As we all know music is a tough business; and can be dominated by strong males much of the time. I do write a lot about male vocalists and bands; however this column is all about the heart, soul, and vision of female singer/songwriters, this is all about the women of My Space. It is hard to be a performer, entertainer and in this digital age get a major label or sometimes even an Indie label to see, catch and allow you to record a Cd. Given the right circumstances, timing and a little help from an all genre loving music writer, I do hope these 8 women shoot to fame and turn into music royalty. All of music can use new talent that gets air play, video play, and if lucky enough heard in a movie, TV show, or even My Space and tussle the ruffles of someone in their genre that can help propel any musician into the oh so illusive Stardom. They are all super talented, hard workers and possess a special something in their genre. I looked high and low. I listened to song after song and artist after artist from Progressive, Pop, Rock and R&B; to bring the readers a column that gives a little bit of something steamy or even sad to All Access Magazine readers. I have created a relative smorgasbord of talent, beauty and musicianship to this column. The talent displayed here is far ranging with many of these women charging to the top of their chosen style with the grace, maturity and appeal that are being sought out at this moment. If you look at the music charts; ANY in any given genre, you will see that the female domination has come around once again. Though most of these women have made their mark in the cyber world, please don’t be mistaken about where they have been to get where they are, but where many of them seem to be heading.
Nicole Storm/Rock/Pop/Alternative
http://www.myspace.com/nicolestormmusic pop/
Her name may say it all; Nicole Storm is like a beautiful storm brewing on the horizon. Nicole has magnetic green eyes at the center of the storm; where it is always the stillest. But look into this musician’s eyes, and you can see that the stillness at the center at the storm actually runs very deep. Nicole is a singer/songwriter who incorporates every beat of soul into her music. Her Debut Cd is out now, and the songs on her My Space page illustrate that she has something special to share with the world. A mixture of sweetness and sublime sexiness is something she owns physically and musically. When you are listening to songs like “Storybook”, she seems to be telling a story of a life lived where for her; trusting a boyfriend sounds like an edgy reality. As you continue to listen her more pop sound appears; but not necessarily with less meaning. In “In over My Head” the tempo is upbeat, but it tells the story of a girl scared to drown in her own life, loves and maybe ambition. This is not the bubblegum pop we have heard in the 90’s; it is totally modern, and in the perspective of a young woman finding herself. As you get drawn in more and more like over 158,000 listeners have already done; you feel her as she feels her way through a new world that includes all complications that women do right now. Just as the song “All the Pretty Flowers” illustrates she knows what she is, her mission and possibly where this beauty may very well end up very soon; amongst the females singing on talk and dance shows about their real life experiences. Her Cd “Tangled Up” has now hit the world stage, and this sometimes innocent looking beauty proves that a storm is brewing; it is only a Cd or even a download away. Nicole’s music is what is missing from the new millenniums pop/rock scene and is a must listen to for those who have always loved when an artist examines and dissects their lives as well as understanding the pulse of her core audience. The time will come that Nicole will be facing something new; flashing camera’s.
Veronica Lee/R&B/Hip Hop/Soul
http://myspace.com/veronicaleemusic
Veronica is a gorgeous singer songwriter with an hourglass figure that every female in the world could only wish to possess. Though young her soulful, heartfelt vocals prove that there is room for greater female R&B artist right now. Veronica holds nothing back, her vocals and songwriting prove this is a woman who wears her heart on her sleeve and in the jamming tunes she has put together to make a statement of a mixture of vulnerability and pure animal magnetism. Her music can be seen from a young teenager’s point of view of the spurting feelings of puppy love to the very real world of adult courtship which can be just as confusing for a male or female. Her voice floats above you, grabbing your attention no matter what music happens to be your thing. The songs are timeless and will be anthems of love and even social messages for the generations; the point of her social message mixed with entertainment is evident in the song “It’s Kinda Hard” a timeless story of a teenager who gets pregnant wishing for her baby that the father would stand up and take care of his responsibilities from birth through the child’s adulthood. This song can be an anthem for teen mothers everywhere; whether or not they are young and dealing with the pressures now, or their children are grown. Her harder edge comes out in “Thangaling”, which opens with hard rappin’ riffs and comes around to her singing about what she seems to think of as what many see her as. Veronica is no “Thangaling” however; she is a smart woman, lyricist and entertainer with a lot to say to the world. The sheer beauty of her voice and personal aura is best displayed in “If You Really Love Me”; where she seems to know that the man is in love with her; but still questions his intentions and displays the hopefulness that she is not wrong about this man. There is so much talent in her and she has already worked with some great musical artist, and the Chicago Native is well on her way. Her Indie debut Cd has sold 50,000 copies; which may sound like a drop of rain, but for an artist signed to an Independent Label is some feat. She is so smooth and has such a great support team around her; that this young woman who’s main themes are about love as displayed in the song “Is This Love”; a song where you can close your eyes and imagine dancing slow and sexily with the one you love or want. Her physical beauty is only surpassed by her enormous talent and stunning heart that beats inside this next R&B Star.
LiLi Roquelin/Trip Hop/Alternative/Rock
http://www.myspace.com/liliroquelin
LiLi has a voice that can bring goose-bumps to a person; with her French point of view is very prominent in her songwriting and lyrics. Her music is ethereal, otherworldly, and absolutely fabulous once you allow the music to absorb into your entire being. LiLi seems to have so many sides to her, going from soft and romantic to rock in a flash of a blink of her beautiful long lush eyelashes. The diminutive beauty with big beautiful doe eyes is a My Space staple, staying at the top of the charts in the Trip Hop Genre. What can be imagined in some songs is that the unique arrangements swirl around your mouth, like a fine vintage French wine. Her rich textured voice bellows to you quietly as you imagine her fingers slithering across her piano. Now living in New York City; this physically delicate looking angel’s music is very difficult to put into one singular genre. I envision her music playing in a European made period movie or in the most interesting venues around the world especially “Your Imagination” a song that begins as a classical music treasure and opens into a song about life cutting away pieces of your soul and like a child with ADD jumping from idea to idea in English and French. Suddenly LiLi will switch gears and come up with some really unanticipated music, she really knows how to get you in, put you on a hook and get you addicted to her and music. In “Keep This for You” she talks about a life in shambles rather literally that defy the title of the song; making the listener feels the anticipation of one thing and ordering up another. Rather unexpectedly and without warning she can also go fast and furious in the tempo and beat of the music throwing you for a loop. She is simply ASTONISHING!
Mary Magdalan/Hardcore/Crunk/Rock
http://www.myspace.com/marymagdalan
Truthfully most won’t know what to make of Mary; she is dirty, perhaps a bit crazy, but insanely hot once you get past the intense make-up, screwed around hair and lyrics that could possibly scare Marylyn Manson. On her wildly popular My Space page she sings and speaks the truth of her life along with her band mates. One thing that is certain she is very real. With Big Big eyes, like the ice skater Oksana Bayou, hair that is all outlandish colors, and some mad talent! The page itself is bright, the lyrics and song titles are dark, painful and too many rather disgusting; but I am sure Mary has done this by design. Her brilliance shows in her lyrics. She is a recovering drug addict who had no place to pour her pain except into writing lyrics that can be so disturbing that I felt heartache reading them. When you listen to such songs as “Cigarette Burns” you get a glimpse into the mind of a woman who may be a genius of some demented sort with an implied issue of Borderline Personality. However for her it works; she knows it, has spent years dealing with it, and found a great release. Her most played song “I Should Kill You” has 520,000+ plays alone making this artist one to watch. Again you listen to the wailing guitar riffs and likely some wacked instrument or computer program we never heard of may be used; or is it just the extreme things she does with her voice; who the hell knows or cares, it works. She does use her life though tragic to great effect. It is great that MySpace allows lyrics to be used, because even this chick couldn’t understand many of the lyrics. In the song “The Mule” she scream/sings/bellows about being addicted to freebasing, maybe even with the lyrics it may be hard to tell. Mary has a cult following, her top friends are mainly fan pages dedicated to her. This is one underground gal you should check out; what is beautiful is that she is overcoming her past and finding herself; the difference between her and say a pop singer is she does not sing sweetly about lost love. She has bigger fish to fry.
Curious/Alternative/Pop/Rock
http://www.myspace.com/Curiousmusic
This cutie from LA, CA has a breathy Pop Rock sound which is so much different than Bubblegum Pop. With interesting musical composition and a voice that is in perfect pitch but is also a bit odd, she has the ability to write songs about love, feeling alive and even cities as the title of one of her song is “Hollywood”, where the music is a bit new wave 80’s and maybe the old classic Missing Persons song “Nobody walks In LA”. The song is totally different; she is singing about her love of Hollywood, which so much of the world is. It is the world of facades and fantasy. Curious is defiantly doing something right with her songs getting well over 2,000,000 hits it is a testament to her truth and the truth of all her listeners. She is quirky, and from some of her songs you get the picture that at some point she was an awkward teen looking into others lives rather than being the center of all the attention. Now an adult she has put all those feelings into her songwriting. In songs like “Unfair”, she sings about being an outsider, which is her most listened to song; so maybe it is possible that everyone is feeling the same way she does. The song “Stay” is a disturbing love, where she sings about love and at the same time obsession; with a line about carving her lovers name in her arm. The song is beautiful and scary; we never wish to be so obsessed with someone but for most it happens at some point, where the person we love so very much may just be the one who damages us the most; letting go in this song is not an option. Insecurity and sometimes shame is a running theme through this music, which is what makes Curious’s music so tangible to her listeners and fans. It is all about losing control and hope. At some point you are left to wonder how much is taken from her life and how much is great writing. The song “Rain” is a perfect song for allowing your angst to have an anthem. She is charming yet with many songs of hurt so very relatable to anyone who has seen hard times. This is the music that can take a happily or unhappily married person back to their greatest heartaches; she may be cornering the market on sad love pop songs soon; perfect for a Soap Opera, so much so that she should try submitting her music to one. She does have charm, a different sound and is very worthy of being heard!
Laurie Larson/ Indie/Alternative/Rock
http://www.myspace.com/laurielarson
Laurie is a magical performer whose blue eyes seem to be as deep as the deepest ocean in the world. With her floating vocals and stunning harmonies her music is sometimes other-worldly. You can hear or at least feel that she is breathing from her essence in every song on her My Space page. Her music is almost like a soundtrack to your peaceful yet innermost and most feared dreams; where everything seems tranquil on the surface, but your inner struggle between your life awake and asleep always meet. At times she uses harder riffs on the instruments being played by band-mates to balance her smooth and sweet sounding vocals. In her songs she talks about being in charge of your own life, future and dreams, which are beautifully illustrated in “Architect of Dreams”; where she writes what has been left behind, torn down and rebuilt with the help of somebody else. Her lyrics are meant to be listened to intently and pondered on. Laurie is very introspective and wise. The music and her voice mold into one, listening to her music may allow the listener to look deeper into their own souls; and free themselves of the chains that have built up in our lives. Optimism is the underlying message of her music; it is evident in all her songs, but listens to “My Time Will Arrive” and “A Moments Reflection”. She has been to Power Prog the festival for Melodic Rock; and her sound suits the feel and image well. In the business for many years her experience as a musician shows; as a former DJ she knows what a listening audience is looking for when they hear the first few bars of a song. She is a poet a musician and possibly the answer you are looking for if you want to explore what is deep in your soul. She is not a woman to sit by her laurels and be content to rest; this is a woman with power, energy and a sprinkle of fairy dust, who has worked with some of the finest musicians in the world. She is politically, socially and civic minded; with the voice of a seraph from the skies.
Tonya Watts/Southern Rock/Country
http://www.myspace.com/tonyawattsmusic
This is one hot Southern chick. Her beauty is purely amazing; looking like a California bred beach girl, with a killer body that as her tag line says “She’s Out to Kick ASS!”, however this dynamic woman has the perfect voice to make it in her genre. She has the right look, sound, heart and mostly attitude. Her music is filled with Southern pride and this Alabama girl doesn’t give a damn what people think of her in the sense of personality and where she is from. She is proud of her background and her lyrics prove it. In the song she gets to the meat of herself Rockin’ away as she uses that great Alabama girl accent to prove that she knows what she has lived and has no shame in singing about it. In “Alabama Crimson” she sings about her life growing up likely being called white trash and people worrying about how she walks, talks and acts; which from the looks of her, could not be further from the truth. This is a woman who has polished herself very nicely ready to kill Nashville unseating their multitudes of blonde darlings bouncing around out there right now. In “Cumberland Angel” she softens herself a bit and tells a story of life that anyone can relate to, no matter where they come from. Her twang is heavy, her talent immense, with her first Cd almost complete she can break the barrier and have songs that cross over to many charts; as many female artists in her genre have been doing for years and to much more success than their male counterpoints. The song “Bi-Polar” is not about having the disease but rather the many sides of most strong colorful women, which she certainly is. She is unforgiving, gutsy and a heck of a lot of fun to listen to; even for someone who doesn’t choose the country FM station when they get in the car to take their daily commute or road trip. She simply has something totally fun, unique and there is no doubt that Tonya is never going to ask you to apologize for being you nor will she apologize for being herself.
