Hunnypot Live breaks so many rules, we should be surrendering to the FBI every other Tuesday. Show #398 ruled!
Hot Tub conspired to get everyone to dance and sing with his introduction set up music. Matthew Belter jumped to the other side of the lens to sit down in the tub and talk about his newish photography career and love of all music. Luke Loww went high wet with reverb-soaked melodic rock, Inspired & the Sleep powered their trio with pop/rock panache, Arisara gave us an interlude of introspection and melodic inspection, Adam Cola effervesced with pop tunes and dance moves and DJ Vron Irwin closed out the night with a dance party so large we had to use the stage as well.
Photos & Recap by J. Gray 08/20/2018
Matthew Belter started viewing life through the lens in high school and continued that practice during his more than 20 years in retail. Executive roles for a variety of companies provided him with the opportunity to travel the country. His camera gave him the means to appreciate and remember every stop on the journey.
A year after leaving the corporate world to join and expand his brother’s ice-delivery company, Matthew found himself buried in the day-to-day of a booming business, with no creative outlets to feed his soul. Out of frustration, he picked up a camera and started recording what he saw. It wasn’t long before his reawakened passion for photography became the thread that pulled his life back into balance.
Now he specializes in live concert photography, as well as portraiture, landscapes, and sports. Live music has long been a hobby, and he appreciates the challenge of representing the raw joy, focus, determination, and effort he sees on stage. He continually seeks to tell the story of the people around him and strives to capture moments and expressions of artistry and emotion.
Matthew is currently editor-at-large and current house photographer for Hunnypot Unlimited, one of the premier destinations for discovering new music in Southern California through publishing, representation, and live events. He is also a photographer for The Vinyl District, a collaboration of passionate and enthusiastic music lovers coming together to give you an inside look into some of today’s hottest and most intriguing artists.
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ARISARA, a Grammy winning songwriter, has celebrated placements like, Greyhounds (De La Soul), Better Together (Ziggy Marley) and Something Beautiful (Tori Kelly). ARISARA, aka Jeanette Steiner, hails from Orange, Texas, the deep south. Pronounced /ah-ree sah-rah/, her artistic brand is a name of Thai origin and describes one that is tenacious and unstoppable. Her unorthodox life and extensive, immersive time travelling abroad has only elevated this hippie-gypsy, soul-sister’s ability to understand and relate to all kinds of people. Her writing elicits a graceful perspective and inspires compassion for the human experience. Her lyrics express a variety of contemplations on the ever-marvelous concept of love, a portion of which she shares in her latest album release, With Love.
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Pop music is often built on personas – stage names, alternate identities, faces hidden behind hair, helmets, makeup, or masks. Sometimes, the artist’s mission is to hide his or her true self behind a haze of mystery. But that’s not the case with Adam Cola.
Across every one of his creative endeavors, the emerging pop star’s primary message is to embrace your true self – to be proud of each and every facet of who you are. It’s a message he’s championed since the very start of his music career, and one that’s partly responsible for the acclaim and accolades he’s garnered thus far. But most of the attention to come his way has been on the back of his innovative and intriguing brand of danceable electro-pop. Anchored by the artist’s unmistakably smooth singing style, the music is magnetic and inviting, commanding focus and forcing anybody it reaches into motion. “I want to inspire people to let their light shine bright,” says Cola. “I’ve gone through dark times. I’ve felt inhibited in the past, like I couldn’t be myself and didn’t have my own voice, and music has been the thing to lift me out of that. Now, that’s what I want to do for other people.”
The Montreal-born, L.A.-based singer is a natural performer, having realized his penchant for performing early on. “Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved acting and dancing and putting on shows for anyone that might come to my house,” he shares. He was drawn to music and dance and always had the full support of those close to him to pursue his passions, though it wasn’t until much later that he realized the truest of those passions was singing.
Having moved to L.A. to study acting for the stage and screen at a prestigious institution, Cola had his first foray behind the microphone in a high-end recording studio. “It just felt so natural,” he admits – and others noticed. Soon, he was collaborating with a who’s who of award-winning songwriters and producers that recognized heaps of potential in the early twenty-something.
Now, after plenty of hard work with his own dedicated team, Adam Cola is set to drop his full-length debut. The 12 tracks are ripe with infectious, dance-inducing beats that incorporate influence from decades worth of pop music but with a fresh and modern motif. “I’m drawn to tracks with that mysterious kind of groove – that intangible sexiness that you just can’t ignore,” he says, and that’s more than clear throughout the collection. At times it’s subdued, sexy, and alluring; others, exciting and exhilarating. But all of the time, it’s powerful and encouraging, thanks in large part to the artist’s uplifting lyrics.
Right from the opening track, Adam Cola promotes his mantra of being free and uninhibited, of being proud and embracing your true self. “I don’t follow any guidelines myself and am not trying to be anything other than who I am,” he unapologetically admits. “We all feel vulnerable sometimes, but we need to realize the things that make us different are the things that are most beautiful.”
That individual beauty is one of the many things to celebrate while getting lost in a dizzying, euphoric dance thanks to Adam Cola. From the stage or stereo, he’s pushing boundaries and sending bodies into sync. Music has been medicine for his own soul, and now, he’s looking to share a dose with anyone in earshot – uninhibited, uncompromising, and unapologetic.
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My name is Veronica Irwin and I am a student, writer, and arts journalist based in the San Francisco Bay Area. I am a current student at UC Berkeley, studying Media Studies and minoring in Music and Journalism.
I have been fortunate enough to write for The Quietus, Hunnypot Unlimited, and The Berkeley B-Side, some samples for which can be found on this website. I have a special interest in urban and rock music, and tend to write about artists' relationship with their communities both politically and creatively.
OK I know this crazy ass song is blowing up right now. Consider Hunnypot officially part of the herd. Doja Cat is based in LA and signed to RCA Records. Now get out my Hey.
Shout out to Schpilkas for the buttery tip.
- John Anderson
Washington-based trendsetting artist Michete cuts you deep with self-reflective lyrics regarding the foibles of relationships. For example who "wrestle(s) with delusion and pretend(s) it's real?" The video begins with a pajama party that somehow recalls the B-52s "Love Shack." The pre-video sketch is quick and to the point and nods to Madonna's Truth or Dare. Michete's new music video for the song "Stupid Girl" is flirty, fun and may even remind you of that 90's classic by the group Garbage. This comparison is not that far afield given that Michete has directed something of a love letter to that era. The video is reminiscent of the surreal music videos for bands like Whale's, "Hobo Slumpin Slobo Babe" and Sonic Youth's "Bull In The Heather."
The look of Michete's video is also reminiscent of the late '90s film Velvet Goldmine and one also can't help but wonder if this too was intentional as there is a definite glam rock vibe here. The players definitely work it as much if not more than Fifth Harmony. Visually that is where the similarities end though as Michete's actual song is more in the line of hip hop with rapped verse and sung bridges. The music video and song itself are both short, sweet and sassy which makes it absolutely ready for clubs if not radio.
-Brooke Trout
Hunnypot Live! isn't the kind to respect you in the morning. We don't exhibit reverence until at least 2pm. Show #397 wasn't gentle for first-timers either. Hot Tub Johnnie starting by paying homage to good music by broadcasting a set of semigogue songs. Rilan sat down for a quickie interview and a preview of his live set. Our guest "DJ" Stephan Pine returned to the water to share his MARVELous tales of his music career and brought a great set of music to share. The Tremolo Beer Gut bloated us with watery riff rock instrumental madness, Rilan delivered a compact stadium pop extravaganza, Miranda Glory sang sultry R&B styles, Mike Martinez Music performed emotional pop music and the night capped off with our world famous dance party. 08/06/2018
STEPHAN PINE (DISNEY/ABC TELEVISION GROUP MUSIC, GUEST INTERVIEW/DJ SET)
Guest DJ Stephan Pine moved out from Ohio a decade ago and is living the LA dream. Working within the ABC Music Dept under the mentor-ship of the great Dawn Solar, Stephan has learned the ins and outs of music supervision, clearance and licensing. And being a guitar player he loves ROCK!
Stephan is supervising several popular Netflix originals from the Marvel universe, Jessica Jones, Daredevil and The Punisher. BIG SHOWS! Come on out for the hang and congratulate Stephan on being an official newlywed!
The Tremolo Beer Gut are from Denmark/Sweden and there touring the US west coast from Seattle to San Diego. A 98% instrumental garage rock/spy surf combo. 5 LPs and a bunch of 45's on the rap sheet. Low maintenance/High performance 4 piece
Formed in a different millennium by Yebo and Sune Wagner from The Raveonettes – later joined by Per Sunding from Eggstone and The Great Nalna (when Sune moved to the states) and Jengo.
Nalna and Yebo has also played with Jon Spencer and Matt Vert - Ray’s Heavy Trash combo, Yebo also with Junior Senior, PowerSolo and Thee Attacks.
All in all a well seasoned and very spicy combo with a lot of garage rock pedigree and a guaranteed hot live show at your party/show/mother’s house.
Twenty one-year-old singer, songwriter, and dancer Rilan is a study in contradiction. The independent artist, who first appeared on the scene with his 2015 EP Chemical, is a charismatic looker who describes himself as a “freak” and a “weirdo.” Because he dressed like an emo kid and wore makeup to his preppy high school in New Orleans, his classmates assumed he was a troublemaker, when he was actually a straight-A student who never disobeyed his parents. He’s a former musical theater kid who loves ’70s glam rock and ’80s synth-pop. He’s chatty and warm in person but insists he has no social life and few friends. “I don't connect with people easily,” he says. “I like to sit back and observe, and report on how I’m feeling through my music.”
Rilan’s songs are an object lesson in not judging someone or something by its appearance. “It drives me crazy,” he says. “It’s probably why I got bullied in high school. I would get in fights with people who made fun of kids for wearing what they wanted. I don't want to be normal. Normal is boring and pointless. I find beauty in mystery and obscurity.”
In Rilan’s music, dark, sad emotions are dressed up in glossy dance-pop packages, like the house-influenced single “Blindfolds,” featuring Naz Tokio, which is about being rejected by someone you love and not being able to let go. On the surface, bouncy electro-pop tune “Not Sorry” appears to be about a one-night stand. “But if you dig deeper the song is really about me and how I deal with the world,” Rilan says. “That I’ve got nothing left to lose by pursuing music and I need to be unapologetic in how I present myself to people. It’s kind of my own personal anthem: I’m not sorry about doing this because I believe in myself. So it’s about not being afraid to be yourself.”
Rilan’s music — which he describes as “a gothic dance party, because it’s fun on the surface, but its heart is black as coal” — is indeed unapologetic. “It comes from this angry, guttural place,” he says, “I'm terrible talking about how I feel, but if you just listen to the lyrics, they’re kind of this empowering vessel that lets me show the world who I am.”
The New Orleans native has been expressing himself through performance since he was a child. Rilan got his start at age five doing theater, then took his first dance class at age 11, going on to study ballet, jazz, tap, and modern dance. “I had all this anxiety built up inside of me and I could channel it into moving my body,” he says. At 14, tired of being told he was “singing it wrong” by musical theater directors, Rilan began writing songs. “They were about running away and breaking social norms,” he says of his earliest compositions. “I wrote about a guy wearing makeup. It was me. I was like, ‘This is my commentary on your society.’ I was thinking about how these preppy kids from my school were getting drunk on the weekends but would come to school looking all country club. I looked like I was going to kill the neighbor's cat and sacrifice him to Satan, when in reality, I came home, did my homework, then went upstairs and played piano for hours. That’s how I escaped from human interaction.”
Growing up in what he describes as a “big, traditional, Italian, Catholic family,” Rilan was the black sheep. “All my older cousins played sports,” he says. “Even the girls in my family were athletic.” His parents were very protective of him, as well as indulgent. “I think because my parents were so happy they finally had a child that they just said, ‘Do whatever you want.’” Rilan says. When Rilan was 10, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and his family was displaced to Houston for six months. “You could go back to the city, but there was no infrastructure,” he says. “The power was out and it was kind of a ghost town. I had never lived anywhere else, so it was very hard. Houston felt sterile, there wasn’t enough weird, creepy stuff everywhere. New Orleans is the most haunted city in the continental U.S., which probably explains why I’m dark as fuck,” he says with a laugh.
With Rilan disconnected from his hometown, music became his closest friend. He gravitated toward gender-bending artists like Prince, Adam Ant, Boy George, Freddie Mercury, and David Bowie. “Bowie’s whole career was like an allegory for how you can see your potential if you are limitless and don’t confine yourself to a box,” Rilan says. He also fell in love with powerful, rule-breaking female artists like Lady Gaga and Madonna, whose songs he would sing while dancing on the coffee table as a kid.
At 14, Rilan began to look for producers in New Orleans to work with, to no avail, so he pursued his dance career, going to conventions and traveling to L.A. to audition. Then two years ago, he hooked up with Grammy-nominated producer/engineer Damien Lewis (Rihanna, Katy Perry, Beyoncé) and the two began writing songs together. One of their first efforts, the twisted love song “Chemical” became Rilan’s debut single. The visually sumptuous video for the title track, directed by Ethan Lader, has racked up more than 2.2 million views on YouTube. “That song set the tone for everything we did after that point,” Rilan says. Rilan moved to Los Angeles in early 2014 and has since worked with such top producers as Dallas Austin (Michael Jackson, Madonna, Lady Gaga) and Justin Warfield (She Wants Revenge, Depeche Mode). He’s also performed multiple shows around the city, and last year, was cast as a Warbler in the final season of Glee.
Despite his many talents, it’s music that remains Rilan’s focus and his vision is crystal clear. “There isn’t this kind of androgynous male artist who's doing something weird and strange but still making tangible pop music,” he says. “I want to do that. And I want it to be very visual. I’m not just going to sit on a stool and strum a guitar. I want to make pop music that is freakshow-esque but done in a tasteful way.” And how does he hope people will feel when they hear his music? “Understood,” he says. “I want to be a voice for people who feel like there’s no one to talk to. I want them to feel lifted up by my music. I want them to know that it’s okay to be weird. I'm gonna wear crazy things and I want everyone to feel comfortable wearing crazy things and expressing themselves in any way that they can.”
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Miranda Glory is an LA based singer/songwriter. A graduate of the Professional Performing Arts School in NYC, whose halls have been graced by the likes Alicia Keys and Britney Spears, Miranda Glory headed to Boston after high school to the prestigious Berklee College of Music, where she earned her degree in early 2016. She scored her first major solo success when she was selected to record a vinyl LP in Valencia, Spain, under Berklee’s label. Miranda continued to write and record, and began to release her music independently online. In late 2016, she was discovered and selected to the exclusive Neverland Songwriting Retreat in Costa Rica, which heralded her arrival as a songwriter. After that, she went bicoastal, ferrying back and forth from New York to Los Angeles to write with established songwriters and producers, including Autumn Rowe (Fifth Harmony, Cher Lloyd), Sheppard Solomon (Enrique Iglesias, Britney Spears), Zac Poor (Tori Kelly, MNEK), David Brook (Eminem, Charlie Puth), The Fliptones (Jason Derulo, Flo Rida), and others.
Last year, Miranda released her debut singles “Blue Eyes feat. Matty Owens” & “Take” on iconic NYC-based label Tommy Boy Entertainment, gaining attention from prominent streaming playlists and blogs. Of the vibey Alt Pop/R&B “Take,” the music blog Gems and Secrets wrote that its “a slow jam that’s perfect for getting yourself in the mood.”
In late 2017, Miranda signed a worldwide deal with Selected/Sony Music Germany & Ultra Music US for her single “Instant Gratification” released on December 15th, while simultaneously co-writing and featuring on RYNX’s single “Want You”, which has amassed over 10 million streams across platforms.
2018 was off to a great start, as Miranda collaborated with established European Artist & DJ Tujamo on the single “Body Language (feat. Miranda Glory & Haris)” released on Spinnin’ Records in March, which can be heard all over clubs worldwide. Next came a collaboration with one of the world’s top DJ’s, R3HAB, & Noah Neiman for the single “We Do (feat. Miranda Glory)” which debuted on 25 of Spotify’s New Music Fridays worldwide, released in April. Most recently, Miranda released her single "Stain" with Colin Chase & Gill Chang on KnightVision Records.
Miranda continues to write & record in the studio and is currently gearing up to release her next single “Hypochondriac” July 20th, as well as an EP set to release later this year.
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Equal parts heartbreaker and nose-breaker, Madge is an LA-based DIY punch-pop producer striving to crush the industry's gatekeeper culture and boys' clubs. Her new track, "Alice," is electric, eclectic, and alluring and now she's got a self directed video to go with it. Madge is also featured on the hit Kaskade single "FUN". Big things are predicted.
How can we get our hands on some of that Martian lake water to fill our bongs? Oh sorry, this is supposed to be about show #396. We just filled our bongs with LA tap water on this night. Hot Tub started the show with a flowing river of mellifluous melodies. Jackie Subeck took us through her music career beginnings through the wormhole to her work as a Marijuana rights lobbyist and educator and she brought a cool set of music that tells her story. Jackie also brought out White Buffalo and Mary Jane University for a sampling session in our "Green Room" to display and educate our guests on some cool Marijuana products and services.
LA Femme Pop helped us curate the night of live music and they shot the moon and then some.
Serena Foster blasted us off with pop music pomp, Marygold was a diamond of delicious music and dancing, Ralphy returned to rock and stage roll with choruses and choreography (and costume changes!) and Robin Taylor hip checkered us with hop and pop and special guests.
If that wasn't enough our world famous dance party with DJ Hot Tub capped the night late.
Photos and Recap by J. Gray 07/23/2018
Jackie Subeck, a dynamic and strategically-minded entrepreneur, is Chief Executive Officer and founder of Hey Jackpot, LLC, a lifestyle cannabis brand focusing on business consulting, live events and advocacy. Up until early 2017, she also served as Vice Chair of Women Grow Los Angeles for nearly two years, developing and producing one of the most successful cannabis business networking events in the LA area, now rebranded as Connecting Cannabis. Prior to engaging in the cannabis industry, Jackie spent her time as founder and CEO of Footprint Worldwide, a China-centric entertainment marketing, branding, and production company based in Los Angeles and Beijing. With achievements spanning across the globe including 30 years in the music industry and 13 years in China, Jackie most recently served as Music and Post Production consultant to DreamWorks Animation in Shanghai. Throughout her career, she has produced hundreds of projects and combined forces with high profile talent including Madonna, Linkin Park, Quincy Jones, and eight time Grammy winners, The Manhattan Transfer.
In early 2015, Jackie made a pivotal life decision that her experience, passion and years of startups and business knowledge would be far better served in the nascent cannabis industry. Coming into the marijuana field as an outsider provided Jackie the unique opportunity to enjoy fresh and untainted perspectives, to think differently, and to design, develop and execute new models to service the entire global cannabis space. The launch of Hey Jackpot! is her first startup in the cannabis business.
Jackie is a member of NCIA, the National Cannabis Industry Association, The Los Angeles Cannabis Task Force and the Drug Policy Alliance and sits on the Governing Affairs Committee for the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. She worked on the Adult Use of Marijuana Act/Prop 64 campaign to legalize cannabis in California and continues her advocacy by working closely with the State’s cannabis bureau on licensing and regulations as well as locally with cities including West Hollywood and Beverly Hills to help create fair, equitable and inclusive cannabis policy for everyone.
Jackie was educated at University of California Santa Barbara and regularly volunteers her time to advocacy, education, policy, and philanthropic organizations spanning from entertainment to cannabis.
Serena Foster is a upcoming new artist from Los Angeles. She started singing at age five, began writing songs on guitar at age nine, and then writing songs on piano at age sixteen. She was born and raised in a musical family in sunny California.
Some singles Serena has put out so far include her Spotify hit "Hollow", as well as her other singles "Show Me The Way", "Flat Line Love", and now “Eruption” which is her latest single.
Serena recently finished a bunch of singles, which she will bee releasing later this year, with the very talented producer Raz Klinghoffer, whose work can be heard on television shows such as "American Horror Story," Ink Master" and "The Flash."
Serena also worked with J2 Producer, who has produced and remixed songs for artists such as Beyonce, Shakira, LL Cool J, The Pussy Cat Dolls, and Cassie. They made a epic movie trailer cover of "Come Sail Away" which came out last year.
Serena has teamed with Fenton Music Management as her new representation and could not be happier to be represented by Rob Fenton.
Currently you can find her performing all over LA, so be sure to keep close eyes on her social media to find out when her next show is!
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Los Angeles singer-songwriter, Marygold, has been performing for over 10 years; and is known for her use of dramatic and 80's pop influences. She recently released her single titled Goldmine with producer Zak Lloyd (Leona Lewis, Keane), and is currently preparing an EP.
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There must be something in the water ‘Down Under’ because we have another amazing Aussie making huge waves over in the U.S. After the success of her single release ‘LOVER,’ the LA based independent pop sensation RALPHY is once again receiving an overwhelming response to her new EP ‘PEACE LOVER.’ Ralphy will be releasing her song "Hesitate" on the day of the event, July 23.
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Cutting-edge urban pop artist Robin Taylor is turning heads; and volume dials up. Catchy pop melodies ride hip hop beats sung by a powerhouse vocal with R&B flavor. With years of performing around the NYC club scene, Robin brings her energetic edgy vibe to the west coast. Already two new releases this year, and more new singles set for release throughout summer, there's no stopping her, cuz it's 'time 2 ride'.
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Attention Marijuana enthusiasts: Hey! Jackpot and Hunnypot are again teaming up to bring you a very special private Cannabis tasting event.
Selected Cannabis distributors and merchandisers will be showing off their current and upcoming products. This Tasting Session is co-sponsored by the fine folks at White Buffalo,
Our event is located in the Green Room directly behind The Mint and corresponds with our Hunnypot La Femme Pop event. Their will be surprises and give-aways throughout the night, bring a friend!
+21, 7-11PM
Green Room (behind The Mint)
6010 W. Pico Blvd.
LA, CA 90035
This one takes loving ones gear to a whole new level. Wild & Free - "Trippin On You", Hunnypot Approved!
Trippin On You is a love letter to the 303, which is one of our favorite synthesizers. After writing the song, we knew we wanted to make a taboo music video about the relationship between a person and a synthesizer. Our director Kelly Reed took it even further, creating a surreal world where someone could date a synth—meeting on the street, going on a picnic, and even getting into a steamy love scene… This video is meant to poke fun at the playful intimacy between an artist and their instrument.
- Wild & Free
Girls, Girlboys and Ghosts just want to have "FUN" with Kaskade, Brohug, Mr. Tape & Madge, and Hunnypot is in on the fun with them and down to share the party goodness. Now kick up those feet, Lets have some fun!
-Robyn Dee
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Listening and watching a Hunnypot Live broadcast is a Scary Home Companion but if you are there it's even more frightening.
Show #395 was scary good. Hot Tub started the night and put beats to the outside heat, Maura Duval floated in to talk about her work and history in music, Stoll Vaughan joined us for a quick interview and an beautifully tender solo set, Colin Magalong got everyone dancing to disco rock music, Ali Stone did a pop up DJ set, The Songery broke hearts and got us to dance along and the night finished off with Hot Tub's famous party music. 07/09/2018
Maura Duval is currently the Creative Director, Pop/Rock in ASCAP’s LA office. She has been with ASCAP for three years and began as a Associate Director, getting promoted to Director after two years. Maura’s primary focus at ASCAP is finding creative opportunities for ASCAP’s many writers, producers and artists that operate in the Pop and Rock space. She also collaborates creatively with the LA industry, including managers, A&Rs, attorneys and also helps host many of ASCAP’s events in the LA region. Prior to ASCAP, Maura worked for Michael Lynton (CEO, Sony Entertainment) and also spent a couple years as a day-to-day artist manger and tour manager at a company called SQE Music. Maura has a Bachelor’s of Science in Music from CU Denver as well as a decade plus of classical violin training.
If Stoll Vaughan sounds familiar -- his music, if not the name – it might be because the Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter’s efforts have been heard, but not necessarily identified, on major motion picture and network TV series soundtracks like True Blood, Shameless, Friday Night Lights and The Office.
Stoll’s intriguing new album, The Conversation, comes out independently via the Commonwealth Artist label on June 29 and is likely to, at last, identify the artist with the music he’s been creating for quite some time. It’s not as if Stoll has been completely anonymous in light of the fact that he’s toured with such top and varied artists as John Mellencamp, Marty Stuart, Def Leppard, John Fogerty, Journey, Don Williams and James McMurtry.
At the start of his recording career, he released two albums (Hold on Thru Sleep and Dreams and Love Like a Mule) that were produced by Mike Wanchic, Mellencamp’s co-producer and longtime guitarist. Both, in fact, hit the Top 10 on the Americana chart. Thereafter, he composed the music for David Lynch’s Webby Award-winning 2009 Internet documentary series Interview Project, directed by Austin Lynch— son of David Lynch and Stoll’s best friend since school. The younger Lynch has now directed evocative L.A.-centric videos of acoustic performances by Stoll of five of the 13 songs on The Conversation.
The album itself was half-produced by Wanchic at Mellencamp’s Belmont Mall studio near Bloomington, Indiana, with backing musicians including Mike’s Mellencamp bandmates Andy York on guitar, drummer Dane Clark and keyboardist Troye Kinnett. The other half was produced in Nashville by Stoll’s pal Carl Broemel—guitarist for My Morning Jacket—with that band’s bassist Tom Blankenship among the session players.
Stoll counts such legendary singer-songwriters as Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, James McMurtry, and Bob Dylan among his influences, as well as eclectic Nashville contemporary country music greats Marty Stuart and Greg Garing.
His experience is even more wide-ranging than those names might seem to indicate; he also starred in the 1990s Indiana hardcore punk band Chamberlain, after which he worked with Wanchic at Echo Park Studios in Bloomington where Broemel, incidentally, played in the rock band Old Pike.
But Stoll, who hails from Lexington, Kentucky, and has been honored by his home state with the esteemed Kentucky Colonel award for public service, had been living in Nashville—and became embedded in its Americana scene—prior to hitting the road as opening act for co-headliners Def Leppard and Journey in 2006 and 2007.
“I’d been doing a lot of touring—also including a Mellencamp- Fogerty tour—and had lived in New York for a second before the Def Leppard/Journey tour came about,” Stoll recalls. “I was the ‘fluffer,’ taking the stage before those household names came on. Even though I was a solo acoustic guy, I enjoyed the experience quite a bit. I wrote some songs with [Journey’s] Jonathan Cain--and sometimes the band would come out and play with me. So it was really positive.”
Stoll, who had also founded his own music publishing and artist development companies, came to L.A. to write and produce an album for the wife of Rick Allen, Def Leppard’s drummer.
“I moved from Nashville to Los Angeles in 2008—when everyone else was making their exodus from L.A. to Nashville!” says Stoll, who immediately went to work on his own, meeting with music supervisors and landing TV show song placements when they needed country/Americana music. Several of them now appear on The Conversation and include “Further Down the Line” (The Open Road), “Meet You in the Middle” (The Office finale).
“I’d started my artist development company in LA, built a studio and found some artists and was working on developing them,” Stoll says. “But when it was time for me to get back to the process of writing songs for myself, I didn’t really know what to say, and thought maybe I should reconsider everything: I’d been in music, but it wasn’t about the music, if you know what I mean. Being out there hustling and having to raise money, I’d kind of left myself far behind doing things I wasn’t good at. It was so painful that I started going to a therapist— and brought my guitar!”
Luckily, this returned him to his songwriting strength, and his confidence returned with it.
“Forgiveness’ really was a strong song for me in getting back into the groove, and songs started coming to me as I trusted the process again, as I had before I went off on those tangents. It became all about forgiveness, hope and love.”
The album’s title, Stoll says, signifies “being in a continual conversation regarding people, God, and the fears we carry around—and how music interplays with everything emotionally and spiritually. But it’s really me trying to listen, and then relying on trusted friends to help me put down what I heard.”
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Colin Magalong emerges as an artist with a refreshing vocal range and infectious melodies. Magalong grew up on the San Francisco peninsula where he was heavily influenced by artists such as BreakBot, Michael Jackson and Kid Cudi. He studied at the Colorado University of Denver and has since moved to Los Angeles where he currently resides. Having spent the last year writing his debut EP with a small pool of collaborators- as well as writing for other artists on their projects - Magalong is ready to bust out in 2018. With 90’s inspired hooks and nu-disco grooves, Magalong ’s debut EP is set to be the new soundtrack of your weekend.
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Electronic music isn’t the realm of many women in Latin America. Colombian producer, multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, and DJ Ali Stone is starting to make waves with her music, and she’s managed to craft impressive works along the way, making movie soundtracks, remixes for top artists such as Katy Perry and Camila Cabello, playing festivals like EDC and most recently being one of the opening acts for Justin Bieber’s Purpose World Tour. Stone, a classically trained musician, was also featured on the international campaign project “Empowering Women”, which promotes gender equality on male-dominated jobs.
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Writing songs that deal with every color and nuance of life, The Songery aims to push mental boundaries through genre-bending pop and theatrics. The concepts, ideas, and messages behind the songs are more important than the songs themselves and every move, every sound, every visual is developed with care and intent in a final attempt to peel back the mask that humanity can so easily wear.
When asked why one person would decide to call herself “The Songery” she replies, “The Songery is more than a persona. It is a call to arms, a spearhead signaling for spiritual awakening, symbolic of an ideology that the world seems to be lacking severely and yet constantly surrounds us. For this reason, my project is grounded in story-line, integrity, concept, and character. I feel very secondary- as if I am the one driving the car, and it’s my car… but I am not the car. The Songery is a name I feel very intertwined with, I feel it so perfectly encapsulates the whimsical world I strive to show people. I’m not quite there yet. I’m still developing, completely on my own, so it is a process… but I’ll get there.”
-I also feel the name gives me freedom to play with all these abstracts and to adopt such a wide range of tones and subject matter. Some very light, some very dark, ranging substantially in color yet all unified within this world. I have been writing songs and performing since I was a little girl, and never really had the belief that I could or should be trying to make a career out of it… until The Songery came along. It sparked a purpose within me. I believe in The Songery with such passion that I want to keep fighting until I see it realized. The Songery comes with power to me. It is more than me. It is bigger than me. If I forfeited the name, the music would not feel the same. Nothing would feel the same. It would not be the same.
The Songery loves Jonsi, Sigur Ros, Regina Spektor, Danny Elfman, Queen, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, Beethoven, all the random hits of the 80s, and pretty much any film score.
Chaka Khan drops her candidate for Song Of The Summer, Taste "Like Sugar" and be prepared to bust out your funkiest dance moves.