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I was at this venue called the Knitting Factory that I happen to like, so seeing two of the Los Angeles Music Awards biggest recipients of 2006 on one bill was quite enticing.
Around midnight came the performance of the Los Angeles Music Awards Independent Superstar of the Year, Summer Rose. This only being their "sneak peek" show of their upcoming tour, the band was in full dress rehearsal mode. With Mitch Perry lending his expertise to the band's compositions, Summer Rose is a "can't lose" artist on the commerical success path. With calculated wrecklessness, Summer Rose is an absolute predator on the stage. Her martial arts style kicks and jumps are signature moves for sure, but this woman has something else as well. She has pipes! With a perfect pitch level, she fires off these magnificent lyrical phrases like no one I have ever heard. Not only does she vocal stylize in such a unique way, but the content of her lyrics is what makes her so amazing. Mark my words on this one: this gal is going to be someone in this business. Her set list on this show included two of her best songs, "Boomerang" and "Time Bomb". She was truly the biggest draw on this night with a genuine fan base that revealed itself as being people who aren't just a friend of the artist, but are unbiased followers of the band. Very impressive show by this genuine diamond of the LA music scene. - Big Al Bowman
I get invited to cover a lot of shows, that is for sure. Because Los Angeles is a town filled with talented musicians, the club scene is too convoluted with masses of artists competing for attention from industry heavyweights. That is why I will only write reviews about actual STARS, not just average artists. Hey, I can discriminate. L.A. is a town of personalities, so if you want to succeed here, you had better be more than just a songwriter with little or no charisma. You have got to have a shiny persona and most importantly, you have to stand out in a crowd. One such artist is the rare and extremely unique Ms. Summer Rose.
To say that she is a magnificent talent would be an understatement. As the award winning recipient of Independent Superstar of the Year at the 16th Annual Los Angeles Music Awards last year and the winner of Best New Artist at the Rock City Awards she never disappoints. When she hit the stage before a packed house at the Knitting Factory, the crowd seemed almost awestruck by her presence. As she broke into her set, her energy level kept going higher and higher. Being someone who has to review between a thousand and two thousand CD's every year, I am probably the hardest guy to impress. Except when it comes to this artist.
Part of what makes her so damn good is her lyrical phrasing techniques. As her producer David Holman puts it, " she is a rare talent, like no one I have ever worked with before." Lyrical content is another very unique aspect of this artist's true talent - Big Al Bowman
Discography
Timebomb
Can’t Say No
Liar
Strap It On
Poor People
Save Me
Disco Nympho
Downtown
Wannabe
Love Triangle
Boomerang
Smack
Big Mouth
Photos
Bio
In a music industry mired in complacency and smothered with a ‘been there, done that’ attitude,
it takes a special and unique artist to remind us why we fell in love with this thing called rock
and roll in the first place. If the buzz and excitement in the L.A. music scene generated by the
emergence of Summer Rose is anything to go by, she just might be one of those special cases.
Hot on the heels of completing her debut CD (which has already garnered her two accolades;
Independent Superstar of the Year at the L.A. Music Awards as well as Best New Band at the
‘Rockies’) her live shows have met with rave reviews in addition to leaving audiences stunned
every time she and her band hits the stage.
The new CD ‘Big Mouth’ is almost impossible to categorize as its influences of rock, hip hop
and pop are almost as varied as the vocal performances and attitudes that Summer delivers on
it (check out ‘Save Me’ then listen to ‘Liar’ and you’ll see what we mean!) but it is all brought
into focus by the sharp production of David Holman (No Doubt, Bush, Adema, Beth Hart etc.)
Holman, who’s first major success was with Olivia Newton-John as musical director of the ‘Grease’
soundtrack, thankfully reneged on his resolution to not work with any more females when he
first met Summer and heard some of her material (it must have been very good!!) Soon after
Summer signed to Ruckus Entertainment and she and Holman got down to work in his Hollywood
studio. Amongst the various musicians brought in to help out was guitarist Mitch Perry ( Edgar
Winter Band, Michael Schenker Group, Cher, etc.) who liked what he heard so much that he
refused to leave the studio until he was asked to be Musical Director for the band.
After finishing the CD, the live lineup was completed by adding Sam Aliano on drums, Marshall
Thompson on guitar and keyboards, Taki on bass, and Andreas Brobjer on percussion and vocals.
Their debut performance was in front of 1,100 people at the 2006 L.A. Music Awards at the Henry
Fonda Theater and the response to their show there was so strong that they were then asked
to be main support act at the Knitting Factory’s Club Vodka night. All of the 1,600 people in
attendance needed no explanation as to why, when reviewing that performance ‘Rock City News’
was moved to write, “Summer Rose is a can’t lose artist on the commercial success path. With
calculated recklessness, Summer is an absolute predator on stage. Her martial arts style kicks
and jumps are signature moves for sure, but this woman has something else as well. She has
pipes!!! With a perfect pitch level she fires off magnificent lyrical phrases like no one I have ever
heard. And the content of her lyrics makes her even more amazing. Mark my words; this gal is
going to be someone in this business.” Hmmm...Need we say more?
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