Janis Joplin lives? Well not exactly, but the next best thing is taking the country by storm. And, believe it or not, Auburn too.

Blues belter and guitarist Halley DeVestern is coming on like a strong comet, bringing a fresh flavor to the blues scene... The comparisons are many, but she stands alone when it comes to a delivery that is dynamic and diversified.

Halley DeVestern was recently selected to be featured on a MIDEM 2000/InterTrust Interative CD-ROM along with Christina Aguilera, Blink 182 and Diana Krall. Her single, "I'll Light Myself On Fire," is currently featured on the gURL.com site, which features DeVestern on... the "gURL.Compilation" too.

DeVestern will bring her raucous blues-induced rock 'n' roll style to Tinker's Guild in Auburn for a rare gig... She is currently on tour in support of her latest acoustic CD "Live at the Towpath Inn," the follow-up to her debut "Sugar Free."...

Appearing with her will be her three-piece band, which features the talents of bassist Jon Sobel, violinist and keyboardist Rima Fand and drummer Jim McShea...

I'm excited about the new quartet, it's been working out great," she added. "We really click together rather well."

"It took a little getting used to, but I like it now," she said about touring. "You never know what to expect."

She has opened for John Hammond, Government Mule and Jimmy Vaughn and even toured as the lead singer of Big Brother & the Holding Company, Joplin's original band, in the Fall of 1998.

"It was amazing, really fun, and mind blowing," she said of that experience. "I still can't believe I did it. They are legends. It's music you listened to for years. My sister and brothers had all the records, so it's kind of in my blood. It was pretty cool."

Original Big Brother guitarist Sam Andrew, who arranged many of Joplin's classic songs including "Summertime," is currently the music director for a touring show that will appear off-Broadway in the Spring titled "Love, Janis."

"We did a festival together last summer," she said of the Big Brother family out of California. The group uses various singers when they cross the country touring. "We're very friendly. If they are in town and need me, they call. I'm there."

..."It's been good," said DeVestern of the reception of her new album. "It's a little unusual because it's live and acoustic."

"People can't wait to hear it electrified," she said about possibly doing a follow up record. "It's a very emotional record, and people get into it."

Her career has been varied and she is not particularly looking forward to signing a major record deal.

"It isn't necessarily my goal," she said. "I just want to keep doing what I'm doing and be able to pay my bills."

DeVestern is actually a person who is varied in her tastes and likes.

"I'm really boring," she said of the activities that occupy what spare time she has when off the road. Heck, during one of our phone conversations, she actually called from her neighborhood laundromat. How cool is that? "I'm really boring. I like to do crossword puzzles. I love reading history books (currently reading 'Gotham.'). I watch a lot of television, I'm ashamed to say."

..."When the weather is right," she said about her fascination with gardening in the Big Apple, "I try to make something grow up out of the Brooklyn soil."

DeVestern has been featured in Seventeen and Billboard, reached the Top Ten Editor's Picks of RollingStone.com last year, appeared on CBS This Morning, and has even become a favorite on Rochester radio station WCMF's Brother Wease Show.

"It's nice to get out of New York [City]," she said about touring in other parts of the United States. "Audiences are generally more appreciative. You feel a lot more love out there, and happy vibes too."