Piano Rock-Pop Trio True Margrit

San Francisco based piano-pop trio True Margrit is fronted by singer-songwriter and piano-player Margrit Eichler.  Backed by Gary Hobish on bass and Andrew Bacon on drums, Margrit delivers her intelligent, upbeat songs with just enough pop flavor to be head-boppingly catchy, and just enough indie quirk to keep your ears on their toes.  Their newest album, The Juggler’s Progress, is the fifth release for the band that has been described as “Aimee Mann & Ben Folds meet the Decemberists for speed Scrabble.”

I first got a glimpse of True Margrit on my friend Nusi’s blog.  Check out the video Nusi took of them performing Opposite Man at Dolores Park Cafe in San Francisco.  So much passion and energy!  That’s a band who knows how to have fun and put on a good show!

But I have to admit, with so much music coming at me all the time, I kind of lost track of True Margrit until Nusi connected us again on the Lyrical Venus Facebook Page.  Just in the nick of time too, because they are about to embark on a tour of the Southwest for the rest of the month in a few days, which probably would have made an interview a little trickier to coordinate, and I happened to have an open slot this week.  I love it when things work out like that!

The band just released their first video for The Juggler’s Progress last week.  It is for the song Syllable and it captures more of that passion, fun, intelligence, funkiness, rockin’, catchy spirit that equals True Margrit.

If you’re reading elsewhere, you may need to come to the blog to see the video

Pillow fight anyone?  Piano stand made of books?  How cool is that?!

Well, I’m thinking you can add at least a little to your own coolness quotient by befriending the band online, here are a few places where you can do that:

http://truemargrit.com/
http://www.facebook.com/truemargrit
http://twitter.com/truemargrit

Their website also has links to all their other social media sites, and you can order special CD packages there that include things like original artwork by Margrit, or a drumhead that was used in the making of the album.

And of course, if you tune in to Lyrical Venus on KRUU-LP 100.1 FM this Tuesday, March 9th from 9-10am Central you will get your weekly dose of female singer-songwriters, which includes Margrit calling around 9:30!

Filed under: Lyrical Venus Radio, female vocalists, interview, music, musicians, new album, singer-songwriter, video, women | Post a comment

Singer-Songwriter Laura Meyer

Laura Meyer lists New York City as her base, but between moving often while growing up and her extensive touring, it seems that this independent artist is also an independent spirit, able to find beauty wherever she lands.  Her latest album, Miles From Nowhere, supports that idea, capturing slices of the traveling life from New Orleans to Colorado, Carolina and back to New York, with plenty of other places in-between!  Painting word pictures with a shimmering, smokey voice, Laura supports her little road vignettes with deft finger-picking and crunchy blues riffs in turn, providing as much of a trip for your ears as your imagination.

Winner of numerous songwriting honors, Laura has played in every sort of venue, from tiny coffee houses to huge outdoor festivals - including the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest, which I’ve attended the past two years!  We must have been there at the same time and I didn’t realize it.

Between all of Laura’s traveling and my love of live music, I’m betting we’ll end up in the same place sometime again in the future, and I’ll be sure not to miss seeing her.  In the meantime, there’s always YouTube!

Here is Laura performing her song The Ocean at WSCA 106.1 FM in New Hampshire. (Another low-power community station, rock on!)

If you’re reading elsewhere, you may need to come to the blog to see the video

And of course info, photos, blogs, songs and purchase info can be found on Laura’s site: http://www.laurameyer.net

You can also connect with her through MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for starters.  (other social sites are listed on her webpage.)

Finally, don’t forget to tune in to Lyrical Venus on KRUU-LP 100.1 FM this Tuesday, March 2nd from 9-10am Central for your weekly dose of female singer-songwriters!  Laura will be calling around 9:30.

Filed under: Lyrical Venus Radio, female vocalists, interview, music, musicians, new album, singer-songwriter, video, women | Post a comment

Singer-Songwriter Bess Rogers

Bess Rogers was a name that came up a lot when I was getting to know several other guests I’ve had on Lyrical Venus.  It got me thinking that if all these great people liked Bess I probably would too.  I kept meaning to check out her site, and not quite managing to get there.  Then a few months ago I found out from one of Allie Moss‘ updates that the two of them had teamed up to offer a free download from each of their new EP’s.  They don’t call ‘em hooks for nothing people!  One listen to Bess’ song I Don’t Worry and I was hooked.

I’m not the only one either - whether it’s for touring, backup, podcasting, YouTube shorts or television performances, her talents are in high demand with people like Allie Moss, Allison Weiss, Ingrid Michaelson and Jenny Owen Youngs, to name a few.

Bess’ Travel Back EP takes the listener on a trip through a rich, varied aural landscape. In less than 20 minutes you can go from rip-roarin’, foot-stompin’, hand-clappin’ rockers like Everything to Lose, to the stripped down, bittersweet, vocal showcaser Yellowbird and back to tapping your toes again with I Don’t Worry.  And then if you’re like me, you’ll go back to the beginning of the album and hit play again!

Check out this video of Bess performing I Don’t Worry live with a band at Rockwood Music Hall on November 28, 2009:

If you’re reading elsewhere, you may need to come to the blog to see the video

I have a feeling Bess’ name is going to keep popping up a lot more for years to come, I don’t see how anything could hold her down!

Don’t be like me, now that you are in the know, get yourself to Bess’ sites right away for tour information, song samples, photos, videos and to buy her albums:

www.bessrogers.com
www.myspace.com/bessrogers
www.twitter.com/bessrogers
www.bessblog.tumblr.com
http://www.facebook.com/bessrogersmusic

Tune in to Lyrical Venus Radio Tuesday February 16th from 9-10am Central for your weekly dose of great music by female singer-songwriters!  KRUU-LP 100.1 FM in town, kruufm.com online anywhere!  Interview with Bess starts at 9:30.

P.S. Have I mentioned before that Lyrical Venus has a Facebook Page, Tumblr and Twitter too?  Let’s connect!

Filed under: Lyrical Venus Radio, female vocalists, interview, music, musicians, singer-songwriter, video, women | 1 Comment

Singer-Songwriter Ellis

The last time Ellis was in town and on Lyrical Venus was November 2008, so it’s been a little while since Fairfielders have seen or heard her in person. But if you’ve been following her on Facebook or Twitter you know she has been keeping plenty busy, working on a new album with a producer in New York, showcasing at the Sundance Film Festival and even learning to ski!

That is one of the things I love about Ellis - she gives herself challenges to learn and try new things and then she dives in and does them!  In this inspiring introduction to her song Close to You at a concert in Wisconsin, Ellis talks about her goal to try one new thing every year as a strategy to stay young and flexible in her outlook:

And here is Close to You itself:

I know I always leave an Ellis concert inspired, uplifted and with my heart blown open in an amazing way.  I’m excited to see her this weekend and maybe hear some of the songs going on her upcoming CD, Right On Time, set for release in September 2010.  There are some preview clips up on ellis-music.com, as well as a page where you can pre-order the album to help with the recording costs and receive the album this summer in advance of the official release.

I recommend taking a peek at that pre-order page whether you are planning to pre-order or not, because it has some of the cutest rewards and drawings for each donation level. (You can even click on the pictures to see them bigger.)  If you’ve ever been to an Ellis show, you can imagine what a ring-tone of her laugh (one of the things you get for donating $100 or more) might be like for your phone!

Get your tickets for Ellis’ show at  Cafe Paradiso on February 13th, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the heart, and her previous shows there have sold out!

Ellis will be calling in to Lyrical Venus Radio Tuesday February 9th!  Tune in to KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town, kruufm.com online anywhere from 9-10am Central time.  We’ll start off with 1/2 an hour of tunes and then Ellis will call around 9:30!

Filed under: Lyrical Venus Radio, female vocalists, interview, music, musicians, singer-songwriter, video, women | Post a comment

Singer-Songwriter Yael Meyer

I know I’ve said it a million times before, but I LOVE THE INTERNET!  Last week I interviewed Allison Weiss on the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour.  She tweeted a link to the station where people can listen in from around the world.  One of Allison’s fans in The Netherlands tuned in, and afterward tweeted to me that I might like Yael Meyer.  A couple of song listens on her site and few emails with Yael later and I had an interview set up for this week!

To put it another way: a phone call between someone in Georgia and someone in Iowa was heard by someone in The Netherlands who then connected the Iowa person to someone in Los Angeles.  All in a matter of hours.  My mind is still blown.

So a big thank you goes out to @TimKro for tuning in from across the ocean and for introducing me to Yael!  And now I shall introduce her to you, dear readers!

A dancer and singer since childhood in her native Chile, Yael received a scholarship to Berklee College of Music at the age of 19.  It was there that she gained a deeper appreciation of the power of music and its ability to make a positive difference in the world.

Currently residing in L.A., Yael released her new Heartbeat EP just a couple months ago.  A beautiful blend of folk, pop and electronica, the delicate, delightful songs on Heartbeat will tickle your ears and put a smile on your heart. They are definitely making a positive difference in MY world!

Check out this video on the making of Heartbeat, featuring the song Shed Their Fear.  Along with the  guitar and piano that one might expect on a singer-songwriter album, you can see that Heartbeat includes horns, ukulele and glockenspiel (the same model I got for my birthday!).  The rich mix of instruments never overpower, but rather provide a luxurious fluffy bed of sound for Yael’s silky vocals.

If you like Shed Their Fear, you can get it for free by signing up to Yael’s email list, which you can do right here from Lyrical Venus by clicking the “get it now” button and entering your email in this widget!  Fancy!

Now go check your email and get your download!  Easy peasy right?

Feed and email readers may need to come to the blog to see the video and widget.

If one song isn’t enough, you can listen to more on Yael’s website:

http://www.yaelmeyermusic.com/

Then you can go be friends:

http://www.facebook.com/yaelmeyermusic

http://www.myspace.com/yaelmeyer

Yael is doing a lovely series of video podcasts on her YouTube channel, sharing a song a week.  So far they are all collaborations with some of her friends:

http://www.youtube.com/user/yaelmeyermusic

If you are on Twitter, don’t forget to follow Yael, you never know who she might introduce you to!
http://www.youtube.com/user/yaelmeyermusic

If you are on Twitter, don’t forget to follow Yael, you never know who she might introduce you to!
http://kruufm.com online from 9-10am Central for the full hour of Lyrical Venus. Yael will be calling in at 9:30. That’s right, join me Tuesday, February 2nd for an interview with Yael! Tune in to KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town, http://kruufm.com online.

(My Wordpress is SERIOUSLY messed up folks! It’s double posting my sentence about twitter at the end but cutting out the stuff about where to tune in to the interview. Attempts to fix have sometimes ended up in blending this post and Allison’s post below into one big post?!?! What the heck??? Maybe it will show up alright in the feed readers but for now it’s freaking me out, I’ve tried over 20 times and I’m exhausted, so I’m going to have to leave it like this and hope it works itself out somehow… or that a slightly fresher brain in the morning can figure it out.)

Last but not least, join me Tuesday, February 2nd for an interview with Yael! Tune in to KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town or at http://kruufm.com online from 9-10am Central for the full hour of Lyrical Venus. Yael will be calling in at 9:30.

Filed under: Lyrical Venus Radio, female vocalists, interview, music, musicians, new album, new release, singer-songwriter, video, women | Post a comment