bio/contact

Contact Rose at rose@rockwithrose.com.

“As I walk home barefoot in the dawn, I just can’t bear to put my shoes on — again, and again, and again.”
— Rose Guerin

There are way too many shoes in Rose Guerin’s closet. And, footwear aside, the thing is crammed full with sheer, clingy, sequined, size-S polyester, worn out rhinestone-studded jersey knit and matted fake fur. Much like Guerin, the wardrobe is too gaudy to be hip, too threadbare to be contrived–and none of it is easy to wear. But it all leaves an optimistic little trail of glitter and tiny feathers in her fragile, vivid wake.

It is Guerin’s shoe collection, however, that betrays the most candid insight into her winsome and woebegone character: witness the reliable sneaker that takes long walks in the snow with her fluffy little Tibetan dog and the forlorn Wal-Mart flip-flop that hibernates on the back porch waiting for spring. Yet it is her quantity of six-inch platform heels with red satin florets, faux-leopard laces and hot pink patent-leather uppers that invariably emerge–weather be damned–to stand night after night on a beer-soaked floor, before or behind the bar, only to pedal Guerin home recklessly at dawn.

But on those nights when she stands, guitar in hand, before a crowd of local admirers and astonished barflies, these same feckless heels never founder under the weight of her song. With a bright blue dress and orange-red hair piled atop her head, Guerin’s tremendous voice shatters the murky din as sparkling, lovelorn minutiae litter the stage at her feet. Teetering on spangled toes, she shifts from bittersweet musings on the merits of old boyfriends to the fiery umbrage unleashed by a jilted lover – all with an unflinching wisdom and authority that belie her meager years. There is a brief pause between tunes as Guerin playfully banters with the crowd. Then she resumes, softly whispering and belting out lyrics in a voice that runs a luscious gamut between pure confection and whisky-soaked bawd. When it’s over, Guerin’s beguiled audience is spent, euphoric and covered with glitter.

I’m Not Particularly Unique

Rose Lyman Guerin was born in Roxbury, Mass., at the tail end of a cultural explosion that rocked the Boston-Cambridge area in the 1960s. Raised by a socially-minded tribe of artists and musicians, Guerin was weaned on the musical legacy of folk heroes like Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and her own Jug-Band uncle, Jim Kweskin. The latter recognized Guerin’s perfect pitch when he heard her singing to herself in the bushes outside their home when she was 4. By age 14 Guerin began writing original work, combining her folk-music lineage with sounds gleaned from other modern archetypes–the sweetness of Edith Piaf, the soul of Nina Simone, and the R&B of Etta James and Ray Charles.

It wasn’t until she moved to Spain in the early 1990s that Guerin began to blossom as a performer and songwriter. In Madrid she sang blues, jazz and folk standards with local acts, and paid the bills busquing in the city’s underground with her guitar. It was there, singing and playing against the tiled subway walls, that she learned to master the raw power of her extraordinary voice.

One year later Guerin returned to the States, armed with a cache of original pieces that would lay the groundwork for her future songwriting. In 1997 she moved to Washington, DC and, after knocking around the District in a local Irish folk group dubbed Emerald Pussy, she mustered the courage to perform and record her own songs. In the fall of 2000, Guerin took the stage at Staccato, a northwest DC piano bar, and played her first gig comprised entirely of original work.

On stage, Guerin’s music is torn between lovesick ballads and angry rants, each one framing a personal vignette from her own incomparable narrative. The Castilian influence from her tenure in Spain is evident in the upbeat “Maria,” while melodies like “Prove Yourself” and “Blue Irish Eyes” evoke the folkie sound of her forebears–a style that has since evolved into more musically complex arrangements like “Beautiful” and “Move Me.”

A proficient guitarist, Guerin typically accompanies herself on stage, though to date her DC appearances have been backed by a variety of top-notch area musicians. When not working with the DC projects Vandaveer and John Bustine, she is often seen playing with local favorites, such as Tom Hnatow of These United States, Josh Read of Revival, Justin Jones, and Brandon Butler.