Tag: Los Angeles

LISTEN: The Dales, “Burn It Slow”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Dales
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Burn It Slow”
Album: Multi Trick Pony
Release Date: September 23, 2022
Label: DB Records

In Their Words: “The song is inspired by a movie star I was working with last year. She’s extremely successful, yet so down to earth and easy to hang with. It seemed like we had known each other for a long time. We had a lot in common, including our love for nature. While working on the song, we tried a couple of different chorus ideas and came up with the simpler ‘oh oh — nice to know — someone who likes to burn it slow.’ It’s an homage to people who don’t come off too strong, don’t try too hard and instead present themselves authentically.” — Drew Lawrence (co-founder, The Dales)

Photo Credit: Stacy Hunter

WATCH: Tim Baker, “Echo Park”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Tim Baker
Hometown: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Song: “Echo Park”
Album: The Festival
Release Date: October 21, 2022
Label: End Times Music

In Their Words: “This is a simple song about moving from Newfoundland to Los Angeles, losing track and getting lost in all the clear skies and windless days, waiting for a big break that never seems to come, yearning for it, and of course, in turn, for your home so unlike it, so far away. I wrote this song in almost one single sitting in a rare hotel room to myself, somewhere in the sandy southwestern states, on tour with Hey Rosetta years ago.

“Since it’s a song all about being buoyed up by winds of change and hope through heavy homesickness, I really wanted to film myself singing it while hang-gliding. When in Florida visiting family, I noticed boats parasailing back and forth along the beach everyday. I called around and found one company (with the stars-and-stripes chute to boot) whom I convinced to let me fly with a guitar and have my brother film me on his drone and whattayaknow it actually worked! Here is the cinematic magic from that hour on the Gulf.” — Tim Baker

Photo Credit: Jason Burns

LISTEN: Brandon Jenner, “One of a Kind”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Brandon Jenner
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “One of a Kind”
Album: Oversized Soul
Release Date: September 2, 2022
Label: Nettwerk Music Group

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘One of a Kind’ after having a very realistic dream. In that dream, my lovely wife decided to move my truck to a field next to our house when she misjudged a pile of rocks and broke my truck in half. I ran over to see if I could help and then woke up. I thought it was funny that at the time in my dream all I was worried about was the state of my truck and not of whether or not my wife was OK. It sure sounded like an idea for a good country song.” — Brandon Jenner

Photo Credit: Magdalena Wosinska

LISTEN: Chris Pierce, “45 Jukebox”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Chris Pierce
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “45 Jukebox”
Release Date: July 22, 2022

In Their Words: “A traditional 45 Jukebox is a coin-operated phonograph with an illuminated cabinet, having a variety of records that can be selected by the drop of a dime and the push of a button. This song examines the journey as a songwriter and the internal process of the spirit for the songs to come to surface. It’s about the rigorous and demanding road of putting the truth on the line and wearing your heart on your sleeve day by day, night after night. There is a road to freedom in songwriting, recording and performing. It’s about being vulnerable and standing on the edge with your finger on the pulse, awaiting that drop of a dime and dedicating the soul and spirit to that moment when your song makes its way through the speaker and into the heart.” — Chris Pierce

Photo Credit: Mathieu Bitton

LISTEN: Whitney Lockert, “Long Way to California”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Whitney Lockert
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Long Way to California”
Album: Long Way to California
Release Date: July 15, 2022

In Their Words: “‘Long Way to California’ was written at a time when I was indeed far from California, and also felt a bit stuck; in fact at the time, I was literally stuck at home with a stranger I didn’t particularly like, a friend of one of my roommates who was staying there while my roommate was on tour. It was written as more of an imagined escape than anything else; little did I know that it would foreshadow moving back to California with someone I love a few years later. Ultimately it’s a song about California and the West as a place of openness and the possibility of a better life, the promise it might have held to my grandparents when they moved there from Ohio in the ‘40s. For me it took living on the East Coast for several years to really understand and see California that way.” — Whitney Lockert

Photo Credit: Jeni Magana

Basic Folk – Cristina Vane

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Blues musician Cristina Vane has lived many lives. She grew up in Europe listening to an eclectic mix of emo, pop, and rock. She came to the U.S. to study comparative literature at Princeton before moving to Los Angeles to pursue her songwriting career. Determined to get her music out there on her own terms, Cristina embarked on a life-changing solo tour that took her across the United States. She slept in her tent, took in the majesty of the National Parks, and learned more about American culture than most Americans learn in a lifetime.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • STITCHER • AMAZON • MP3

Vane’s new album, Make Myself Me Again, is a sonic homecoming that showcases her remarkable talents as a guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist. Ever a student of the blues, Cristina pays homage to her forebears while telling her own stories with vulnerability. Some of the highlights of our conversation include central New Jersey deli memories, tour stories, Cristina’s approach to finding the perfect guitar tone, and a roundabout journey to identity.

Photo Credit: Stuart Levine

LISTEN: The Watson Twins, “Two-Timin'” (Ft. Butch Walker)

Posted on by Editor

Artist: The Watson Twins
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Song: “Two Timin'”
Release Date: May 20, 2022

In Their Words: “We wrote this song while living in Los Angeles. Being out on the West Coast away from our family and Kentucky roots, there were times we would get homesick. Writing songs that had that familiar old-school country sound were comforting and indulgent in the best way! ‘Two Timin” never made it on a previous album as the vibe just didn’t seem to fit on our earlier records. After the release of DUO (2018, The Orchard), which leaned a little further into our Americana sound, we started playing this song as part of our live set. When recording ‘Two Timin” it was important to capture the energy we felt on tour, so we decided to head into our friend Butch Walker’s new studio in Nashville and play it down live. Butch jumped in on background vocals and acoustic guitar and the outcome is a high-energy honky-tonk toe-tapper! We’re excited to record more songs this summer for a full-length release.” — The Watson Twins

Photo Credit: Elizabeth O. Baker

WATCH: Jamie Drake, “Easy Target”

Posted on by Editor

Artist: Jamie Drake
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Song: “Easy Target”
Album: New Girl
Release Date: June 10, 2022
Label: AntiFragile Music

In Their Words: “It’s easy (pun intended) for me to relate to this song because it’s about how naive I have been in the past when it comes to love. Like many, I’m someone who grew up in an abusive home and as a result searched for love to fill that void. I searched my whole life until I truly realized that I had to love myself first. Love addiction is one of the common side effects of growing up in an abusive environment. I’m really happy and proud to say I’m a recovering love addict who has finally found my person as a result of loving myself first. ‘Easy Target’ is an honest reflection on my not-so-recent past, as if I’m reminiscing over the mistakes of my younger self with a forgiving smile, knowing that I’ve finally learned my lesson.” — Jamie Drake

Photo Credit: Kathryna Hancock