Singer-Songwriter Almira Fawn

By Amanda Harper Posted: May 28th, 2009



As TOPS caught up with eleven year-old Almira Fawn, she had just begun picking the first few notes of "Hotel California". LexJam's smaller-than-usual crowd of fifteen was visibly impressed-the tune is known be tough for even seasoned players. By the time Almira reached the final chorus of the ubiquitous tune by The Eagles, the young musician's powerful voice and incredible playing had nearly tripled the crowd.

 

Almira Fawn's musical talent has its beginnings at the Lexington YMCA. As a young(er) girl, Almira was quite shy. Her parents took her to the YMCA and enrolled her in various activities and programs in order to help her become more outgoing. They noticed that they offered guitar lessons, and signed up. Soon, it became apparent that Almira had a very real talent for music.

 

 Almira Fawn Performing

  

Her guitar teacher suggested that Almira try performing in public at the Farmer's Market to display her talent and work on her shyness. Almira was hooked. She slowly
began performing more regularly, though Almira admits she wasn't cured of shyness. "I'm still shy, though, but not as shy," she said, laughing. "I'm getting better at it."

 

Not a fan of most current Top 40 music, Almira covered tunes by café crooners and old-school 70's rockers. Eventually, Almira began writing her own music. "I consider myself more of a writer than a performer, but I like performing, too! I like creating my own stuff." And, yes, she writes love songs. "How could she know about that?" her father, Don, laughed. "I guess it's just universal feelings," Almira said, with a shrug.

 

Almira plays several instruments, including the mandolin, ukulele, stand-up bass, and harmonica. Almira takes to instruments quickly. She decided that she wanted to play Neil Young's "Heart of Gold", a song heavily dependent on guitar and harmonica. At the time, Almira had never played the harmonica. Don helped her pick out a harmonica for the song on Monday and by that Thursday evening, Almira played the song in a Lexington restaurant.

 

As an eleven year-old, Almira says it's hard to find fellow musicians willing to play with her. "A lot of bands, they're just like ‘She's just a little kid... what's she gonna do?'", Almira explained. "I like a full-band sound, so I tried to build the band." To do that, Almira decided to learn to use a machine known as a "looper". A looper records very short snippets of sound and replays them over and over in a loop, allowing her to play songs that would be otherwise impossible for a single musician to play. One of Almira's original songs called "Need to Realize" uses various instruments on the looper, with everything from knocking on the body of her guitar to playing with a Slinky.

 

In addition to playing live music, Almira has released a CD entitled "Chillax" and occasionally teaches guitar at the YMCA. She has even done a few motivational speaking engagements. She likes the idea that she is encouraging other young musicians. "I think they say ‘This kid is teaching us-maybe we can be like her'."

 

Almira is a regular player at the LexJam II sessions in Lexington Center and around Lexington. To find out more, visit her website at http://www.almirafawn.com.


 



"You are so good! I play guitar, harmonica, sax and accordion but not half as good as you do it. Thank you so much. I think I have listened to Chollix 100 times. Thank you good little girl."
JJ,  Gibostad, Norway  |  Posted Jun 14, 2009

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