Category Archives: Music

Music, Special Events, The Features
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Rally Today for Pussy Riot

Photo courtesy of Person Behind the Scenes

courtesy of Person Behind the Scenes

Despite the threat of inclement weather and permit issues with the DC government, today’s Rally for Pussy Riot will go on. Join the protest from 4:30-6pm outside the Russian Embassy (2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW) with representatives from Amnesty International, Philippa Hughes of the Pink Line Project and Mark Andersen of Positive Force explaining the case’s ramifications for global human rights and the importance of free artistic expression. The event is organized by DC artist and peace activist Andrea Collins, who recently held a month-long action for Pussy Riot at Art-O-Matic.

Unfamiliar with the case? We tend to get protest-weary in Washington, sometimes completely disregarding the issues and believing they don’t affect us, but I urge you to read up on this one. Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina, and Ekaterina Samutsevich have been held without bail in a Moscow prison since their March arrest. They are charged with “hooliganism” for allegedly performing a protest song as members of the feminist punk art collective Pussy Riot at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Savior on February 21. If convicted they could face up to seven years in prison. The New Yorker recently published a chilling blog article on the case, discussing the government’s use of the Russian Orthodox Church to crack down on liberal opposition.

Members of local DC bands were planning on a longer punk concert after the rally, but due to the recent permit push-back will instead go guerrilla with their performances. Keep up to date on the event’s Facebook page. Consultant Mark Yoffe will also be speaking at the event, whose sole goal is to raise international awareness of the situation to help free the three incarcerated women, who also need assistance with their legal fund and to support their children, who they have been separated from since their arrest.

“I think that DC with its venerable punk tradition should lead the American movement to help free Pussy Riot,” Yoffe said.

Agreed. If you don’t think that it could happen here, then one day it will.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Iceage, Dirty Beaches and Give @ Black Cat — 7/24/12

Photo courtesy of draugurinn
Iceage @ Iceland Airwaves 2011
courtesy of draugurinn

So I went into last night’s show with some misplaced expectations (therefore you should read the rest of this review with a grain of salt). Punk Danes Iceage played unfortunately predictable hardcore while Taiwanese noise popper Dirty Beaches presented a surprising cowboy score that sounded like machines meeting nature.

I read some press, listened to a few songs, and counted on some familiarity with the catalog at the label What’s Your Rupture? to get me started with Iceage. And so I was anticipating a post-punk band with hardcore overtones but instead I got a straight up hardcore band with a bit of melodic deftness.

Certainly, hardcore kids Iceage are not to blame for my misplaced anticipation. The four young men from Copenhangen thundered through roughly 10 two-minute songs, whipping up a good old-fashioned mosh pit in a sold-out show in the backstage of the Black Cat on Tuesday night.

Continue reading →

Music, The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Iceage @ Black Cat, 7/24/12

Photo courtesy of Po'Jay
iceage
courtesy of Po’Jay

Iceage, a punk quartet from Copenhagen, Denmark, have been racing across the country and down the east coast since playing the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago a few weeks ago. The young Scandinavian rockers toured as a supporting act on their first album, New Brigade, last year but now they are back as the main feature this time around, showing up at the Black Cat Tuesday with three opening bands also likely to play short, speedy songs.

The press generally has praised Iceage for keeping the energy and aesthetic of hardcore punk alive. To my ears, however, Iceage has a wider sonic palette that draws more from a more acute post-punk guitar. Their label, What’s Your Rupture? of New York City, specializes in post-punk reissues, singles and now originals. The boys in Iceage aren’t afraid to speed it up and then slow it down a notch after a riveting verse.

They also aren’t afraid to stir up some controversy, as they have done with their use of fascist imagery in a manner similar to Joy Division and Siouxsie and the Banshees did earlier in their careers. Those bands matured and spurned their flirtation with those images. It’ll be telling to see if Iceage grows in the same way.

Tickets to this all-ages show in the backstage room are available online or at the door for $13. Openers include Dirty Beaches, Give, and Satan’s Satyrs. Doors open at 8pm.

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Chromatics @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 7/19/12

Ruth Radelet and Johnny Jewel of the Chromatics

As synthesizers became more widely available in the 1970s, more and more European musicians adopted their use to various effects, sometimes leaving an indelible print upon their national music scene. Nowhere was this more true than with Italo disco, a synthesized extension of disco music to take root in Italy in the late 1970s.

The impact of the genre was significant, ultimately circling back to feed the cradle of the disco genre in New York City and clearing the way for the manifestation of mature new wave music — and especially New Romantic music. (There is not a New Romantic soul that does not absolutely adore the collaborations of Italo disco grandmaster Giorgio Moroder with disco queen Donna Summer.) In hindsight, Italo disco can be seen as building very important bridges across not only these genres but into Europop and Hi-NRG in general.

It is wholly welcome then that the spaced out dance beats found in Italo disco should continue to find acclaim and a home with the assistance of specific labels and projects. Perched atop this Italo disco survival is independent record label Italians Do It Better, out of Bayonne, NJ. One of the key movers and shakers in that label is Johnny Jewel, space synthmaster extraordinaire, who lends his talents to the bands Glass Candy and the Chromatics, among other efforts.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Dan Scheuerman of Deleted Scenes

 

photos courtesy of Deleted Scenes

Deleted Scenes is an indie-rock quartet based in DC. Their debut album Birdseed Shirt was released in 2009 to much critical acclaim. (They are beloved by Pitchfork and NPR alike.) I arrived late to this party, but I’m happy to have made it. I met singer/guitarist Dan Scheuerman by chance a few weeks ago after seeing his brother Vince play a show at The Hamilton. (Vince is also a super-talented musician- he fronted the DC power-pop-rock group Army of Me, and alt-Americana leaning River James. Coincidentally, I interviewed Vince recently, and you can check that out here!)

Deleted Scenes just released their sophomore album, Young People’s Church of the Air last week on Park the Van Records, once again to great acclaim. It is a work of complexity and beauty, dancy yet reflective, light and dark. I sang its praises last week on WLDC, and you can read that here. Deleted Scenes is currently on tour in support of their new album, and will be making a hometown stop this Saturday, July 21st at Red Palace. I got the chance to chat with Dan recently*, and here’s what he had to say!

Alexia: You come from a musical family, how did you first start playing music? 

Dan: My Mom and Dad both played guitar in church and sang, and we’d have these big family sing-alongs on Saturdays, and we all sang. Well I have five brothers, so it was actually very Von Trapp- we’d all sit in the living room and play, like, religious songs and sing in these huge harmonies. That was very natural.

Alexia: Oh, that’s really cool! Was your brother Vince an influence on you at all when you started playing music?

Dan: Yeah! Well I used to go see his band all the time- they were called Linus and they were called Cactus Patch, and then they were called Army of Me. But in the Cactus Patch days I used to go to all their shows. Yeah, it was inspiring and he kind of showed me how to do it myself, you know? I was in I guess grade school and he was older so he would teach me to make CDs in the family CDR drive, and printing CD labels, and flyering shows, and just kinda, like, showing me how to get started. That was definitely a big influence. And I used to go see his ska band all the time. I was a big fan!

Alexia: How did Deleted Scenes come together as a band?

Dan:Me and Dominic, the guitar player, and Brian, the drummer, and Matt, the bass player, we all grew up playing in bands together in high school and grade school. Then we all went off to college, and when we came back it was just natural to play with each other again. I think we’re all pretty shy dudes, so we kinda gravitated back towards one another. It was kind of like a family, I guess, since we’d started playing together so young, but it was basically a totally different band than it would have been back then. We played in like, crappy alt-bands. Me and Matt and Dominic and Brian played in a band that sounded like Incubus, back in high school. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Listen Up! 2 albums you should hear.

courtesy of These United States

It’s not super often that I come across albums I can’t stop listening to, can’t get out of my head, and just can’t stop thinking about. If I’m lucky it happens a few times a year, and it’s what I live for. So, for it to happen with two different albums in the course of one week has kind of blown my mind, and I feel it’s my responsibility to share this joy with the world, or at least the We Love DC readers.  The albums are Young People’s Church of the Air by Deleted Scenes, and These United States, self-titled.  Coincidentally both bands have DC connections- Deleted Scenes are based in DC, and These United States started here. These albums have totally distinct sounds, they live in different spots on the musical spectrum, but both are beautiful and brilliant in their own way.

I’ll start with These United States, self-titled. I first became aquainted with the music of These United States several years back, when they were first starting out, and based in DC. I saw them live at Iota, probably around 2007, and their enthusiasm and energy, combined with the charisma of frontman Jesse Elliott was exhilarating. Fast forward five years and just as many albums…the group no longer calls DC home, they are based partly in New York, and spend lots of time on the road. Their fifth studio album, These United States came out in June on Colorado-based United Interests records.

This record makes me want to stomp, holler, daydream and dance. The record is beautifully produced, a shining example of Americana- a lively blend of country sounds, folk, and rock. Jesse Elliott’s lyrics and vocals take you on a journey, weaving and winding from the fast-pasted “Dead and Gone” to the dreamy “Miss Underground” and quiet contemplation of “The Park.”  The sounds that come from J. Tom Hnatow’s guitar and pedal steel are like caramel- so rich, sweet, soulfully delicious. They add a decadence to the recordings that almost makes my ears feel guilty. It’s hard to pick favorites from a record this good (there are no bad songs on this album) but my top songs at the moment are the soulful “Miss Underground”, the classic-rock tinged “Let the River In”, and the jubilant stomp-fest of “Dead & Gone.” But don’t just track-hop this album- it deserves a start-to-finish listening. (Last week I got to ask TUS singer Jesse Elliott a few questions. Check out what he had to say here.) Continue reading →

Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: …And We Love Bartenders (RIP, KT)

Photo courtesy of furcafe
035144-02
courtesy of furcafe

A very lovely woman passed away on Tuesday. Her name was KT Robeson. If you met her randomly, you would see she was very statuesque. If you knew her better, you would learn she was sassy and fun — and she loved to dance. She loved to go to places like Marvin, the Black Cat, DC9 and the Rock and Roll Hotel. She also happened to have worked at some of those places.

Like us, she loved music. I personally met her acquaintance because, not too long ago, she worked as a bartender and a manager at the Rock and Roll Hotel and especially DC9. I only ever became a casual friend to her but I enjoyed talking to her. I continued to run into her regularly when she came around to see her true friends and family: her fellow nightlife industry compatriots — the bar owners, bar managers, bartenders, bar backs, bouncers, technicians and DJs who make up that tight-knit community responsible for any successful music venue, dance hall or dive bar with a good ol’ jukebox.

We sometimes take these folks for granted if we don’t work in the industry ourselves because we are all very busy. But they serve as our hosts, entertainers, cooks, protectors, janitors and sometimes our nannies. Sometimes they become our acquaintances, fellow jokesters, confidants or just good listeners. Sometimes they truly become friends. They generally are good people that don’t mind doing a job that essentially ensures *we* get to have a good time.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Girl In A Coma

photos courtesy of Girl In A Coma

This week We Love DC guest writer Greg Svitil got a chance to chat with bassist Jenn Alva of rock trio Girl In A Coma about life on the road, music as catharsis, Amanda Lepore and more.  Girl In A Coma will be playing at Red Palace on Friday, July 13th.

Greg Svitil: You seem to be touring non-stop lately.  How has spending so much time traveling and playing shows grown your connection as band mates and as friends or sisters? 

Jenn Alva: We do tour a lot and luckily, we love what we do. The girls and I have always been great friends from even before GIAC had begun. That was an advantage in becoming band mates. We were able to communicate calmly about band decisions and writing. The amount of time we spend touring has really helped as well. We are a tight team. We are family.

Greg: You manage to squeeze a lot into your time on the road.  Beyond nightly shows, you’ve been doing a lot of radio shows such as NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert, and Nina has been playing solo as well.  How do you balance everything and maintain your energy level? 

Jenn: We try to do as much as we can on the road. We actually feel like we should be doing more. Our energy levels remain high because we adore our latest album Exits & All the Rest, and fall in love again with old songs we dust off and place in the set. Which keeps us excited to play day or night. Continue reading →

Music, The Features, We Love Music
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We Love Music: Howard Jones @ The Howard Theatre — 7/5/12 (or “Howard at The Howard”)

Photo courtesy of zannaland
IMG_0139
courtesy of zannaland

Once upon a time, Howard Jones rolled through the DC metro area and played some of his familiar hits.

It was Oct. 3, 2007, actually. He performed at the Birchmere in Alexandria, Va., and it was frankly not the greatest show I ever had seen. The famously camera-shy Englishman played acoustic piano, strumming keys to lyrics he had written some 20 years previously, only to stop frequently and poke fun at his own songwriting abilities and the occasional curious rhyme. He had become Howard Jones, The Lounge Act. All in all, it was a bit of a disheartening experience.

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Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A With Pilesar

photo by Ashleigh Mullinax

While Jason Mullinax comes to music originally as a percussionist, his current project Pilesar (pie-LEE-zur) explodes into much more than that, and is bringing DC’s music scene a one-man electro-force that blends keys, synth, guitars, vocodor, noise and loops. And he sings too! His free show Sunday evening at H St.’s Sova Espresso & Wine Bar should show off this noise-artist’s sonic prowess.

A veteran of DC’s Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music, Mullinax has been playing around town quite a bit with his new release, “Stereo Space”, which brings to mind a lo-fi 60s/70s techno psychedelic time-warp. His range combines proggy atmospherics with krauty electro-cinematics, and 80s new-wave-hip-hop-samply goodness. On songs like “Absolute Zero”, “Spider Bait”, and “Keith’s Drum Machine”, his playful personality shines over it all, giving the noise a light touch. Throw in a guitarist and all sorts of other sound, and you have something that rewards repeated headphone listens. His extensive back catalog, including his previous release “Radio Friendly”, has less straightforward vocals but the same kind of electronic/noise fun.

A native of Columbia, South Carolina but now living in Takoma Park, Pilesar is another reason to believe that DC music is experiencing some sort of renaissance. I talked to him the other day about what it is he’s doing.

Jonathan Druy: How long did it take you to record “Stereo Space”?

Jason Mullinax: It took over a year, and a lot of that was making the songs, and getting the songs right. I had the thing mastered five times before I signed off on it. I’m really happy with it, and I think this is the first album that is really representative of what I do in this moment. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with These United States

Jesse Elliott, photo by Tamara

These United States play exuberant, uplifting alt-Americana rock & roll. They formerly called Washington,DC home, but are now based in New York, and spend copious amounts of time on the road. The band recently opened for country legend Willie Nelson, and are touring now in support of their fifth studio album, the eponymous These United States. They’ll be making a stop to play Black Cat this Saturday, July 7th. This week TUS frontman Jesse Elliott offered WLDC’s Alexia Kauffman a little peek inside his mind. Check it out here.

Alexia: How did you first start playing music?

Jesse: Honestly, it was like soccer, or math club, or all these strange things we got signed up for when we were very young and couldn’t possibly know any better and they turned out to be these beautiful human endeavors that people had been doing for centuries, just a goal and a ball and a bunch of other humans to kick it all around between. 
 
Alexia: Was there any artist or album that first sparked your love of rock music?

Jesse: The Who. 
 
Alexia: You all were based in DC for a while- what was the catalyst for your move?

Jesse: We were moving around so much, it just made sense to keep moving. we had one foot on the platform, at one point, and then all of a sudden both of them were on the train, and we couldn’t say why, but even the platform looked perfect in the distance, from that far away – so why not?  Continue reading →

Music, The Daily Feed
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Hot Ticket: Howard Jones @ The Howard Theatre, 7/5/12

Photo courtesy of zannaland
IMG_0157
courtesy of zannaland

Howard Jones, English maestro of catchy synthpop songs, found a home on the American charts in the 1980s, particularly with this hit “No One Is to Blame” in 1985. He is perhaps still best recognized for his first two albums, Human’s Lib and Dream into Action, which showcases Jones’ distinctive and friendly voice. Jones remastered those first two albums and toured on them in 2010 in England. With the warm reaction to the performance, which sees Jones return to a full electronic set, he took the tour on the road in the last few years and lands at The Howard Theatre today.

Jones was one of a certain kind of male singer-songwriter to come out of his generation, reflecting on love, life and loss in a manner similar to adult contemporary masters like Phil Collins and Robert Palmer. But unlike his peers, Jones served as the poet-philosopher for the New Wave crowd particularly, driving eclectic dancehall kids to embrace an occasionally more mature lyric. Jones’ return to the synthesizer is bound to provoke memories of how effortlessly he embodies both carefree dance and thoughtful reflection in his tunes.

Tickets to this all-ages show are available online for $30 plus fees or $35 at the door. Doors open at 6pm; showtime is 8pm.

Entertainment, Essential DC, Music, The Daily Feed
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Fort Reno schedule update

Fort Reno

Fort Reno has announced more bands to grace the stage this summer! You can see the summer schedule here! TBD seems to be really popular…

Tonight, Thursday, June 28th:

Seamonsters

Treble Lifter

The Admins

Monday, July 2nd: Give, Coup Sauvage & the Snips, Boris Milic

Thursday, July 5th: Troll Tax, Big Mouth, Atoms Apart

Monday, July 9th: Mobius Strip, Hey Arbore, East Paw

Thursday, July 12th: Nunchucks, RCRDS, Satori Trova

Monday, July 16th: Cigarbox Planetarium, Alma Tropicalia, Nox

Thursday, July 19th: Deathfix, TBD, Hen of the Woods

Monday, July 23rd: Max Levine Ensemble, Flex Matthews, TBD

Thursday, July 26th: TBD, More Humans, Grammar

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Jesse Malin

photo by Danny Clinch

New York rocker Jesse Malin has been playing in rock bands since the tender age of twelve, starting out onstage at New York’s legendary CBGBs, he went on to front the glam-punk band D Generation for years, touring with Green Day and others. He has performed as a solo artist for years now, as well as with his band St. Mark’s Social, and has released three solo records. He’s currently on a small solo tour, and is making a stop in DC this Saturday, June 30th, at The Hamilton. We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman got the chance to chat with Jesse recently, and here’s what he had to say.

Alexia: So you’ve been playing in bands since you were a kid, right?

Jesse: Yeah, I started when I was twelve years old, we did the audition night at CBGBs. Monday nights were the audition nights, and me and all my friends from Queens, New York drove in and piled up in cabs and cars and we did the audition showcase. We ended up starting a band called Heart Attack, doing a few records til I was sixteen, doing some touring, that kind of stuff. Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Vince Scheuerman

all photos courtesy of Vince Scheuerman

Vince Scheuerman has been a hard-working musician in the DC area for years. Not always part of the “scene”, he fronted the successful power-pop-rock band Army of Me for many years, riding a rocky road of successes and pitfalls, before starting the band River James in 2010. This spring after touring extensively with Nashville-based band Canon Blue, alongside MUTEMATH and The Boxer Rebellion, Vince decided to move to Nashville. He’ll be returning home on Saturday, June 30th to play a solo acoustic set at The Hamilton, opening for New York rocker Jesse Malin.

We Love DC’s Alexia Kauffman got the very busy Vince on the phone for a chat, and he talked about how he got started, the rough road of an artist on the rise, his plans for a new album, and more! Continue reading →

Entertainment, Music, Night Life, The Features, We Love Music
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The Winning Ticket: Young Magic, Quilt, & The Tender Thrill @ Comet Ping Pong

Poster via Lindsay Johnson www.theLAjohnson.com

Today we are giving away a pair of tickets to see Young Magic, Quilt & The Tender Thrill at Comet Ping Pong, Friday, June 29th!

Young Magic played at Black Cat a few months ago, opening for Korallreven. Their performance was enthusiastic and energizing. The trio, currently based in New York City is comprised of Australian ex-pats Isaac Emmanuel, Michael Italia, and Indonesian-born Melati Malay. They mixed dreamy vocals and ambient guitar with tribal-sounding rhythyms and hypnotic, thumping beats.

The Tender Thrill are classic americana rock & roll, and their debut LP is out now on Cricket Cemetery.

Quilt are art school duo pop. Their self-titled debut LP is out now on Mexican Summer.

For your chance to win these tickets simply leave a comment on this post using a valid email address between 9:00am and 4pm today. One entry per email address, please.

For the rules of this giveaway…

Comments will be closed at 4pm and a winner will be randomly selected. The winner will be notified by email. The winner must respond to our email in 24 hours or they will forfeit their tickets and we will pick another winner.

The winner will be on the guest list at Comet Ping Pong. The tickets must be claimed with a valid ID. This is an all-ages show!

Sasha Lord and Micah Greenberg Present…
Friday June 29th, Quilt, The Tender Thrill & Young Magic
$10, 10pm and All Ages at Comet Ping Pong

Entertainment, Interviews, Media, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Blake Mills

photo courtesy of Blake Mills
You may not have heard the name Blake Mills before, but there’s a good chance you’ve hear his playing. As one of the most in-demand session guitarists in Los Angeles he has recorded with Weezer, Jakob Dylan, Danger Mouse, Rick Rubin, Norah Jones, Andrew Bird, and many others. He has toured with Cass McCombs, Lucinda Williams, Jenny Lewis, Band of Horses and Julian Casablancas. He recently contributed a cover of the song “Heart of Mine” for the Amnesty International tribute to Bob Dylan. He recorded a solo album Break Mirrors in 2010, and though it was never formally released, it gained a cult following among friends and people in the know.
He is currently on tour opening for Fiona Apple, as well as playing guitar in her set. He’ll be at the Warner Theater tomorrow night, so if you’re going to see Fiona Apple, make sure you get there early to catch Blake’s set!
We Love DC got the chance to chat with Blake during a break in his busy schedule, and here’s what he had to say. Continue reading →
Music, We Love Music
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We Love Music: The Hundred in the Hands @ Rock and Roll Hotel — 6/19/12

Photo courtesy of CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK

courtesy of CHRISTOPHER MACSURAK

Sometimes, it’s easy to look at the lineup of a band, listen to a few tunes, and figure out pretty much everything about them — what sort of music they play, who their influences are, and what sort of people listen to them.

Then there are bands that are tough to pigeonhole. Take The Hundred in the Hands for example. They played a pretty rocking show at the Rock and Roll Hotel on Tuesday, June 19. Listening to their albums, you get a strong dose of icy dreampop, lovely, textured, but generally a little on the slow side. The cool voice of Eleanore Everdell over her own synthesizer chills yet thrills on the albums as the distinguishing feature of the band.

But in concert, guitarist Jason Friedman is a force to be reckoned with. He’s not on stage to play dreamy low-key guitar riffs. (Okay, he is there to do that occasionally, and he does so exceptionally well.) But he really seems like he wants to rock out non-stop at every opportunity and when he does so, The Hundred in the Hands become a full-blown dance project.

Continue reading →

Entertainment, Interviews, Music, Night Life, People, The Features, We Love Music
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Q&A with Laura Burhenn of The Mynabirds

all photos courtesy of The Mynabirds

Laura Burhenn was a luminous fixture of the DC music scene for years. She performed as a solo songstress with her piano for years, and was half of the dynamic duo Georgie James, along with John Davis (Q and Not U). A few years back she left DC for Omaha, Nebraska, and since then has collaborated and toured with Bright Eyes, and formed a new band The Mynabirds. She’s on tour now with The Mynabirds in support of their second album, Generals, out now on Saddle Creek records. We Love DC’s Alexia got a chance to chat with her about her new band, her move to Omaha, touring with Bright Eyes, and more!

Alexia: You’ve been playing music a long time- when did you first start writing your own music?

Laura: The first song I ever wrote dates back to about age 7 or 8. There’s a Fisher Price cassette tape recording of it somewhere still around. There were a string of other little songs here and there after that (including a real killer pop jam called “In Your Life” I wrote for my all girl band in fifth grade, Black Leather Red Roses), but nothing really serious until I wrote “Fallen,” a song that I won my tenth grade high school talent show with. Ha. I also recorded it and put it on my first solo record when I was 17. Needless to say, I’ve been at it for awhile. 

Alexia: Were there any specific artists or albums that first ignited your passion for rock music?

Laura: My first cassette loves were the Beach Boys, the Monkees and Wilson Phillips. But I’d say the three most influential albums of my teen years were PJ Harvey’s Rid of Me, Tori Amos’s Under the Pink (I caught onto both artists when their second albums came out and later went back to fall in love with their first albums), and a collection of greatest hits from Nina Simone. God, that voice! That swagger!

Alexia: You built a name for yourself in the DC area, with your solo work and Georgie James- what was the catalyst for your move to Omaha?

Laura: After Georgie James broke up, I decided I wanted to try out a whole different scene. I love DC and it’ll always be my home. But sometimes you need distance to get perspective in your life. The move to Omaha surprised some people, I know. (New York, LA or even Portland would’ve been more expected for a musician.) But I chose Omaha for the good friends I’d made through working with Saddle Creek — and the great arts scene that’s going on there.
Continue reading →