Lauren Wakefield
Sacramento, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2010 | INDIE
Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
“While Lauren Wakefield has been performing since she was two years old, she has done it professionally since she was 14. Now at the ripe age of 23, Lauren has developed a healthy following. Lauren describes her style as an old blues/punk fusion which already puts her in a class all her own for such a young artist. In town, Lauren has performed at venues like The Press Club and Distillery as well as Pangaea Two Brews. Currently, Lauren is a solo artist formerly of Lauren and The Solicitors which released a self-titled album called “The Solicitors”” - Andy Soto -- CBS Sacramento
I love The Distillers. “Hall of Mirrors” (from 2003’s Coral Fang) is my favorite song by that great band. Brody Dalle‘s gravelly voice, in that song, is filled with intense anger, which was obviously directed at her then recent ex-husband Rancid‘s Tim Armstrong. “I come down like a hurricane sucked up inisde and I spit out the suffer, yeah,” she snarls, in the first verse, but, then, in the second verse, she spits out that suffer with a vengeance: “I come down like a bloody rain cuts up flesh sky, pulse beating under, yeah / Meat petals bloom in a bone garden / Aint no God, no ghost gonna save you now …”
Anyway, the other day, I stumbled upon this video …
This is Lauren Wakefield. She’s a young “singer/songwriter/guitarist from Brooklyn, NY, misplaced in Sacramento, CA.” Sure, Brody‘s scornful rage is absent, but, that’s just because Lauren‘s just a pup, and maybe she hasn’t been hurt so bad. However, this pup’s got pipes, and, she belts out one of the best ameteur covers of “Hall of Mirrors” that I’ve ever heard. So, next, I listened to her cover of The Distillers‘ “City of Angels” …
Lauren is the shit, the real deal. She had a band once called Lauren Wakefield & The Solicitors, who released an album The Solicitors in 2012, but, apparently, she is currently kicking it solo on VOD Recordings. Her solo demo (The NO SOLUTION Demo), her band album (The Solicitors), and a collection of covers (Bedroom Sessions) are available here. Check her out. I did …
The Solicitors is an excellent collection of melodic punk/rock that certainly reflects Lauren‘s biggest influences, mainly The Distillers, Hole and Green Day. The production is a bit lackluster, but, Lauren‘s voice is pristine, soaring over her well-crafted, original tunes. Her lyrics prove that I was wrong about her being too young to have been hurt by love. Lauren‘s angry, bitter, cynical. “Method To Madness”, “Down” (which wouldn’t be out of place on The Distillers‘ 2nd album), and “Perfect Angel” are my favorites; but, “Cover Up” (a Goo Goo Dolls-esque power ballad) and “Four Leaves” (whose melody in the verses is familiar) are good tracks, too. And, the final track “Bittersweet”, an emotional acoustic ballad, is the perfect closer. “Here it goes once again / Another sappy-ass fucking love song,” she croons. I think “Bittersweet” is, in fact, my favorite song!
The NO SOLUTION Demo (2014) includes 2 tracks from The Solicitors, 3 covers, and 2 originals (the reggae-ish “Let Go” and the garage-y “Foul Play”). The influences are more varied on this demo, but, Lauren can sing anything which, of course, she proves on Bedroom Sessions (2011).
Lauren‘s interests, per her Facebook page, are: “Fame. Fortune. Platinum Records.” She deserves them all. - ROCK CHICKS RULE!
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Laurenâ₏™s musical journey began as early as when she was just a toddler in Brooklyn, NY. She delighted the congregation in church while she sang along to their favorite hymns. Throughout her life, Lauren has taken to music like a fish to water. Although singing was her first talent, she soon added to her forte the alto, soprano, baritone and tenor saxophone, which she continued for about three years before receiving a gift from her aunt which afforded her the opportunity to learn the guitar at the age of 14. That summer, Lauren and her guitar were inseparable. She was thrilled to learn songs from her favorite artists.
Lauren moved to Sacramento from her home in New York in 2004, at that time, she formed a band with her high school friends, and continued on to learn the drums, bass and a bit of piano. Give her an instrument and she'll learn it in a week or two! She began writing a plethora of lyrics as her confidence and passion for music soared.
While playing numerous shows throughout Sacramento and the Bay area at multiple venues, Lauren came into her own. Her band the Solicitors and she were regulars at Pangaea Two Brews Cafe, the Press Club, Naked Lounge and other venues around the Sacramento area, delighting her audience with her thought provoking lyrics and stimulating rhythms. Recently, her unique style and willingness to "think outside the box," took her to researching the musicality and styles of classic artists such as Big Mama Thornton, Etta James and the incomparable Elvis Presley have taken her performance to a greater level of complexity.
Lauren and her band, the Solicitors celebrated the debut of their first album, "The Solicitors," in which Lauren is the lead singer, guitarist and songwriter. Lauren's decision to go solo comes at a time when her talent for writing and performing has culminated in the most appropriate manner for her introduction into the music world as a professional artist.
Lauren is keen to point out that everything she listens to directs her musical development in some way. However, she would certainly include Brody Dalle, Sublime, Green Day, Bob Marley, Elvis Presley, Etta James, Rancid and Ray Charles as amongst her biggest influences.
Lauren can be found at LaurenWakefieldMusic.com andYoutube.com/TheSolicitors for her Solo Demo, full band's album and live videos respectively.
Band Members
Links
