Absolutely tragic news - singer/songwriter/violinist Amy Farris has passed away, apparently after a long battle with an illness. This is terribly shocking in light of the fact that I saw Ms. Farris play with Dave Alvin & The Guilty Women only two weeks ago here in Houston. Further compounding the sad irony is the fact that The Guilty Women were formed in the wake of Guilty Men member (and best friend) Chris Gaffney's death last year.
I first saw her play regularly with Kelly Willis in the mid-90's. If you've never heard her Alvin-produced solo album Anyway, it's a real gem. Alvin and The Guilty Women covered the title track for their latest record.
I have a photo of The Broken Spoke in Austin hanging on my wall at home, and the marquee has the name Amy Tivens on it, which I believe was the name she used to go by (though feel free to correct me if I'm confused). Very strange, sad news.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Hungry For Music, an organization that supplies instruments to at-risk children.
UPDATE: Much more complete coverage in the LA Times, possibly deepening the sadness of the situation.
Gosh, I was thumbing through some old 'No Depressions', and I saw an article on her first album. How sad.
Posted by: Robert DuPont | October 03, 2009 at 10:33 AM