Meghan La Roque
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Meghan La Roque

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"Jetlag Wont Stop La Roque"

Meghan La Roque is pretty tired right now. She's just returned from touring with fellow musician singer/songwriter Todd Martin. She's finally back home in Hollywood, CA, but not without feeling a tad jet lagged. "The trip back always feels so much longer than the trip there," said La Roque in a recent interview.

Exhaustion aside, La Roque said she had a lot of fun on the road with Martin. "I liked touring with him because we have the same sense of humor. There was good on-stage banter," she said, adding that one night things went farther than just banter. "One evening in Boston, one of my good friends and I said, 'Let's start doing old dance moves from 6th grade!' So we decided to have a dance party in the middle of the show. Todd started playing Busta Rhymes and I'm like, "I quit being a singer-songwriter, I wanna be a dancer!'"

Other than her new-found aspirations to be a hip-hop dancer, the Martha's Vineyard native has quite a few other passions. "I think I was a writer before I was a musician and I was very into theater arts," she said.

As a theater arts major at Bridgewater State College in Massachusetts, La Roque hadn't originally intended to make music her career. "I didn't follow my dreams right away. I was shy at first. I went to college to do the 'normal' thing. Then right after I graduated, I jumped in my car, drove to San Diego, and just started pursuing it," she said.

La Roque said she is ultimately happy with her decision to pursue music and said she's been playing professionally for four years now. "I wouldn't have it any other way," she said. "Sometimes it's a struggle, but when you're doing something you believe in, it's totally worth it."

One of the things La Roque most enjoys is the experience of playing live and sharing something with an audience. "Each live performance is completely different," she said, adding that at her shows, she'll "call out someone's name from the audience and bring people into the songs."

Remembering songs is a big part of any musician's day-to-day life, and La Roque has her own unique method for it. "I've been doing this thing where, if something pops in my head, I'll repeat it three times," she said, noting that inspiration doesn't always come at the most obvious times. "Sometimes it'll pop into my head before I fall asleep. Other times I'll just pick up my guitar and do a scat-type thing where the words just fall out."

La Roque credits her musical and lyrical inspiration to a few very different musicians. "My number one favorite is Nina Simone. I love her music. Definitely Jim Morrison, as a poet. I really admire Hendrix and Joplin~the people that were really soulful and spiritual and true rock stars," she said.

And in true rock star fashion, La Roque recently completed a video for her song, "Pick Me Up", which was directed by longtime friend Jeremy Mayhew. "It was a really serendipitous experience," she said. "It was done on Martha's Vineyard as kind of an island video. I'm really excited about it."

As for her music career, La Roque has high aspirations. "I want to go the furthest that I can possibly go," she said.

Hopefully the jet lag won't be too bad along the way.

Feeling Anxious By Aly Semigran July, 2005 - Feeling Anxious


"SoundSpike Song of the Day: "Little Island" by Meghan La Roque"

SoundSpike's Song of the Day for Friday (12/17) is "Little Island" from singer/songwriter Meghan La Roque's debut LP, 2010's "Carry Me Home," produced by Jimmy Parr (Carly Simon).

Some people slink back home to hide after hitting the wall in the big city, but for Meghan La Roque that was merely fuel for a massive creative outpouring. After a brutal seven-year stint in the Southern California music scene, La Roque returned to her roots in Martha's Vineyard, MA, to mine the reflections of her nightly L.A. "therapy" walks and craft her first full-length. "Each song became a different part of the small town we call L.A. -- a map of self-discovery," La Roque said, in a press release.

La Roque has a whiskey-edged voice that catches somewhere between a whisper and an ache. She makes no attempt to hide her intimate relationship with the sharper moments of life, and her confessional lyrics give a rawness to what otherwise would be categorized as folky pop. "Little Island" was written when La Roque was "defeated, broken": "It came to me in the silence I had sought for so long. The silence that carried me here ... no more buzz. I was awake."

Besides La Roque on vocals and guitar, the album also features David Saw on lead guitar, Larry Ciancia (Fiona Apple, Ray LaMontagne) on drums, Jill Zadeh (Maroon 5, Joss Stone) on backing vocals, Parr on pretty much everything and a cornucopia of local artists.
"Carry Me Home" is available as a digital download for $9.99 at iTunes and on Amazon for $8.99. For more information on La Roque, visit her website. And for a longer visit with the singer/songwriter, check out the "Carry Me Home" promo video, embedded below. - SoundSpike.com


"Singer with Flair and Verve"

Singer/songwriter Meghan La Roque's greatest asset may be gutsiness, an indisputable chutzpah that she wields to make you sit up and pay attention to her music. This power of conviction is used to full effect on "Drunk In A Kiss," a six-song EP she recently released on her own Rock You Records label. The disc, recorded and produced by David Ybarra, represents a departure from Ms. La Roque's previous release "Acoustic Live" and serves as a telling document of her artistic evolution.

Ms. La Roque, formerly of Martha's Vineyard, has been striving to carve a name for herself in the singer/songwriter scene in San Diego and Los Angeles. She created the "Acoustic On The Rocks" showcase in San Diego and L.A., where she has performed alongside the artists Pete Thurston, Bushwalla, Gregory Page, and others. San Diego Area Music dubbed her "an empowered woman playing inspired music," and the San Diego Troubadour called her "a risk taker on the move."

In a departure from Ms. La Roque's previous acoustic approach, "Drunk In A Kiss" features a full band sound. While some acoustic artists find their voices drowned out in a full band setting, Ms. La Roque adapts well to the new format. She seems to have discovered a new level of strength and nuance to her singing that suggests a fusion of Chrissie Hynde and P.J. Harvey. On the track "Pick Me Up" she sings, "I need to wash my hands again, of all the sadness and the sin," before describing herself as "a beautiful mess." Like many of the tracks on the EP, this song touches on the theme of the intoxicating power of love and how it can bring once-sensible people to their knees. "Starship 27" is a languid paean to deceased rock stars like Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain, and Janis Joplin, while "This Makes Believe" has the droning, electronic sound of "The Flaming Lips" as Ms. La Roque sings, "I fell in love with fantasy." The most accessible track on the disc is "Cameron," a gentle ballad that rides blissfully on the 1-4-5 chord progression as Ms. La Roque's voice fuses seamlessly with the elegant instrumentation.

Meghan La Roque is currently booking solo and full-band engagements on the west coast, and in April she will tour the east coast with singer/songwriter Todd Martin. With "Drunk In A Kiss," Ms. La Roque continues her intriguing musical journey. With her potent combination of drive and willpower, it's safe to say that this will not be the last chapter in the career of this unique performing artist. - MV Times


"Notes On A Homecoming"

Meghan La Roque's new single "Little Island," to be released on iTunes within the week, celebrates the singer/songwriter's return to the Vineyard, her childhood home. She sings, "It takes a little island/ it takes a little snow/ six years and sixteen cities / to find my way home." The singer spent a number of years on the West Coast pursuing her musical dreams, only to find that, as she says in her MySpace page, "The mirage of beauty that I tasted in L.A. has become the treasure under the tree in my backyard here at home."

Ms. La Roque's voice is mellifluous, at times adopting a rich lusty edge. Listening to her often confessional lyrics, one feels like they're receiving sage advice from a trusted friend. Although there's a palpable energy in Ms. La Roque's delivery, her music is alluringly hypnotic.


Vineyard singer/songwriter Meghan La Roque, currently at work on her new album, "Carry Me Home."
Photo courtesy of Meghan La Roque
Ms. La Roque is a second generation Islander. Born in Oak Bluffs, she was the only girl in a family of five kids. Her parents founded the New Faith Ministry (which later became the Christian Fellowship of Edgartown) in their living room. Ms. La Roque's father, Bill Nicholson, who was also a carpenter, acted as minister. When Ms. La Roque was nine years old, her mother passed away. "Music was a vehicle for me to deal with that," say says, adding, "I learned to rely on my core."

Winning the role of Annie in a production at the Vineyard Playhouse was an eye-opener for the burgeoning singer. "I was always a very quiet girl," notes Ms. La Roque, "and I remember singing very loud for the audition. It felt comfortable and I realized that this is what felt most natural." Ms. La Roque started writing songs in her teens, switching from the violin to the guitar. At 16, she won a songwriting contest at the Wintertide Coffeehouse, a popular Vineyard Haven venue in the 90s.

At college, Ms. La Roque focused on drama. "I was almost afraid of music. It's more of a true thing. [In theater] I could hide behind a character." After graduating with a degree in theater and a minor in music, she decided to pursue her real passion, recording a demo and then moving to San Diego.

There, Ms. La Roque flourished as a performer. She soon made a name for herself, becoming a fixture at Java Joe's, the San Diego hotbed for singer/songwriters where performers such as Jason Mraz and Jewel honed their talents. "After being shy for so long I really came out of my shell," recalls Ms. La Roque. She also admittedly became ambitious and more aggressive - both in her pursuit of success and in her musical style.

Seeing L.A. as her natural next step, Ms. La Roque began performing in both cities. She started a traveling musical showcase, called "Acoustic on the Rocks," which helped singer/songwriters from both scenes reach a larger audience. Ms. La Roque plans to bring the concept here, and she hopes it will eventually develop into a national tour.

Ms. La Roque's years in L.A. were marked by a whirlwind of writing, playing, and promoting, all balanced precariously against a full-time job and constant moves (she relocated 13 times while in California). She recorded an album, "Drunk in a Kiss," which received local acclaim.

But eventually Ms. La Roque's demanding schedule and disenchantment took their toll. "I stopped playing out live as much and started writing more personal music - mellower stuff," she says. Just when her career was poised to take off, the artist became disillusioned with the Southern Californian music scene. In the end, she says, "I felt like the universe spit me out of L.A."

As she sings in the chorus of "Little Island," Ms. La Roque said "Goodbye to all those city lies" - she returned to Martha's Vineyard. Just days after arriving, she was introduced to local producer Jimmy Parr, a chance meeting that, in combination with other serendipitous events, convinced her that she was exactly where she needed to be.

Soon after her arrival, Ms. La Roque's father died. In dealing with this second tragedy, she found strength in many of the qualities she believes she inherited from her father. "He was really honest - a straight shooter," she says. "He had a really strong work ethic."

Coming back home has helped the singer realize that, "Happiness is not gaining notoriety or accolades from the press. Listening to the breeze and picking up my guitar and having a bout of creativity is true happiness for me."

Since returning, Ms. La Roque has carved a niche for herself in the thriving singer/songwriter scene here, which she describes as a creative swell. "Things are coming together," she says. "I've gotten out of my own way and the forces in the universe are taking care of me."

Ms. La Roque has performed at local venues, including Che's Lounge in Vineyard Haven, and contributed her talents to numerous fundraisers. She's now taking a break to record "Carry Me Home," with Mr. Parr, - Martha's Vineyard Times


"Notes On A Homecoming"

Meghan La Roque's new single "Little Island," to be released on iTunes within the week, celebrates the singer/songwriter's return to the Vineyard, her childhood home. She sings, "It takes a little island/ it takes a little snow/ six years and sixteen cities / to find my way home." The singer spent a number of years on the West Coast pursuing her musical dreams, only to find that, as she says in her MySpace page, "The mirage of beauty that I tasted in L.A. has become the treasure under the tree in my backyard here at home."

Ms. La Roque's voice is mellifluous, at times adopting a rich lusty edge. Listening to her often confessional lyrics, one feels like they're receiving sage advice from a trusted friend. Although there's a palpable energy in Ms. La Roque's delivery, her music is alluringly hypnotic.


Vineyard singer/songwriter Meghan La Roque, currently at work on her new album, "Carry Me Home."
Photo courtesy of Meghan La Roque
Ms. La Roque is a second generation Islander. Born in Oak Bluffs, she was the only girl in a family of five kids. Her parents founded the New Faith Ministry (which later became the Christian Fellowship of Edgartown) in their living room. Ms. La Roque's father, Bill Nicholson, who was also a carpenter, acted as minister. When Ms. La Roque was nine years old, her mother passed away. "Music was a vehicle for me to deal with that," say says, adding, "I learned to rely on my core."

Winning the role of Annie in a production at the Vineyard Playhouse was an eye-opener for the burgeoning singer. "I was always a very quiet girl," notes Ms. La Roque, "and I remember singing very loud for the audition. It felt comfortable and I realized that this is what felt most natural." Ms. La Roque started writing songs in her teens, switching from the violin to the guitar. At 16, she won a songwriting contest at the Wintertide Coffeehouse, a popular Vineyard Haven venue in the 90s.

At college, Ms. La Roque focused on drama. "I was almost afraid of music. It's more of a true thing. [In theater] I could hide behind a character." After graduating with a degree in theater and a minor in music, she decided to pursue her real passion, recording a demo and then moving to San Diego.

There, Ms. La Roque flourished as a performer. She soon made a name for herself, becoming a fixture at Java Joe's, the San Diego hotbed for singer/songwriters where performers such as Jason Mraz and Jewel honed their talents. "After being shy for so long I really came out of my shell," recalls Ms. La Roque. She also admittedly became ambitious and more aggressive - both in her pursuit of success and in her musical style.

Seeing L.A. as her natural next step, Ms. La Roque began performing in both cities. She started a traveling musical showcase, called "Acoustic on the Rocks," which helped singer/songwriters from both scenes reach a larger audience. Ms. La Roque plans to bring the concept here, and she hopes it will eventually develop into a national tour.

Ms. La Roque's years in L.A. were marked by a whirlwind of writing, playing, and promoting, all balanced precariously against a full-time job and constant moves (she relocated 13 times while in California). She recorded an album, "Drunk in a Kiss," which received local acclaim.

But eventually Ms. La Roque's demanding schedule and disenchantment took their toll. "I stopped playing out live as much and started writing more personal music - mellower stuff," she says. Just when her career was poised to take off, the artist became disillusioned with the Southern Californian music scene. In the end, she says, "I felt like the universe spit me out of L.A."

As she sings in the chorus of "Little Island," Ms. La Roque said "Goodbye to all those city lies" - she returned to Martha's Vineyard. Just days after arriving, she was introduced to local producer Jimmy Parr, a chance meeting that, in combination with other serendipitous events, convinced her that she was exactly where she needed to be.

Soon after her arrival, Ms. La Roque's father died. In dealing with this second tragedy, she found strength in many of the qualities she believes she inherited from her father. "He was really honest - a straight shooter," she says. "He had a really strong work ethic."

Coming back home has helped the singer realize that, "Happiness is not gaining notoriety or accolades from the press. Listening to the breeze and picking up my guitar and having a bout of creativity is true happiness for me."

Since returning, Ms. La Roque has carved a niche for herself in the thriving singer/songwriter scene here, which she describes as a creative swell. "Things are coming together," she says. "I've gotten out of my own way and the forces in the universe are taking care of me."

Ms. La Roque has performed at local venues, including Che's Lounge in Vineyard Haven, and contributed her talents to numerous fundraisers. She's now taking a break to record "Carry Me Home," with Mr. Parr, - Martha's Vineyard Times


"Higher Standard"

Meghan La Roque is a gypsy. She doesn't pester American tourists in Paris for pocket change, but the singer-songwriter has moved 12 times in the past year alone, including a stint in an L.A. office building that sounds a lot like squatting.

"It was an old, well-known Hollywood building, which will remain nameless for a few more years," she says. "I paid very cheap rent and called it my 'creative space.' I wasn't supposed to sleep there, but you do what you have do to survive while fighting the good fight."

With no shower, La Roque freshened up at a nearby gym. "It gave me an excuse to keep in shape, for sure. I lived out of a duffel and wore flip-flops. I still do from time to time. That's the life I chose."

Choice, maybe.

La Roque is one of those who sung before she could speak. She won a modest songwriting competition at age 16 at a coffee shop in Martha's Vineyard, the gazillionaire enclave where she grew up (she's no trustafarian - her gramma bought property there long before James Taylor Carly Simon moved in).

"It was similar to a Java Joe's or a Lestat's," she says of the joint of her first anointment. "I had been playing guitar for about three months. It was actually an instrumental - your standard angst teen, girly A-minor E-minor deal - but I was getting fancy with the hammer-ons.

"I won $50!"

She should've saved it. She graduated college at age 21 with a degree in theater and a minor in music, and is still paying off the loans. After school, she drove to San Diego with a friend and moved into a two-bedroom apartment with three others. It wasn't long before they got kicked out.

Essentially homeless, she crashed on the floor of a stranger's apartment for a month. That stranger, now a good friend, introduced her to Java Joe Flammini, who owned a coffee shop in Ocean Beach where Jason Mraz was making a name for himself. Flammini hired her as a waitress.

"I had no idea about Joe's history," she says. "[It was] very serendipitous."

It was there she saw Mraz blow up. It was there she fell in love with San Diego's acoustic scene. She released a self-titled disc in 2003, and sent a copy to CityBeat. We were indifferent. The voice and instrumental chops were great, but it was standard girl-with-voice-has-guitar stuff.

Two weeks ago, she sent us her new EP, Drunk in a Kiss .

The standard girl has grown up on Drunk, developed a vocal prowess like a nascent P.J. Harvey. She's learned how to prowl a song, peck at a melody, restrain then attack. It's got moxie, a palpable sense of cool.

Maybe the leap forward can be credited to Joe's, where she says she learned how to "work a room." Maybe it's gleaned from her pappy, a former priest who, she explains, "now has piercings - [but] still tells the best stories and always keeps it real and honest." Maybe it was her producer, David Ybarra of Modern Bakery Productions, who La Roque is quick to credit.

Or maybe it's just her, two years later... - San Diego City Beat


"Drunk In A Kiss Review"

On this seven-song EP Meghan La Roque and producer David Ybarra take you into an urban landscape of sexual longing, broken dreamers, and the closed fists of redemption. Skirting the edges of the inevitable comparisons to Chrissy Hynde and Shirley Manson (of Garbage), La Roque proves herself a powerful rock vocalist whose languid heat turns closed fists into open hands.

Often favoring trance and atmospherics over melody and song craft, La Roque and Ybarra draw us into a dream world of beats and loops and bleeps and clicks and ghostly vocal effects. The alienation of the postmodern era is the alphabet soup from which these songs are constructed. I like it. Give me a bigger spoon.

For a limited time, this EP includes a bonus track, a duet with Pete Thurston. It’s the old Nancy Sinatra chestnut "Summer Wine" performed to stunning effect. The good news is this is a great song. The bad news is that this is my favorite song on the record, and it made me realize how much I really missed melody and structure in La Roque’s own material.

But the bottom line is Drunk in a Kiss does a good job of capturing the passionate, smoky power of LaRoque’s live show. Sometimes it isn’t about clever lyrics or fresh melodies. Sometimes the most powerful music is music that pulls you into a dream world of almost chilling cinematic clarity, a world where you think you don’t belong, and then it pulls you in, and its heart begins to beat with yours and anger becomes acceptance and you feel the open hands of redemption unbuttoning your jeans. - San Diego Troubadour


"Drunk In A Kiss Review"

On this seven-song EP Meghan La Roque and producer David Ybarra take you into an urban landscape of sexual longing, broken dreamers, and the closed fists of redemption. Skirting the edges of the inevitable comparisons to Chrissy Hynde and Shirley Manson (of Garbage), La Roque proves herself a powerful rock vocalist whose languid heat turns closed fists into open hands.

Often favoring trance and atmospherics over melody and song craft, La Roque and Ybarra draw us into a dream world of beats and loops and bleeps and clicks and ghostly vocal effects. The alienation of the postmodern era is the alphabet soup from which these songs are constructed. I like it. Give me a bigger spoon.

For a limited time, this EP includes a bonus track, a duet with Pete Thurston. It’s the old Nancy Sinatra chestnut "Summer Wine" performed to stunning effect. The good news is this is a great song. The bad news is that this is my favorite song on the record, and it made me realize how much I really missed melody and structure in La Roque’s own material.

But the bottom line is Drunk in a Kiss does a good job of capturing the passionate, smoky power of LaRoque’s live show. Sometimes it isn’t about clever lyrics or fresh melodies. Sometimes the most powerful music is music that pulls you into a dream world of almost chilling cinematic clarity, a world where you think you don’t belong, and then it pulls you in, and its heart begins to beat with yours and anger becomes acceptance and you feel the open hands of redemption unbuttoning your jeans. - San Diego Troubadour


"Meghan La Roque Gets Noticed"

Life has not been easy four young, up and coming singer/songwriter Meghan La Roque. Having lost her mother at the tender age of nine, adversity has been her frequent companion. Fortunately, so has music.
"There is a strong spiritual vein running through my family. My dad was a minister and we belonged to a Christian fellowship church. It was kind of a tambourine hippy church," according to La Roque. "My family was driven with an overwhelming sense of good."
"I sang before I could speak and I started playing guitar when I was about 15. Everyone has their own path and mine is through music. It has always been in my soul."
La Roque grew up listening to a wide variety of styles - everything from Gregorian chant to modern Jazz. She also performed as a youth in several chamber choirs, vocal ensembles, and on violin. She trained to be a teacher while studying Theatre Arts in college, but her music would not wait. Basically very shy, she had to overcome her initial insecurity to follow her heart's ambition.
"I've infused a lot of different influences. I tend to like deep passionate music. I've always loved folk music (in particular) because it tells a story. Nina Simone is one of my favorite artists. I don't sound like her, but she sings from her heart and that is what I am about." La Roque posses a powerful voice similar to that of Chrissy Hinde of the Pretenders, but her style is uniquely her own. Her percussive style of guitar playing developed out of necessity.
"A while back, I was playing up in L.A. and I noticed that the people were talking (over her music). So I started punching my guitar and stomping my feet (to get there attention). That has sort of become my trademark without me ever wanting it to."
La Roque doesn't sound much like any of the female artists performing on the San Diego circuit and for a good reason.
"I take a lot of risks. I don't sing my songs for someone else. I f someone appreciates them I am happy and glad that we can share on the journey, but I am not trying to please anyone. Unfortunately, a lot of artists try to mimic each other. Most great artists take a lot of risks in the beginning an d are scrutinized at first and celebrated later."
Tristan Prettyman, San Diego's critically acclaimed rising star, has performed several times on the same bill as La Roque. So naturally, she is very familiar with her music.
"Meghan is not like anything I have ever seen," Prettyman said. "Her music makes me want to float away. She has this sort of '60's, pure thing going on. I don't quite know how to describe it, but it's real music, It's not like pre-washed, produced, pop crap; it's real and it's soulful."
Recently, La Roque has been hard at work recording a follow-up to her 2003 debut album, Meghan La Roque. That CD shined on cuts such as "Reality Hoe's" where she lampooned reality show programming and skewered TV's big, blonde bimbo, Anna Nicole Smith. A second song on that album "Starship 27," will be reprised on the new one. The project is scheduled for a late summer release. Once that happens, she hopes to tour in support of it with a nationally established act. She also hopes to continue playing locally at such clubs as The Belly Up, Twiggs, The Martini Lounge in Encinitas, and at her local favorite, Lestat's.
"The new CD deals with many of the same type of subject [visited on the debut album]. [Like the first one] it has edge to it, but it's a little more mellow. We have taken our time with this one and it's more meditative. I think this time I am a little more at peace with myself.
La Roque's latest offering will have fuller orchestration and the benefit of the studio expertise of producer David Ybarra (Modern Bakery Productions). Ybarra not only produces this one, he also plays every instrument on it except for La Roque's guitar.
"Starship 27" is based upon my struggles in the music industry. When I first started writing [music] it was a real natural thing and a way for me to be in touch with whatever was being provided to me though the source or spirit," La Roque explained. She quickly became aware, however, that image, perception, and glamour play an important role in the music industry.
"That song was based upon my struggle to keep in touch with the source while at the same time being aware of my image. I was living in a little office space in L.A. at the time and I had holes in my socks, but people on the street were calling me a rock star."
While many female songwriters tend to write primarily about failed relationships and lost love, La Roque is inspired by a broader range of topics.
"I've written my fair share of heartbreak songs, but I write more about whatever I am going through. When I write songs, it is usually not by choice. [The inspiration] just comes to me. Sometimes I'll be driving on the road and a lyric or melody will pop into my head. Other times, I'll wake up - San Diego Troubadour


"Meghan La Roque Gets Noticed"

Life has not been easy four young, up and coming singer/songwriter Meghan La Roque. Having lost her mother at the tender age of nine, adversity has been her frequent companion. Fortunately, so has music.
"There is a strong spiritual vein running through my family. My dad was a minister and we belonged to a Christian fellowship church. It was kind of a tambourine hippy church," according to La Roque. "My family was driven with an overwhelming sense of good."
"I sang before I could speak and I started playing guitar when I was about 15. Everyone has their own path and mine is through music. It has always been in my soul."
La Roque grew up listening to a wide variety of styles - everything from Gregorian chant to modern Jazz. She also performed as a youth in several chamber choirs, vocal ensembles, and on violin. She trained to be a teacher while studying Theatre Arts in college, but her music would not wait. Basically very shy, she had to overcome her initial insecurity to follow her heart's ambition.
"I've infused a lot of different influences. I tend to like deep passionate music. I've always loved folk music (in particular) because it tells a story. Nina Simone is one of my favorite artists. I don't sound like her, but she sings from her heart and that is what I am about." La Roque posses a powerful voice similar to that of Chrissy Hinde of the Pretenders, but her style is uniquely her own. Her percussive style of guitar playing developed out of necessity.
"A while back, I was playing up in L.A. and I noticed that the people were talking (over her music). So I started punching my guitar and stomping my feet (to get there attention). That has sort of become my trademark without me ever wanting it to."
La Roque doesn't sound much like any of the female artists performing on the San Diego circuit and for a good reason.
"I take a lot of risks. I don't sing my songs for someone else. I f someone appreciates them I am happy and glad that we can share on the journey, but I am not trying to please anyone. Unfortunately, a lot of artists try to mimic each other. Most great artists take a lot of risks in the beginning an d are scrutinized at first and celebrated later."
Tristan Prettyman, San Diego's critically acclaimed rising star, has performed several times on the same bill as La Roque. So naturally, she is very familiar with her music.
"Meghan is not like anything I have ever seen," Prettyman said. "Her music makes me want to float away. She has this sort of '60's, pure thing going on. I don't quite know how to describe it, but it's real music, It's not like pre-washed, produced, pop crap; it's real and it's soulful."
Recently, La Roque has been hard at work recording a follow-up to her 2003 debut album, Meghan La Roque. That CD shined on cuts such as "Reality Hoe's" where she lampooned reality show programming and skewered TV's big, blonde bimbo, Anna Nicole Smith. A second song on that album "Starship 27," will be reprised on the new one. The project is scheduled for a late summer release. Once that happens, she hopes to tour in support of it with a nationally established act. She also hopes to continue playing locally at such clubs as The Belly Up, Twiggs, The Martini Lounge in Encinitas, and at her local favorite, Lestat's.
"The new CD deals with many of the same type of subject [visited on the debut album]. [Like the first one] it has edge to it, but it's a little more mellow. We have taken our time with this one and it's more meditative. I think this time I am a little more at peace with myself.
La Roque's latest offering will have fuller orchestration and the benefit of the studio expertise of producer David Ybarra (Modern Bakery Productions). Ybarra not only produces this one, he also plays every instrument on it except for La Roque's guitar.
"Starship 27" is based upon my struggles in the music industry. When I first started writing [music] it was a real natural thing and a way for me to be in touch with whatever was being provided to me though the source or spirit," La Roque explained. She quickly became aware, however, that image, perception, and glamour play an important role in the music industry.
"That song was based upon my struggle to keep in touch with the source while at the same time being aware of my image. I was living in a little office space in L.A. at the time and I had holes in my socks, but people on the street were calling me a rock star."
While many female songwriters tend to write primarily about failed relationships and lost love, La Roque is inspired by a broader range of topics.
"I've written my fair share of heartbreak songs, but I write more about whatever I am going through. When I write songs, it is usually not by choice. [The inspiration] just comes to me. Sometimes I'll be driving on the road and a lyric or melody will pop into my head. Other times, I'll wake up - San Diego Troubadour


"Bigger Than Reality"

When was the last time you tried to listen to anything worthwhile on the radio in Southern California? It doesn't seem to exist! Who can enjoy it? Not me! A few weeks ago I was driving up to "Twiggs-Coffee-House" in the University City section of San Diego to listen to some up and coming singer/songwriters. Not sure how I talked myself into it but I did. I'd promised some singer I'd met at the beach after my nightly jog that I'd show up and shoot a few photos for her.

Am I glad I did! The 1960's had some great music moving from Gary U.S. Bonds in 1960 to the Beatles and then the San Francisco sound saved us from too much of the formal "Mo-Town" overdose. With Meghan La Roque's influence maybe, just maybe this decade will be something special also.

Meghan La Roque does what just about every other singer/songwriter should do, if they only had the guts. She breaks the mold and sings from her heart, gut and live aggressiveness. When I flip the dial on the car radio and listen to all the “Me-Too” artists it make me ill. Why can’t these singers who get airtime on the radio do something original. What the hell, Meghan does.

I first ran into her at the Ocean Beach Farmer’s Market on Newport Ave. she was just wrapping up her set but said she’d be playing a place called Twiggs in University Heights and I should check out the show.

Twiggs was what I had imaged as the “normal” coffee house set for the “00’s”, the first decade of a new century and new millennium trying to find and define it’s self. Most of the people were polite listeners to the first couple of acts, followers and friends mostly. But when Meghan took the stage she not only took the stage she took over. She took over the whole place and everyone in it. This was “I don’t care what you want to hear” it was “you’re going to listen to what I sing and you’ll believe it because it’s true. It’s the truth and you’re going to know it." It was the personification of Meghan’s Reality and she made it your reality. It was one of the few times when reality seemed real.

Meghan isn’t’ a Hip-Hop wanna-be or a Britney Spears – Christina Aguilera – Avril Lavigne. She’s very, very different just as Neil Young was different from Crosby, Stills and Nash. She’s raw and real and honest with something in her voice and style that makes you say. I’m not really sure I fully understand what she’s saying, I mean I think I understand, I’m sure I understand but I’m sure that if I listen more I’ll understand more and I’ll like it more… I’ll love it.

Do yourself a favor. Pick up her current CD when you catch her show and definitely get the new CD she’s working on with producer David Ybarra of Modern Bakery Productions.



 
 
 

 
 
 

 

 
  - San Diego Beachlife Magazine


Discography

"Carry Me Home"
"Drunk in a Kiss"

Photos

Bio

"Remember wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure." Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist

So here it goes, the story of my song as I sing it. In a traditional bio I would start by telling you that I was born on Martha's Vineyard into a family with four brothers and that our mom passed when I was nine. Then I would tell you that I sang before I spoke, started playing guitar at 15, graduated college with a theatre degree, drove to San Diego (then LA), pounded pavement for 6 years and recently returned home again. I might even mention the stuff the press likes, like that I lived in an office space for six months, showered at the gym, waitressed at a well known music venue, had a minister for a father, recorded an EP called "Drunk in a kiss" etc. buzz... etc. buzz insert name drop here...

Rewind, begin again... Let's just focus on the last four years. The last year in LA and the three I just spent back home on the Vineyard working on my current record "Carry Me Home."

It started in 2006 while taking nightly walks with a good friend throughout LA. The 'walks' were the birth of the first collection of songs on the album and like the walks they started reflective. "Framed" was found in the boxes I lived out of in those six years, a scrapbook containing pictures of a lover that, like ghosts, lingered in dead end phone conversations. False attempts at reconciliations... the yearning for the life my peers had lead... the choice I didn't make. "Rear View" was the car ride I never took back to him. The one I took away from him. The metaphoric moment when you can clearly see that your life will never be his because it never was.

Over the course of that year, I stopped playing out on the regular and really began to question the path my life was taking. I had somehow become the part of the industry I disliked. I used to say, "Sometimes you have to be swallowed by the beast to change it." I was devoured and drowning in the belly. "When I Scream" came to me in a chord progression that taunted me. I played with it for several nights before sleep. My then roommate and her boyfriend left me alone with it one night on their way out. The buzzing of the city seemed out of reach and too much like the sound of insects attracting to light, constant and droning. It was a haunting lullaby that I couldn't escape no matter what muse I chose. Jimmy (Parr) later captured the hypnosis so precise that there was no other choice but to make the record with him. This was the first song we recorded together.

The walks were my therapy and became a place for my words to collect them selves. Each song became a different part of the small town we call LA, a map of self-discovery. "What You Need" is the token LA song and was inspired by a friend's song I became infatuated with. It's the search for the 'title' that breaks you... the dream gone awry. It is Selma and Sunset - Hollywood and Highland... the parts that aren't as glittery as the movies, rattling dumpsters. It's the climb... the dirt under the nails.

"Hiding or Fighting" was my rebirth. Like the alchemist, I was at the pyramids beaten down with no treasure, pounding my fists in the air... screaming "why?" with nothing left to do but surrender.

The storm passed and the sun rose. "Like A Song" was salvation.

I had no idea what was ahead of me. I only knew that happiness could not be found in an article or an accolade. It was in the search for the source that I began to remember why I had started my journey out west in the first place. It was creativity. It was 'the natural' my walking companion always referred to. If I could have, I would have walked America right then and there. I had promised myself that I would never lie down to get a deal and here I was asleep at the wheel.

I wrote the next two songs after I had mentally checked out without knowing it. "All the Best" was the departure song. It was the subconscious 'see yah latah' to the dead end and then the peace I received when I finally threw my hands up. "Not Since You Left" began in LA with a picture of an ex found online and ended while going through old pictures of my Dad shortly after his death. No wonder I was originally considering 'Pictures and Paragraphs' for the album title. I'll come back to this later...

Stop, pause... a sudden plane ride after a drastic, unexpected decision... sold the car and followed the signs I saw fit to read.

Martha's Vineyard

"Little Island" was written my first February back... The walk had ended. I had given up. I was defeated, broken and camping out in my brother's guestroom. I felt like I was living in a coastal living catalogue that my brother and sister in law created. The song came to me in the silence I had sought for so long. The silence that carried me here... no more buzz. I was awake. I had a go at teaching and assisted in the music department for a brief minute. The song was my nephew's lullaby and came with me to the classrooms.

Then I met