It’s not that Valery Gore — a Toronto-based singer-songwriter with a pleasantly unconventional voice and penchant for piano wizardry — dislikes Sarah Slean.
She appreciates the talents of her fellow chanteuse. She’s just a little tired of the comparison.
Since the release of her self-titled 2005 debut album, Gore has continued to build her reputation as a creative songwriter and talented performer, but nearly any piece of press written about her — including this one — contains some reference to Slean.
“Yeah, I get it all the time, and I definitely do fit into a certain female, piano-player genre, but if people listen closely they should see that I do have my own uniqueness,” Gore declares.
“I think Sarah Slean and I probably grew up with the same influences, but I look forward to the day when people say, ‘You know what, she’s not like Sarah Slean. She’s doing her own thing.’”
Then let it be stated now that Gore is definitely doing her own thing.
The poetic imagery and clever observations contained in the lyrics of nearly every song she’s released, put her in a rare class of artists who are as gifted with a pen as they are with a musical instrument.
“Most of the songs came from my journal. My lyrics have always been poetry for me, and that’s usually what comes first,” Gore says.
Though she’s been performing for years, she admits she’s only recently started to think of herself as a singer. She has spent most of her 24 years at the keys of a piano, studying classical and jazz styles — a point that becomes evident within seconds of listening to any of her songs.
Tonight Gore comes to Zaphod’s, bringing her band and a repertoire of new songs from her soon-to-be recorded second album with her. The show starts off with the equally lovely Sarah Hallman. Tickets are $8 and the doors open at 8 p.m.
