Lauren Best

FREE show July 31st for Artisans At The Distillery

Lauren — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:18:44 +0000

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.

Sylas, 20 months, new fan

Lauren — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 21:12:29 +0000

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!

Health on three: one, two…

Lauren — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 23:48:37 +0000

Not only did I haul my ass out of bed to go for a morning run, AND bike 21k along Toronto’s waterfront… I also made this!

Super Salad, featuring:
Chickpeas, green lentils, quinoa, green pepper, carrots, celery, radishes, green beans, flax seed meal, hemp seeds, poppy seeds, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and herbs/spices.

I would have added more vegetables, but that’s all I had in the fridge. Still, a formidably filling salad. To be eaten alone or served over fresh spinach.

Full-band videos from CD Release at Supermarket!

Lauren — Fri, 27 May 2011 20:10:31 +0000

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!

Interview on Liquid Lunch

Lauren — Mon, 23 May 2011 23:51:58 +0000

It’s been beautiful sunny days in Toronto, and the sky just opened up in a spectacular thunder and lightning storm. I’ve had an intense and wonderful and invigorating few weeks- several great concerts, my Toronto CD launch, two days of filming for Far From The Heart, some great interviews, some beautiful moments in the sun, and even playing piano during my cousin’s lovely wedding.

Just before driving to Hamilton for my May 10 concert with Ann Vriend, I did a live interview on Liquid Lunch.

Streaming Tonight’s Concert

Lauren — Thu, 12 May 2011 22:02:20 +0000

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!

admin — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:15:40 +0000

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!

Interviews on Hamilton Campus Radio

Lauren — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 13:42:27 +0000

You can catch me TODAY (Apr 8) on Mohawk College campus radio (INDI
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.

Interview on CTV’s The Beat

Lauren — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 05:01:11 +0000

Prior to my gig at Maxwell's Music House in Waterloo, the folks from The Beat (CTV Southwestern Ontario) stopped by to do an interview, and got some footage of the show, too! You'll notice Will Bustin on guitar/percussion.

Part four.

http://swo.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20110205/TheBeat2011-02-05/20110206/?hub=SWOTheBeat

Lovely shirt and hat provided by Anne Hopkins (annehopkins.ca)!

Tune-Yards and northern tunes

Lauren — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 05:31:39 +0000

This song/video is not a new discovery, but it seems to keep popping up in my mind as something I want to show to all my favourite people.

I think what really kills me about this video is how the groove is so simple but still somehow slays you. The alternation between the vocal harmony loops (which for me are sort of hypnotizingly beautiful) and the kickass vocal delivery plus laid back lucsious beat+bass brings me back again and again to this track, it creates some kind of suspended reality of song-love for me. That, and I really dig how the video is shot.
The odd thing is that I'm not really familiar with Tune-Yards beyond this track. I sometimes experience songs I love as a one-special-moment instead of a delve-deeper, at least until I get my fix of the one particular song or moment I've discovered an artist, what really catches my eye and snags my heart. I can't get my mind off this song though, so I may be searching for more.

I'm leaving for Sault Ste. Marie tomorrow morning. Thursday night I play in Sault Ste. Marie at Loplops, Friday at Elliot Lake Secondary School (after an afternoon of workshops with the students!), Saturday at Rue Studio in Sheguindah (Manitoulin Island), and Sunday brings me back to Toronto to be part of the SPEAK music series at the Tranzac.