RIP Etta James

January 20, 2012 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

My freshman year in college I went to see Etta James perform live at the Masonic Temple in San Francisco. She was rolled out in a wheelchair. I remember acknowledging that I was about to witness a legend perform and being in awe of the fact that she was still doing what she loved in spite of her waning health. That was over a decade ago. She was a fighter. She had endurance. She was passionate about her work. When you listen to her sing, you can hear all of that. When you listen to her music you want to say, “Sing, Etta. Sing.” You want to hear her fight and struggle against all odds.

Really, a voice like Etta’s can never stop singing and we will never stop listening to it. It’s the stuff of legend and genius.

RIP ETTA JAMES.


Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Etta James

Breaking: John Roderick Does Not Believe In Unicorns (Advice)

October 21, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

I enjoyed this very, ahem, sincere piece of writing by Mr. Roderick of Seattle Weekly.  It’s about being a band, being a music writer, being a believer of unicorns, being a lady in a band, being a boy in a band, being hip-hop in Seattle and much more. You should read it HERE. Here are some high-or-low-lights:

  • “Keep pushing and striving until you reach your dream!” All massively successful people say this kind of platitudinous horseshit, because inspirational-sounding crap is all the wisdom massively successful people have to offer.
  • Listening to famous people describe the secret of their success is about as helpful as listening to microwaved popcorn.
  • If your “dreams” are to be universally acknowledged as a groundbreaking auteur, may I humbly suggest that realizing those dreams is about as likely as learning to fart rainbows.
  • I appreciated her point but, despite appearances, she wasn’t issuing a feminist battle cry so much as she was calling attention to her new power, humblebragging. “I am being interviewed! It’s so exhausting to be famous, but I’m still ’street’ because I point out hypocrisy! Fight the power!”
  • Sometimes you push and strive and never get a gold-plated unicorn, but it doesn’t mean you’re not talented and might not have a long career if you keep at it. Often it only means that unicorns are fake and if you gold-plated one it would die.
Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Advice, Being in a Band, Johnathan Roderick, Music Writer, Seattle Weekly, Unicorns

The Gorgeous Hayley Westenra at OK! Mag

October 5, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

It was a pleasure spending time with the enormously talented Hayley Westenra in New York this week. She collaborated with none other than Ennio Morricone on her most recent album ‘Paradiso.’ It’s a magnificent work. The first track “Whispers In A Dream” has been in my head all week. Hayley wrote the lyrics to the song, the music being from Morricone’s score from “Gabriel’s Oboe.” Though most 24-year-olds would be intimidated by working with an 82-year-old bona fide legend, Hayley is not. She’s wickedly brilliant, her voice is pitch-perfect and she’s such a pleasure to be around. Naturally, the maestro (most famous for his score for Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns including “The Good The Bad And The Ugly”) not only tapped Hayley for the collaboration, he encouraged her to write lyrics to some of his most cherished film compositions.

Here she is with me, followed by a photo with Hayley and the awesome Laura Lane (right) and Stephanie of OK! Magazine.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: ennio morricone, hayley westenra, paradiso, singer, whispers in a dream

Stockholm Syndrome

September 26, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

My passport expires in May so I decided to get one more stamp on there before I have to send it to the Department Of “Why On Earth Do You Have to Send Your Passport Back To Get A New One?” (Anyone?)

I toyed with several options: Paris (been there), Edinburgh (been there), Graceland (never been, but no stamp! They should offer a stamp.) I settled on Stockholm, the Venice of the North, land of Vikings, meatballs, Ikea, pickled herring and Robyn.

The highlight was the Vasa Museum, one of the best museums I’ve been to in my entire life. It’s an early seventeenth century warship that capsized off the harbor. (They hadn’t put enough ballast in the hull.) The ship sat in the Baltic for over 300 years. Now, it’s 90% restored and the museum does a painstakingly thorough job of explaining EVERYTHING you could ever want to know about the ship’s history. It’s soo cool!

Other highlights: Gamla Stan (the old city) seeing the band Me and Skinny Joon, hanging out with one of my best friends, the outdoor museum Skansen (they have a wolverine!) and eating French fries with béarnaise and an ungodly number of cardamom buns. Here are some photos.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Passport, Stockholm, Sweden, Vacation

Get On MTV Hives’ Weird Vibes

September 9, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

Just got off the horn with Mike Ayers at MTV Hive who let me know that the first full-length episode of Weird Vibes (the new series about indie music born out of Shirley Braha’s New York Noise) is available. If you haven’t taken the time, DO. It’s great. Lots of “indie” artists speak candidly about what it means to have the word “indie” surreptitiously attached to your name in spite of your best effort, what it means to have indie “cred” and also why everyone is POOR!!!! Looking forward to seeing more of the show.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Indie Cred, Indie Music, Insider Talk, mtv, MTV Hive, Musicians, Weird Vibe

This One Goes Out To All The Ladies

August 22, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment


Thanks, Lou. Appreciated.
I Love Women

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Lou Reed, To All the Ladies, Women

Spotified And Loving It

July 19, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

While trolling my Facebook feed I noticed a friend, Swedish, offering free Spotify invites. Years before, I remember this friend singing its praises: “You Americans and your inferior applications for access to new music. Pfft! Spotify has revolutionized the way I listen to and discover music. (And, by the way, I’m a socialist.)”

Naturally, I ignored him in 2009. In 2011, I decided I’d give Spotify a whirl.

I am in love with it. The interface is clean and looks similar to iTunes. I have several friends who have had accounts for years so as soon as I sign in I immediately had access to excellent playlists curated by pals. You can synch your account to Facebook. Everyday, more friends open accounts and I can decide if I still want to be friends with them based on their clear, overwhelming, closeted obsession with Celine Dion. Also, the sound is quality.

If you’re like me (prickly and often times unwilling to listen to new music) discovering new bands can be difficult. The metrics used for “greatness” and “best” and “worth your attention” are constantly changing. This makes it difficult to sift through the OK to get to the Incredible. For me, discovering music in my friend’s personal libraries via Spotify is a godsend. In a way, it’s blissfully nostalgic; the modern version of going to a friend’s house and sifting through their records.

So, I’d like to encourage you to give it a try. Rip yourself away from Turntable.FM for a second and see what you think of Spotify. I think you’ll like it, and if you don’t, well, why the hell not? There are plenty of people who don’t like it. Perhaps they’re waiting for Muxtape to come back?

Our dear pal Maura at the Village Voice wrote an excellent piece about Spotify launching in the U.S. last week. Read it HERE.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Spotify

You Wanted The Best…Shore Fire Is Alive

June 1, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

You know we all love music. What you didn’t know is, the majority of our staff plays music regularly either in a band or at home with/to their cat or indoor plants. Some of my favorite memories here include walking into a colleague’s office and them picking up their guitar to play a Chuck Berry riff while we wax best practice, our favorite new bands and music blogs, and, of course, the merits of good bacon (in that order.) It’s important for us to know what we’re talking about; being music publicists, knowing the technical aspects of the craft is very helpful.

Also important: having fun.

In the spirit of fun, we decided to toss a party, a battle of the bands, as it were, during which all of the staffers with current bands showed their swag at Union Hall in Brooklyn. Shore Fire came alive! Here are the highlights:

Anthony D'Amato

First up: Anthony D’Amato. Armed with just a guitar, winning vocals and shining lyrics, Anthony really set the bar very, very high. He’s touring. He has a website. He has an album. You should buy it.

Ghost Bunny (with Chris Taillie, far left, on keyboards)

Second there was our very own Chris Taillie and his out harey outfit Ghost Bunny. I had a great conversation with the drummer about the various reincarnations of the band’s name after Ghost Bunny dies. My favorite was Jesus Hare: 33 years in the making. Ghost Bunny has an intricate, multi-layered sound that will appeal to fans of Muse and Nirvana.

Arvel (with Madelyn Frascella, far right, on bass)

And, I am SOOOO not playing favorites, but Madelyn!!!!! Ladies and Gentleman Madelyn Frascella can handle the bass. She is badass. MOVE OVER Gene Simmons, Flea, and Robert Trujillo. Her band Arvel is totally rocking and they brought serious fun to the stage with their alt-rock indie revival sound.

Firenza (with Chris Brudzinski, left, on guitar/vocals)

Another awesome thing about working with all of these stellar people is that we share iTunes and I’m constantly trolling for new music in my colleague’s iTunes library. Chris Powers has some the best Brit Pop, indie, Shoegaze. I knew I was going to love his band live and Firenza’s power pop delivered.

The Middle Eight (with David McTiernan, far left, on keyboards)

Last but certainly not least: THE MIDDLE EIGHT! The venerable David McTiernan spins his classical background into blissful neo-classical indie rock.

Filed Under: Blog, Featured Tagged With: Anthony D'Amato, Arvel, brooklyn, firenza, Ghost Bunny, shore fire, The Middle Eight, union hall

To See Ray Davies’ Friends

April 11, 2011 By Lauretta Leave a Comment

Congrats to Mr. Ray Davies on the new album “See My Friends.” The record features some notable acolytes, fans and pals teaming up with Mr. Davies on several songs past and present.

…then I got to thinking, if IIIIII could cover a Kinks song, what would it be? This is by no means my favorite Kinks song (a tall order figuring that one out!) but it’s one that always thrills me with its bluesy undertones, bass-line, crescendo, unexpected tempo change and all around awesomeness. (The second song, “Picture Book,” is also killer if only for the words “a-shooby dooby do.” They don’t make cool the way they used to, I’ll tell you what!)

What about you? Do you have a favorite Kinks song?

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Ray Davies

Princeton Record Exchange

April 6, 2011 By Lauretta 1 Comment

Over the weekend I headed to the Princeton Record Exchange with Brendan and Chris. I really tried to suppress my “oh, everyone KNOWS Amoeba Music is the greatest record store in the world” urges. Being from California, I have a very special place in my heart for Amoeba. In fact, instead of going out for dinner or a movie or a drink, I would have guys meet me at Amoeba for a “date” so I could judge their music taste/whether or not I ever wanted to see them again….anyway, childishness aside…I did score some great vinyl at PRE. Most notably, I picked up the recent Teenage Fanclub reissue Bandwagonesque.

I’m super-stoked about that one. So, here’s some TF for you. ENJOY!

Filed Under: Blog
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