I'm a music junkie, internet geek and sometimes poet with a taste for indie-girl folk music. I also host the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour every Tuesday from 9-10 on KRUU
RT @GeekyJules: In case you missed it, today was Geeky Pleasures first birthday. I am quite proud of her. Please read my birthday post h ... 14 hours ago
While students at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Alyssa Rieper, Johanne Swanson, and Adelyn Strei decided they wanted to join musical forces to start a band. The result was Feathe (rhymes with “breathe”). Featuring guitar, accordion and light rhythms layered with delicate harmonies, their mellow and sweet folk-pop would fit nicely in a playlist with the likes of Iron & Wine, Neko Case, The Starlings and The Decemberists.
This is the kind of music you can have as a soundtrack to so many things – an art day in your room, a sunny long-distance drive, tea with friends, to name a few. No matter what, it’s going to bring a little smile to your face and to your heart.
Check out this video of Feathe performing their song Roses to see what I mean:
Their music may have that satisfying lo-fi feel to it, but the girls of Feathe are also pretty tech savvy. They’ve been releasing their EPs on Bandcamp, a great site for musicians, and you can get the songs there for free! (or pay what you want, if you are inspired to support them financially!) You can also find them on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
Join me Tuesday for the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour from 9-10am Central to get your weekly dose of music by female singer-songwriters! KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town, kruufm.com online anywhere! Feathe will be calling in at 9am.
Classically trained in piano, LA-based singer-songwriter Jennie Hunter has international connections. Her debut album, Feel the Fire, was recorded in Chile with producer Claudio Valenzuela.
If you jumped to any conclusions after seeing the words “classically trained” and “Chile” in that first paragraph, you probably jumped too soon. With songs ranging from rock to electronica to pop, Jennie’s classical training really only shows in that she never misses a note. You won’t really find any Latin rhythms, but every part of the songs, whether sung or played, is drenched with that passion Latinos are famous for expressing.
So what you get from Jennie and Claudio is lush, rich, piano-driven landscapes, the emotional details painted with a delicate voice that might at times even be described as childlike, except for the maturity of the lyrics and the crystal clear control.
The eleven tracks on Feel the Fire pound, skip, rock, flow and tumble by turn. The songs are sometimes sassy, sometimes melancholy, sometimes pleading, sometimes gritty, and sometimes playful. All-in-all, the album is a pretty delightful ride. Check Jennie out on her MySpace or Facebook pages to hear tracks and find out more!
Tune in Tuesday, July 20th to get to know Jennie a little better. KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town, kruufm.com online from anywhere in the world with internet. Music from 9-9:30am Central, Jennie will be calling in at 9:30.
7/19/10 UPDATE: We are working to reschedule the interview with Sheila, should be in early to mid August, stay tuned! In the meantime, check out this fantastic in-depth feature on Sheila over on the amazing site KGRL.
It’s always interesting to hear what sort of music an artist comes out with after they’ve been with a label and decide to go independent. Whether it’s very different or essentially the same, you know it’s definitely the artist’s true vision.
It’s also always interesting to hear what sort of music an artist comes out with after having a child. Such a profoundly life-changing experience is bound to change your artistic expression as well.
I admit to not knowing Sheila Nicholls’ music before either of these events that happened in her life, but I do know I like what I hear now! Ranging from acoustic to alternative to trip hop, Sheila’s style is grooving and twinkling by turns, her versatile voice sliding easily up the scale and dropping into a gritty growl. With song after multi-textured and rich song, Sheila is one of those artists so easy to put on repeat!
Tune in Tuesday from 9-10am Central for your weekly dose of Lyrical Venus! KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town, or http://kruufm.com online anywhere! The first and only solar powered radio station in the Midwest! Sheila will be calling around 9:30.
In the strange small world of coincidences, this Iowa girl’s first experience with both the Boston-based songwriters featured in this post was in Colorado!
I have yet to meet Rose Polenzani in person, but back when I lived in Boulder for a short while after college, my roommate came home from a concert with a CD that would become a fast favorite of ours to play in the house – Voices on the Verge. Rose was one of four artists who had joined forces and were touring together under the name. When I started my radio show a couple years ago I was re-introduced to the album and featured it one week, plus a new song by each of the four.
Anne contacted me again earlier this year when she was in the planning stages of a tour with Rose from the East Coast to the Midwest. I offered her an interview and the option of a house concert on either side of a show up in Cedar Rapids and she took me up on both!
Then a few months later I found out that Winterbloom was in the running for the Lilith Fair Local Talent Search in Boston, and that Rose had joined Anne, Meg Hutchinson, Antje Duvekot and Natalia Zuckerman for the competition. With that much star-power, it’s perhaps no surprise that they won!
Still, it’s no small feat, considering how many amazing musicians live in the Boston area. Winterbloom will be performing July 30th. That sounds like a great show. It’s not looking good for me to make it to any Lilith Fair this year, but having two Lilith Fair performers in my living room is going to be pretty darn exciting! (And heck, who am I kidding, I was stoked about them coming LONG before I even heard about the competition.)
Before their Lilith Fair performance though is Anne & Rose’s tour! Check them out together in this video for Anne’s song, Where Your Scar Is.
If you’re reading elsewhere, you may need to come to the blog to see the video.
Sweet, funny, talented, quirky, creative and smart are all words I would use to describe each of these women and their music. If you’re ready to find out more about them, check out their websites for more info, music clips, tour dates and more.
The house concert with Anne & Rose at our place will be on July 13th, starting with an optional potluck at 6:30pm and the music getting started at 7:30. Suggested donation is $10-$15 per person. Email me to RSVP and ensure a seat, plus get directions! LyricalVenus [at] gmail [dot] com.
Get to know them a little better before they come by tuning in Tuesday from 9-10am Central for the Lyrical Venus Radio Hour! KRUU-LP 100.1 here in town, kruufm.com online anywhere. The 9am interview will be followed by more music.
Checking out her bio, it seems like Emily Zuzik can do pretty much anything. Maybe it’s her initials, EZ, that bless her with the ability to handle so many different skills and opportunities and collaborative projects with grace, but whatever it is, she sure is doing something right!
Currently based in New York, Emily is a singer, songwriter, journalist, voiceover artist and fit model. Her songs have appeared in TV and movies. She has written with artists such as Moby, Wes Hutchinson, UK dj duo REFIX, Tim Lefebvre, Art Hays, Tom Glynn and Marwood.
Emily’s sultry vocals are equally at home over all-out rockers like Potential, sparkling-sweet folk-pop like This Time Around, or torch-tinged ballads like Make It Right, to pull a few examples from her album You Had Me At Goodbye.
Her latest release is the Jagged Life EP, which includes the sweet downtempo Magic. Check out the video of Emily performing it with her band at Rockwood Music Hall in New York earlier this year:
If you are reading elsewhere, you may need to come to the blog to see the video
There are a bunch of other great tunes from the same show on her YouTube channel that show off Emily’s versatility and more of her charming stage presence. If you’re already ready, head on over to Emily’s website and besides getting the rundown of all her projects, from there you’ll find links to the other places you can connect with her on the web.
Tune in to Lyrical Venus Radio on Tuesday, June 29th from 9-10 am Central to get to know this super-talented women a little bit better! KRUU-LP 100.1 FM here in town, kruufm.com online anywhere! Emily will be calling at 9am.
