Latin musician Lorena Nicole talks about her music-making. See her take the RAW stage at the V Lounge at the next Santa Monica showcase on Thursday, March 4th!  

Read more: MUSIC: LORENA NICOLE

Octavius Womack loves music. It's the love he was chasing after, the passion that pulled him from his hometown in Tennessee to California. He is ready to perform for you in Fullerton on Thursday, February 18th. RSVP to hear some of his soulful tunes. 

 How did you first get started making music? 
I started singing in the church choir  in Jackson, Tennessee when I was three years old and as I got older I knew that music was what I wanted to do. So I moved out to California in 2003 to go after the love in my life. "When words Fail, Music Speaks" and I will forever go by that. 

From where do you draw inspiration for your music?
I pretty much draw my music from life, life issues because without that how can you be inspired? For example, on my album, the song, "Fall In Love" was written while I was sitting in traffic on the 405. The lyrics: Oh my goodness its a beautiful day,while I m driving along the freeway, watching traffic as its moving slow, but it gives my mind time to go to the place where we met, where we ate. So, pretty much anything in life can give me inspiration. 

Explain your songwriting process.
Well, when I write, I have to either go through something or see something that makes me want to write ... a smile, a flower blowing in the wind, me missing my family ... But when I feel like it's time to write, I always have to go to my place for creativity and that's the beach.  I just sit there and listen to the waves and let my mind do its thing.  For all of my songs, I have to start it off by writing a poem and I put music to it in my head.  

What musical styles do you like best? 
Well I think gospel will always be my first love, but I also love R&B, and blues. I love being around that style because I love how it makes you feel and what you can do with it.  

Are there any musicians, past or present, that strongly influence your work?
Well, you know you cannot even try to form a song like the greats—Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Luther Vandross, The Temps, Teddy P, Bobby Womack,, but without them, musicians today would not have any idea about what music is. So, growing up, listening to them, and pulling from their lyrics made me want to live the life of a musician.  

Any current rising stars within music that you would recommend we look out for?
My roommates, Rally for One.  You can check them out on myspace.com/rallyfor1

Listen to Octavius on his myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/owomack

THE MEMBERS OF GORGEOUS GOT A GUN, A LOCAL LOS ANGELES ROCK BAND, SWEAR THAT THIS IS NO ORDINARY BAND—"IT'S A LIFESTYLE." VERONICA TORRES, FEISTY FRONT SINGER FOR THE GROUP, TALKS ABOUT THE EVOLUTION OF THE BAND'S MUSIC. SEE GGG PERFORM LIVE AT THE SANTA MONICA RAW SHOWCASE ON THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4TH!  

How did you first get started?

All of us have been in bands playing music and performing since we were very young.  I've always had a passion for performance and wanted to be an actress.  When I was in high school, I started getting into guitar and had written about 100 songs by the time I graduated.  I turned my passion for performing into singing-songwriting and started playing acoustic shows all over Los Angeles.  In 2005, I sold out The Roxy with just me and an acoustic guitar playing to hundreds of people.  From that point forward, I knew this was something I wanted to do.  In 2008, I met guitarist Chris Evans, who had been in dub/reggae bands, and we started jamming and realized we could do something huge with our collaboration.  We decided to start a full on rock band, Gorgeous Got a Gun.  Enter bass player Jimi Blaze, who I attended Loyola Marymount University with a friend of a friend, Jason Baksh, who plays on the drums and ... finally, we have GGG.

From where do you draw inspiration for your music?

A lot of my writing is drawn from personal experience.  However, I also incorporate the stories and feelings I hear and see in other people's lives and try to write from different points of view.

Do you engage in, or draw inspiration from, any other forms of art?

I am very inspired by all kinds of art.  Getting out to art shows and seeing other artists' work has always inspired my writing.  A picture tells a thousand words and I can’t help but be moved by something I see.  It makes me want to express my feelings towards the subject and invokes something inside of me.  Our guitarist Chris is an avid photographer and graphic designer and is very much inspired by art.  Jimi is a history major and has a lot of knowledge in different art/music movements which inspire him and inspires all of us when he shares his knowledge. 

From start to finish, explain your songwriting process.

We start with an idea—whether that’s a guitar/bass riff that Chris, Jimi or I have written, a chorus melody I have in my head, a poem I have written, or just the four of us in a rehearsal space with nothing.  We get into a room and just start jamming.  That’s when the magic really happens.  We all mesh together really well and I start making up melodies there on the spot as we jam.   Before we know it, we have a basic song structure.  From there we shape it and clean it and pour feeling and lyrics into it. 

What sort of musical techniques (styles) do you most like working with?

We all come from different styles and musical backgrounds.  Jimi is a classically trained musician, Chris has played in reggae bands his whole life, I come from a pop/rock style of writing and Jason has played in everything from pop to hard rock bands.  This collaboration is what makes GGG unique.  I think overall, we are all trying to utilize all of these elements and make good, raw rock music with more interesting arrangements and parts.

Are there any musicians—past or present—that strongly inform and influence your work?

I know we all have a wide range of influences.  Right now we are all really inspired by the whole indie scene that is flourishing in this changing music industry.  These bands are really paving the way for bands like us who want to shake up the industry and change how things work for the better. We are all also really inspired by music from the 60s and 70s and the rawness and soul of that time period.  I asked all the guys who inspires them the most: Chris: Jimi Hendrix; Jimi:The Beatles; Jason: Morgan Rose, drummer of Sevendust. I'm really inspired by strong front women like Grace Slick, Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks.

Are there any specific reoccurring themes that you explore most in your music?

I would say that self-empowerment is a huge theme we explore.  How can you make yourself better for the world?

Any previous albums/shows/collaborations that you are most proud of?

We recorded our debut album and that was a huge accomplishment for us.  At the time, it was Chris and I writing the record with a producer.  It was one of the coolest experiences ever to record in a major studio where anyone from Weezer to Iron Maiden was in the room next door.  However, I think the biggest thing I am proud of is bringing this record to life with the amazing band we have in place now. 

Any current rising stars within music that you would recommend we look out for?

I think these guys may already be pretty big but I am currently obsessed with the Crash Kings.

Learn more about and Listen to Gorgeous Got a Gun at: www.myspace.com/gorgeousgotagun and www.gorgeousgotagun.com 

RSVP for tickets to the Santa Monica RAW Showcase on February 4th to see them perform live! 

'FROM DUST BUNNIES TO TORNADOES': RAW MUSICIAN, CONNIE LIM OF FORREST PHILOSOPHY DISCUSSES HER LOVE FOR MUSIC. SEE CONNIE AND HER BAND PERFORM LIVE AT THE SANTA MONICA RAW SHOWCASE ON THURSDAY FEBRUARY 4TH! 

How did you first get started?  

I started writing songs at the age seven on the piano, and I soon turned to songwriting as a way of processing the ups and downs of childhood. Eventually, I found Fruity Loops and started layering harmonies over my piano bits.  Within a few years, I started inviting friends to play with me and we began to receive invitations to perform for charity events and functions. These performances led to gigs at venues in the city of San Francisco, and the performances started piling up until I moved down to LA, formed The Forrest Philosophy, and started sharing music with music lovers at the House of Blues, Viper Room, and The Mint.

 

From where do you draw inspiration for your music? 

Conversations around me, strangers I pass by, people I know inside and out. From dust bunnies to tornadoes, everything has the potential to inspire.

 

Do you engage in, or draw inspiration from, any other forms of art?  

One of my favorite pastimes is to make solo trips to art museums like MOMA, the Hammer, MOCA, and SBCS in order to get inspiration for the moods for my songs. A lot of work by artists like Charles Burchfield really can take my songwriting to a new mind-set.  

 

From start to finish, explain your songwriting process; what does a typical music-making day look like for you?  

I start off by carrying my journal with me everywhere since I never know where inspiration is going to arise. Usually, it’s something brilliant that casually slips out from underneath a friend or stranger’s tongue. Other times it's another artist that creates an amazing groove that I can write to as well (usually that happens while I am driving on the 405 traffic with my portable voice recorder). I jot my ideas down, and let it cook.  

Eventually, whether it is the next moment or the next year, melody and lyrics come. I always hear some percussive groove in my head as I write out the peaks and the valleys of the melody. I sometimes frame the piano around that afterwards, or do it all simultaneously. Once I’m done writing, I bring it to the band. Nick Reiter (guitar) really understands how to put counter melodies to balance what I’m doing and Enrique Gonzalez (drums) chooses lines that are noticeable, yet suitable enough to not step on anybody’s toes. Leo Budirahardjo (bass) and I don’t need to communicate much via words, since his basslines are exactly what my music needs. We function on the same wave length. As for percussion by Kevin Witucki and additional keyboards by Scott Passarella ... they both find and conserve the space to keep the song sacred and pure.  

  

What sort of musical techniques do you most like working with?

Not sure about that. Emotions and honesty are pretty much all I work with. If it doesn’t give me chills as I sing, than I need to rework it. That’s the only “technical” procedure I’ll let into my songwriting process.

 

Are there any musicians, past or present, who strongly inform and influence your own music?  

All these artists may not have directly affected my sound, but they have shifted my perspectives and approaches to writing:  Elton John, Ray La Montagne, David Gray, Nina Simone, Feist, Imogen Heap, Morcheeba, Natalie Merchant, Rachael Yamagata, Beck, The Beatles, Crosby Stills and Nash, the list goes on…

 

Are there any specific reoccurring themes that you explore most in your music?  

It’s all about creating freedom for those 4 minutes that the song is rotating. Giving people a vehicle through which they can access their emotions or thoughts that the normal day to day may not directly inspire. Sexuality is currently a theme that is definitely cookin' in my mind; coming to terms with being a woman in the modern world, with all my childhood awkwardnesses, and embracing the union between people. It’s a more personal and dark thing for me, and I’m excited to see what grooves and melodies will come out of something that has been so private for me for so many years.  

 

Any previous albums/shows/collaborations that you are most proud of? 

We just played a kick ass show @ The House of Blues this a few weeks ago, and we had an amazing time with other really heart-felt performances from artists like Justin Hopkins and Yonatan Elkayam. We were stoked.

 

Any current rising stars within music that you would recommend we look out for?

There are some artists that I have been blessed to share the stage with, and if you’re looking for great songwriting, Justin Hopkins and TreeUnion are both friends of mine that inspire me each time I hear them. As for beautiful voices, my friend Esna Yoon works it like no other. Oh my goodness, and I heard a couple bands at The Unknown Theatre, Big Lovin’ Panda and Wayde Riff and Friends. AMAZING. You have to check them out. Another band I heard of is Dead Coyote; I’m stoked to hear where they’re bringing their music these days.  

Listen and learn more about Connie Lim and the Forrest Philosophy on their myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/connielim

RSVP for the RAW Santa Monica Showcase to see The Forrest Philosophy live Thursday, February 4th!