Meg Olsen
Laurel Canyon, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2013 | SELF
Music
Press
The Dreamy Stories You Find In The Corners Of Bars.
Illustration by Johnnie Cluney, Recording engineered by Michael Saltsman - Daytrotter.com
by: BLAINE SKRAINKA
JUNE 25, 2013 - Meg Olsen interview WILD mag music
Name: Meg Olsen
Where you were born: Memphis, TN
Where you live now: Laurel Canyon, CA
What you do: singer-songwriter, style blogger
What she’s been up to lately:
Promoting my debut EP:Â Deal from the Bottom, writing new songs, playing shows, I also recently launched a Kickstarter campaign so I can finish my first full-length album.
If she were a sound, it would probably be:
Pouring rain – the kind that makes you look out the window just to check that the world hasn’t washed away.
What good energy means to her:
If we are talking about people – to me “good energy” in its essence is about being open. Open to opportunities, open meeting or collaborating with people, open new adventures.
What she thinks there is too much of, and too little of:
This may be a bit blasphemous coming someone who blogs but I suspect the amount technology we humans interact with on a daily basis can’t be all that great for us. So… too much technology, too little being in the moment.
With whom she would like most to go on a tête à tête?
Dead: Sylvia Plath or Carl Sagan, alive: Kate Bush or Neil Gaiman. I know that’s more then one person but I got too overwhelmed to pick just one!
If she could see broad social change in one aspect, it would it be:
I’m passionate about many issues but if I had to pick right now it would be Gender Equality and Women’s Rights. It’s hard to believe we are still dealing with these things, alas… My eyes were really opened last year during the election. I think I had been guilty of taking my rights for granted and suddenly here were these clueless old white guys threatening them. Very scary stuff! which is why I gladly took place in the You Don’t Own Me PSA last fall. People needed a wake up call and luckily they did perk up for a minute there but the battle definitely wages on.
What makes her smile:
Good music, a nice glass of wine, dancing up a sweat with pals, I’m also a sucker for a beautiful dress or a cute animal.
The first record she bought with her own money:
Honestly I can’t remember but there is a very good chance it was the Reality Bites Soundtrack. Likely purchased with my pre-teen allowance! I used to find so many bands through soundtracks. That is a particularly good one: Juliana Hatfield, The Posies, World Party, U2, The Knack and lest we forget, Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories. ha! I’ll still break it out on occasion and it holds up surprisingly well.
Heavy rotation:
PJ Harvey’s “Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea,” I’ve been really into the dream-pop band, Wild Nothing recently. Joni Mitchell, The Cardigans & Bowie are more or less always in rotation.
Something that has surprised her recently:
Someone I admire greatly but don’t know all that well made a generous pledge to my Kickstarter. Such a sweet surprise.
Where she goes to be alone:
My little house in the hills is a great place to escape to. I can just hideout and write music and basically no one will bother me except maybe my dogs.
Whom she considers a style icon:
My grandmother, she is one of the most stylish 70-somethings out there and probably has a lot to do with why I love fashion and interior decor so much. I also love Marianne Faithful, Jane Birkin, designer Barbara Hulanicki – I adore 60s fashion. Also, dance pioneer Ruth St. Denis and I am completely obsessed with the glitz and romance of 1920s Ziegfeld Girls like Lousie Brooks.
Her favorite person in the world:
Geez, that’s no easy task… I’m going to play it safe and say my boyfriend!
Meg’s WILD Wish?
Maybe having the ability to time travel… I’m a history junky and I love to travel so that seems like a good way to satisfy both addictions in one wish.
Meg Olsen bandcamp music
Learn more at megolsenmusic.com and check out her blog Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter - THE WILD MAGAZINE
Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Meg Olsen has just released her debut EP – Deal From The Bottom. The five-track record is simply gorgeous – cinematic, country-pop, where twangy guitars meet haunting organ sounds. It’s like Mazzy Star, hanging out in a late-night bar for the lost and the lonely.
There’s even a splendid cover version of Morrissey’s Suedehead thrown in for good measure, too.
I spoke to Meg just before the official launch of the EP and she told me how she’s glad her songs have finally seen the light of day… (full interview at http://sayitwithgarageflowers.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/interview-meg-olsen-meeting-morrissey-i-dont-want-my-adoration-to-be-tainted-by-a-disappointing-encounter/) - Say it with Garage Flowers - Sean Hamman
Discography
Deal from the Bottom EP (released 2013)
Charade - LP (released 2014)
Photos
Bio
Meg Olsen, American fashion writer and songstress, was born in Memphis, TN and raised in Las Vegas, NV so it comes as no surprise that music and the desire to perform run deep in her veins. That said, her first musical release had been a long time coming. After studying film in Seattle, WA and living in London, England for a spell, Meg settled finally in Los Angeles; working for a below-the-line film agency, developing a widely-followed style blog, Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter and secretly writing songs. By night, Meg was on the music scene and found many artists and musicians friends along the way. In 2010 she casually lent her voice to the duet “Saturday Night” by cult-favorite LA-band The Idyllists. Her recording debut caught the fans' attention and quickly parlayed itself into other musical opportunities including a stint in LA-based cabaret act, Dime Store Dollies with singer-songwriter Beth Jean and a spot as back-up singer for Canadian artist, Lucette on a European-tour supporting the Secret Sisters. Spurred on by these developments, Meg was encouraged to take her songs to producer Daniel Dempsey (Until June, Jamestown Revival) and production company Bad Transmission and in late 2012 they began recording her first EP entitled “Deal from the Bottom”.
After the very warm reception of the Deal from the Bottom EP, Meg set her sights on finishing a full-length album. In the summer of 2013 she launched a successful Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project. Reteaming with producer Daniel Dempsey in LATE-2013 they began work on Meg’s full-length debut, “CHARADE". The album will be released worldwide in SPRING of 2014. \\ Meg’s sultry voice could be compared to Hope Sandoval or Neko Case, but there’s a boldness and glamour to her sound that makes it very much her own. Here is what others have to say:
"The jaunty melodies and sugar-sweet vocals gave us the kind of tingles that come from discovering something rather special" -FRANKIE Magazine
"Romantic and mysterious, yet somehow familiar...tambourines, twangy guitars and rotary-drenched organs dance underneath Olsen’s lilting, laid back poetry" - DELI LA
"Both haunting and stimulating ...a spaghetti western flavor, noir-ish folk and a touch of sixties pop all mixed together beautifully with Meg’s enchantingly sultry vocals layered over top" -POPA TUNES
Band Members
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