Checking in with Rachael Yamagata and Lenka on the Hotel Cafe Tour, and Enter to Win a CD! - Page 4

Her MySpace blog take on the tour: “These girls I'm playing with are so talented. ... I feel like I have to step up my game to be in a league with them. Ha ha...”

Thao Nguyen Born in Virginia, Nguyen can strum a guitar with a toothbrush or a Sharpie pen, play bluegrass on the banjo and has a knack for beat-boxing and humming at the same time, according to her record label, the female-run Kill Rock Stars, which released We Brave Bee Stings And All on January 29, 2008.

Her MySpace blog take on the tour: “The bunks on the bus are like cubicle coffins and when you go to sleep you could very well not wake up ’til 2 pm the next day.”

Kate Havnevik Born in Norway and based in London, her debut album, Melankton, was released in the U.S. on March 27, 2007. She plays numerous instruments, including piano, guitar and the melodica, and has been compared with Imogen Heap. In fact, Heap, the quirky British synth-pop singer-songwriter, praised Havnevik in an article in The New York Times, saying: “She’s very musical and beautiful to look at. A couple of songs on Melankton take my breath away. ‘Unlike Me’ has this lush arrangement, beautiful melody, lots of depth musically and very orchestral palettes. The songs are traditionally structured, but because of their instrumentation it doesn’t feel like your average meat-and-two-veg song.”

Her MySpace blog take on the tour: "I am planning a bit for the tour in November and I was thinking of my set list. I tend to play some of the same songs live. I usually pick certain songs that will vary my set. ... But I am wondering.... if you are coming to see me play live soon (or even if you are on a different continent) what songs would you wanna hear?”

Emily Wells With a voice that has been described anywhere from angelic, playful, fragile, seductive to just plain strange, this classically trained artist, who grew up in a musical household in Indianapolis, learned to play the violin by age 4, fell in love with rock ‘n’ roll as a teenager, then walked away from a lucrative recording deal. She moved from New York to Los Angeles to make music with a true indie spirit. The Symphonies: Dreams Memories & Parties, a challenging but enchanting CD released in July 2008, is filled with “pop songs with a lot of classical influence,” she told Nic Harcourt on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic. “I do tons and tons of layers and layers of violin; I like to call it live sampling.”

Article Author: Michael Bialas

A newspaper editor and former college football player, Michael Bialas makes sports his business but exploring and reviewing music, movies, TV and other forms of pop culture are among the games he enjoys playing now.
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