Laura Warshauer
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Laura Warshauer

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"EP Review"

Laura Warshauer's eponymously titled debut EP is a 7-song showcase of a young and engaging New Jersey singer-songwriter. Warshauer reminds me of Shawn Colvin and Joan Osborne—slightly nasal and throaty, but capable of quite nice range—and this short collection works as a break-up album, moving through bitterness, denial, and renewal. At times defiant, other times vulnerable, Warshauer seems to find catharsis in a well-crafted song.

Sometimes hindsight is a four-letter word, as we find with songs like "Sweet 17," which is reminiscent of Colvin's work on A Few Small Repairs. "Convince Myself" reminds me of Relish-era Joan Osborne, while "December Night," full of energy and longing, brings back memories of The Bangles' Susanne Hoffs. "Please Don't Lie" is one of the best tracks on the EP, as Warshauer belts out one last grasp for something that sounds like it should've ended long ago. With "Black Crow," Warshauer returns to a clearer, more mature voice and a pacing backbeat that has the earmarks of a woman with one foot out the door. Warshauer reverts to that throaty, almost childish voice in "Breathe Again," as she exalts in her freedom. "My Fault," a superb song, is another pacing, hammering track that reminds me of something from Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill and will be disturbingly familiar to anyone who has endured a toxic relationship. Here's your after-school-special PSA: If you find yourself identifying too closely with the lyrics, get out.

Warshauer is good, but one wonders at the decision to limit the release to a seven-track EP. I don't want to believe that she doesn't have more material or that Island Records would stint in its support.

—Lyn Dunagan - Caught in the Carousel


""A Sort of Homecoming for Laura Warshauer""

Red Bank is familiar turf for Laura Warshauer.

During her teens, the folk-pop singer/songwriter/guitarist took guitar lessons in the borough, and around the same time she played open mike nights at the now-defunct Internet Café.

On Tuesday (Sept. 23), Warshauer will celebrate the release of her self-titled, seven-song CD for the Island Def Jam Music Group with a gig at The Downtown in Red Bank.

Warshauer, 24, grew up in Fair Haven and recently moved back there from New York. It was during her time in Manhattan as a New York University student that she met Rich Keller, her producer.

“He had a writers’ room, rent free, in Sony Music Studios, which no longer exists,” Warshauer tells Sounding Off. “I got to the studio and dove in head first. At the time, I was commuting from New Jersey to and from school in the city and brought a sleeping bag … and essentially moved into the studio.”

Through Keller’s hip-hop connections, Warshauer says she was introduced to Island Def Jam exec Antonio “L.A.” Reid, who after watching her rehearse about two years ago offered her a recording contract.

Her seven-song CD, which features the single “Sweet 17,” will be followed by the full-length disc Such a Lovely Place in 2009.

Warshauer also has gigs next week at Pianos in Manhattan on Wednesday (Sept. 24) and the Twisted Tree Café in Asbury Park on Sept. 26.

For more info about Warshauer and to hear her music, visit http://www.myspace.com/laurawarshauer. - Asbury Park Press


"Laura Warshauer - Fair Haven Musician is Ready for the Big Leagues"

About 10 years ago, a teenage Laura Warshauer made some of her first public performances playing open mike nights at the now-defunct Internet Cafe in Red Bank.

Given that bit of history, it seems oh-so right for the Shore-raised singer/songwriter/guitarist to play in the borough at the Downtown on Tuesday (Sept. 23), which is when Warshauer's self-titled, seven-song CD for the Island Def Jam Music Group arrives in stores.

Warshauer, who grew up in Fair Haven and recently moved back there from New York, says she's been singing since her days in the crib. At 12, she came home one day and on her bed found an electric guitar, a gift from her father, who thought it would be a good idea if she could accompany herself on an instrument.

She started off learning cover songs, among them Joan Osborne's "One of Us" and Alanis Morissette's "Ironic." When it came time to record her own material, Warshauer pulled out the Yellow Pages and searched for a studio, ultimately selecting Shorefire Recording Studio in Long Branch.

"I remember going with $50 in hand, walking up two flights up stairs – it smelled like cigarette smoke," she says. "My dad would pick me up with Gatorade and pretzels, and I just had that sense of, 'OK, I have an hour of studio time – I'm going to get my songs down.' And you can even hear that in the early recordings."

Warshauer, 24, says she did have the luxury of time to record material for her first full-length Island Def Jam album, due next year. Seven songs from those sessions were selected for her self-titled EP, a folk-pop set that contains the single “Sweet 17.”

“There definitely was a person I had in mind” when writing that song, she says with a laugh. "He would be surprised if he ever knew that he was the one who inspired it.

"But I think that (the song) became about that sense of nostalgia," she adds. "We all can look back and wonder how our lives would have been different if we had been with different people or made a different choice."

- Metromix Jersey Shore


"Fair Haven Singer in Such a Lovely Place"

It’s a voice that can take you by surprise, should you be fool enough to be operating heavy machinery while listening on headphones.

In a song like “Such a Lovely Place,” it can start off from a cooing murmur in your ear and then quickly escalate into a full-throated vehicle for driving the beat; finally crossing the three-minute finish line in a sigh of emotional exhaustion.

Then there’s “Sweet 17,” a devastating song of regret for things that never were, in which her breathy, deceptively innocent voice is framed within a tense swirl of guitars and keyboards that hints at a don’t-go-there darkness behind the dreamy interlude.

If Fair Haven native Laura Warshauer seems to carry a lot of songwriting savvy and musical acumen for an apparent rookie musician, it could be that she’s lived a relative career-lifetime since the day that the formidable LA Reid signed her to a deal with Island Def Jam Records (the singer relates the story in detail on her MySpace blog).

Next month sees the long-awaited release of her major debut CD, a 7-song “set-up” disc entitled Laura Warshauer and released though Island/Fontana under her own Pink Chariot imprint. Produced, curiously enough, by noted hip-hop recording engineer Rich Keller, the disc follows up a ten-song indie effort produced by Blake Morgan. In between then and now, Warshauer recorded dozens of songs, posed for many a publicity photo, and waited her turn to be presented to the world.

None of which is to suggest that Laura Warshauer is anyone’s bird in a gilded cage. With her distinctive vocals and passionate guitar style, the singer-songwriter has been fairly visible of late in area clubs and coffeehouses. On Thursday night, she’ll take her music public in a rather unorthodox setting: the brick-walled salon Glen Goldbaum 72, located at 72 Bridge Avenue in Red Bank (across from the train station and adjacent to the Anvil Shop). It’s one in a series of open-house parties that proprietor Goldbaum plans to host at his recently opened space — and it’s an intimate, casual way to say You Knew Her When. Plus, it’s free of charge and equipped with sushi.

Red Bank oRBit caught up with the 24 year old singer during a busy transitional time. She’s preparing for her first extended set of dates outside the northeast, gearing up for the long-awaited CD drop, AND she’s moved back to the media nerve-center of Fair Haven after several years of being based in NYC.

RED BANK ORBIT: You’re a Fair Haven celebrity! You must be very excited about the imminent arrival of the Fair Haven Fireman’s Fair.

LAURA WARSHAUER: I can remember what it was like to watch the tents and the rides going up. I couldn’t wait for it to be 5pm; I wanted to be the first one there. I even wrote a song about it — my song “Country Fair” is based on the Fireman’s Fair!

Wow. Anything else drawn from your hometown experience?

Definitely. My song “144 Butler Drive” is about my parents’ house. But I don’t think I’ll be putting that one out there. Anyway, I’ve been writing songs since I was 14. I remember the first time I had $50 in my hand to pay for just one precious hour of local studio time. I was hanging out in Red Bank all the time, going to Fair Haven public schools, finding my inspiration in a lot of different things.

You graduated from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School, right?

Right, R-FH. I graduated a year early, in 2000. Then I spent a year in Scotland. But I’ve actually been in New York City for a while.

You were making frequent trips down here to play in Asbury Park, at The Saint and the Twisted Tree Cafe. Have you ever played a gig in Red Bank before?

I was at The Downtown a couple of Sundays ago. I played the open mic, with Rob Dye. He’s a character!

And now here you are playing a hair salon, of all places? How’d that come together? Does Glen do your hair?

No, a guy who’s a friend of mine, Bill O’Brien, has been looking for opportunities for me to book some shows in my home area. I’ll just have my drummer with me right now; he’ll be working with a full kit and a lot of other interesting percussion. I’m excited about it. It’s a non-traditional show. Should be awesome.

Still, you’re blowing my mind here. I thought the life of a major label recording artist was all private jets, mega-tours in all the big arenas, five-star hotels…

We’re definitely dealing with a different climate in the industry. These days you’ve got to build up to it, and you build things from the ground up by touring. And since I didn’t have any real touring experience, the most important thing is for me to get on the road with a band as soon as possible.

So have you ever played anything larger than an intimate club?

I played for 900 people, opening for Richard Marx at a place called Penn’s Peak. And I played the Harvest Festival in upstate New York. But the dream is to be able to bring the records to life onstage, and I eventually plan on having a full rock band with me — guitar, bass, drums and keyboards, for the piano and the string parts. I’m about to tour the West Coast for the first time, so I have the opportunity to finally get out there in front of people. You want to have that emotional connection with the audience. That’s what people respond to.

Getting that record deal has to be a thrill even in this uncertain time. But do you sometimes feel as if you were born too late to get aboard the old gravy train, even if it wasn’t at all what it seemed for the people who actually experienced it?

The record business is like a sinking ship. But for a younger artist like me, it’s about merging that old way of doing things with your own ideas on how to expose people to your work. So instead of traditional radio, you might get a commercial, or you might get a song placed on a TV show. I’m meeting a lot of new people now, and they’re people from things like Artist Direct, or MySpace.

Well, that’s interesting in that the labels are so much less the protective daddy figure, and that it’s everyone for themselves anymore. But at the same time you’re able to really take control of your own career much more than you would have in the so-called golden age. So where then do you see yourself a year from now — the next time they’re setting up for the fireman’s fair?

Just being on the road in a serious way; everything coming to life. I want to be meeting myself as an artist who’s taking it to the next level. I want to connect with young women, people my age. Be their voice, articulate the things that people want to say but can’t always find the right words.

Literally, the voice of a generation?

I don’t know what I’ve gotten myself into. I’m still figuring it out!




- Red Bank Orbit


Discography

Laura Warshauer 2008 (self-titled EP on Island Records)

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Bio

First and foremost, singer-songwriter Laura Warshauer is a storyteller, examining loss, love and life through her music. The New Jersey native crafts sonic gems, combining pop melodies and flourishes of rock, while her lyrical sensibility hearkens back to songsmiths like Joni Mitchell and Janis Ian.

Laura is currently touring to support her self-titled EP, released on Island Records and produced by Rich Keller. The disc features orchestral textures that perfectly compliment her warm, earthy vocals. Laura describes her sound best, "There's definitely a rock sensibility, but it's really about grand melodies. I have a classic pop structure in terms of my writing style, but lyrically, I offer a unique angle."

The songs spoke loud and clear, and Laura's immense talent caught the ear of Island Def Jam chairman Antonio "LA" Reid. He showed up to a Sunday night rehearsal and offered a record deal on the spot. He said, "If you want it, you have a home with Island Records."

This fall, Laura will be performing with the Gin Blossoms and the Nappy Roots. She was a featured performer at the SXSW BMI brunch, the Lollapalooza Music Lounge, and was just chosen to perform at CMJ 2009.

In addition, Laura has been a volunteer with Musicians On Call since she was 16. MOC began in the pediatric cancer ward at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, where artists play bedside for patients. About these special performances, Laura comments, "You have three minutes to make a difference. You're either going to get through to someone or you're not, so make it mean something. You want to take that person somewhere else."

Laura wants to give audiences something they can truly connect to.

"People respond when you're honest in your art. I love it when people get a sense of something real, organic and human from my music. It's about taking people on the ride with you..."