While she has been compared to the very best (Joni Mitchell), Laura Wolfe is definitely an original. A native of NYC's East Village Laura comes from a family of musicians and lefty activists. "I grew up listening to everything from Jimmy Cliff to Brahms” Her DIY release Siren, produced with GRAMMY award winner Steve Addabbo (Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin), reflects her remarkable power and versatility as a singer and songwriter. Laura brings a soulful sound and spiritual content to the singer songwriter genre. She is currently working with publicist Dawn Kamerling of the Press House, to promote her newly released CD. Laura Wolfe has built a solid name for herself in NYC performing solo and with her band at Brownies, The Knitting Factory, and Cutting Room among others. Reaching out regionally she has played the House of Blues in Boston, and North Hampton MA. She is planning a South Eastern tour in the fall of 2005.
visit her website http://www.laurawolfe.com for more info
Bio
While she is compared to the very best, Laura Wolfe is definitely an original. A native of New York City’s Lower East Side, Laura comes from a family of musicians and lefty activists. “The sounds and the vibe of my childhood neighborhood are all over my music. The Lower East Side was rough in the day—gangs, drugs, burnt-out buildings and radical revolutionaries. A bit different from the chic boutiques you see now. But it was also this amazing melting pot of culture, music, and philosophy.”
Laura Wolfe’s new DIY release Siren, produced with GRAMMY Award® winner Steve Addabbo (Suzanne Vega, Shawn Colvin), reflects the many influences that have shaped her as an artist. “I was raised listening to everything from Jimmy Cliff to Brahms.” Growing up in the home of a classical pianist, conductor and political activist, Laura began studying the violin and piano at age seven, the guitar at thirteen, and attending political demonstrations at age two. “My mom used her musical gifts to communicate her political convictions. She was a great role model.” Laura attended LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts for voice, and began singing in the school’s renowned Gospel Choir at age sixteen. She performed for six years with Lavender Light Gospel Choir, appearing at Carnegie Hall and The Tribeca Performing Arts Center, and soloing on the choir’s CD Light in the House.
Similar to India Arie, Laura brings a soulful sound and spiritual content to the singer songwriter pop genre. The title track Siren (8), like many of the cuts on the CD, features gospel-style vocals and B3 organ. There are hints of world music throughout the album: a sitar solo on Uma (3), ullian pipes on Breathe (1) and a Middle Eastern vocal groove at the end of Underworld (2). With a range and caliber that is frequently compared to Joni Mitchell’s early sound, Laura’s vocals truly drive the album. Supported by a tremendous line-up of New York City’s top musicians, Siren has attracted the attention of the singer songwriter community. Using Dido’s rhythm section on the majority of the album gives a solid rhythmic backbone to the tracks, and players like Marc Egan (sitting in on Uma) enhance the ethereal quality of her music. In fact, it is the remarkable range, power and versatility of her voice and songwriting that make the CD so compelling.
Laura left New York City briefly to earn a BA in Original Performance from Oberlin College. “I was glad to go to school in the cornfields, although I definitely went through culture shock. I had grown up in the ghetto, and when I came back home from college I realized I had changed. I was discovering my identity on all levels. To integrate the changes I was going through I began writing songs.” During college Laura was selected to perform her songs at The Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, and went on to tour Europe with the Broadway road production of Hair. “After being raised by radical activists, doing Hair was like reliving my childhood, except in front of thousands of people. We also toured Germany, the part of the world my grandparents had fled as Jews. The tour was an important part of my growth as an artist and human being.”
Returning to New York City after college, Laura hit the club scene and built a solid name for herself performing solo and with her band at Brownies, Knitting Factory, Cutting Room, Fez, Bitter End and CB’s 313 Gallery. Reaching out regionally, she has played The House of Blues in Boston, Fire and Water Café in Northampton, MA, and Café Du Nord in San Francisco, CA, to name a few. The Dawn and You & Me (singles) were released on the compilation CDs Out Music (produced by Digital Force) and The Voice Box (produced by One Nation Underground). Laura has two prior recordings: Little Pieces, a collection of live recordings, and Laura Wolfe, a four-song demo. Siren is Laura Wolfe’s debut full-length album.