My first week back in LA was very busy, with two trips to the Renaissance Pleasure Faire, attending and reviewing Nineteen Years Later, helping with another show, and going through the first rehearsal for my Fringe solo show. Along the way there was a night of Fringe “Office Hours,” a Fringe Town Hall, an unexpected chance to catch a rehearsal, and plenty of great conversations, not to mention a couple of days at the ASCAP EXPO, which included a special songwriters’ round with LeeAnn Womack, Stephen Bishop, Jack Tempchin and Wyclef Jean.
NEW SINGLES
Our first single this week features the powerful and soulful vocals of Elisabeth Beckwitt, and we think this one has a lot of potential. Check out “Free Fall” – we think you’ll definitely fall for her sound.
Next up is a pair of legends who have joined forces to bring the spirit of rock and roll back to today’s music scene. Combining Fanny Walked the Earth’s Brie Darling with The Runaways’ Cherie Currie is brilliant and they do justice to this remake of the T. Rex classic, “The Motivator.” This one will get your week off to a great start.
We follow them up with another Blue Élan Records artist named Car Astor, and what we think is her best song to date. The song may be called “Hush,” but we won’t keep quiet about how much we love this song.
Let’s switch gears to a more Americana and country sound of Jesse Dayton, another Blue Élan artist. His latest, “Redneck Friend,” will have you two-stepping around the dance floor in no time flat. Enjoy the honky-tonking sound.
We close out this week’s singles with the upbeat and empowering “For You” from rising star Katile. We see a very strong future for this young lady, and can’t wait to see what comes next.
NEW MUSIC VIDEOS
We return to the beautiful country of Denmark to kick off this week’s music videos with the latest from LA Music Critic Award winning band Straw, “Perfectly Fine.” Sally’s vocals are powerful and strong and the song hits home with its message that you don’t have to be perfect to be happy. This family just keeps getting better and better.
Speaking of amazing family bands, here is the first original from the PaperDolls, featuring elder sibling Kendra. It is a powerful song that will give you strength to fight each day. Thank you Kendra for blessing us with “See What I See.”
Our third video gives us a new look at the whole “loser” mystique. We bet you’ll never feel the same way about the word after viewing this video. Here’s “Loser” by The Scared Crows.
Video number four is guaranteed to rock your week, as Meisha and the Spanks reveal their inner child for the video of their latest single, “Motorin’.’
We close out this week with a stunning video from Wake up Hate for their song, “Love me Like a Hurricane.” We think this one will rock you into next week.
Well, the winners have now been announced for the LA Music Critic Awards for the second half of 2017, and the process starts all over for the first half of 2018. Any indie artist is eligible to participate as long as they have a single, music video, CD or EP released between December 1, 2017 and May 31, 2018. We’ll continue our reviews tomorrow with five more artists, but today, we share news from the indie music world, as well as debut new singles and music videos. Here we go.
EXIT {LIVE} LAUNCHES NEW GLOBAL MUSIC PLATFORM
A few years back we experienced this company when we attended a Peter Frampton concert at the Greek in Los Angeles. It allows fans to buy a copy of the concert they have just experienced so they can relive that experience.
Exit [Live] has now announced they are making the technology available to all artists, major and indie, to sell their concerts and vintage recordings directly to their fans. This is a major win for indie artists everywhere who are trying to gain a more global following. For artists, it is also profitable, with 80% of sales going back to the artist.
The platform will launch in early 2018, but you can check out their Facebook page now.
HOLLYWOOD FRINGE FESTIVAL PREPARES FOR NINTH YEAR
Founded in 2010, the Hollywood Fringe Festival is preparing for their ninth annual festivities. Registration for participants opened on February 1 and runs through April 1. Tickets will go on sale on May 1.
In order to foster artist and audience diversity, the Fringe initiated a scholarship program in 2016 to allow more participation by artists facing challenges that might prevent them from being a part of the Festival. Each scholarship takes care of the registration costs, provides a $550 stipend towards their production and venue costs, and gives them a Fringe mentor, as well as marketing and networking opportunities as a member of the Fringe community. The winners of the 2018 Fringe Scholarships are:
Baba, Jee (Father, Yes): Maria, the daughter of a Pakistani father and an American mother, lives in New York City with her boyfriend Dave. On the eve of Hurricane Sandy, her father (Baba) comes to visit from Pakistan for the first time in years. Trapped inside while the storm rages on, Maria, Dave, and Baba must all confront their differing views on culture, love, and expectations.
Unapologetically Black: Unapologetically Black is a true story about Misty Monroe trying to fit in as a black woman (with a white name) who grew up in both South Central Los Angeles (predominately black) and the naval bases of Northern California (predominately “other”). The desire to “fit in” is universal and Unapologetically Black takes you on the journey of a black woman who gains the courage to stand out, unapologetically.
Trafficked 2.0: Trafficked 2.0 tells a story that occurs much too often and told not nearly enough. On her 13th birthday, a young girl is kidnapped and sold into the horrors of sex trafficking. The show uses the expressive movements of the body to represent a story that forces audiences to acknowledge the awful operations that are going on right under their noses, in their countries, in their neighborhoods, by people that they know.
Paisajes Marinos Con Tiburones y bailarines: “Seascape with Sharks and Dancer” is a 1974 play by Don Nigro. The story focuses on a young man, Ben, who saves a young woman named Tracy from the ocean outside his beach house. The production will be in Spanish, focused on attracting the latin community to the theater.
Love, Locs & Liberation: Blending poetry, song and humor, Ella unlocks the history of locs experienced by Black women, revealing many mishaps and triumphs. Through the eyes of 21 different characters, a 5th grade bully to Madam CJ Walker, she exposes the hair connection – to politics, identity and culture, illustrating why hair is an intimate and essential part of Black life.
I Came To Make Noise: I Came To Make Noise breaks the stereotype that women are expected to be quiet and agreeable. This groundbreaking work of theatre engages audiences with its use of dance, spoken word, and beatbox. This piece explores the inner most thoughts of a woman. The issues of race, politics, and sexual assault are presented through the lens of self-awareness.
Liao Zhai: Tale of Extraordinary: China is a two-syllable word with extreme complexity. History, philosophy, ideology, politics — we would be stuck having these intense and serious conversation for years. Even though we are Chinese, believe me, we don’t like that either. As an young ensemble theater company mostly consists of Native Chinese, we would like to share with you some mythical and fantastical stories that have been with us for centuries.
A Mile in My Shoes: “A Mile in My Shoes” is a solo show written and performed by veteran actor Kathryn Taylor Smith. In this 90 minute Poetic Dramedy (clever mix of poetry, drama & comedy) Kathryn depicts 12 characters based on research and personal interviews with past and present members of the homeless community (real & created) as well as those who advocate for them.
Gay Men Like Young Boys: Part adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s “The Importance of Being Earnest” part social satire. The dark side of desire, gender roles, and the youth obsessed image-based gay community clash in this dark tale of love and revenge.
The Goddesses Guide: Adura for the Women of African Diaspora: Follow the revealing journey of three Yoruba goddesses as they grapple with the responsibility of creating a guide for black women trying to survive in a world that doesn’t always allow them to thrive.
Land of No Shadows: Combining the Japanese dance art of Butoh with experimental animation and puppetry, “Land of No Shadows” uses stark, striking visuals to portray a fluid relationship between puppet and puppeteer, reflecting our unstable, fluctuating social and emotional status as humans.
NEW SINGLES
Our first new single this week comes from a band we have loved from the beginning. Founded by former American Idol contestant Allison Iraheta and her husband, Matthew Hager, Halo Circus has reinvented itself as an electronic duo and has released “Narcissist,” the first single from their upcoming project. Check out the new sound of the band, and let us know what you think.
Next up is Aja Warren, a new artist from the same management company that gave us Wendy Sweetlove. Here’s her new single, “Show me the Magic.” We think you’ll love it as much as we do.
Kim DiVine is a past LA Music Critic Award winner who has consistently delivered outstanding music. Klvr Grl has done a remix of one of her songs, and we wanted to share it with you. Please check out “Broken Bird (Klvr Grl remix).”
Our final single today comes from Gundelach for their breakout single, “Duck Hunting.” Please let us know what you think.
NEW MUSIC VIDEOS
Our first video today comes from Kris Angelis, another past LA Music Critic Award winner. Here’s her video for “Please Come Back Home,” filmed on a family trip to Carmel, California.
Next up is a video from one of the most recent LA Music Critic Award winners, Jason Hawk Harris, formerly of The Stone Ponies. This is an acoustic video for his single, “Phantom Limb.”
For all you Tesla fans out there, here is the latest video from guitarist Frank Hannon from his solo acoustic project. This is a cover of the Allman Brothers Band classic song, “Blue Sky.” We dig it.
Last but not least, here’s the latest provacotive video from The Scared Crows about the Harvey Weinstein controversy. Check out “Harvey Talk.”
We’ll be back tomorrow with our next round of reviews in Get it or Forget it. See you then.