Some things you don?t forget.
For musician Deanna Bogart, it was a day four years ago in Anne Arundel Mall when a young cashier struck up a conversation about her feelings as an outcast from her peer group. She didn?t know or recognize Bogart as a locally renowned musician.
“She told me she was thought of as ?the girl in the band,? and said she didn’t care if people made fun of her,” said Bogart. “When she asked if I thought she was crazy, I told her ?No. I’m still the girl in the band.? ”
Such is the life of Deanna Bogart, who calls herself “the homely girl with theguitar who could sing a little.” From the time she first picked up a guitar at age 12, Bogart has never looked back except at such real life stories, which inspire her music ? a mix of blues, jazz, boogie-woogie and country. The result has not yet been wide fame or fortune but critical acclaim.
“If some marketing wiz out there can ever figure out how to package all this talent into a form the mass public can recognize, ? then Deanna Bogart has a good chance to be a household name,” wrote Steve Leggett on AllMusic. “?She truly deserves a wider audience.”
Despite critics hailing her music ? not to mention her sultry singing voice and masterful piano and sax playing ? her music is always pigeonholed as blues.
“I get in trouble saying this because the blues world has embraced us. I love that and I embrace that,” Bogart said. “But we are obviously not a blues band. I play boogie-woogie. And I am all about music growing out of other music. I find that amazing.”
Perhaps just as many find it amazing that Bogart ? with all her versatility and range ? stays in Maryland, instead of seeking fame in New Orleans, Nashville, Tenn., or Los Angeles. The reason, she said, is her daughter.
“I was raised across the country from my dad. He was a weekend dad and it wasn?t the same,” she said. “So I am here. And it?s OK. I would do anything for her.”
Another thing you don?t forget.
If you go
Deanna Bogart
» Venue: Rams Head On Stage, 33 West St., Annapolis
» Times: 7 and 10 p.m. Saturday
» Tickets: $21; 410-268-4545 or ramsheadtavern.com
