Ask Amy Simpson what she wants the buzz about her in the music scene to be and she’ll tell you. It’s that she’s coming into her own — her own style in her own time.

And while it’s taking time, she’s excited about it.

Simpson appeared on Friday, April 21, with her new band, The Amy Simpson Collective, at Gullifty’s in Camp Hill as the first opening act (the second was Nectar) in front of a reunion performance of the well-known and equally missed local band, Bloom Box. The Collective has come together relatively quickly but they feel they’re onto something big.

The sound that filled the packed downstairs room at Gullifty’s was filled with energy; Amy has a stage presence that is as sexy as the music itself. The songs were tight and soulful and although nobody actually danced you could see that people were seduced by the performance.

William Gatling and Danielle Guess, who add a Motown sound while DJ Geoffro spins and gives the music the dance feel, back Simpson vocally. They are an important part of the show, adding not just sound but motion.

MODE asked Amy where she gets her inspiration, and she said that her songs are all stories, "bends in the road" that have helped make her who she is today.

The adopted daughter of a retired army colonel and his wife, Simpson says she grew up "an army brat who traveled constantly." "I lived in Germany for a long time and I remember singing in the back of the car as my parents were up front driving and talking. While I was in the Middle East," she said, "I wore the veil — I had to; otherwise I would have been arrested." Her parents settled here after her father retired, but she didn’t stop singing. "I thought for a long time that if I made it big, my birth parents would come find me," she confided. "But now I’ve sort of given that up. I know that if it happens it happens, but I’m happy with who I am."

But Simpson’s personality isn’t one that rests. "Life is all about growth," she said. "Drive. That defines it. Some people have it, others don’t. It’s all about change, and those bends in the road, and drive." That’s the drive that can be heard in her music.

In February, the Collective was one of the must-catch acts for the Millenium Music Conference 2000. They played in the Strawberry Square Atrium and while the crowd that gathered for the 8:00 performance was not huge in number, the vibes were great and the crowd was blown away by both the lyrics and the voice.

Simpson’s voice adds to the sexy, jazz-filled rock that the band produces. All told, the Collective presents an extremely moving show that you can’t fight — you find yourself being taken in, and enjoying it.

Simpson’s been extremely busy lately, and if you’ve been around, you may have noticed her name associated with different local music in varied venues.

On the second Saturday of each month, Amy fronts for a band from the Carlisle area, Music Through Science, at Stock’s on Second in Harrisburg. Music Through Science is primarily a jazz band, but sax player Steve Lentz says that they always have a few surprises in store musically. At any given show, Music Through Science will produce not only a jazz sound but also some top forty and Motown. The group likes to be thought of as a new type of jazz band that appeals to mostly everyone.

Simpson has also done backup for The Jellybricks and Tony Perry 3, as well as other local bands. Until November of 1999, she was working with Blitz Dynette, but she left that band in November to put some time into her own style of performing; she wants to be known as a female singer, not a backup vocalist. And, in fact, her talent demands notice that she is bigger than a backup artist.

Amy is, in her own words, "creating herself," and so far this work has been leading her down some pretty big paths. She was recently in New York for the Atlantic and Epic labels, and she is keeping her contacts open there.

In March, Amy played a jazz set with Steve Rudolph at the Harrisburg Hilton and Towers, the first but certainly not the last time she’ll join him for an evening of jazz.

But whenever you catch one of Amy’s performances, jazz or with her new band, you are guaranteed an emotion-packed set of songs that will leave you looking for a schedule of where you can catch her next. Her sound is different from what normally comes of the Harrisburg area musically. She appeals to both an older and younger age group because of the diversity in her music — you can hear the jazz influences as well as the funky soulful sounds of national recording artists like Lenny Kravitz.

Now under the management of Vicki Walls, Amy hopes she’ll get bookings and eventually record deals without "selling out." She speaks of how hard it is to create meaningful songs when you are marketing yourself.

Amy’s set at Gullifty’s gave many local people who may not have been aware of her music a chance to see first hand what all the hype is about. The buzz was strong and it is undeniable, this girl can sing. The name Amy Simpson is something we should be hearing a lot; if you haven’t been lucky enough to hear her yet, keep trying — you won’t be disappointed.