Laura B's Big Voice! 30/4/13

Image property of Aoife White

Laura B is a fairly new singer/songwriter to the music scene in Derry. Most recently Laura B performed at a night full of local talent where artists where filmed in order to have a chance to take part in the “It’s Happening” festival, a two day event over the 11&12 of May.

Laura got started in music a little later than usual but it didn’t take her long to decide she would pursue it and see what happens. “It all kind of started when I did a transition year in school, I never did music before and I picked that and started teaching myself guitar. I was always fairly shy and doing all the different activities and stuff I built up my confidence. I tried my hand at playing guitar and I liked it. I always liked singing but you always kind of need an instrument to back yourself up.”

Continuing her music at school, Laura spread her wings into the world of gigging very early.  “Then I thought I’d do it for leaving cert and I got an A so I decided to do a bit of giggin as well. There’s an organization for young people down in Moville called the Up Scene and I started giggin with them and built up a bit of confidence. 

Mainly I started before Christmas, started writing my own songs and giggin with other artists like Susie-Blue. Been coming on leaps and bounds and doing a bit of recording as well. It’s about two or three years ago but I’ve only been getting serious about it in the last year and a half and building myself up. I’ve noticed myself getting better, changing poems into songs and that kind of thing. I always used to write poems, just adapting them musically. It’s a good way of expressing myself. 

I tend to get a wee notebook whenever I’m feeling annoyed or whatever and jot it down and then just make it a song. Any kind of feelings, happy, worried, strong emotions that you need to get down on paper.”

Feedback from local music followers has given Laura more confidence in her performing and her songwriting abilities. She explains how the Derry music scene in particular has been a comfort where she can learn from other musicians. “People have given me feedback about it being catchy or saying they really liked it. Some will say they noticed the lyrics are really kind of deep or whatever and that’s what I like to hear because whenever you’re singing songs to people in bars, like your own songs, you are really afraid about people not liking it. It’s your own work so you’d be more conscious of it where as when you’re singing covers that’s not your own song so you don’t really mind. It’s relaxed in Derry. It’s nice to see all the different musicians because you learn stuff from them and it’s always handy that if your friends are musicians you can go do gigs with them. It’s a nice wee community of people that are like yourself. I’m from Greencastle originally but play mainly in Derry. I would do regular slot in Ruddins in Moville but mainly in Derry because I go up to college here. I do the Bound for Boston with Susie-Blue and any open mics that are around. I’m trying to get myself known so I can get more proper gigs about Derry as well .”

Having listened to Laura B perform there is no doubt that her voice carries a lot of power. It’s controlled in such a way that she doesn’t give everything away to begin with but when that song goes for the emotion so does Laura. “I’ve been described as sounding a wee bit like Regina Spektor, Jilly St John’s compared me to her. Last week at the singer/songwriting competition in Moville I was described as sounding a bit like a young Edel because my voice was kind of powerful. I didn’t place but there was a lot of people involved and there was about 15 that had gotten through to the final. My friend Jack Craig came second. It’s always good to get the live experience I mean every gig’s different but live is more atmospheric.”

More atmospheric indeed! If you’d like to hear some more you can hear Laura’s demos online at http://www.reverbnation.com/laurab3 or on her Facebook Laura B Music. I recommend seeing this artist live as the energy that comes with the live setting is conveys Laura’s true talent and potential.

There are to be more professional recordings coming up soon and Laura is hoping to be possibly bringing out an EP of her own music. “I’m hopefully going to release one in the summer. I’m working on it now. I have the songs ready, it’s just a matter of getting them recorded and getting everything ready. Maybe even a launch in the summer time. In a year hopefully I’ll be a bit more better known and playing a few festivals like Stendhall and Glasgowbury and stuff like that, keep it small so there’s something to build upon.”

Susie-Blue on the Button! 1/4/13

Image compliments of Peter Sherlock

Susie-Blue is launching her second EP ‘Bits and Buttons’ this Friday at Café Soul! The local singer/songwriter has a lot in the pipeline with both performing and organising gigs locally and further afield. Susie-Blue will have the pleasure of providing support for her friend and peer, SOAK, at The Little Museum of Dublin tomorrow and Wednesday, both nights have sold out already!

Susie-Blue tells of how she first began to play music a few years after receiving a guitar as a present. “I’d say I was about 7 or 8 my daddy bought me like a wee half guitar or ¾ guitar for Christmas and I didn’t touch it until I was about 9 or 10. I moved from Belfast to Foreglen and then he started to teach me how to play. After that I just played guitar flat out. He taught me my first five chords and after that I just ran with it and tried to do as much as I could with it. I was learning other songs, well trying to, he taught me ‘Sloop John B’ by the Beach Boys. He used to play ‘House of the Rising Sun’ and when he was playing that I thought it was the most complicated song to play ever and I used to think ‘God, I’d really love to play that song, I have to learn how to play it.’ That was my goal.”

After reaching her first goal Susie-Blue went on to write her first original song at the age of only 15. “I wrote my first proper song when I had just turned 15. When I did that, for Christmas which was six months later my mummy and daddy booked me into a studio in Feeney to record two songs. That was my present and I was so happy, really buzzing. I went in and recorded Avril Lavigne’s Nobody's Home and did a piano cover of it. I was just learning piano at the time and it was awful. I also did the first song that I’d written, Memories; I don’t even play it anymore. I think it’s bad, my mum obviously loves it because it was the first song I’d written.”

Even though it was big step for Susie-Blue, she felt at ease in the new surroundings.  “It was weird, I felt natural in it, I really enjoyed it. I was still a bit shaky on guitar and piano, I was fifteen and had been playing for five years but never in front of anyone or anything. Then to play in front of this man who has a studio and plays guitar. It was nerve wrecking and I was sitting trying to play but it only took two takes to get the guitar part and one or two to get the piano as well.  I had only just been learning to play piano, Eoin O’Callaghan of Best Boy Grip taught me how to play in school.”

Susan Donaghy was the name left behind for the new identity of ‘Susie-Blue’ but this was a transition she felt was necessary. “There’s a strand of songs that I don’t play. They’re all on YouTube except for Memories, that’s not on YouTube. Songs like ‘Fallen’, ‘Pressure’ and others that are on YouTube under ‘Susan Donaghy’ and to me they’re nothing to do with Susie Blue, they’re more just me when I was starting out. There are some good hooks in them but I wouldn’t tamper with them or change them and leave them where they are. The songs I have now are the ones I was writing when I set out to become Susie Blue. I did gig as Susan Donaghy for a while and played the likes of Internal Woman’s Day with my friend. I was really shy though and I think I needed to take myself out of the equation and put in like a character and a stage presence where I could talk on stage and be more open on stage because it wasn’t actually me. It feels like you’re not putting yourself out there as much because it’s under a different alias. I think I understand now why people pick stage names, it’s easier to make a page and say when you’re playing, if someone doesn’t show up then I’m grand when I go home, Susie Blue might be a bit hurt when she’s sitting at the gig.”

Susie-Blue explains how she went on to organise nights for other acts, particularly those who may not have had the opportunity to play otherwise. “Les, the owner of the Bound for Boston, saw me at the Battle of the Bands where I came third. That opened up a good few opportunities for me. That encouraged Sean Woods from Birchwood Recording Studio to record my next EP. The Les said he like  me to organise a night with my name on it where it’d be my night and I’d get the acts and he would step back and give me full control of it. I thought it was great because then I could get in acts that don’t really get a chance anywhere else. I found the Bound For Boston really hard to get into initially, thank God for the Battle of the Bands, I think they’re great to introduce bands and singer to bars where they’re looking for acts. For example, I’ve got a girl playing who never plays anywhere, the only way she would get to play was at open mic nights and stuff but because I’m organising this she’s getting to play. Her name’s ‘Wee Blue’, I’m excited to have her there to play.”

It’s going to be a busy week for Susie-Blue, The Little Museum of Dublin tomorrow and Wednesday, Susie-Blue Presents… in the Bound for Boston on Thursday and of course, not to be missed, the launch of ‘Bit’s and Buttons’ the new 3 track EP on Friday . Check out Café Soul for the launch starting at 8.30, £2 at the door but you can bring your own drinks. In the meantime have a listen online at http://susie-blue.bandcamp.com/.