It was a sweltering July day in Columbia, South Carolina in 1993. Punks walked around in their own thick auras of humidity. Tsunami were weary and wary. They loaded the equipment on to the floor of the restaurant (no stage) where they would play that night and hoped the pinball would get them through the next 3 hours. Little did they know that their lives were soon to be changed forever, for that fated day they would be lucky enough to see the brilliant Danielle Howle perform. Sounds a bit like a bad novel, doesn't it, but isn't it wonderful that life is sometimes that way? Danielle Howle is the most original and compelling performer we have ever seen "by accident". She commands equally undivided attention whether she is knocking you down with the sheer force of her voice, twisting you into knots with the subtle complexity of the inner logic of her vocal decisions, or charming you with her effortless wit and between-song chatter. When Danielle is in the room you can't help but hang on her every word, and once you've seen her perform on the floor of some restaurant, with her acoustic guitar and her notebook, her glass of water and her guitar case propping up her feet, you can't help but think there might truly just be such a thing as "star quality" that doesn't have a thing to do with ad budgets, makeup stylists or major label deals. It's very difficult to describe her music as she doesn't fall easily into one style. Some of the lazier journalists will say folk or country. If that piques your interest - fine - there are definite influences there, but don't assume that's everything. Self-taught, her songs follow an internal logic that defies the traditional pop structures and vogue songwriting styles. Given her chance, Danielle will belong in the canon of intuitive musicians, like a Joni Mitchell or a Liz Phair. When asked directly, Danielle is uncomfortable with being labeled an acoustic artist or "songwriter" but rather likes to think of herself as someone who captures little bits of time. "I'm not trying to shock people with bad language and weirdness," she says, "I'm trying to tell whatever truth is there. I don't need electricity to make a big noise." Nor does she need it to attract attention. She so enraptured a packed, attentive throng of fans at the Milestone (NC) when opening for loud grunge wunderkind headliners The Melvins that you could hear a pin drop. Now that's power. Since her debut Frog Song 7" on Simple Machines, Danielle has covered a lot of ground. She's toured the US with Tsunami, Ida, Retsin, Those Bastard Souls, Vic Chestnutt, The Grifters and the Indigo Girls. She's jumped on stage and duetted with Steve Earle. We've seen her turn honky-tonk heads in Nashville when she skittered up to do a couple of songs at some open mic night. She's kicked our asses at Quarters. Best of all, she's followed up on her stellar debut with full-lengths for Simple Machines, Daemon and now Kill Rock Stars. Expect more touring and more amazing songs in the future.

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