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PHOTO COURTESY OF ARTIST

TURN THE PAGE. Deborah Page is creating a buzz in the local scene with her unique sound.

Local singer follows her own muse

By John Larson

Deborah Page does not quite fit with the sensitive singer/songwriter crowd in look or sound. Her material does not really blend right in with the rock scene. She is doing something a bit different and attracting fans of a range of musical genres to her shows.

Page sings and plays acoustic guitar. She became active in the local music scene two years ago, although she said she has become more serious over the past eight months.

She lived on Anderson Island until she was 12, when her family moved to Mexico. After returning to the Tacoma area she teamed up with guitarist Paul Uhl, who grew up in Kent and Auburn. He spent a few years playing in a surf guitar band. Uhl said his influences span a range of styles.

When Page was seven her father gave her an acoustic guitar with three strings he bought at a garage sale. Eventually she moved on to six and 12-string acoustic guitars.

She did some gigs on Anderson Island before going to work on her debut album, “For,” last summer. It was released Thanksgiving weekend. She and Uhl handled all the editing and mastering themselves.

They operate a photography studio in the Middle Floor Merchants at Sanford and Son, the famous antique emporium downtown. They did their first show at Sanford and Son five months ago, although they consider their performance on New Year’s Eve for First Night as their first official show.

While some of the material falls within the singer/songwriter category, there are clearly elements that set the duo apart from acts that play that circuit. Page said people have compared her music to everything from Natalie Merchant to Portishead. Her unusual yet intriguing rendition of the nursery rhyme “Mary Mack” is an indication Page is following her own muse.

“I don’t want to be classified in the folk genre,” she remarked.

“It is a good thing we produced our own CD,” Uhl said. “No producer would have done ‘Mary Mack.’”

Page and Uhl perform as a duo, with drums and sound effects prerecorded.

“We wanted a full sound, not a coffee shop sound,” Uhl said.

Page said the idea of assembling a full band appeals to her, but for now she is happy with the good chemistry she and Uhl have in songwriting and performing. “We brainstorm off each other all the time.”

“We are working so well together, I think it would be hard to change,” Uhl commented.

Uhl said his least favorite thing about music is bands whose material all sounds the same.

Page admires artists like David Bowie, who alter their sound throughout the course of their careers. “Or Madonna. You can’t pigeonhole her,” she noted.

“People like that, I always want to hear their new album,” Uhl said. “It is a breath of fresh air.”

Page listens to a wide range of music, from Disturbed to opera, Tori Amos to Pearl Jam. To some extent her material is a reflection of this. Page said she is still learning about the business side of things, such as booking gigs. She admits it can be hard for booking agents or club owners to determine who to book her with. Uhl noted they sometimes get put on bills with female-fronted bands.

With summer approaching, Page has applied to play at many of the popular outdoor festivals around the Puget Sound.

In the meantime she plans to begin work soon on her second album, which she said will be both grittier and funkier than her debut. She is considering singing one song in Spanish.

Deborah Page plays Sanford and Son at 6:30 p.m. May 15.

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