Blue Chip – In honor of the MTV Movie Awards tonight, I thought I’d feature 20-year old music artist Colette Carr who has a new single out, (We Do It) Primo and you can watch her video after the jump. Colette’s a colorful artist who was discovered at a concert for the Game, where she was in the audience and volunteered to go up and freestyle before his show. The Malibu girl was instantly hooked and apparently so was Nick Cannon, who claims the eccentric singer is “what the music industry is missing” in this episode of her webseries “Life in the Day.” Cannon signed her to his label and her first mixtape was released last year. She seems to enjoy a significant cult following and I think she’s going to blow up. I shot her at a past Fred Segal event and her look is only a tad more subtle now, but she’s in no danger of blending in. Meet Colette Carr in the VIDEO below: CLICK HERE for the video & more Crazy Colette
AN URBAN ALTERNATIVE – Last weekend, I caught LaRon ambling into this acoustic pre-Grammy’s event, quiet and self-conscious, always nervous before he goes onstage, he’d tell me later. I got to witness the transformation as he played LA for the first time – and was blindsided by the texture of such a young voice and his musical range. I ended up at LaRon’s studio on Grammy Sunday to do some digging on this 23-year-old ‘Urban Alternative’ artist from Minneapolis who’s said that music gives him wings.
HEAR THIS - Donnie Scantz & Jahi Sundance just released LaRon’s lush debut album, Like a Rose, on itunes over Christmas as the first artist on their State of Emergencylabel. (They’re the Grammy winning production company who’ve produced music for the likes of Chris Brown, Ludacris, Usher, Aaliyah, Miguel and Danity Kane). LaRon’s music is about the whole approach and not one specific sound and his taste ranges from Rick Brown to MGMT, from Passion Pit to Coldplay. The album is a love story about a break-up (his ex’s name is Rose, hence the title) and the 10 tracks are peppered with stacked vocals, infusing layered and experimental sounds. His first single, Take You There, fuses Electro, Pop and Dubstep and you can STREAM IT via the Video below. [Go inside his studio after the jump]
Sidewalk Sightings – I was wrapping up a meeting on Robertson Blvd when I spotted Zoe in casual chic, walking her dog in oversized stripes, invisible bottoms (shorts) and the chunkiest wedge ankle boots, with enviable hair. She’s an actress with both fashion + rock & roll roots who recently moved back to her native LA from NYC. She shares details on her outfit and style at the bottom and I was also curious to find out Who’s on your playlist? Her taste ranges from The Black Keys to vintage Dylan and these five are currently in heavy rotation: (1)The Black Keys – I’ll Be your Man(2)Bob Dylan – One More Cup Of Coffee(3)Surfer Blood – Swim [listen below] (4)A Tribe Called Quest – Buggin’ Out(5)Nadia Oh – That Kind of Girl{Click the pix for bonus shots}
What are you wearing, Zoe? My shirt is vintage, it was my mom’s back in the day, shoes bebe and I had american apparel short shorts on under the top. I think my style is a bit quirky sexy with a lot of influences from growing up with a mom in the fashion industry (she worked for harriet selwyn, whose clothes I still love wearing) and now from going from nyc to la my style has changed a lot. And the glasses are from canal street in NYC. || Me, again: If you’re wondering why she looks so hot just to walk her dog, she breaks it down in her blog post: Dress the Part to Find Rock Star Love. Thanks for the snaps, Zoe! [As her bebe boots are sold out, I highly recommend this leather or suede pair by Elizabeth and James for $262.50 on Zappos, perfect to take you into spring with the peekaboo toe.]
Danish Modern Lands in Los Angeles – Danish Electro-Pop singer Oh Land (Nanna Øland Fabricius) is in LA doing a few showcases before her March 15 album release. I met up with this infectious former ballerina after her quirky show at The Echo and was curious how her recent move to Brooklyn affected her music. See why people compare her to Bjork in the “Son of a Gun” video below and more on her style and secret LA show in Chinatown – 7:30 tonight!
“Son of a Gun” was her first U.S. single and you can find the catchy lyrics here. Her musical palette is akin to a kaleidoscope being salted with a dash of The Cardigans. (And yes, she looks like an even more exuberant Heidi Klum).
Musical DNA – With a mother who sang opera and a father who composed classical music, Oh Land had an unconventional Copenhagen childhood surrounded by musicians. At 16, she moved herself to a forested area outside Stockholm while attending the Royal Swedish Ballet School until a slipped disc sidelined her dance career and led her to experimental music.
Green Room Interview: Music Meets Mayhem – Oh Land moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn last year to work on her album and I was curious how the contrast affected her as an artist when we met up backstage. She said the biggest shock was all the skyscrapers and being bombarded by impressions and that she found herself not wanting to miss a second. She credits the move for adding a different meaning to her mythological music.
Her first full-length album, Oh Land, will be released to the wild on 3/15/11 and she’s touring with the synth-pop OMD [Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark] on these dates. Her billowy op-art costume is by the very outlandish Moon Spoon Saloon and her heels resembled doll shoes. Catch her free 7:30 show in LA’s Chinatown tonight! Details here: @OHLANDmusic || Shot at The Echo, Los Angeles, CA on 2/2/11. All Rights Reserved. [@stylespotting | Facebook]
Baby Got Black - Ok, I decided to hit Sundance for the first time and was at LAX 36 hours later, thanks to free digs (shout out to D&D). Here, I just got dropped off on Main Street and ended up spotting the best bag of the entire trip. It’s a limited edition and rather elusive COACH bag (of all things) designed by [top outfit blogger] Karla Deras of Karla’s Closet. I had written about Coach’s collection with four prominent fashion bloggers here. CLICK to read more >>
The “Elephants” in the Room – Can we talk about how bummed I am to have missed the hypnotic all-girl band Warpaint play with The xx just a couple nights ago at Hollywood’s Palladium? These childhood friends were recently ordained by Stereogum as one of the 40 Best New Bands of 2010 – and I fell for them when they played LA Street Food Fest over the summer. Not only was I impressed with them as musicians – but you know I loved getting a micro view of their nonchalant stage style. I’ll give you the skinny on what they wore — and you can watch their videos and grab a free download below. {You can even Click the Pix for a few hidden bonus shots along the way.}
Theresa Wayman – Vocals/Guitar
Shoegazing - I dug the texture of Theresa’s pieces, but had to stand on my tiptoes and prop my chin on the stage to get steady shots of her boots. I posted my first shot of her here over the summer and wish I could publish all the shots.
Jenny Lee Lindberg – Bass/Vocals & Stella Mozgawa – Drums/Keys/Vocals
Kind of obsessed with Jenny Lee’s cool earrings & shredded sweater. Apologies for not being able to better capture Stella back there, but Rollo & Grady have called her the best drummer in Los Angeles.
Emily Kokal – Vocals/Guitar [below]
I love the look of this video {below}, but really, really love their LIVE raw performance version by Jason Rosencrantz, especially around 4:22 when they harmonize so beautifully in the parking lot.
Warpaint’s latest album The Fool was mixed in an old Highland Park area gym (wow, some huge producers and mixers involved, like John Frusciante). For a free download of “Undertow,” visit their official website. Here’s the full flickr photo set and you can follow them on twitter, facebook or, er, luck be a lady if you can catch them on tour. Heh.
Black Cab Sessions: One Song. One Take. One Cab. - When I fall, I fall hard and I’ve been hooked on the UK rooted web series Black Cab Sessions for a couple years now, watching artists jumping into random cabs, given only one take to perform their music in the raw. In two words, it’s intimately inspiring. I have a handful of favorites I’d love to share, but 24-year-old Swedish Singer Lykke Li had me at “I’m Good, I’m Gone.” The music video is below and here are the lyrics, her website and a free song promo. She’s a true original and her music changes how I see. Now, just trust me and hit play.
I bought her latest on Pandora and have her on a channel I named “Stiletto Radio.” According to the UK’s .net magazine, the Black Cab Sessions originated between two brothers – one looking for a cheap way to promote artists for Hidden Fruit, the other a co-director of film production company Just So Films. They choose bands simply because they like them and aren’t afraid to say no to the heavies they aren’t into. Simply genius. Enjoy the weekend and you can find my Top 5 Favorites after the jump. Click here for more music.
Turn Me On – Ok, I’m embracing my TV roots to show you what’s coming up this week! Tune in for: a Hotel Roosevelt poolside romp that I had mentioned in this sexy post, a slew of in-cred-ib-ly fun stylespotting stories from the LA Street Food Fest <burp> where I also spotted my new favorite female band. Oh, and I’ll be jumping inside some of my favorite LA shops, too. [Translation: Bikini butts, best in bags, piles of jewelry, stylish foodies, hip band chicks, what's trending, hordes of pretty people - and a few freaky ones, too].
For my new friends from the Food Fest, welcome! I have such a fun variety of photos that it’s way too much for one post, so check daily for multiple style spreads from the event or subscribe via facebook, twitter or rss feed. I’ll also have an email sign up soon for updates and Sample Sales, but contact me at jerri [at] stylespotting [dot] com to get a head start (or if I promised you photos). It’s going to be a colorful week of stylespotting, so everybody jump jump.
Turn Me On – Ok, I’m embracing my TV roots to show you what’s coming up this week! Tune in for: a 
