Here's another review I really love. It begins by comparing me to Jewel (apparently, we sound "almost exactly alike" though it's unclear whether the reviewer thinks this is good or bad) and then goes on to talk about I am both a bluegrass artist and how I don't sound like a bluegrass artist. I am not sure whether the reviewer thinks Jewel is also a bluegrass artist.

I also like the use of the phrase "fierce, powerful yelp," which makes me sound rather like a pit-fighting chihuahua. And yet somehow, it seems like maybe the reviewer liked the CD. It's really not clear. It's awesome.

Incidentally, I get 6.5 stars. I assume that's out of ten.
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Lara Ewen and the Unstrung Orchestra - Ghosts and Gasoline
- Don't get Lara Ewen's folklike voice confused with singer/songwriter Jewel, although they sound almost exactly alike.

Although the singer was born and raised in New York City, there is nothing city about this girl. She has a very bluegrass feel to her music. Her music is real, raw and very heartfelt. There is nothing modern with her music, just a soothing voice with a guitar.

Her voice can be soft, but can also change very drastically into a fierce, powerful yelp. And although being bluegrass, she has no country twang to her voice whatsoever, just clear, strong meaningful vocals, that anyone can appreciate.

Reviewer: Carissa Chesanek
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Here's a link to The Celebrity Cafe, which published this, in case you'd like them to review you.

Happy Fourth of July!

I was going through some old press, and I found this. The review makes me smile every time I read it, and for no reason at all, I thought I would post it here. I would like to point out a few of my favorite comments:

"I'll have to admit, I think Lara Ewen is very good looking, based on her photographs..."

"...the band's name is actually Lara Ewen and the Unstrung Orchestra. The orchestra part is kind of amusing because I don't really recall any traditional orchestra part at all..."

And of course:

"I am debating on whether [the song 20 Years Ago] is actually about Ewen - probably not because she seems like she's twenty-something, which would mean she would've been a baby, 20 years ago."

Read the full review here:

http://vhm.vox.com/library/post/lara-ewen-and-the-unstrung-orchestra.html

Happy Memorial Day weekend.

Arthur Bouie interviewed me for his Listen Up! podcast 58, and it was fun. Listen to us discuss music, hired assassins, and whether or not I'm a goody two-shoes.

Visit http://www.listenupcast.com to hear the whole thing. Thanks, Arthur!

This has been a strange year for me so far. I took a break from playing live shows for about two months in order to write some new songs and generally recharge. My self-imposed hiatus was supposed to end by the beginning of March, after performing at Folk Alliance in Memphis (which was an amazing experience, by the way).

However, just as I was planning my comeback, my plans were derailed. March found me spending a little quiet time in the hospital while doctors peered at me and poked me and tried to figure out why I suddenly couldn’t feel my hands or legs. Let me say right now: I can feel everything just fine now, and what’s more, I have discovered the extent of my own vanity. Everyone wants to be interesting, of course, but medically interesting? Perhaps not. Maybe it was all just the universe trying to tell me my break wasn’t quite over yet. Maybe it was my way to find out that I really do have the best boyfriend in the world, and the most amazing group of friends a girl could ever ask for. Maybe it was all those things.

Anyway, spring is desperately trying to punch its way into Brooklyn, and I’m ready for it. I recently spent an evening recording some vocals for Bryan Dunn’s new album, which I expect is going to be among my favorite releases of 2008 (along with Sweet Soubrette’s glorious album, Jo Williamson’s haunting EP and Andy Mac’s yet-to-be-named record).

I am currently working on some new bookings, and plan to play out in New York and elsewhere (Washington, D.C., perhaps? Philly? Boston?) as often as I can this summer. I have new songs (some of which I played at Andy Mac’s birthday bash at the end of March, which was terrific fun) and a renewed enthusiasm for performing. Nothing makes you want to get out and play more than fearing, however briefly, that maybe you won’t be able to do it ever again.

To make my transition from hospital bed to stage even easier, I got an email from Dan Herman of Radio Crystal Blue informing me that I’ve hit the top of his airplay chart for spring 2008. This comes just as ’Ghosts and Gasoline’ turns one-year old. Hooray!

Furthermore, I’m still hoping to get your votes in Dan’s airplay contest (scroll down to bracket 15), which runs through April 23. And I’m hoping to see you at a show sometime soon, because making music in front of people makes me really happy, and I’m ready for some happiness right now.

Normally, I don't ask for anyone to do anything like this, and I wouldn't be asking now, except that there are, apparently, prizes (though said prizes are as yet undetermined). And I really want to win something, and I don't really care what I win.

Here's what you do. Visit this site:

http://pub36.bravenet.com/vote/vote.php?usernum=3071115404

Scroll down to CD bracket 15, and vote for me. Of course, there are artists in other brackets you can (and should) vote for. I'm a big fan of Jo Williamson in EP bracket 1, for example.

Please think about voting for me. You're allowed to vote once a day every day until April 23. I don't really expect you to vote, like, every day, but if you did, that would be frigging awesome.

On Monday, I sat for a portrait with Bill Wadman. Bill is working on an art project called 365 Portraits, and he takes a photograph of someone new every day. To see the picture he took of me, go here:


365 Portraits


I don't like to have my picture taken, and I generally do not like how I look in pictures. It's my own weird thing, and it's neither rational nor especially troublesome. I get my picture when I need to, and that's that. But by the time Bill and I got together for this particular shoot, I had decided that it's important to do things that make me a little uncomfortable at times. Such as, you know, going over to a stranger's house to have my picture taken.

I like Bill a lot, and I like the picture he took, and I like a lot of the other shots in his series. If you've got some time, you should check them all out. And if you're feeing lucky, pretty, brave or confident (or whatever you need to feel to get your portrait done by a stranger), maybe you'll get in touch with him and get your picture taken, too.

I know I've been remiss in my blogging. I have to accept that I'm just not blogger material. However, I thought I'd show you some of the nice things people have been saying about me and about my record (see below). If you want to read the full reviews, I've posted some of them on my EPK at SonicBids. I especially like the Kansas City reporter (from KC Active) who refers to one of my songs (Blessed) as "Springsteen-like."

Also, as Bryan has already pointed out in my comments, I have a cool promotional video up on YouTube. Neilson Paty (Jetty Productions), who made the video, is awesome. He did a fantastic promo video for The Undisputed Heavyweights, too, which you can see on their MySpace page. And I'd put mine up here if I could figure out how.

Finally, I am really going to try and post something, sometime about the touring I've been doing, because there are just so many people I've met, and so many good stories to tell. Really, I'm going to get right on that. I mean, you know, one of these days.

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This is the kind of album which sticks with you long-term, leaving an emotional imprint in the same league with your first kiss, your first road trip and your first heartbreak." -CD Baby
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Ghosts and Gasoline is exemplary for what is essentially a first full-length album, merging classic country and blues with a new attitude as appealing as it is satisfying. –Brandon Whitehead, KC Active
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This girl from Queens has been described as Emmylou Harris singing Neil Young songs. To me, it sounds like a formula of perfect folk and country rock. –Encore Magazine
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A cartographer of the American musical landscape. –BluesBunny
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Haunting lyrics and effortless-sounding acoustic work. -Wilmington Star-News
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Where many female singer-songwriters tend to bore with ultra syrupy vocals and shoegazer riffs, Ewen has a sweet voice that also boasts a great deal of backbone and vigor (think Emmylou Harris meets Ani Difranco). -Sarah Wengert, Omaha Weekly Reader
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When you snap out of these songs at Union Square and realize it was only the CD, well...that's the most you can ask from a record. Ghosts and Gasoline delivers. –Ben Krieger, Jezebel Music
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"A brilliant album. I was not expecting the disc I ended up hearing." –Nefarious Bovine Radio
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Real, raw and very heartfelt…[with] clear, strong meaningful vocals that anyone can appreciate. -Carissa Chesanek, The Celebrity Café

I just got off the phone with Lazlo (of Lazlo's Den). His MySpace page can be found here and his podcast can be found here. He's a doll, and I'm honored to be featured on his podcast tomorrow night, somewhere between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. He'll be airing the interview we just did, as well as some tracks from the new album. I'm told this stuff isn't being archived yet, so here's your one and only chance (so far) to hear what I sound like when I'm answering the tough questions.

Oh, and another thing: I have some shows coming up in VT and MA, so if you know anyone in those parts, please send them to my page to check out the dates and times and stuff!

I've got some exciting news to report! As of today (Sunday, March 18), the new album, "Ghosts and Gasoline," is on the front page of CD Baby (the largest online retailer for independent music). The editors gave it a great review (which you can read by clicking here. (Hooray! Yippee!)

The CD will be on the front page through Tuesday, March 20 (three whole days!). I, however, will be jumping up and down and clapping my hands for at least the next month or so. (Yay! Yay! Yay!)

Oh, and incidentally, if you have the CD and feel like you want to write your own review, you can totally do that, too. Just go here and click on the "Write a review!" link. (Woo hoo!)

My friend Ben and I were emailing back and forth last week about the idea of what it means to be a sell out. Of particular importance to our e-discussion was whether or it's soul-crushing to take money from, say, a chewing gum manufacturer in exchange for allowing your song to be played on said gum-hawker's commercials. I brought up Sheryl Crow commercial for Revlon hair coloring products, which aired on Superbowl Sunday. I really liked her first two records, and always felt a certain amount of solidarity with her because she's grown-up, non-teen idol woman with what is, by all accounts, a pretty enviable career.

But I watched the commercial, and it made me sad. Like, really, really sad.

Watch it here, if you want to see what I mean

This got me thinking a lot about the term 'sell out.' Everyone knows the story about Robert Johnson purportedly selling his soul to the devil so he could play guitar (a story more than likely invented by Son House after hearing Tommy Johnson's similar tale). That certainly raises the question of what you'd give or do to get the success you're after. Would you sacrifice your friends? Your credibility? Your soul? Would you change your music to make it more mainstream? Would you sell your song to promote chewing gum? Have your tour sponsored by a hair coloring company?

I was told once that I was neither young enough nor pretty enough to become a successful musician in today's market. I was also told (by a completely different person) that no one really cares about female singer/songwriters anymore, and that if I want to have a career in music, I should write rap music (really). And maybe that's all true. And I can honestly say that if Revlon came to me, at this stage of my career, and offered me a gazillion dollars to tour and promote their hair color, I'd be sorely tempted to say yes.

But I also know that on March 2, I had a CD release party at Mo Pitkin's House of Satisfaction, and the show sold out. They had to turn people away at the door, which makes me sad (because I would have liked for everyone who came to see me to get in) but is also kind of awesome.

And the new CD is currently one of the top-selling CD in the Folk category (and one of the top-sellers site-wide) on DigStation.

So here's what I think. I want to make a living playing music. I am working my ass off to get there, and I have made some not-inconsiderable sacrifices to do that, including making the tough decision a few years back to quit my day job and become a freelancer so that I would have the time I needed to make music, even if it meant (and it does) that I am usually broke and in debt. But I'd rather be broke and doing something I really love than get rich doing something I don't feel good about.

And after Friday night, and with this new record, I finally feel, for the first time in my life, like I can do this. I may never be in the predicament of determining whether I'd take $1 million dollars to promote a product I don't really use or care about. But I also know that I managed to sell out a room in NYC on a Friday night, and it was filled with people I truly, deeply respect as artists. And if I can sell enough CDs to pay my rent and make more CDs, then I'll consider myself a success. Because I don't need $1 million dollars. I just need enough dollars.

And sometimes, you don't have to sell out to sell out.