sit on a cactus to hear her."
  Keith Ayres Texas Beat
   
• "Julieann Banks has the grit (balls?) of Melissa Etheridge and a melodic sense that Sheryl Crow would die for. Her live stage persona is as enticing as Melanie Griffith in a long slipless dress silhouetted by the sun."
  Bruce Newman Barnstormers Entertainment

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