The Macrodots

Richardson Re-Invents herself with new hard-rocking supergroup:

Macrodots

Seeing Cathy Richardson sing is an experience that is difficult to explain. Critics have described the effect in ways such as: witnessing a space shuttle launch, a force of nature, kinetic, unleashing a tsunami from her iron-lungs, haunting, stunning, breath-taking power, unbelievably powerful, or simply stated, WOW. Some have even gone so far as to dub her the "best female voice in rock today."

And it's no wonder, what other singer out there can you name who has the chops (or the balls, for that matter) to stand in for both Janis Joplin and Grace Slick in their iconic bands?

Yes, it's true, GRAMMY Nominee and four-time DIY Music Award-winning singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actress and designer Cathy Richardson independently released and sold over 30,000 copies of her seven solo albums and relentlessly pummeled the Chicago club circuit for years before being cast as Janis Joplin in the Off Broadway hit Love, Janis. She later toured the US with Big Brother and the Holding Co. (and still does when schedules align) and in 2008 became the lead singer for psychedelic rock originators, Jefferson Starship (with founding members Paul Kantner, Marty Balin and David Freiberg).

And just when you thought she couldn't possibly rock any harder, she hooks up with San Francisco guitarist/producer Zack Smith and unveils the Macrodots.

Smith is no stranger to strong female vocalists, as founding member of 80s pop hitmakers Scandal, he discovered singer Patty Smyth waitressing in a New York restaurant. And as Smith remembers it, the first time he heard Richardson sing, "I couldn't feel my feet touching the ground."

Working together in Smith's SOMA studio for the first time, they wrote Save Me in a matter of hours and knew they had something special on their hands. Rob Smith from Popdose later wrote in his Death By Power Ballad column, "Save Me (is) one of the most dramatic power ballads I've heard in years. Channeling her inner Ann Wilson, Richardson faces down a lonely night of the soul the only way true rock chicks know how—by shredding her lungs in a full-throated roar to the heavens... Listen to the music, too—the spooky keyboards, the anvil-down-the-staircase drumming, the acoustic guitar and droning electric guitar, the little bits of effects here and there. The production and arrangement really are a full-on, multi-layered sensory assault, all to the greater glory of the song." And that was just the first one!

After writing and recording about 20 songs, Richardson and Smith honed it down to 11 epic rock tunes for the Macrodots debut release the Other Side- with unabashed shades of Led Zeppelin (take Rock and Roll Part Two, for example) Aerosmith (like the ball-kicking rocker Kiss My Ass), David Bowie (the haunting Beautiful Girl), guitar driven riff rockers with vintage keys and hooks-a-plenty, lushly layered under the gorgeous and gut wrenching vocals of the Divine Ms. R.

You see, kids, Richardson and Smith have come together to give you the musical spanking you deserve- with a sound that, for as much as it pays homage to old school rock, still sounds fresh and new. In a sea swarming with reality show wannabes and auto-tuned fembots, the Macrodots offer something uniquely special to the current musical landscape: talent. Not the raw, unbridled, full of untapped potential kind, but the kind that comes from years of experience, dedication, passion for the music and the performance, countless hours in the studio and onstage, the honing of one's craft until it can truly be called "masterful." This is how we rock and roll. Take that, bitches.

Contact The Macrodots at .