Chris Nixon
March 6, 2008
For the Union-Tribune
Defections from the San Diego music scene are almost a cliché: an artist grows up in the local scene, reaches a plateau and then wanders to greener pastures for a larger slice of the music industry pie.
While technology has made recording and distribution easier from our town tucked in the corner of the country, sometimes musicians need to sit in record label offices or lay down tracks in a bigger studio.
For Greg Laswell, his recent move to Los Angeles is more a matter of temporary convenience than a formal emigration: “I think the stage I'm at, there isn't a limit, careerwise, to living in San Diego. It's just easier timewise and travelwise. Once a few more things are in place, I'd like to move back (to San Diego) permanently. I don't think there's a limit built-in. For me, the commute to L.A. three or four times a week takes three or four hours each time. It's just a bit much.”
Before cutting his commute to mere minutes, Laswell served a short tenure (a couple of years) as San Diego's unofficial media darling.
DETAILS
Hotel Cafe Tour with Ingrid Michaelson, Cary Brothers, Greg Laswell, Kate Havnevik, Jessie Baylin, Jim Bianco
When: 7 tonight
Where: Belly Up Tavern, 143 S. Cedros Ave., Solana Beach
Tickets: Sold out
Phone: (858) 481-8140
Online: bellyup.com
His first recording, “Good Movie,” won a 2004 San Diego Music Award for Best Local Recording. His excellent 2006 release, “Through Toledo,” was nominated for Album of the Year in 2007, and the single “Sing Theresa Says” won Song of the Year. Not to mention airplay on local radio stations and buzz in local publications, including Night&Day.
Local interest led to regional interest, as Laswell signed to Vanguard Records along with a publishing deal with Sony. Now, it appears regional interest is leading to national interest.
His deadpan, beautiful songwriting and textured compositions are gaining notice beyond the confines of Southern California. Laswell's upcoming EP, “How the Day Sounds” (due out Tuesday on Vanguard), will serve as a precursor to a new full-length album with a release date in July.
“I feel like, with this next record, it's his time,” said musician Cary Brothers of friend and fellow Hotel Cafe tour-mate Laswell. “He's earned it. He's already done what he's done in San Diego and he's getting a lot of great attention in Los Angeles. I feel like with this next record, he's going to make his presence known nationally. He's conquered Southern California and he's ready to roll on.”
Brothers added: “In his heart, he's still Mr. San Diego.”
In the past, the independent-minded Laswell would have hunkered down his home studio and emerged when the album was finished. While signing with a record label gives him the boon of added distribution and marketing, Laswell faces a new problem: deadlines.
A week ago, a tired and haggard-sounding Laswell contemplated his final countdown: “I have a little bronchitis flaring up on me, so I'm not in the highest of spirits. The album is due (to the record label) on March 5, so I'm in the recording and mixing and being sick and stressing out stage.”
For fans familiar with “Through Toledo” and its ethereal bittersweet pop songs, both the EP “How the Day Sounds” and the as-yet-untitled full-length disc should sound easy and intimate like previous recordings. Lyrically, the newer material shows a progression: from Laswell's condition during the writing of “Through Toledo” to his present state of ascendance both professionally and personally.
“The first album was about a painful time in my life,” admitted Laswell, who went through a tough breakup with his wife during the writing of “Through Toldedo.” “This EP and the new album are about getting through that time. This album still sounds like me. It still looks and feels and smells and sounds like a Greg Laswell record.”
Once the album gets done, Laswell sets sail on the Hotel Cafe Tour with Brothers, Ingrid Michaelson, Kate Havnevik, Jessie Baylin and Jim Bianco. The tour stops at the Belly Up tonight. Then, he embarks on many months of touring and promotion for the new disc. But eventually, Laswell wants to settle back in San Diego.
“I'm kind of a man between two cities right now. But my dog-sitter is still in San Diego.”
Cast of characters
March 6, 2008
Now in its fourth year, the Hotel Cafe Tour brings the artists most likely to wear their hearts on their collective sleeve on a tour through the nation. Along with Greg Laswell, here's a quick rundown of musicians coming to San Diego this year:
Ingrid Michaelson: After toiling in New York City for years, this 28-year-old sweet-voiced chanteuse is winning the hearts and minds of fans nationwide with spots on “Grey's Anatomy” and Old Navy commercials. Her single “The Way I Am” swings with simple instrumentation and earnest sweetness, a la Feist.
Cary Brothers: Propelled into the spotlight by the hit from the “Garden State” soundtrack “Blue Eyes,” Brothers got his start on the Hotel Cafe stage. Full of effortless mellow pop, the Nashville-based artist released his first full-length album, “Who You Are,” last year.
Kate Havnevik: This Nordic beauty wields sweeping down-tempo electonica as her main weapon of choice on her U.S. debut album “Melankton.” She comes by this honestly: She's worked closely with Guy Sigsworth, half of the electro-pop duo Frou Frou.
Jessie Baylin: This New Jersey-bred, L.A.-based vocalist strikes a more traditional singer-songwriter pose than most on the bill, with strummy, accessible folk songs with just a hint of country twang. Her 2007 debut album, “You!,” features a star-studded cast of musicians: drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Lee Sklar, keyboardist Larry Goldings and Van Dyke Parks.
Jim Bianco: Bianco sounds like an internationally inclined Tom Waits. A worldly growl that's seen many a bar fight and pickup line in smoky joints from Argentina to Tennessee. His latest single, “I Got a Thing for You,” is classic Parisian swing complete with accordion and husky vocal swank.
-- CHRIS NIXON
On stage, 'have a blast with all your friends'
Six years ago, musician Cary Brothers walked into a tiny Los Angeles music venue in Hollywood and his life changed.
Originally from the songwriting hotbed of Nashville, Tenn., Brothers had been toiling in L.A.'s tough local music scene, surrounded by thrash metal and angry hip-hop.
Once he experienced the community of songwriters gathered around this small Hollywood club, he knew he'd found his place.
“It's like a clubhouse for musicians,” said Brothers, who has been playing to hushed crowds at Hotel Cafe since that evening six years ago. “Even if you're not playing a show there, the back bar has a communal, clubhouse environment.
“I never expected to find anything like that in Los Angeles. I grew up in Nashville around these little songwriter rooms like the Bluebird Cafe, which has that communal vibe. It's just nice to have a noncompetitive, nonthreatening support system in Los Angeles.”
Hotel Cafe, smack in the middle of Hollywood on Cahuenga Boulevard between Hollywood and Sunset boulevards, helped the many careers of Los Angeles singer-songwriters, among them former San Diegan Gary Jules and Brothers, whose song “Blues Eyes” graced the “Garden State” soundtrack and lifted the singer-songwriter to national notoriety.
From this support system sprang a tour organized by Brothers, featuring artists from the informal clubhouse bringing their communal vibe around the country: “It's appealing for artists because, for six week a year, you can get on a bus and there's no real pressure. There are no real headliners. Everyone's sharing the show. There are no egos. You just get to go up on stage and have a blast with all your friends. So it's a unique experience for artists as well as the audience.”
Now in its fourth year, the tour features a house band (much like the Motown and Stax revues of the 1960s) fronted by a handful of singer-songwriters. And those singer-songwriters seem to love the experience: “The great thing about this tour: Everyone who's done it wants to come back and do it again.”
– CHRIS NIXON
