Katelyn Berreth Interview

Contrary to what some readers might think, Katelyn Berreth’s music is never Suzanne Vega like, but rather she comes across more with the same type of attitude (but not the same sound) Read More

Lindy LaFontaine Sings I Do

American Singer – Songwriter Lindy LaFontaine draws inspiration for her music from her personal experiences such as relationships and the many parts of the world in which she has lived. As the daughter and the only child of parents she describes as being hippies and who have spent their lives involved in humanitarian work on behalf of women and children in numerous countries, Lindy LaFontaine and her music are like a kaleidoscope.  Those colors and reflections are beautifully displayed in the songs that will appear on Ms. LaFontaine’s new album, This Too, In Time, Shall Pass that will be released September 21^st.

The Pop / Trip Hop / Alternative artist collaborated with producer Stewart Myers (Rachael Yamagata, Jason Mraz, Rhett Miller), keyboardist Patrick Warren (Stevie Nicks, Macy Gray, Beth Hart, Fiona Apple, Melissa Etheridge), guitarist Mark Goldenberg (Al Stewart, George Jones, Linda Rondstadt, Chicago, Peter Cetera, Melissa Etheridge) and drummer Brian Jones, to weave beautiful musical tapestries such as “Free To Breathe,” a song that showcases Lindy LaFontaine’s incredible vocal gifts.

“Everybody is going to translate “Free To Breathe,” differently. It was definitely about a relationship. I think most of my songs have a little bit about relationships in them. It is about relying on other people and how in the end we are really all alone.  Read More

Dala Attracts Fans Worldwide

Dala a harmony based folk pop duo who draw their name from the last two letters of Canadian singer- songwriters’ Amanda Walther’s and Sheila Carabine’s first names, performed in over 300 concerts during 2010, and at one stage last fall, they were in concert sixty times within sixty days.

“Wow! It was insane (Amanda Walther laughs). I hardly know what my house is like anymore. We were all over the place and we were mostly in the United States. We also got to go the U.K. for the first time, which was a dream come true. We opened for Arlo Guthrie in London and we played a festival called The Rhythm Fest. It was in Bedford just about an hour north of London.  It was amazing being in the U.K. and we absolutely loved it. I think that was one of the highlights for me for sure. I have a lot of family in England and it was just amazing to be close to them too,” says Amanda Walther, the blond haired, half of Dala, who has an on stage persona that is juxtaposed to dark haired Sheila Carabine’s saltier presentation.

Dala recently signed an agreement with Nashville based Compass Records, that still results in giggles and “Woo Hoo’s” from Ms. Walther and at the end of January their album  Everyone Is Someone will be released across the United States, an album that was first released in Canada, a year ago. Read more

From Iceland to England - Hafdis Huld

“You can spend so much time and energy trying to be cool, if that is what you want, but the fact is I like having a banjo solo. I like telling stories about things that I find funny. I like the color pink and chocolate, and I just decided when I started doing a solo project that nobody needed to be embarrassed by my uncoolness. I just want to be me. Actually, people think that I became cooler after I stopped worrying about it, so I think I made the right decision,” says Icelandic pop singer / songwriter Hafdis Huld, from her home in London, England, where she lives, when she is not at home in Iceland.

In October of 2006, Hafdis Huld released her debut solo album, Dirty Paper Cup and as she spoke to Riveting Riffs Magazine, the mixing for her new album, which has a working title Synchronized Swimmers, was being completed.

 “Right after Christmas I went into the studio which was in a converted old barn, in Scarborough (England), in the freezing cold, and it was the middle of the winter. There were lots of good musicians and we stayed there for a week, as we recorded sixteen songs. It worked very well for us. We set up in different corners for the live takes and it sounded lovely,” says Huld talking about the recording session for the new album. Read More

Nikkole Is Exotic

These are pretty heady days for Los Angeles based, urban / R&B singer / songwriter Nikkole, as she just learned, that she has been accepted in eight different categories for Grammy Award nomination consideration (the nominations occur in two stages) and she also learned that she has been selected as one of ten semi-finalists for Cosmopolitan Magazine’s StarLaunch, which is being cosponsored by Nikon, CoverGirl, Pantene and bebe. The three finalists will be announced on November 10^th and then flown to New York City, where on December 5^th they will compete in a gala event at Terminal 5, as they open for Natasha Bedingfield and special guest Solange Knowles. If those accomplishments are not enough to make you swoon, then consider that in late July her companion video for the heat seeking missive, “EXOTIC,” occupied the top spot on Blastro, an online video site that allows music fans to see their stars in action. Nikkole out dueled the likes of Rihanna, dance queen Samantha James and the Black Eyed Peas, to capture the top spot.

Last year, was the first time that Nikkole received consideration in the Grammy Award nomination process, as she was acknowledged in three categories, and she found that process to be validating. “To be a contender as an independent artist, I was just overwhelmed, and I couldn’t believe that I was on the same list as your mainstream artists like Jill Scott, Alicia Keyes, Mary J. Blige, and whomever. I was Read More

Rock 'n' Roll Icon Bobby Curtola

I grew up listening to the music of Bobby Curtola, a Canadian rock ‘n’ roll legend whose hit songs dominated the airwaves in Canada and the United States in the 1960’s and whose concerts in Las Vegas and other major centers around the world, have sold out in the decades which followed. Few artists achieved the star status and the staying power of Bobby Curtola, during a time when the British Invasion swamped North America and in later years, first disco dominated and then heavy metal. My first recollections of the handsome teen idol occurred when I was a child and he appeared on a televised telethon singing, while he was wearing a white cowboy hat. Another early memory was of a relative of mine who told of a date with one of Bobby Curtola’s musicians. Whereas in those days, Paul Anka, another Canadian was considered smooth, it was the charismatic Bobby Curtola who sent the girls hearts a fluttering, much like his good friend Bobby Vinton and another teen idol Bobby Vee. His songs “Fortune Teller,” which was a million seller, “Aladdin,” and “Hitchiker,” were the songs which teens and young adults sang along with, while riding in their cars, spinning their 45’s and LPs and when dancing. It was songs such as “Sandy,” and “Three Rows Over,” which made the girls swoon as they wished for a guy like Bobby who would have a crush on them and who desired to woo them. You can then imagine this editor’s delight when my childhood hero Bobby Curtola graciously accepted our magazine’s invitation for an interview and when I discovered Read more