Timmy Straw drifts into Cloud 9 for hometown show

CORVALLIS - Timmy Straw is coming home.

After living for several years in Los Angeles and recently settling in north Portland, the Corvallis native will host a concert celebrating the completion of her first CD, "State Parks," at 9 p.m. Saturday, June 27, at Cloud 9, 130 S.W. First St.

Better known in these parts by her given name, Emily Beezhold, Timmy Straw grew up in Corvallis where she was homeschooled and attended Corvallis High School and Willamette Valley Community School. She is now 27.

Her music is an eclectic mix of original material with influences as diverse as hip-hop, Appalachian and classical.

Straw started learning piano at age 4 and picked up guitar, banjo, oboe, cello and trumpet over the years. She is currently taking violin lessons.

"I was trained in classical piano, sang in church choir, and thanks to my folks listened to a lot of Doc Watson, Paul Simon and Chopin growing up," Straw said.

As the lyrics in one of her new songs allude to, she also has two older brothers.

"My older brothers played Talking Heads and let me hang out in their room," she added.

In 2002, Beezhold was part of a band called Kid Quiz that played around Corvallis and eventually went on tour.

"The tour ended in Los Angeles and we just stayed there," Straw said.

During five years in L.A., Straw performed with a jazz group, a Brazilian hip-hop project and solo with her own compositions.

In 2006, she was in a nasty bike crash, receiving a severe head injury after flying over her handlebars on a steep downhill.

"It was pretty gnarly," she said. "It certainly messed me up for a time."

But, Straw had a remarkable and full recovery - regaining her short-term memory and relearning how to walk among, other challenges. The whole experience caused a lot of reflection for her.

"It's a really crazy thing to learn how the brain heals itself, because of how it affects the emotions," she said.

Straw just finished recording her first solo CD project, much of it in her bedroom-turned-studio. Earlier this week, she was immersed in the process of mixing and mastering the CD.

"It's really intense because I play every instrument on it," she said.

While she is not yet technically able to recreate what she does in the studio in a live show (where she plays piano, trumpet and sings), she said that she is going to get there eventually.

Straw's voice is haunting, beautiful and distinctive on the new tracks.

"I feel like I always had a weird voice," she said. "So, I had to learn how to use it as best I could."

CHECK IT OUT

WHO: Timmy Straw

WHAT: Celebration of the completion of Timmy Straw's first CD "State Parks." After party with DJ Kixotek.

WHEN: 9 p.m. Saturday, June 27.

WHERE: Cloud 9, 130 S.W. First St., Corvallis.

COST: Free.

INFO: www.myspace.com/timmystraw and kixotek.com.