FREE show July 31st for Artisans At The Distillery
It’s summer in the city, oh is it ever. Toronto is hot and everyone
has fully given themselves over to the throes of summer.
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Sylas, 20 months, new fan
I am very lucky to have 20 month-old Sylas as a new fan, sporting a
sweet sticker at “Community to Stop the Quarry” in Orangeville this
afternoon!
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Full-band videos from CD Release at Supermarket!
Videos from my CD release show at the Supermarket are now up! It was a
fantastic show, and I’m so glad it was filmed so I can share it with
y’all.
Both these videos feature special guest Colleen Allen (saxophone). My
fabulous band on that evening also included Will Bustin (drums), Kevin
Barrett (guitar), Chris Adriaanse (bass), Edwin Sheard
(saxophone/flute), Lauren Barnett (saxophone) and Julian Brindley
(trumpet).
You can also check out more videos and subscribe by visiting my YouTube channel!
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Streaming Tonight’s Concert
If you can’t make it to tonight’s concert, you can stream it live here.
If you’re in the city, see you at tonight’s concert! Doors are at 8:30 pm, Joshua Cockerill kicks off the evening at 9 pm, and I’ll be on at 10 pm. The Supermarket is at 268 Augusta Ave- and it’s only $8 at the door!
Toronto CD release tomorrow night!
In just over 24 hours I’ll be sound-checking for tomorrow night’s long-awaited Sticker Collection Toronto CD release at Supermarket with my good friend Joshua Cockerill opening! In addition to being incredibly excited that the show is finally here — especially after this week’s intense rehearsals — I have it on reliable authority that the food at Supermarket is incredible, full of creative “Asian tapas” choices that won’t blow your budget.
The Facebook event link is here. You can also download Sticker Collection in its entirety here until May 15th.
Special thanks to Errol Nazareth for profiling me on CBC Radio One’s ‘Big City, Small World’ this past weekend. It’s a real honour to have one of the city’s best sets of ears say this about my record:
“It’s a fair bet that you’ve heard the phrase “singer/songwriter” being used a fair bit on this show, and I’m certain I’ve used it many times.For me, though, one of the things that makes a songwriter stand apart from the rest of the pack is the person’s ability to craft songs that stand on their own merit.What I mean by that is that their songs will not lose any of their appeal or immediacy if they are performed without a band. Oftentimes, they pack more poignancy if they are performed at say, a spoken word show. Lauren Best has this gift for writing songs that stand on their own merit. Her auspicious debut album, Sticker Collection, is filled with intimate, confessional poetry. Essentially, this is music for thoughtful contemplation.”
I had a great time yesterday doing a live-to-air on ThatChannel.com‘s ‘Liquid Lunch’ with Hugh Reilly, who’s a terrific host. Lastly, I’d like to thank Olivia Shortt for having me on her show ‘Life on Mars’ on CIUT 89.5 FM this past Monday. We’ve all been working like hamsters in the treadmill trying to bring you the best possible show and I hope to see lots of you out there to support tomorrow night!
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Interviews on Hamilton Campus Radio
101, 101.5 FM) at 2 pm. I’m also taping an interview for McMaster
campus radio (CFMU 93.3 FM) to be aired this week.
What’s all the Hamilton buzz about? I’m doing an encore concert at the
Pearl Company, with Hamilton Music Awards Rising Star winners Dawn and Marra (www.dawnandmarra.com). I’m unveiling a very exciting new band configuration at this concert: Will Bustin on percussion/guitar, new
Renegade Jen Benton (The Cliks, Andy Kim) on upright and electric
bass, and a horn section featuring Karen Ng (Broken Social Scene, Do
Make Say Think, The Happiness Project), Edwin Sheard (Donlands and
Mortimer), and Aurora Cowie (Barbarella). That’s right: horn section!
Say you’re attending and share via the Facebook event.
Can you tell how excited I am?
p.s. Because I just can’t stay away from the Hammer… May 10. Artword Artbar, Hamilton. With Ann Vriend. Details to follow, but you heard it here first. I’m very excited about sharing the stage with Ann.
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Waterloo, St. Catharine’s, Hamilton
taped an interview with CTV’s The Beat which will be aired on January
29th (southwestern ontario) and also available online. I have another
interview on Saturday (January 15th) on CFMU (93.3 or worldwide at
cfmu.mcmaster.ca) on the Freewheeling Folk Show which airs from 10 am
’till Noon. I’m playing tonight in Waterloo, tomorrow in St. Catherine’s, and
Saturday night in Hamilton! I have copies of Sticker Collection with
me, tea blends, chapbooks, buttons and a fabulous drummer/guitarist
(Will Bustin. He’s not for sale, but everything else is)! WATERLOO
Thursday January 13th, 2011 at 8:30 pm
Maxwell’s Music House (220 King St. North)
$7 cover, $5 students part Songwriter’s Circle
with The Mountain’s & The Trees, Zachary Lucky, and Richard Garvey ST. CATHARINE’S
Friday January 14th at 8 pm
The Pan Cafe (120 St. Paul St.)
PWYC ($7 suggested) with Bryson Waind HAMILTON
Saturday January 15th at 8 pm
The Pearl Company (16 Steven St.)
$8 advance, $5 students
with Shelley Adams and Melissa Bel
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Solstice show with Jeff Jones
Ahh, the holiday season. Hustle and bustle, sparkle and shine, stress and desserts. It’s getting colder and retail is getting flashier, and holiday caroling and cajoling is all around!
I’m very much looking forward to the “Almost-Solstice” show I am doing with Jeff Jones to celebrate the season. I’m looking forward to doing an acoustic show in Toronto again after a long period away from the city (during which time I played at the Winnipeg Folk Festival, traveled in British Columbia, worked on an organic lavender/herb farm, and somehow wound up back in Ontario via Victoria, Seattle, and Calgary-but that’s another blog post!). I’m looking forward to being back at the Free Times Cafe, it’s a classic intimate Toronto venue that’s great for listening. And I’m looking forward to collaborating with Jeff Jones (and Danielle Desjardins will also be appearing as a special guest!).
TORONTO
Sunday December 19th, 2010
Jeff and Lauren’s Almost-Solstice Show (an evening of wishin’ and
hopin’ for the days to start getting longer!)
at the Free Times Cafe (320 College Street)
8:30 pm
$6 at the door
I’m especially excited to be collaborating with Jeff as he’s been an inspiration to me since childhood. I remember watching him on TV when I was 13, playing on the Juno’s with Red Rider in support of Shania Twain! I’ve been very lucky to have grown up surrounded by a circle of talented and caring individuals that stoked the fires of my own creativity. I feel truly blessed and humbled to have not only had family friends such as Jeff to look up to since childhood, but to also have had so many opportunities during my own maturation as a performing artist and songwriter to work with powerhouses of creativity and talent both during the production of my record and through other mentorship. Here’s a little bit about Jeff as it relates to the almost-solstice show:
Jeff Jones has been playing bass on gold records in Canadian Bands for four decades. His career started while still in high school with Ocean and continued on with the likes of Ronnie Hawkins, Red Rider, Larry Gowan and Molly Johnston’s The Infidels. Today while continuing to play bass with Tom Cochrane, Burton Cummings and playing an integral role in the Carpet Frogs, Jeff has started to play “unplugged” with a variety of people around Toronto including Danielle and Lauren. To this acoustic forum he brings his stellar “chops”, his wealth of experience and his versatile sweet vocals.
I’ve collaborated with Jeff in the past during his residency at Cantina, but this is our first full concert together and our first holiday show together! I look forward to sharing this intimate concert with family and friends- and that means you, I look forward to seeing you there!
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Winnipeg Folk Festival, and then westward!
I fly to Winnipeg early tomorrow morning, and set up camp at the Winnipeg Folk Festival. I’m showcasing and being mentored (by John K. Samson, no less!) as part of their Young Performer’s Program. I’m there for five days (camping!).
Originally, after this, I was going to fly back to Toronto, but I made a last-minute decision to change my flight to go to Vancouver instead. I’m planning on taking the long way home, backpacking and eventually ending up back in Ontario via who-knows-where. I have some friends and family in western canada, I have little money, and I have an open mind. I’m going to try to make some money while I’m out there (I play music! I brought chapbooks and buttons to sell! I can do lots of other things too!), to aid in my journey and my trip home. I’m betting on serendipity.
If you are reading this and know someone who might like to host me in my journey (anywhere between Vancouver and Toronto, I may go further north to Dawson City or further south to California), someone who might like to host a house concert or organize a concert elsewhere, good places to play, good places to make some money, or just neat places I should really check out… please send along a note, if anything comes to mind!
Summary: if you know someone I should be in touch with or a piano I should play, now is the time to tell me.
I greatly appreciate the assistance!
In addition, send your address if you would like to perhaps receive postcards/letters.
Live on Rogers TV
I’m back in Owen Sound and it’s a bit of a whirlwind, but let’s update:
Appearing on Rogers TV Cable 53
For those of you in Grey-Bruce, you can catch me with Robin Pradham (owner of the Rocky Raccoon, fantastic chef, and all around great guy) live on Rogers at 11 am tomorrow (Friday February 27th). The show runs from 11-12. I’ll be performing a few tunes and Robin will be cooking.
Owen Sound Shows
Tickets are going fast for the show I’m doing at Robin’s Rocky Raccoon as well as for the house concert the night before. Information about both events can be found here.
These shows will be recorded, and is the first appearance of the new configuration of the Renegade Company (with old favourites and new delights).
Interviews
I finished an interview for the Sun Times this morning, and will be doing a Local Artist Profile at Bayshore Broadcasting this afternoon. I’ll provide more information/links as they come, but keep your eyes and ears out for those as well (the Sun Times story should be in the paper tomorrow, Saturday at the latest).
And the site is still coming…
A fabulous new site is on it’s way. It’ll be better lookin’, smarter, and easier to get along with.
Yes, you can RSS blog posts and/or gigs with the current site.
And yes, you can join the (as of yet unpromoted and largely unknown, but functional) Lauren Best and the Renegade Company facebook group.
And yes, please do join the mailing list if you still like to receive emails and haven’t entirely moved on to spacebooks and rssessessess and whatnot.
A Parting Thought
I saw a concert at the Rivoli on Tuesday night that was inspiring and moving, mind-blowing and soul-stirring and soup-making and bone-shaking. We already knew we loved the Undesirables and even had previously had a taste of some of the Toronto poets which were featured. But what I didn’t really have a grasp of was C.R. Avery. Please go listen to him right now. Right now. And remember his name, and go see him if you ever have the chance.
