Pick a Babe
SALLY FINGERETT:
Playing, piano, guitar, and bass, Sally is one of the founding “Mothers” of The Four Bitchin’ Babes, releasing 6 solo CDs, and has participated in all 9 Bitchin’ Babes CDs and over 20 compilation recordings! Sally’s song of compassion and equal rights, “Home Is Where The Heart Is” has been recorded by Holly Near, Ronnie Gilbert, and folk legends, Peter, Paul, and Mary for their CD and PBS special “Lifelines,” and can be found in “Contemporary Cabaret” a song book celebrating composers Stephen Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, and Andrew Lloyd Weber. Wearing many “showbiz hats,” Sally has sung Radio/TV Jingles for Butterfinger, Hallmark, and Sears, performed with the National Touring Company of the Vagina Monologues, showcased in Putamayo’s Songwriter Festival at NY’s Carnegie Hall, was the musical guest on Michael Feldman’s Whad’Ya Know, NPR’s Mountain Stage, CNN’s Sonya Live, PBS Lifelines, and CBS Sunday Morning. Her comical essays and poetry have been published in Random House’s Life’s A Stitch, a collection of contemporary women’s humor with Erma Bombeck, Gloria Steinem, Joan Rivers and more. With her heart in musical theatre, Sally was commissioned to compose 12 songs for “Hersteria..A Musical Noir” (book by Sharon Bajer) for the Winnipeg Studio Theatre. She has recorded duets with Janis Ian, Jonathan Edwards as well as co-writing songs with Tom Paxton. Her latest solo project is her newly published collection of short stories and essays in memoir form titled, “The Mental Yentl, STORIES from a Lifelong Student of Crazy.” which is accompanied by a double disc CD, “The Mental Yentl, SONGS from a Lifelong Student of Crazy.” Sally and husband Michael live in Columbus, Ohio having launched 3 kids; Elizabeth (30) in San Francisco, Max (28) in Seattle, and Aaron (26) in Columbus.
DEBI SMITH:
Playing guitar, piano, and Irish bodhran (drum), Debi Smith is one the Washington D.C. area's most versatile singers -- at ease with popular song and classical arias whether performing bluegrass with folk legend Doc Watson or Gilbert and Sullivan with the National Men's Chorus of Washington. Debi's songs have been nominated for a Grammy® and received numerous ASCAP Popular Music Awards. She has received many Washington Area Music Awards and nominations (Wammies), and has been a repeat performer on NPR’s Prairie Home Companion, All Things Considered, Mountain Stage, and Radio Smithsonian; and appeared on CBS Sunday Morning, Country Music Television (CMT), and the soundtracks of the Ken Burn’s PBS series, “The National Parks” and "The Roosevelts." Having performed at such U.S. venues as The Kennedy Center, Wolftrap, EPCOT Center, Philadelphia’s Keswick, and L.A.’s Wadsworth Theaters, Debi has also toured internationally as far away as Russia. Look Up at the Hawks, Debi's book with her mother based on her grandmother's 1930's-40's diary as a farmwoman on the Nebraskan plains, has been featured on PBS and by The Smithsonian Institution. Debi's writing has also been published in a collection of women's humor, Life's a Stitch (Random House). A member of The Four Bitchin’ Babes since 1994 on seven Babes' recordings, Debi also has seven recordings as a soloist, and four recordings as half of the sibling duo, The Smith Sisters. Her albums have been selected as the Year’s Best by the Washington Post, as well as featured in Billboard, The New York Times, and USA Today. Debi Smith lives with her husband and son in Falls Church VA, where she’s famous for her impressive “handy-woman” skills, laughing in the face of anything that is labeled “some assembly required!”
Revolving members
NANCY MORAN:
Declared “Songwriter of the Year” by the Virginia Sound Achievement Awards and WXGI Radio, Nancy has recorded four solo CDs, including her latest titled “Something Old, Something New.” Garnering public and commercial radio airplay on 80+ stations coast-to-coast, Nancy’s CD’s have landed her on the Gavin Americana charts alongside Delbert McClinton and Joan Baez. She’s been featured internationally on radio stations in Australia, Canada, and Europe. The Richmond-Times Dispatch called her “nothing short of a [modern-day] Joni Mitchell” and “a force to be reckoned with.” Dirty Linen Magazine says Nancy has “a powerful, expressive voice…stunning.” She has performed at universities, festivals and clubs such as Nashville’s Bluebird, Washington DC’s Birchmere, Cambridge’s Club Passim and the Kerrville (TX) Folk Festival. She is also an accomplished studio vocalist and has sung on numerous song demos and CD projects. Because she loves to inspire and encourage other artists, Nancy is a frequent key-note speaker at music conferences, an Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI) -endorsed music business instructor, a SongU.com online instructor, and the author of several books, audio series, and live workshops including, “The Songwriter’s Survival Kit,” “The Professional Songwriter’s Code of Conduct,” and “Making and Releasing Your Own CD.” She is the former Assistant Editor of American Songwriter Magazine and currently serves on the advisory board of Indie Connect. She’s also an artist development and performance coach and with her husband Fett, she is the co-founder of Azalea Music Group where she teaches and mentors other singer/songwriters, musicians, and indie artists how to get their music out to a wider audience so they can make a greater impact in the world.
MEGON MCDONOUGH:
Born in Crystal Lake, Ill., to an Irish-Catholic family with nine theatrically-inspired children, Megon McDonough was inspired to play the guitar and sing after watching The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. She wrote her first song at the age of 11. By the age of 17, she was opening for such folk acts as John Denver, Steve Martin and Harry Chapin. She has performed on stages as diverse as Carnegie Hall and the Cellar Door and has releases 13 albums to date. As an inaugural member of The Four Bitchin’ Babes in 1990, Meg took a fourteen year break to concentrate on her solo career and now classifies her music as folk/cabaret, citing her love of theater and jazz as the reason for the unusual mix. In addition to her passionate singing talents, Megon has also had an acclaimed acting career, performing in original musical revues such as “Her Way--An Interesting Bunch of Gals” and “How the Beatles Saved Me from a Life in a Convent.” She received rave reviews for playing Patsy Cline in "Always Patsy Cline," has appeared in Pump Boys and Dinettes and was recently seen in "Forever Prine" at the Viaduct Theater in Chicago. Filling what little free time she has, Meg is also a devoted vocal coach, and performs her spiritually based songs at Unity services throughout the US where her song “Amazing Things” has garnered her fans of all cultures and religions, and lives by the credo “Thou Shalt Lighten Up.” Meg lives in Chicago and has a son, Denvir (24) an artist living out west.
DEIRDRE FLINT
Playing guitar, bass, and piano, Deirdre hangs out at the intersection where folk music and stand-up comedy collide. Lauded by The New York Times and The Christian Science Monitor, Billboard Magazine says “Flint is a crack-you-up lady who knows how to deliver underdog messages with panache.” With two CD projects to her credit, she has performed at The Kennedy Center, The Philadelphia Folk Festival, and has won such premier songwriting contests as The Kerrville Folk Festival and Falcon Ridge. Her wildly popular anthem “The Boob Fairy” has been featured on FX’s Nip/Tuck, while other up to the minute comedy commentary songs have been included in Ireland’s “What Not to Wear,” TLC’s “A Dating Story,” Great Britain’s “Spendaholics,” and the documentary, or if you will frockumentary “Always a Bridesmaid.” Her quirky songs ”The Boob Fairy Never Came For Me” and “Facebook,” about life’s little tragedies have been heard on over 100 public and commercial radio stations including the infamous Dr. Dimento Radio Hour. In addition to teaching songwriting at The National Guitar Workshop, Deirdre has performed on the nationally syndicated “Bob and Sheri Show,” and NPR’s “The World Café,” where her quick wit has kept her a favorite of DJ’s around the country. Earning a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education from The University of Pennsylvania, teaching is her first love earning her a commission to pen a children’s song honoring the town of Norfolk, VA. Our “Sporty Babe” has completed the Sherox Triathlon and The New Jersey Marathon. However, she claims she does it for the free donuts at the end. Deirdre lives in Philadelphia with her dog Dagger, producing digital graphic art, and creating amazing cartoon videos for composers and performers.