Tret Fure

Tret Fure (born March 18, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter,[1] prominent in the women's music and folk music scene.[2]

The music career of Tret Fure has spanned four decades.[1] She began her professional work at the age of 16, singing in coffeehouses and campuses in the Midwest,[3] and moving to Berkeley, California. After performing weekly on the campus of UC Berkeley, where she attended college,[3] she expanded the role of music in her life. At 19, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a songwriting and musical career. Within a year she was performing as guitarist and vocalist for Spencer Davis, on tour with him, and wrote the single for his album Mousetrap (1970).[1][3] She went on to record her own album in 1973 on MCA/UNI Records,[1] with Lowell George of Little Feat as her producer. With the success of that release, she opened for such bands as Yes, Poco, and the J. Geils Band.[1][3]

While recording her second album, Tret became interested in sound engineering, learning the trade at Olivia Records[3] and becoming one of the first women engineers in Los Angeles. Over the course of her career, she has engineered and produced numerous recordings by a variety of artists, including her own work and that of Cris Williamson.[3] In the early 1980s, Tret left the mainstream music industry. In an effort to retain full artistic control, she began exploring the independent side of the industry and soon discovered the blossoming genre known as Women's Music. She has been a major player in that field ever since, recording with and producing some of the best of women's music including the noted Meg and Cris at Carnegie Hall.[3] She worked as a duo with Cris Williamson throughout the 1990s, releasing 3 CDs together during those years.

Now after five acoustic releases on her own label, Tomboy girl Records,[4] she has re-established herself in the folk world, winning the 2004 South Florida Folk Festival Singer/Songwriter Competition in 2 out of 3 categories. 2004 also brought her recognition with the prestigious Jane Schliessman Award for Outstanding Contributions to Women's Music. And in 2009, she received the Janine C Rae Award for her work in Women's Music. 2009 also found her voted "Pride In The Arts Favorite Female/Lesbian Musician".

Fure also markets her own line of clothing named after her popular song, "Tomboy Girl".[2] In addition, while not on the road, Tret has taught guitar lessons and songwriting individually or in workshop settings. As an experienced cook, Fure has published a cookbook, Tret's Kitchen, which contains her own recipes.[2] Along with marketing, production, and music, Tret has served as President of Local 1000, The Traveling Musicians Association—a union to help traveling musicians find security and longevity.

Discography

Tret Fure has recorded several albums, including:[5]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Singer/songwriter Tret Fure on Fresh Fruit, Thur. Sept. 19 at 7pm", KFAI.org. Minneapolis, St. Paul. 19 September 2013, webpage: Kfai512.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Tret Fure". TretFure.com. 2013, webpage: TFhome.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 "Tret Fure - iHeartRadio Music Festival". iHeart.com. 2013, webpage: iH3171.
  4. ↑ "Tret Fure Music, Lyrics, Songs, and Videos". ReverbNation. 2013, web: RNfure.
  5. ↑ "Tret Fure Discography". TretFure.com. 2013, webpage: TFdisc.

External links