The official word

October Crifasi has studied guitar, voice and percussion since she was seven years old. A New England native, Crifasi wrote her first song at age twelve as the result of a desperate crush gone awry. Understanding their daughter needed something outside of the basic Catholic school education (too many A's in art and F's in Trigonometry), she was sent to Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts (just outside of Boston) to learn the intricacies of flamenco and classical guitar.

The East Coast held a tad too many bad-haired metal bands for her tastes so Crifasi decided to head west. She landed at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa where she pursued her passion for the arts, performing often in college-sponsored events and acting as the first female general manager for the college radio station.

The return of the bright lights and hub bub of a big city seemed most appropriate for Crifasi, graduation found her completing three internships in the Chicago music/broadcast community and assembling the foundations for the band FIFTY FOOT WOMAN. Originally comprised of five women, FIFTY FOOT WOMAN grew from the rhythmic ramblings of garage rehearsals and backyard barbecues to a melodic and funky rock collective playing such key Chicago venues as the Metro, Beat Kitchen and Schubas. Crifasi also led her ensemble to the stage of Park West to compete in the city-sponsored Winter Fest, a showcase highlighting some of Chicago's newest musical talent. In addition, German TV producers chose the band as typical of the best on the Chicago music scene, filming them in concert and rehearsal as part of an American music documentary.

Crifasi's role as prime songwriter and front girl for FIFTY FOOT WOMAN came to a close as the desire for solo wings took hold and led to her departure of the band in spring of 1995. She has since provided her combination of rhythm and sass to several country and rock line-ups across the nation. She has studied with Robbie Fulks and Steve Earle, has passed on her guitar knowledge and prowess to eager students at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago, IL and Baxter Northup Music, Los Angeles, CA and was on the pages of the Winter issue (2003) of Bust Magazine. She's appeared most recently at the International Pop Overthrow festival in Chicago and on the "Another Dreamer" compilation cd distributed at this year's South by Southwest Music Conference.

Crifasi's collaboration with Chicago pianist and arranger Miki Greenberg, is her strongest collection of songs yet, and is also the one for which she is most proud. The entire project was written, recorded and mixed in the few weeks prior to her move to Los Angeles. Crifasi now resides in Southern California area where she continues to write, perform and teach. The spring of 2004 will find her writing a new cd with Greenberg and touring parts of the Northeast and West Coast.


Fun Facts

What's her sign, man?

Libra - Yes, she was BORN in October and NO her parents are not hippies.

Where'd she'd learn how to play that thing?

Voice, Classical & Flamenco guitar - Walnut Hill School for the Performing Arts, MA
Voice, Guitar, Piano - Cornell College, IA
Lead & rhythm guitar with Charles Kim & Robbie Fulks
Song writing with Steve Earle, Miki Greenberg

First vocal coaches? Sister Rosalie & Rosamond - yeah, that's right. For those of you in the know, we're talking about THE singing nuns.


Performed at:
The National Women's Music Festival, IN; 12th & Porter, Nashville, TN; Autumnfest, IL; Beat Kitchen, Fitzgeralds, the Metro, Schubas, Park West, Old Town School of Folk Music (and a slew of other summer festivals), Chicago, IL; Meow Mix, Café Sine, NYC; Can Tab Lounge, Borders, Cambridge, MA; The Derby, The Cat Club, the Hard Rock Café Los Angeles, CA; Club Xanth, San Diego, CA and the Music Mentor Conference, Anaheim, CA.


Has been heard on:
WNUR, Chicago
WXRT, Chicago

Has been seen on:
WCVB, Boston
German Music Television

Bands she's played in:
The Deep Eynde
The October Seven
Lubbock
Gal-o-rama
Fifty Foot Woman

Discography:
Go, self-release (for now!), 2002
No Great Love Stories - Fifty Foot Woman, 1995

Other records featuring schtuff co-written with October:
The Perfect Malcontent - Ellen Rosner

Least known factoid besides the above:

Check out Aerosmith's video for Let The Music Do the Talkin. That blur in the white shirt way in the back - that's October. Err uh, we think anyway. We have the official video t-shirt to prove it.