SONiA disappear fear

Once every so long you find something that shapes your perception, influences your way of thinking and feeling... takes you to a whole new level of understanding the world. The greatest influence in this world is the truth, and music is its strongest form. Sonia’s ‘No Bomb Is Smart’ masterpiece of an album, expresses the brutal, terrifying, authentic, beautiful and real values of the world we live in.
Sonia, a relatively unknown artist in the world (unfortunately), provides a mystical journey from acoustic folk pop to blues rock, and finally to the climax of the album, the inspirational-all inspiring ‘The Other Man’. The album starts off with the cosmic enchantment of ‘No More Songs’, taking a Phil Ochs original through a warm bed of luscious strings, expressing music the only way she knows how to; magically... The acoustic driven ‘Won’t Let Go’ speaks of hope and idealistic dreams; singing "dad, I’m going to be a big star". From the peaceful, absorbing ‘Won’t Let Go’, Sonia makes elegant steps into a powerful ‘I Am The Enemy’- taking Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ idea to a whole new level. Sonia ventures into a whirl-wind of political statements in ‘No Bomb is Smart’; heroically singing "CNN how can you glorify this drama...have you noticed that America’s on fire...fuelled by the high octane Bush bang bang empire". This extraordinary album ends with a climatic ‘The Other Man’, describing the consequences of not voting and not caring, leaving the listeners with the heart-trenching piano ballad ‘Rio’s Home’.
This album is truly magical, it evokes the bravery and wisdom of John Lennon and the musical genius of Joni Mitchell- do not overlook this album, its better then any of the superficial, meaningless sounds out there on radio. Not sure where the world is?.. not sure who the world is?, this album is the answer. - Ari Schwartz

SONiA
No Bomb Is Smart
(Disappear)



If there was a modern-day female contemporary of Bob Dylan, one would not need to look any further than singer-songwriter SONiA to find her. The underrated (and out lesbian) singer-songwriter's acoustic compositions are often as urgent in their impassioned earnestness as the most important work in Dylan's canon. Since 1988, when she and straight sister Cindy paired up on their band Disappear Fear's first album of pop-folk pleasures, "Echo My Call," SONiA has consistently delivered music that cuts right to the heart of the matter, whether the subject is heartache caused by a love gone wrong or the injustices of a cruel and intolerant world. Her latest solo offering (Disappear Fear officially disbanded in 1997 when Cindy left to concentrate on motherhood) is perhaps her most musically accomplished. Incorporating elements of country, rock, and blues into a rich tapestry, SONiA sticks close to her folksy roots while allowing herself the freedom to explore various musical styles. There's the simple beauty of affectionate ballads like "Gangsters of Love" and "Obviously"; the piano-laced melancholy of "Rio's Home" (which recalls a fatal shooting in her hometown of Baltimore); the maraca- and violin-laced richness of the spoken-word "Sugarcane"; the sensual twang of "Bucket of Blues"; and the Dylanesque "I Am the Enemy," on which SONiA sings of being "part Muslim, part Christian, and Jew" in a world torn apart by 9/11. "I thank God for freedom and red white and blue/And I don't want to go to war," she sings before adding, "But it seems that violence has blown off my door." Elsewhere, the gorgeous harmonies of SONiA and Cindy (who appears on 10 of the disc's 12 tunes) imbue the precious "Won't Let Go" (a love song for their father) with such a gentle grace that it elicits tears even on repeated listens. There's not a bad song in the bunch, and they're all pulled off with the same assured musicianship. With solid support from a very talented group of fellow musicians (made up of players from the Dixie Chicks' band), she has finally come of age as one of today's most socially relevant (and gifted) songwriters--on par with Dylan himself.

--Ken Knox




- Frontier Magazine

Once every so long you find something that shapes your perception, influences your way of thinking and feeling... takes you to a whole new level of understanding the world. The greatest influence in this world is the truth, and music is its strongest form. Sonia’s ‘No Bomb Is Smart’ masterpiece of an album, expresses the brutal, terrifying, authentic, beautiful and real values of the world we live in.
Sonia, a relatively unknown artist in the world (unfortunately), provides a mystical journey from acoustic folk pop to blues rock, and finally to the climax of the album, the inspirational-all inspiring ‘The Other Man’. The album starts off with the cosmic enchantment of ‘No More Songs’, taking a Phil Ochs original through a warm bed of luscious strings, expressing music the only way she knows how to; magically... The acoustic driven ‘Won’t Let Go’ speaks of hope and idealistic dreams; singing "dad, I’m going to be a big star". From the peaceful, absorbing ‘Won’t Let Go’, Sonia makes elegant steps into a powerful ‘I Am The Enemy’- taking Lennon’s ‘Imagine’ idea to a whole new level. Sonia ventures into a whirl-wind of political statements in ‘No Bomb is Smart’; heroically singing "CNN how can you glorify this drama...have you noticed that America’s on fire...fuelled by the high octane Bush bang bang empire". This extraordinary album ends with a climatic ‘The Other Man’, describing the consequences of not voting and not caring, leaving the listeners with the heart-trenching piano ballad ‘Rio’s Home’.
This album is truly magical, it evokes the bravery and wisdom of John Lennon and the musical genius of Joni Mitchell- do not overlook this album, its better then any of the superficial, meaningless sounds out there on radio. Not sure where the world is?.. not sure who the world is?, this album is the answer. - Ari Schwartz

DISAPPEAR FEAR HAS RE-APPEARED WITH A NEW BAND THAT’S LOUDER AND PROUDER THAN EVER


Indy artist SONiA (aka disappear fear) has been “out” and outspoken for many years on the folk, rock, and women’s circuits, addressing the social issues of our times with her poignant lyrics, and pop rock artistry. Winner of 3 GLAMA Awards, a GLAAD Award, a Stereo Review Album of the Year Award, and countless hometown kudos, SONiA and her new all-chick band, DF05, are spreading her Love Out Loud message in a U.S. tour to promote her current release, NO BOMB IS SMART.

Recorded in Nashville with a who’s who list of studio and touring musicians including members of the Dixie Chicks band, Glen Worf of Mark Knopfler’s band, and Ed Snodderly of O Brother Where Art Thou, NO BOMB IS SMART is full of catchy, pop melodies intertwined with introspective and thoughtful songs about war, intolerance, and the current political landscape. Longtime disappear fear fans will be delighted to hear sister Cindy back in action vocally on ten of the twelve tracks, singing the illuminating harmonies only family genetics can produce. Veteran producer Craig Krampf (well known for his work on Melissa Etheridge’s first release) returns to work his magic on this record, just as he did on the DF debut album on Rounder Records.

No Bomb is Smart, caught the attention of 10-time Emmy-winning composer, A.J. Gundell, who is co-producing a new song library of licensable music for film and television for well-known New York production house, Tonic.

Sonia’s music is very compelling—poignant and powerful at the same time. The song Gangsters of Love just knocked me out, especially the chorus which says “ I’d break the law everyday just to love you completely.” And I thought, well, that’s how far we’ve come in America—not very—to have to break the law to love or marry someone. But I also thought that we’ve come considerably farther in the entertainment industry which is far more welcoming of alternative lifestyles, and Tonic has access to the burgeoning market that targets the gay-friendly viewer. So having an artist like Sonia on our roster not only helps us serve the major networks, cable companies, film studios and ad agencies that are our clients, but will also help Sonia extend her reach beyond the gay and lesbian communities that already know her to the rest of America that’s starting to catch up. Tonic is already well-known as a top production house, and Spirit Music Group, who rep the catalogs of icons like Brian Wilson, Carly Simon and Lou Reed, has signed on to handling the publishing duties. My co-producer, Peter Fish, and I call the new song library “The Greatest Songs You’ve Never Heard”, but that title won’t be applicable for long.

Initially, SONiA and sister CiNDY took it to the streets of Baltimore with the melodic harmonies of their duo, disappear fear, which became a full-fledged rock band in the early 90’s with their signing to Rounder Records and Warner Chappell Music Publishing.
When Cindy had to bow out a few years later to devote time to her two young sons, SONiA continued touring around the world as a solo act, performing at Pride Festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe, NOW events such as the March on Washington and the 2004 Conference, and many of the major acoustic folk venues and festivals throughout the U.S. and Australia.

Now that disappear fear has re-appeared as DFO5, in addition to the ethereal harmonies and touching ballads, expect some straightforward estrogen rock from the girls, along with some impromptu dance jams sure to please the Phish crowd. The one thing that hasn’t changed is SONiA’s powerful crafting of songs laden with her message of “disappearing fear in the world through love”.


- Ginger Warder

Something more than conversation...
Several years ago, I attended a Phil Ochs Tribute night in Greenwich Village, and was treated to an eclectic group of folk legends(including Dave Van Ronk and John Wesley Harding) and unknown (to me, anyway) acts performing some of my all-time favorite songs. One singer, however, stole the stage that night: a young woman named SONiA of disappear fear (that's how she capitalizes her name and group, and no I don't know why), who performed Phil's "Is There Anybody Here?" and had the audience actually holding our collective breath in awe of her rendition. It was one of the most electric live performances I'd ever seen, and when the concert ended I marched right down the street to Tower Records and bought every disappear fear CD I could find.

I'm a child of the '70s; growing up my musical idols were three stars who were certainly timeless, but whose stars had shone brightest in earlier decades: Phil, Buddy Holly, John Lennon. In SONiA, I found a contemporary artist with Lennon's way with a phrase, Phil's dedication to social justice, and Holly's sense of fun. From that night until this, she's been my favorite singer/songwriter, and I've enjoyed each new album from her the way a soldier enjoys a letter
from home.

SONiA Rutstein is from Baltimore, where she formed disappear fear with her sister Cindy in the late 1980s. A decade later, Cindy retired from the road to raise a family and SONiA pushed on a solo act. She currently tours with a new disappear fear, a self styled "power trio". SONiA's website (soniadf.com) accurately describes their sound as "part intelligent folk singer-songwriter, part sweaty rock-and-roll and part whimsical pop." They tour incessantly, have a great new CD called DF05 Live(more on that later) and... since, after all, this is a website devoted to films and DVDs... SONiA was nice enough to release a DVD called Happy Birthday, SONiA so that we have something to review.

Subtitled "a film of a musical journey", Happy Birthday SONiA includes several live performances, a few brief interviews, and early music videos from a rookie rocker, including the amazing "By Saying Nothing", a Ramones-type power number that shows SONiA in her poser days with a band called Exibit A (that's how they spelled it, alrighty; you definitely have to turn off your grammar check when you write about her. And I haven't even mentioned yet that she signs her name backwards!) in 1986. There are a couple of other vintage numbers, the rollickin' "Hey" (a stadium anthem, from our little SONiA!?) and "Unfinished Song", which places SONiA at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington in 1989.
The rest of the tracks were recorded in the past 2 or 3 years, including two versions of "Is There Anybody Here?", a song that is as heartbreakingly poignant today as it was during another wasted war 40 years ago:

"Is there anybody here
Who'd like to change his clothes into a uniform
Is there anybody here who thinks they're only serving in a raging storm
Is there anybody here with glory in their eyes,
Loyal to the end, whose duty is to die
I want to see him, I want to wish him luck
I wanna shake his hand, wanna call his name,
Pin a medal on the man."

The rest of the songs are SONiA originals, including "Who's So Scared", adapted from a poem by Countee Cullen:
"Once, riding in old Baltimore, head filled
Heart filled with glee
I saw a Baltimorean keep looking straight at me
Now I was eight and very small
And he was no whit bigger
And so I smiled but he poked out his tongue and called me nigger
I saw the whole of Baltimore from May until December
Of all the things that happened there
That's all that I remember
"When I was fourteen I took a bus to San Francisco
I was full of hope and joy 'til this girl called me a boy
But I was already on my way, so frightened to be gay
Just like 1942 the world screaming
There's something wrong with you, Jew
"But what I discover, lover after lover
There's nothing wrong with me
That's just a lie by society"

Other numbers are just good ol' fashioned boogie tunes, including "Shake It" and "Dance All Night" ("I gotta go go go to the right / I gotta go go go to the left / I gotta go go go everywhere my baby tells me to"), and some romantic ballads that call for a bottle of wine and a box of chocolate-covered cherries ("You could tell me it's day / But I don't want the night to end / Watch the sun come up on our guilty-smellin' skin"). Interspersed between the songs are home-movie footage with baby SON and snippets of a recent interview, and let's just say that she's not kidding when she admits, "I'm a terrible talker." The highlight for me is when she describes the epiphany she had while watching a Spray 'n' Wash commercial on TV. You don't hear stories like that every day. (To be fair, I had the opportunity to chat with her for a few minutes when she appeared in Winters, California, and she's quite glib when the cameras aren't rolling, - In The Balcony - Cliff Weimer

DISAPPEAR FEAR HAS RE-APPEARED WITH A NEW BAND THAT’S LOUDER AND PROUDER THAN EVER


Indy artist SONiA (aka disappear fear) has been “out” and outspoken for many years on the folk, rock, and women’s circuits, addressing the social issues of our times with her poignant lyrics, and pop rock artistry. Winner of 3 GLAMA Awards, a GLAAD Award, a Stereo Review Album of the Year Award, and countless hometown kudos, SONiA and her new all-chick band, DF05, are spreading her Love Out Loud message in a U.S. tour to promote her current release, NO BOMB IS SMART.

Recorded in Nashville with a who’s who list of studio and touring musicians including members of the Dixie Chicks band, Glen Worf of Mark Knopfler’s band, and Ed Snodderly of O Brother Where Art Thou, NO BOMB IS SMART is full of catchy, pop melodies intertwined with introspective and thoughtful songs about war, intolerance, and the current political landscape. Longtime disappear fear fans will be delighted to hear sister Cindy back in action vocally on ten of the twelve tracks, singing the illuminating harmonies only family genetics can produce. Veteran producer Craig Krampf (well known for his work on Melissa Etheridge’s first release) returns to work his magic on this record, just as he did on the DF debut album on Rounder Records.

No Bomb is Smart, caught the attention of 10-time Emmy-winning composer, A.J. Gundell, who is co-producing a new song library of licensable music for film and television for well-known New York production house, Tonic.

Sonia’s music is very compelling—poignant and powerful at the same time. The song Gangsters of Love just knocked me out, especially the chorus which says “ I’d break the law everyday just to love you completely.” And I thought, well, that’s how far we’ve come in America—not very—to have to break the law to love or marry someone. But I also thought that we’ve come considerably farther in the entertainment industry which is far more welcoming of alternative lifestyles, and Tonic has access to the burgeoning market that targets the gay-friendly viewer. So having an artist like Sonia on our roster not only helps us serve the major networks, cable companies, film studios and ad agencies that are our clients, but will also help Sonia extend her reach beyond the gay and lesbian communities that already know her to the rest of America that’s starting to catch up. Tonic is already well-known as a top production house, and Spirit Music Group, who rep the catalogs of icons like Brian Wilson, Carly Simon and Lou Reed, has signed on to handling the publishing duties. My co-producer, Peter Fish, and I call the new song library “The Greatest Songs You’ve Never Heard”, but that title won’t be applicable for long.

Initially, SONiA and sister CiNDY took it to the streets of Baltimore with the melodic harmonies of their duo, disappear fear, which became a full-fledged rock band in the early 90’s with their signing to Rounder Records and Warner Chappell Music Publishing.
When Cindy had to bow out a few years later to devote time to her two young sons, SONiA continued touring around the world as a solo act, performing at Pride Festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe, NOW events such as the March on Washington and the 2004 Conference, and many of the major acoustic folk venues and festivals throughout the U.S. and Australia.

Now that disappear fear has re-appeared as DFO5, in addition to the ethereal harmonies and touching ballads, expect some straightforward estrogen rock from the girls, along with some impromptu dance jams sure to please the Phish crowd. The one thing that hasn’t changed is SONiA’s powerful crafting of songs laden with her message of “disappearing fear in the world through love”.


- Ginger Warder

What do Bonnie Raitt, Johnette Napolitano, Patti Smith and SONiA
Rutstein have in common? They're all panelists at Seattle's Rockrgrl
Conference, held November 10-12. At the conference SONiA shared her 14
years of experience as a touring musician with her band disappear fear
while mingling with musicians, journalists, label founders and
marketing execs ? all female. "Patti Smith and Bonnie Raitt are two
women in music who have made great contributions so this is really an
opportunity to honor them and speak with them," said SONiA, by phone
from the conference. "Women from, really, all over the world are
attending it."

SONiA and disappear fear are touring to release their new CD, DF05
Live, 20 tracks meandering through folk, blues and rock territory.
Recorded live at huge festivals and small listening rooms throughout
the country, DF05 Live includes both originals and classic protest
songs (Phil Och's "Is There Anybody Here," for instance).

The band is celebrating a strong new lineup too. Laura Cerulli both
drums and sings, while Angela Edge adds bass and trumpet to SONiA's
lead vocals, guitar, harmonica and piano. With her long blond
dreadlocks, ripped jeans and gentle-but-tough activist ethic, SONiA and
the band continue to inspire audiences the world over, urging them to
take pride in who they are, stay strong, and never stop pointing out
injustice.

- Eugene Weekly-Vanessa Salvia

What do Bonnie Raitt, Johnette Napolitano, Patti Smith and SONiA
Rutstein have in common? They're all panelists at Seattle's Rockrgrl
Conference, held November 10-12. At the conference SONiA shared her 14
years of experience as a touring musician with her band disappear fear
while mingling with musicians, journalists, label founders and
marketing execs ? all female. "Patti Smith and Bonnie Raitt are two
women in music who have made great contributions so this is really an
opportunity to honor them and speak with them," said SONiA, by phone
from the conference. "Women from, really, all over the world are
attending it."

SONiA and disappear fear are touring to release their new CD, DF05
Live, 20 tracks meandering through folk, blues and rock territory.
Recorded live at huge festivals and small listening rooms throughout
the country, DF05 Live includes both originals and classic protest
songs (Phil Och's "Is There Anybody Here," for instance).

The band is celebrating a strong new lineup too. Laura Cerulli both
drums and sings, while Angela Edge adds bass and trumpet to SONiA's
lead vocals, guitar, harmonica and piano. With her long blond
dreadlocks, ripped jeans and gentle-but-tough activist ethic, SONiA and
the band continue to inspire audiences the world over, urging them to
take pride in who they are, stay strong, and never stop pointing out
injustice.

- Eugene Weekly-Vanessa Salvia