Artists:AJ Fischer

AJ Fischer

Amy Jo started playing her own compositions at Shield's "Keller" in Traverse City, Michigan.

Born and raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, she started traveling in the late seventies, and later spent 17 wintering in Dallas and Austin, Texas. She worked for 8 of those years for Tom Garrison at "Strictly Tabu", a melting pot venue for jazz musicians coming out of Denton's North Texas University -which she states "Working at a furious pace and listening to Jazz music 6 nights affected my ears forever, in a good way *wink...", which also prompted her to study Joe Pass guitar methods which can be heard weaving through her compositions.

"For those lucky enough to have ever heard her music, you know what I mean when I say the word - magical." Brian Sullivan WKTL Music Review read more

Summers kept me working in Traverse City at an old Victorian house called Shield's Restaurant. "The Keller" was a stonewall cellar under the house known for it's pizza, peanut shucked covered floor, and thousands of business cards on the low ceilings. It was also home to great local folk singers which I listened to while waiting tables. Several open mics later, scored my first playing job there. Astute customers would notice the calluses on my hands and say, " What the heck have you been doin', buildin a house?" Could be... could be. read more.