Natasha Borzilova - Cheap Escape (2008)

Born in Obninsk, Russia, Natasha Borzilova moved to Nashville as the lead singer and acoustic guitarist of the band Bering Strait, which was put together as a group of classically trained child prodigies in the late 1980's. Since then, Bering Strait had two CD releases on Universal South Records, receiving critical acclaim and a Grammy nomination for country instrumental of the year in 2002.

The Grammy nod got the attention of 60 Minutes whose feature piece on the band aired three times. The public also became familiar with Natasha and her fellow band members through the documentary The Ballad of Bering Strait directed by Emmy Award winner Nina Seavey which chronicled the journey of six musicians after they arrived in the United States.

In 2006 the band decided to go their separate ways realizing they had each evolved in different musical directions. For Borzilova, suddenly being a solo artist meant an opportunity to revisit songs she had been writing for the past several years. Her music takes on a personal tone with thought provoking metaphors and truly unique melodies influenced by years of classical and jazz training as a guitarist and vocalist.

With a natural gravitation toward nuance in her lyrics, one would be hard pressed to believe that English is not her first language. A seasoned entertainer, she is exciting with a full band behind her yet completely captivating and intriguing with just her voice and guitar; a feat few singers can pull off.

CHEAP ESCAPE is a stylistic hybrid, a fusion of diverse musical influences, an intensely personal journey laced with raw emotions and delivered with such sincerity, passion and sometimes heartbreaking vulnerability that the listener can't help but to be drawn in. Each musical story is like a glimpse into a young woman's life and Borzilova's ability to create intensity without seeming melodramatic, and to write sophisticated songs while being completely accessible, makes her perspective truly engaging in this first solo effort.

(Press: PDF Bio sheet, 117kb)

50 FUN FACTS ABOUT NATASHA

The first time I tried to sing I was six weeks old

I can only ride a bicycle as long as I'm going in a straight line.

I will never voluntarily jump with a parachute.

I love football, beer and screaming at the stadium. Go Titans!

I had my 16th birthday at the North Pole.

On the way there and back I saw 19 polar bears. They are very yellow.

I can't live without coffee, but could probably go years without fruit and ice

cream.

When I was twelve I sang on the street and made more money in one week that both my scientist parents made in a month.

It was a nasty pile of dirty little bills.

I used to write pretty good poetry in Russian, and it wasn't just my opinion.

I teach yoga for a living.

Sometimes I play with my daughter's blocks.

My favorite season is fall. I can't stand winter.

The happiest and most serene moment of my life happened at a biker rally.

I read all Carlos Castaneda. Finding hands in your dreams is scary! :)

I hate crying in public.

I also hate injustice!

I have 8 tattoos and also 14 piercings in my ears. I pierced two of them myself.

Once I owned a chinchilla. His name was Squishy. He was absolutely useless and shamelessly awesome. I became allergic to the dust he bathed in and had to give him away to a nice family.

All the pets I ever owned were absolutely useless.

As a child I dreamed about having a never-ending chocolate bar.

I also lied a lot.

In high school I fell in love at first sight. The spell lasted five years.

I shaved my head. Then I was a platinum blond. I also inspired a rather aging fan to shave her head, and her husband got mad at me.

In my nightmares I'm either running late or forgetting lyrics on stage. Sometimes I'm running late to a show and then start forgetting lyrics.

Before I turned ten I thought I was gonna be a writer when I grow up. I have a bunch of unfinished novels. They are unfathomably horrible!

For the sake of my child I had to stop swearing in two languages.

I'm addicted to ESPN radio. (I'm every men's dream, aren't I?)

Once a neighborhood boy punched me in the face for real.

If I were cool like I wanted to be, I would have punched him back...

I bawl over sad books. Sad movies and beautiful music move me in a similar way.

My favorite place on Earth is Big Island, Hawaii. But there's a lot of places I haven't been to, so it might change.

The biggest crowd I ever performed for was 30,000 people.

They wrote about me in Wikipedia. Now I can never lie about my age. :)))

I wore glasses and contacts until I was 19. Laser surgery rocks!

I used to be very intimidated in the kitchen. Now I bake complicated Russian desserts.

I love cats. Dogs get on my nerves.

In Russian my last name makes it very easy to come up with cruel teasing rhymes and jokes. I didn't like elementary school.

I've never been on a real dinner-movie date before I got married. Usually it happens the other way around, I heard...

At different points of my life I worked at a high school, a baby store and a retirement community.

I was a class clown.

My first skates were for hockey and 4 sizes too big. I put newspapers in to make them fit.

Grammy ceremony is too long. Especially if you don't win :(

I'm naive and direct.

I played classical guitar for 11 years, Tony Rice's bluegrass solos made my fingers bleed (I had an opportunity to tell him that), I studied vocal at Moscow State Jazz College, I have two country albums out, but the best time I ever had on stage was singing Peter Gabriel's "Sledgehammer".

The densest concentration of people I love is in St. Petersburg, Russia.

My mom made high temperature ceramic tiles for Russian Shuttle. My dad lead the team of scientists figuring out how to clean up Chernobyl mess 20 years ago. My brother is a genius. He also started in physics, but now he makes money.

If I could magically become something I'm not, I'd be a ballerina.

I wanna go to India.

This year I'm celebrating 20 years in music.