Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 02/7/2010

Support Women Artists Sunday: Petracovich

Petracovich

Based out of San Francisco, Petracovich is Jessica Peters with an old-world version of her family name. Her great-grandfather came to the US from Russia at the turn of the century, and one of the only things Peters knows of Abraham Petracovich is that he loved to listen to the New York Opera from the radio in the living room. Out of respect for the music, he would always wear his best suit.

Many years later, his 9 year old great-granddaughter would be at the piano, practicing Chopin and Debussy, which evolved into writing unrequited-love songs in highschool, and spending her 20’s in long, blissful hours on a living-room floor, creating sounds and beats, twisting knobs, tinkering and writing.

The new…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/31/2010

Support Women Artists Sunday: Eliza Doolittle

Eliza Doolittle

Eliza Doolittle – strong of opinion, smiley of face, loud of tights – is the freshest girl on the block. London born and raised, she knows about the stresses of modern city life, teenage aggro, old soul and the appeal of simple, strong melodies built from clanking percussion and jazzy licks.

“Every song is an individual song,” she says of her debut album. “And the sound is just really happy and summery and light and breezy, but with thoughtful lyrics.” Her attitude, whether on-mic, in-studio or onstage, is not that of a high-maintenance diva. “You pick up something, you just play it…I love that whole sound – really simple – where you can just put it together and anyone can…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/24/2010

Support Women Artists Sunday: Elle King

Elle King

So I came across Elle King this week pretty unexpectedly by browsing through Jezebel. And…well, you’ll see.

The fashionable 19-year-old Brooklyn-based singer-songwriter’s piercing voice and heartfelt lyrics will captivate you. “I feel completely at home when I’m performing, and it gives me the biggest rush,” she said. “So, I’ve pretty much always known I wanted to be a performer.” King, who was born in Los Angeles “to some crazy, wonderful parents,” moved to New York when she was 11 years old. “My amazing step-dad was the lead singer in a kick-ass band called Bob City,” she said. “He was from New York, so he moved us with him.” King, who just finished her “pretty outrageous” first year of college, explained that he was the one…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/17/2010

Support Women Artists Sunday: Laura Izibor

Laura Izibor

Born to a working class family in Dublin, Ireland, Izibor admits she didn’t grow up in a musical household. “My mother raised five kids on her own, so there wasn’t much time to buy records – it wasn’t that kind of home. I found myself fancying music at about 13.” Once the love for musicians like Stevie Wonder, Candi Staton, and Roberta Flack took hold, she was smitten for good. “One door opened to the next – first I discovered Marvin Gaye, and then Otis Redding, and I just fell in love with soul music.”

At the age of 15, Izibor won a prestigious national performance competition, the “2FM Song Contest.” At 17, she started work on her debut album,…

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Pop-Culture | Posted by Julie Z on 01/10/2010

Support Women Artists Sunday: La Roux

Eleanor Jackson of La Roux

La Roux are an English Electropop/Synthpop band made up of singer Eleanor Jackson and synth player, co-writer and co-producer Ben Langmaid. Jackson describes their respective roles as “very much a half and half sharing situation… not like a singer producer outfit”, but also recognizing that it often can “look like a solo act.”

Their music is influenced by 1980s synthpop including Yazoo, Erasure, Depeche Mode, The Human League, Heaven 17, and Blancmange. The band’s name originates from Jackson’s red hair; she has said
“To me, it means ‘red-haired one’ – and it does, vaguely. It’s just a male version of ‘red-haired one’, which I think is even cooler, because I’m androgynous anyway. So it kind of makes sense.”

Elly…

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