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Holly Long -Every Little Seam
Holly Long is a talented singer/songwriter based in Los Angeles, CA. But, unlike the throngs of others in LA attempting to stake their claim as the next important artist to pay attention to, Long has quietly, yet impressively, distinguished herself from the pack.
Her second CD, Every Little Seam unfolds with telling themes and beautiful stories-a perfect blend of light and dark, pain and self-discovery and loss and romance. A supremely gifted storyteller, Long, deftly pulls you into her world through glorious music and production, but once there, you realize the depth of her craft, and ultimately nuanced layers of stark truth are stunningly revealed. Long possesses a gorgeous voice that perfectly compliments the artistry found in her songwriting.
Every Little Seam is an adult-minded and honest recording which expertly reflects the human experience as distilled through Long's watchful eyes and open heart. Her self-penned songs, especially Chameleon, King of the Mole Hill, Back at Our House and Now It's Time truly represent a major talent, who gratefully, is committed to showing us the deeper part of ourselves in her liberating songs. - Edge News
Funny how you can take the craft of moving music for granted. And then an album comes along to wake you up and remind the heart of those delicately measured ingredients that make up a chilling sound; Holly Long does this with her lyrics. Immediately inviting you into her stories of love and pain. growth and regression, she is an artist that certainly doesn't stop at beautifully-composed melodies, rich, heart-stopping harmonies and engaging structure.
With the warmth and comfort of female artists like Shawn Colvin, KD lang, and Aimee Mann, Holly takes your hand and leads you through a collection of heart travels you won't soon forget. - CD Baby
Holly Long
City Girl
(Skim Milk Productions )
Every now and then, an album comes along that really makes you stop, listen, and THINK. "City Girl" by Holly Long, covers all these bases. Holly is a brilliant song writer, and a gifted singer and pianist, who knows how to translate her life experiences in a thought-provoking meanful way, that reaches deep into the listener. Holly is an original, but one of those rare originals who somehow feels familiar, giving each song her unique treatment. She sounds established and professional; her delivery is at once timeless and contemporary.
Holly collaborated with the award-winning producer and arranger Chris Horvath to produce 'City Girl'. for this album, she enlisted the talents of many well-seasoned musicians. These include: guitarist, Kevin Barry (Paula Cole, Jonatha Brooke); Nick Vincent (Hanson, Frank Black, Tito and the Tarantulas); Lance Morrison (Don Henley, Rod Stewart, Alanis Morrisette); Mark Harris (Stevie Nicks, Ben Taylor) and Mark Lennon (Phil Collins, Cher, Venice.)
'City Girl' is quintessential Holly Long: a true fusion of disparate influences, where identifiable components come together to form something indescribable and fresh. Holly's gently provocative brew of folk and pop elements holds a unique, magnetic pull. Featuring a batch of stunning originals, City Girl' is an intoxicating voyage into the mind of a invigorating boundless artist.
With a strong following in LA, perhaps 'City Girl' will take this talented singer/songwriter to a much-deserved international audience.
Review by Ben Kettlewell - Alternate Music press
"Artists like Holly Long are a rare breed." Mark Maxwell Abushady - CREATIONS MAGAZINE
"A little classic that was found in the depths of mediocre music here at Maverick...the result (Leaving Kansas) is absolutely astounding." Laura Bethell, MAVERICK - Maverick Magazine
"Simply elegant folk rocker that seems sure of herself, in a good way. If she's not coming right from the heart, she's done a great job of fooling us."-- Chris Spector, MIDWEST RECORD REVIEW - MIDWEST RECORD REVIEW
"The darkness of mortaility and the brilliance of redemption, (Leaving Kansas) is an album of personal strength and victory over fear and falling..." Martin Smit, THE NEXT BIG THING - THE NEXT BIG THING
"Leaving Kansas is a treasure trove of sparkling jewels that will take your breath away." Joe Montague, RIVETING RIFFS - RIVETING RIFFS
Just asking: A conversation with singer-songwriter Holly Long
Singer-songwriter Holly Long hopes to strike a chord with music lovers Saturday, when she performs at the Cosman Cultural Center in Huntley.
Long needled her parents into piano lessons at age 7, learning to play on her great-grandmother’s upright Hamilton – which, she subsequently brought with her from Evanston to Venus, Calif. Long moved to the West Coast in 1988 to study theater at the University of California – Los Angeles. Instead, she found herself scribbling lyrics on bar napkins.
“My family is filled with singers and artists, but none of them professionally so,” Long said. “I sort of romanticized that, being 18, I’m going to be the black sheep of the family. I’m going to make it as an actress ... But there is something about coming from the Midwest. You can only pull the wool over your own eyes for so long.”
Saturday’s concert will feature a bevy of back-up musicians, many from Minneapolis. They include drummer J.T. Bates, stand-up bassist Chris Bates, cellist Jacqueline Ferrier-Ultan and keyboardist Peter Schimke. It also will mark the first time that the 36-year-old mother of two will perform in McHenry County. And she intends to capture the experience live for a future project. Copies of her five-song EP called “Five for the Road” – a preview of Long’s upcoming “Leaving Kansas” – will be available.
“The majority of the album is recorded live and there is a certain intention,” said Anthony Benson, Long’s manager and producer on the new record. “It has an organic, live feel you only get through a live recording.”
“Leaving Kansas,” likely out this spring, follows 2000’s “City Girl,” a five-song EP in 2001 titled “Six Sided Woman” and “Every Little Seam” in 2004. Long’s effort, “Just Fine,” netted her pop division runner-up status in the 2000 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. The contest typically draws 20,000 submissions a year.
To hear samples of Long’s music visit www.myspace.com/hollylonglive, www.myspace.com/hollylongmusic or www.myspace.com/injoimusic.
Long is married to Jeff Leiber and they have two children – ages 4 and 2. Leiber is co-creator of television’s “Lost” and a Hollywood screenwriter now working for NBC, Dreamworks and the Lifetime Channel.
– Kurt Begalka
How do you juggle career and family?
I can’t tell you how many women I know who are attempting the almost impossible task of realizing a career and being a conscientious mother. I let certain things go, but that is hard for me ... I absolutely have to tour more.
How did you wind up coming to Huntley?
I’m sort of the back-door girl. I do not have a jewel career. I have been right on the edge of the radar for 10 years doing house concerts and small venues. This is like a virgin voyage. If it sort of vibes, there is no reason for me not to come back.
Why did you make the switch from theater to music?
I graduated from UCLA and did some independent films and pilots. I was a member of a comedy improv troupe. But when I came home at the end of the day I was frustrated, having no control over when I could work. All I wanted to do was work. I’d come home and write songs in defense of being completely powerless.
How would you describe your sound?
People have compared me in the past to Paula Cole and Sarah McLachlan was right for me at the time. I sounded like a lot of Liz Phair chicks. It’s not like suddenly I’ve become a rap star. It’s not like I have done a 180. But I’m evolving. I feel like an artist who is on a journey and I’m trying to dig as deep as I can.
Can you tell me a little about the new record, “Leaving Kansas,” you are shopping to various labels?
I’m really proud of this new sound. It’s a little rootsier, a little closer to my own heart. My whole family – both sides – are from Kansas and Nebraska. We moved to Evanston when I was 3. My bloodline comes from farm territory. I feel like I’m reaching down somewhere, even back into my heritage, and trying to connect with my music.
What is your songwriting process?
The more open I am, the better I am. I get inspired by other artists. I get inspired by my friends’ dilemmas. I get inspired by something I see on the street. They trip something in my brain, where I can create a complete story. I write when I’m driving in the car. Sometimes I’ll have an idea when I’m sleeping, so I keep a pad by my bed.
My husband is incredibly disciplined. I am the other type of person. I keep stacks of paper and crappy old notebooks, but when it comes to running the house I’m incredibly disciplined. He could care less. We operate in different rhythms.
Why make music?
I feel joyous, complete and purposeful making music. When I can get my insecurities and ego out of the way – which is very difficult – and literally open up to music, with a capital M, it just feels wonderful. It feels right. I get to be one of those people who get to make music.
In late 1996, you nearly died from what turned out to be endocarditis – a severe heart infection that put into a coma and forced to you to relearn how to walk. How did that affect you?
It affected everything. I feel like it was the most amazing experience and the most painful experience at the same time. I have never had that close a brush with mortality. It was humbling, more than anything. I feel like I’m the only person I now in my circle that sort of learned the truth really early – almost before I could handle it – about the actual fragility and preciousness of life.
There were a lot of prayer circles going on for me at the time. I felt the energy and I felt the love. I didn’t drive me to want to go church, but it did drive me toward making music. I wanted to express. I wanted to pay homage. I wanted to sing. I was given another chance to really be here.
How did you get started making music?
I took piano lessons growing up and then picked up the guitar when I was 28. I have those days that I feel like a hack; that I feel like I’m still manipulating the songs that I’ve heard. But even beyond those dark moments, the bottom line is I’m a musician. I get so wrapped up in music and hanging out and listening to people and jam sessions, it’s like food for me. I literally have gone for days in the studio and have forgotten to eat. Sometimes the music is all I need.
Do you anticipate that changing in the future?
Now that I have really found this, it will never leave my life. Whether I make $1 million or make nothing. It will always be in me. I will always be a musician.
Holly Long with Martine Hunter
When: 3 and 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Cosman Cultural Center, 12015 Mill St., Huntley
Tickets: $12 in advance, $15 at the door for matinee show, $15 in advance, $18 at the door for evening show
Information: (815) 255-5087
- Northwest Herald
Discography
Frequency - CD
Leaving Kansas - CD
Five for the Road - EP
Six-Sided Woman - EP
Every Little Seam - CD
City Girl - CD
Photos
Bio
Raised in Chi-town and born into a musical family, singer/songwriter Holly Long needled her parents into piano lessons on her Great-Grandmother's upright Hamilton at age 7. As a young child she was exposed to the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Carole King, Elton John, Beethoven and the Beatles, sprinkled with daily doses of Free To Be You and Me via her Dad's HiFi stereo headphones. Diversely influenced, spent her youth and early adult years performing in various musicals, piano recitals and plays.
After high school, Holly moved to California to attend UCLA as a Theater Major. She suddenly found herself scribbling lyrics on bar napkins and call-sheets for various acting gigs in an attempt to bring voice to what Hollywood wasn't really supporting her growing creative force. Three demo recordings at Randy Alpert's SCREAM Studios, one indie record deal gone bust and countless local gigs later, Holly seemed to be just about ready to call herself a songwriter.
In late 1996, she was unexpectedly rushed to the hospital with what appeared to be an intense case of the Flu, but turned out to be the beginning of a two-year, life-changing odyssey. She fell into a coma and was diagnosed with Endocarditis, a severe heart infection that threw her body into massive trauma. After a week of unconsciousness, she was lucky enough to awake and begin a slow process of recovery. She lost her hair, lost function of all her muscles and had to learn to walk all over again.
This severe shock to the system galvanized Holly's musical focus. Her heart-felt honesty, feelings of longing and inspiration, and the drive to understand herself were the result of a literal broken heart, and ultimately became the seeds for her debut album, City Girl in 2000. Met with critical acclaim, Holly's debut CD was created alongside Clio-award-winning producer and arranger Chris Horvath.
In 2001, Holly again partnered with Horvath and released an EP entitled Six Sided Woman. This new recording along with City Girl garnered her 3rd place in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest of 2000 and an Honorable Mention in the 2001 USA Songwriting Contest.
Additionally, Holly's songs have received numerous feature film and TV placements including ABC's Miami Medical, NBC's Passions, the soundtracks for Warner Bros.' films Winning London and Our Lips are Sealed, and multiple CD compilations including Live On: Songs of Love, Hope and Inspiration (A benefit CD to aid the American Red Cross Relief efforts helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina and Rita) and Girls Night Out: Life & Love, that have graced the shelves of TARGET and other major retail outlets.
Holly is a proud mom of two children, a beautiful girl named Josephine and sweet boy, Truman, both of whom have since birth provided much of the inspiration for Holly's continued work over the past 8 years, including her second full-length project, Every Little Seam, released in 2004 and her highly acclaimed third full length album released in 2008, Leaving Kansas. This project was the first of Holly's albums guided by the musical direction of her manager and dear friend, Anthony J.W. Benson. For Leaving Kansas' new rootsy feel, Benson enlisted an experienced production team to help capture the emotion and intimacy that would best highlight Holly's beautiful voice and skillful songwriting.
With the new team in place, including renowned recording engineer Ian Terry (David Bowie, Diana Krall, Leonard Cohen) and mastering wiz Dominick Maita (Fall Out Boy, Jewel, Curtis Stigers), Leaving Kansas wowed the indie Americana scene. The album was well-reviewed in the UK's Maverick Magazine, More Magazine, Performing Songwriter's DIY section, as well as being highlighted on itunes, Napster, CMT.com and various indie blogs.
Holly's latest concoction is a 70's inspired soul album helmed again by Anthony J.W. Benson, entitled "Frequency." A new team of incredible musicians, plus some old faces, and the legendary Tom Tucker engineering (Prince, Lucinda Williams, Bonnie Raitt) are bringing results which arguably, reflect the best of Holly Long as a performer and songwriter to date.
Holly happily resides in Venice, CA with her husband and children and continues to wrangle the butterfly muse. Through therapy, yoga, and a little help from her friends, Holly performs with love and gratefulness.
Peace. Love. Music.
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