Jersey Girl Lauren Ianuzzi likes to play with matches and start fires. Good news! She can take the heat. Lauren’s songwriting and unique vocal style reveal what she and most girls think about relationships and boys, but not rarely ever say. With tight clothes, flashy earrings and curls for days, Ianuzzi’s spontaneous and sexy personality match her soul and funk driven music. We recently caught up with this Jersey hot tamale for some Q&A…
Q. You’ve got a great list of influential musicians including James Brown, Marvin Gaye and Nina Simone. How did you come to know these artists?
When it comes to music (and, really, any form of entertainment), I am a sponge! Every book I read, every movie I see, every music review chock-full of references and footnotes — I take it all in, then I go back and find or look up whatever interests me. Also, my mom listened to a lot of vintage soul, funk, and disco when I was little. Whenever we were in the car, she’d tell me about each artist that came on, and which of their songs were her favorites or made her think of a memory from when she was growing up. I never forgot any of it! So before I found more aggressive, more explicit material like Prince and Lauryn Hill, I already had this background of the classics to help me understand where it all came from.
Q. Was there an exact moment that you realized “Yep. Music. This is what I want to do” ?
I was born knowing that! But when I was 3, at my first dance recital, I felt that performance rush for the first time. We were dancing to “Broadway Baby,” and I was just singing my heart out, with my mouth wide open. I didn’t even know what the lyrics meant! All the other girls were out to lunch, picking their wedgies and drooling. I, on the other hand, was in Divaland, jumping around the stage and nailing all the steps. It was love at first spotlight.
Q. Is there a memorable show you’ve played that stands out in your mind?
The Cutting Room show this March was my first one with a band, as a frontwoman; that was a total music-gasm! But the “show” closest to my heart was an open mic during Freshman Orientation Week in college. I played and sang “I’ll Cover You (Reprise)” from the musical RENT, and all these cool upperclassmen came up to me afterwards. At 17, I was really shy socially, so I was happy that my performing made it easier to approach and be approached.
Q. Tell me about the musical that you produced and directed
Looking back, it was truly bizarre. It was about the awkwardness of middle school, but it had all these other weird plot twists: a British rat that talked, an emo kid, a geek in disguise as a promiscuous exchange student. There was a slow-jam called “7 Minutes In Heaven,” a big tap number called “Who Cares, She’s Hot”…ridiculous parody stuff. I wrote all the music, orchestrated it, and played piano in the pit. My friend and I co-wrote the script, co-directed, basically did everything ourselves…at night we’d be writing these monologues and sight-gags, laughing our asses off while everyone else was studying. Our school gave us $7,000 dollars and we debuted it on the mainstage, completely student-produced. Honestly, it was the most fun I’ve had doing anything, ever!
Q. You’ve had a chance to work with some great song writers. How did you benefit from those experiences?
Each writer I worked with taught me invaluable lessons about songwriting. They’d always call me out if I was taking an idea–lyrical or musical–too far, or not far enough. At the same time, they never tried to get rid of what is specifically Lauren about each song. Also, they’d bring this music-industry sensibility and experience — sometimes 3 simple chords, if you play them a certain way, can change the world. I still feel like I have so much to learn! I’d love to work with more writers.
Q. Are there any artists you’re dying to work with?
Who am I NOT dying to work with?! Where should I start… Marc Broussard. Van Hunt. Grace Potter. Lettuce. Javier. Beth Ditto. Jason Mraz. I love the new lead singer of Bomb Squad, but I’d pretty much do anything to front that band for one night. In my wildest dreams: Prince, The Rolling Stones, Christina Aguilera, John Mayer! A girl can fantasize, can’t she?
Q. What have you been listening to and digging lately?
I like to mix it up and listen to a big mush of every genre, and revisit old stuff to freshen it in my mind. I’m loving Busta Rhymes’ single “Don’t Touch Me (Throw The Water On ‘Em),” but it’s almost summer so I’m blasting my Van Halen and my early Incubus in the car, too. That new soul artist Estelle is very cool, and I just saw Les Nubians live for the first time, which I loved. As for records that are coming out, I’m psyched to get Tristan Prettyman’s new one, Kid Sister’s first one, and I think Katy Perry is gonna put out something really raunchy and fun.
Q. Any plans to tour and do more live shows in the future?
Of course! I’m planning some things for this summer, mostly local shows around NJ and NY. When I stop performing live, I get bummed; I’d rather be doing that than anything else!
Q. Where can people go to learn more about your music and what you’re up to?
Check out my website, www.laurenianuzzi.com , and my MySpace, www.myspace.com/laurenimusic . I’ve also got a couple live clips on YouTube. Soon I’ll have a blog section up on my website, so keep your eyes peeled; I have a lot to say!
Q. Besides music, what other interests occupy your time?
I’m big into crafts. I love painting ceramic pots, making pins, sticking sequins and glittery stuff onto cheap t-shirts…this is weird, but I do coloring books to help me relax. I used to be an arts’n'crafts girl at a kids’ summer camp, and sometimes it’d be like “Hey Lauren, stop Puffy Painting that foam doorhanger and get the paper clip outta this kid’s nose.” My other hobbies involve pop culture “research” (books, mags, movies, museums, concerts), hanging out in NJ (long highway drives, diners, running into grade school friends at the bar), and girly non-contact sports (dancing, hiking, bike trails).
LISTEN TO LAUREN FOR YOURSELF:
LAUREN IANUZZI - “A Funk I Won’t Forget”: http://vista.streamguys.com/jspiewak/lauren_funk.wma
LAUREN IANUZZI - “Strawberry Poison”: http://vista.streamguys.com/jspiewak/lauren_strawberry.wma
LAUREN IANUZZI - “Go-To Girl”: http://vista.streamguys.com/jspiewak/lauren_girl.wma
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WatchMojo NewsletterThis was New Years Eve 2004… They start off with a nice tune called “We’re going to be Friends” and then they do the countdown to New Years and launch into “Seven Nation Army”… the place goes mental. This is what I want to do for the next New Years Eve:
Globetrotting guitarist Yoav stands at a very unique crossroads: where the tantalizing pop hooks of mainstream mainstays and the unabashedly artistic aesthetics of underground rock music intersect. Drawing both from a varied musical history – the classical music of his parents, the pop of his youth – and a rich personal history – Yoav was born in Isreal, grew up in South Africa, lived in Canada and the US – his music is the very definition of eclectic. Pulsing with the energy of electronic, the bulky beats of hip hop, and the earnest simplicity of singer-songwriter fare, this youngster’s latest, Charmed & Strange, has won over critics in every corner of the globe, a universal acceptance befitting of such a nomadic artist. Listening to “Club Thing ,” with its cascading guitars and plaintive melody, it’s easy to see what has the world so bewitched:
>MP3 “Club Thing”
“One man melting pot of Timbaland, Pharell Williams & Led Zeppelin” - The Guardian
“Deliciously dark” - Daily Star
Throughout the summer Yoav will be taking his guitar on the road for a massive worldwide tour, with stops in Denmark, Russia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and more. Loaded down with festival dates, the itinerary begins tonight and doesn’t wind down until September. Plenty of chances to catch this virtuosic newcomer in action.
05-27 Theatre Petit Champlain - Quebec City, Quebec
05-28 Live Lounge - Ottawa
05-29 The Mod Club - Toronto
06-05 Voxhall - Aarhus
06-06 Vega - Copenhagen
06-13 B2 Club - Moscow
06-29 Croissant Neuf Stage @ Glastonbury Festival - Pilton
07-02 Montreal Jazz Festival - Montreal, Quebec
07-03 Montreal Jazz Festival - Montreal, Quebec
07-04 Montreal Jazz Festival - Montreal, Quebec
07-05 Montreal Jazz Festival - Montreal, Quebec
07-13 Les Ardentes Electro Rock Festival Liege
07-15 Fibbers - York
07-16 The Cellars - Portsmouth
07-17 The Cooler - Bristol
07-19 Camp Bestival - Dorset
07-21 Chapel Of The House Of St Barnabas - London
07-22 The Bodega Social - Nottingham
07-23 Crawdaddy - Dublin
07-24 Sugarmill - Stoke on Trent
08-03 Big Weekend - Cardiff
08-08 Ripcurl Boardmasters Unleashed Festival - Newquay
08-10 Beatday 08 Festival - Copenhagen
09-06 Bestival - Isle Of Wight
Check out the links below for more info:
In August 5, 2008, STM Records artist, ism, will be releasing their new album titled Urgency. ism’s sophomore album, produced by Joe Blaney (The Clash, Tom Waits, Prince), builds on the solid foundation of 2006’s critically acclaimed Monkey Underneath. Check out the new single below:
Audio stream of the first single, “Sacred Cows”:
A lot of “isms” threaten to tear modern society apart at the seams: sexism, racism, extremism, radicalism, terrorism and more. In such an era of decay (moral, societal and otherwise), perhaps an apocalypse wouldn’t be such a bad idea – at least that’s how Andre Mistier sees it. The charismatic lead singer and songwriter for the New York-based quartet ism describes his band’s potent blend of rock and electronica as “music for the party at the end of the world.” After all, not all “isms” are bad: Altruism, activism and heroism could help make the next world a better place, and there’s no reason we can’t start practicing them right now.
Urgency, ism’s sophomore album on STM Records, poses unflinching questions about the human condition in songs equally as bold in construction. Smart, melodic and hypnotic, Urgency builds on the solid foundation of 2006’s critically acclaimed Monkey Underneath with 14 tracks produced by Joe Blaney (The Clash, Tom Waits, Prince).
Along with Mistier on guitar, ism’s other skilled members are the passionate Mike Higgins on drums, fret master Gerard Toriello on lead guitar, and effects wizard Leigh Battle on bass. Behind the scenes, legendary A&R guru Michael Caplan served as patriarch of the project, assembling an impressive production team that shaped the final recording.
On the road supporting Monkey Underneath, band members began to flip the script, taking their focus away from standard musical sensibilities. An industrial rumble and a resonant electronic soundscape gradually became the base of their live sets, with the more organic instruments (guitar, bass, drums) better integrated into the mix. That sensibility – and the many new songs that were honed on tour – became key as ism re-entered the studio for Urgency.
Mistier isn’t shy about kudos for his bandmates, who use his lyrics and basic song structures as jumping-off points for their own abilities. He credits Battle’s unique technique with much of Urgency’s atmosphere: “Leigh puts a bunch of different guitar-pedal effects on the bass, but then also does things where he can mute the bass signal itself, so you just hear the effects. They resonate differently on a bass than they do on guitars, so it ends up sounding like a lot of weird keyboard sounds.” Behind the drum kit, Higgins is the “heart” of ism, “a very powerful performer – the kind of drummer who stands up in the middle of things and sings along.” And Toriello, a not-so-secret ‘80s metalhead, proves time and again to be “a craftsman of the guitar – he has a great feel for taking an idea for a guitar line and making it go much further than it has before, to a place I never would have thought of.”
Put them together in the same studio, and Urgency practically crackles with energy. After the UFO-like takeoff “0:32” – one of the album’s three instrumental pieces – “Urgency” the title song has Toriello front and center, throwing out U2-like riffs. In a voice that mixes both dread and redemption, Mistier calls down the end of days: “If you wondered what you’re made of / Now’s the time to see / Bring on Apocalypse / And we will feel alive today / If we were standing on the edge / We just might find that we believe.”
“Give It Back” is a forceful, foot-stomping plea to reclaim the present, framed by a prisoner of the past and future who longs for escape. In “Animadversion,” club beats and eerie effects drive a fuzzed-out examination of how those without self-awareness (including a certain Oval Office occupant) are dragging us all down. ism dips into Radiohead territory with the simmering ballad “Fly,” which asks why society isn’t doing its job to uplift us. “Sacred Cows,” a call to arms for those stuck in autopilot, churns and roils over Higgins’s rock-steady drumming until it reaches a chaotic, all-in catharsis of noise. “The Only One,” its arrangement echoing Downward Spiral-era Nine Inch Nails, is about making connections when we are all truly alone inside our own heads. The album wraps up on a different note with “Resistance Lullaby”: A string section gives a quieter, lusher sound as it ponders the “real world” after college and urges young people to stay true to themselves.
Urgency’s themes of isolation, yearning and rising above ourselves are woven throughout the album– it’s a cohesive vision that you just can’t get from a single-song download on iTunes. That ism can wrap its philosophical musings around songs that can stick in your head and can make you dance … well, that’s versatility… dexterity. Not “isms” but in this case, we’ll make an exception.
ism’s Official MySpace page:
and Youtube page:
The wait is over! Usher’s long-awaited and highest anticipated album of 2008, HERE I STAND, hits shelves today. This is another musical masterpiece and soon to be classic album from the R&B Superstar!
Link to Contest Page: http://www.youtube.com/group/UsherLoversinthisclu
Las Vegas singer Daniel Lowery has written a new anthem for the American troops. Full of patriotism, pride, and passion, this emotional and touching tribute salutes American troops and urges Americans everywhere to be thankful for the freedoms our country grants us. See below for assets to share on Watch Mojo, including audio and video streams, and an interview with Daniel.
“I’m An American” audio stream:
http://www.timbojamrecords.com/mp3/american.mp3
Patriotism in song usually emanates from country & western singers. Patriotism, pride and passion are felt, but seldom verbalized, by African-Americans. “I’m An American,” an emotive and timely new ode to American troops, touchingly delivered by established Las Vegas crooner Daniel Lowery, who is African-American, was released nationwide on May 5th.
The song, written by Lowery, Miami producer/songwriter Hal S. Batt and Nashville songwriter Jennifer Constantine, is an uplifting tribute to American troops and a reminder to the American people of the precious freedoms that we sometimes take for granted. “I want this song to be an anthem,” says Lowery. “I want to send the message that we need to come together as a country and be as one and change the way things are going on here.”
Producer Batt, who has worked with an array of superstars, including Julio Iglesias, Shakira, Sandi Patty, Jean Carne, and Regina Belle, agrees. “The reason for this song is to give people hope. It’s because they’re doing their job that I’m able to do my job here. I feel indebted to do a song that’s going to make them smile.”
A poignant, touching video accompanies the release of the single. “I’m An American,” the first single from Lowery’s upcoming self-titled Timbo/Jam Records CD, is available at CDBaby.com, itunes and www.timbojamrecords.com.
Lowery is an established Las Vegas singer, having shared the stage with everyone from Bill Cosby to Gladys Knight. Originally performing under the moniker of Jamariah (Swahili for “dream chaser”), he built up a substantial following. One of the few African-American singers with his own Vegas act, he has performed at the Monte Carlo Hotel for nearly four years.
“I’m An American” is the right song for these days and times, lending a human aspect to the current status for thousands of our courageous military men and women. Those honorable troops are our family members and this song gives a voice to them. Now more than ever, Americans are strong and looking toward a brighter tomorrow for everyone.
Daniel Lowery’s heartfelt “I’m An American” beautifully demonstrates that a Black man in America can have an anthem too!
Check out Nina B and Lil Mama holding it down for female emcees on The Roundtable from RockMeTV.com:
www.myspace.com/ninabmusic
The Icon: Madonna Tribute Mash-Up w/ Nina B
The Icon Tracklisting
1) Intro
2) Candy Shop
3) Material Girl
4) Into The Groove
5) New York
6) Come Together
7) Rap Star
Dress You Up
9) Lucky Star
10) Hollywood
11) Frozen
12) Hey You
13) Bad Girl
14) Outro
15) Bonus: 4 Minutes
About Nina B
Nina B is a native New Yorker who was born in the Bronx and raised in Brooklyn, two of hip-hop’s breeding grounds. Hip-hop is her genre, and every rhyme she writes brings her one step closer to carving what will soon become her legacy in the history of the music game. At the tender age of six, Nina recorded her first rhyme on her playschool recorder. By age 9, she had written enough to have a catalog of poetry and music, which would soon pave the path to her becoming one of hip-hop’s most promising female artist. As a young girl, Nina experienced the harsh reality of the streets and the trials and tribulations life had to offer. This attributes to the realness in the rhymes that she writes and her strength to overcome adversity.
Nina spent her teenage years writing and educating herself on the ins and outs of the music industry. By age 16, Nina was offered a major record deal, which she professionally declined. By nineteen, NINA B was an active participant in Russell Simmons/Bruce Willis Art Start and Hip-Hop Project, where she met Amber Ravenel, CEO of Ravenel Records. In 2003, Nina B signed with Ravenel Records, becoming the first female artist on their roster. Since then, Nina has released six mix-tapes, did a barrage of live performances at venues throughout the New York/Tri-State area, has been featured on some of hip-hop’s most notable sites, and publications.
As a female artist signed to an independent label run by a woman, Nina B and Amber Ravenel have broken down barriers in what has always been considered a male dominated industry. Nina’s song ‘Can’t Stop” has been pick of the week on Hot 97’s morning show with Miss Jones and DJ Envy. She has made four appearances on Rap City, a record for an independent female artist. She has also been highlighted on The Drhama Hour with DJ Kayslay and his Sirius Satellite Radio Show, Cipher Sounds “Don’t Quit Your Day Job” Show, and “On The Spot” with DJ Green Lantern. These are all huge accomplishments for an artist not signed to a major record deal, being represented by an independent label. Combine Nina B’s consistency, diligent work ethics, and lyrical flow, with the misfortunes of her past serving as her strength for her future, and you have a female artist whose future and success has no limits.
Dubcnn had the great opportunity to sit down with Mr. X to the Z for an in-depth 3-Part interview we like to call ” The Life & Times Of Xzibit”. In Part 1, we discuss his childhood, why he became a rapper, how he hooked up with the Likwit Crew, the L.A. scene of the early 90’s and what it was like when he came out with ” Paparazzi”.
We then talk about 2Pac, Xzibit’s path until he met Dr. Dre, the experience of being on the Up In Smoke tour, the ” Restless” album and the dominance of the West Coast during that peiod in time. Read or listen to this exclusive interview below:
The Life And Times Of Xzibit - The Dubcnn Interview (Part 1) (May ‘08)
Be on the look out for Part 2 of this interview, where we talk about Snoop Dogg’s beef with X, his career after Restless, “Pimp My Ride”, forming and leaving Strong Arm Steady and much more.
Before we go, we also have a brand new Xzibit track for ya’ll, off the upcoming ” X-Files 2: I Want To Believe”. The track is called ” Dying 2 Live” and is off the hook, check it out below:
Xzibit - Dying 2 Live
Check out the official video for Anthony David’s hypnotic single, Words feat. India.Arie. Anthony David’s upcoming album, Acey Duecy hits stores June 17th.
Brand New Video From Anthony David: Words Feat. India.Arie:
PLAY
