Gentle Thunder
Gentle Thunder is a GRAMMY® nominated multi-instrumentalist (grand hammer dulcimer, drums and Native American flutes), composer, producer and voting member of The Recording Academy whose musical journey began at age thirteen in the Seattle area as a rock-n-roll drummer. In 1990, her recording career took her to Memphis, TN for two years. While in Memphis she became captivated by the hammer dulcimer and the portion of her ancestry that is Native American (Cree). It was in connecting with her ancient roots she remembered her interconnectedness to all life and began to consciously walk the beauty way. She let go of her familiar path as a rock-n-roll drummer and moved to Mt. Shasta, CA where the “voice” of her spirit expanded … performing with Shasta Taiko (Japanese drumming), playing hammer dulcimer, piano, ceremonial drumming and Native American flutes.
After many years of holding the groove for other artists, she branched out as a solo artist in 1994. Both live and on recording, Gentle Thunder enchants audiences around the world with her distinctive sound and heart-filled presence. Her solo performances and airplay in the U.K., Canada, U.S., Denmark, Japan and Europe have garnered her an international following. Both solo CDs Awakening Remembrance and Winds of the Heart charted in the Top 100 New Age Reporter. Her third release, Beyond Words with Will Clipman & AmoChip Dabney, is a unique and refreshing collaboration with these two Multi-GRAMMY® nominated artists and showcases her exceptional spectrum of musicality and her stellar ability as a producer.
Since its debut, Beyond Words spent the year in the Top 100 New Age Reporter charts, charted #27 overall for 2006, was nominated Best Native American album New Age Reporter Awards, nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album at the 2006 Indian Summer Music Awards and now recognized as 2006 GRAMMY® nominee for Best New Age Album. At last, an album and a live performance that eloquently weaves all of her musical voices together, showcases her versatility and celebrates the path of a woman blazing her own trail in the world of music. Wall Street Journal’s Jim Fusilli called her music “direct and organic”. Whether in collaboration with other artists, performing solo or producing fabulous artists such as Ann Licater and Mariee Sioux, Gentle Thunder is deeply dedicated to walking a path of beauty, honoring all life and bringing the vision of wholeness to all she does.