Raison D'Etre

.."What a release it is! Oh my, the songs are so powerful. The harmony just gets better and better. The whole project is so good. I believe this year will be good for you and your singing sisters. The writing is so touching, it makes me laugh, cry, and just ponder...thanks so much for something that will bring me joy all year.”

Raison D'Etre explains it all CAMPBELL COUNTY - In one song, dogs are "twice the human being that you are." In another, spaceships save the environment. In yet another, a woman decides it's OK to be "an old gray grandma as long as you'll be my gray grandpa." Welcome to the world of Raison D'Etre, a trio of Campbell County women who specialize in, among other genres, folk, swing, Shaker hymns and a capella tunes. Sisters Violet Rae Downey and Roberta Schultz, who along with Vickie Ellis make up Raison D'Etre, recently released their seventh album, "Tales from the Tall Side." The album, which takes listeners on journeys of love, loss and redemption, was made with an Artist Enrichment Grant that Schultz received from the Kentucky Foundation for Women. The songs reflect the challenges women face when reaching the "tall" side of life. "We have family connections and history woven into our music," said guitarist Downey, of Fort Thomas. "Some of what we write comes from observations of the changing world around us but much of it comes from deep feelings about past experiences that come bubbling up through self analysis and meditation." The name Raison D'Etre is a French term that means "reason for being." All three women - who sing and specialize in three-part harmony - attended Morehead State University. "We always tell people that singing together is our reason for being, thus the name," said guitarist and mandolin player Schultz, of Wilder. "For me, personally, music has become a second language that allows me to communicate things I wouldn't usually say to the rest of the world. And the very act of singing and playing guitar lowers my blood pressure." Ellis, who plays keyboards and banjo and lives in Fort Thomas, said the group also recently finished a side project of swing songs. "We've always included a swing number or two on each of our previous recordings," she said. "So a few months ago, while recording some of our original songs for our new CD, we found ourselves in the right time at the right place with the right person to finish this side project." The group travels across the state playing in front of crowds large and small. "The songs are cathartic for the writer and the best performances are when those same feelings transcend to audience," Downey said. "We have had magical performances occur both in intimate settings and larger auditoriums. It is a communication one cannot really explain. You just feel it. And when it happens, it makes everything right with the world." "Tales from the Tall Side" is available at Kentucky Artisan Center in Berea, Kentucky Haus Artisan Center in Newport, CD Baby online and iTunes. For more information, visit www.raison3.com.

"Good social comment and storytelling..." ("Another Train") "Clever and fun storytelling and unique lyrical idea..." ("Legacy") "Creative, catchy, lyrically interesting"...("This Kind of Rain")