If you are into reading music reviews..there's a new one on my album, Shadow & Splendor, in this month's Performing Songwriter as well as a cool feature in the new SKOPE magazine.
Performing Songwriter
September/October 2006
-Mare Wakefield
Stacie Rose isn’t messing around nor is she one to mess with. Her album opener, “Consider Me,” begins with the tough-as-nails lyrics “It’s making me mad, picking up your pieces / I’m not your mind, I’m not your mess … consider me gone.” Electric guitars and a kicking drum beat mimic her no-frills attitude. She sweetens the lyrics on “Okay” (“I feel the thunder breaking on the range / I feel your wonder running through my veins”) but keeps the no-nonsense delivery and quick pace. “Be Real” proffers bluesy Hammond organ as Rose tells us she’s “tired of the pretenders / standing in the rain, acting like they’re dry.” Even when she slows things down on “High as the Moon,” her crisp delivery and poppy melodies keep things energized.
SKOPE
September/October 2006
-Bill Kopp
Thirty minutes into an interview that has covered the creative process, motivation for songwriting, and the difference between recording and performing live, Rutherford NJ-based singer songwriter Stacie Rose turns the tables. She asks me a question: "So, do you like the new record, by the way?" I'm so taken aback that I ask her to repeat the question.
In an age where music is so often product, where market research dictates the "artistic" direction in which an artist must go, when performers are surrounded by sycophants who help them believe they can do no wrong, it's refreshing almost beyond description to be presented with such a question. Stacie Rose's second CD, the self-released Shadow & Splendor makes little pretense to be something it is not. Stylistically Rose is somewhat all over the map: a bit of C&W influence here, a nod to current pop styles, some acoustic folk-rock there.
Yet throughout, her vision is unerring: musically the album goes everywhere Stacie Rose wants it to, and nowhere she doesn't. As both artist and producer, she has made decisions that she felt benefited the overall project. For example, while she's a fine guitarist, she ceded duties to her bandmates for the album, allowing her to concentrate on vocals and the bigger picture.
The album opener, “Consider Me,” is the most commercially viable of the fourteen tunes, and that's saying something. Rose allows the chorus lyrics to skitter over the melody in a hypnotic, alluring melisma. And the sole cover (a reinvention of U2's “New Year's Day”) can make one forget the original for the moment. “Okay” kicks off perilously close to teen pop, but then the curtain opens to reveal a catchy, fully formed rock/pop song that ranks among the album's many highlights.
Yes, Stacie, I do like the album. And thank you for asking.
xo Stacie
Friday, October 13, 2006
Rasta Rose
Greetings friend -
Just a quick update...
I just came back from Jamaica to cut some trax with the hip-hop/reggae/pop artist HAWK. (Tricky, Tool, among others)
I was at the famous Anchor Recording Studios in Kingston. Was a fun adventure, shoot out and all(don't ask).
The new track (a hybrid of H.L.A.Y. Superflex Mix/co-written by yours truly & Hawk) is too hot to handle, to be released...tbd
Here are some pictures from the recording studio:
Dan Carey (producer), Me, Hawk
Hawk
Anchor Recording Studios
Alexis (LOGIC Master)
Hawk & Dan
Cute Moment with Hawk
Floyd (Hawk's Friend/Jack of All Trades)
Hope you enjoy!!
Thanks for stopping by.
xo
Stacie
Just a quick update...
I just came back from Jamaica to cut some trax with the hip-hop/reggae/pop artist HAWK. (Tricky, Tool, among others)
I was at the famous Anchor Recording Studios in Kingston. Was a fun adventure, shoot out and all(don't ask).
The new track (a hybrid of H.L.A.Y. Superflex Mix/co-written by yours truly & Hawk) is too hot to handle, to be released...tbd
Here are some pictures from the recording studio:
Dan Carey (producer), Me, Hawk
Hawk
Anchor Recording Studios
Alexis (LOGIC Master)
Hawk & Dan
Cute Moment with Hawk
Floyd (Hawk's Friend/Jack of All Trades)
Hope you enjoy!!
Thanks for stopping by.
xo
Stacie
Blog by George Schmidt about Stacie Rose
http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=31940009&blogID=171205588&MyToken=4c6da90a-2dde-4136-902e-201c22787122
Stacie Rose @ Sin-E (9/21/06) peformance Current mood: happy
Last nite I went to see an old friend sing @ another gig downtown @ Sin-E on Attorney St. & Stanton in the E. Village; been awhile.My friend - Stacie Rose - is a singer/songwriter who is achieving her dream and I'm very happy for her. She has 2 self-produced CDs - "This Is Mine" and her current is "Shadow & Splender" and the best way to describe her music is a mix of pop, blues, jazz, country and of course rock! She has a lovely voice - a cross between The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs and SheryLCrow - sweet, lovely and ethereally real. Her band is succinct and sound wonderful in concert, each complimenting one anothe and THANKFULLY doesn't drown out her dulcet tones. For more info on Stacie check her out @ : http://www.stacierose.com/music.htmland you can also see her as one of my MySpace friends; click on her photo and drop her a line.:) Peace/Out G
Stacie Rose @ Sin-E (9/21/06) peformance Current mood: happy
Last nite I went to see an old friend sing @ another gig downtown @ Sin-E on Attorney St. & Stanton in the E. Village; been awhile.My friend - Stacie Rose - is a singer/songwriter who is achieving her dream and I'm very happy for her. She has 2 self-produced CDs - "This Is Mine" and her current is "Shadow & Splender" and the best way to describe her music is a mix of pop, blues, jazz, country and of course rock! She has a lovely voice - a cross between The Bangles' Susanna Hoffs and SheryLCrow - sweet, lovely and ethereally real. Her band is succinct and sound wonderful in concert, each complimenting one anothe and THANKFULLY doesn't drown out her dulcet tones. For more info on Stacie check her out @ : http://www.stacierose.com/music.htmland you can also see her as one of my MySpace friends; click on her photo and drop her a line.:) Peace/Out G
Blog by Stacia Jones about Stacie Rose
http://www.collectionsaredangerous.blogspot.com/
Stacie Rose @ Sin-é, 9/21/06
At the bar before Stacie Rose’s show at Sin-é this past Thursday, a friend attempted to describe Rose's sound, offering up the preview, “Her music matches her engagement ring.”Rose and I have been coworkers for about six months now and I have never once looked down at her left hand. In fact, about a week ago I can remember being startled when she casually mentioned her husband in conversation, mostly because Stacie is vibrant and attractive, and at 23 years-old it never occurs to me to assume my social and professional contacts are committed to lifelong significant others. I finished my beer wondering how people come to get married, what this funky, talented promo producer’s dream wedding would entail and how her ring would sound if shot out her vocal chords through the speakers of Sin-é.From the first notes out of Rose’s mouth I assumed the setting was platinum. The lady’s got chops. Her folky sweetness, unpretentious refinement and barrage of “oh oh ohs” led me initially to Natalie Merchant, but in her slower, softer moments she channels a coy whisper, Jewel sans yodel. When laying a little twang on the sugar and the polish, maybe LeAnn or Faith Hill. In her grander, stockier, ballsier moments, even a little Ethridge. It’s not a discount to Rose that she conjures thoughts of so many other female pop singers. You can never really point your finger at one because she’s gleaned the best from them all, fusing them together, giving her voice a distinct but immediately accessible shape.This shape was bolstered by a full band, including electric and acoustic guitarists (Rose’s husband on acoustic), a bassist, a drummer, and a backup singer. It’s invigorating to see a singer-songwriter travel with such a deep crew, and the full sound enhanced Rose’s poppier compositions, swelling to meet her peaks and dropping out to let her shine in moments of melancholy and quiet triumph. But the standouts were Rose’s country-tinged numbers, acoustic laying the earthy foundation and electric guitar solos threading the seams between Rose’s uplifting vocal choruses.Recorded, Rose sounds a touch bubblegum, but onstage she spits more attitude. She sings songs about disaster with sly pride. She banters about “guns and drugs and puppies.” She tells you she likes to write sad songs and then throws down “Sad But Blue,” a drum-heavy powerhouse that hardly seems sad when delivered with such unapologetic resolution. She sings, “I’m a lucky girl…I’m a happy girl…I’m a troubled girl..." on "Okay," her lyrics suggesting trust and graciousness, coupled with a distinct distaste for game playing. She cuts to the chase, and effortlessly.That ring could be a promise string or a five-carat rock. Regardless, I’m sure it is precisely what the woman wanted.
Stacie Rose @ Sin-é, 9/21/06
At the bar before Stacie Rose’s show at Sin-é this past Thursday, a friend attempted to describe Rose's sound, offering up the preview, “Her music matches her engagement ring.”Rose and I have been coworkers for about six months now and I have never once looked down at her left hand. In fact, about a week ago I can remember being startled when she casually mentioned her husband in conversation, mostly because Stacie is vibrant and attractive, and at 23 years-old it never occurs to me to assume my social and professional contacts are committed to lifelong significant others. I finished my beer wondering how people come to get married, what this funky, talented promo producer’s dream wedding would entail and how her ring would sound if shot out her vocal chords through the speakers of Sin-é.From the first notes out of Rose’s mouth I assumed the setting was platinum. The lady’s got chops. Her folky sweetness, unpretentious refinement and barrage of “oh oh ohs” led me initially to Natalie Merchant, but in her slower, softer moments she channels a coy whisper, Jewel sans yodel. When laying a little twang on the sugar and the polish, maybe LeAnn or Faith Hill. In her grander, stockier, ballsier moments, even a little Ethridge. It’s not a discount to Rose that she conjures thoughts of so many other female pop singers. You can never really point your finger at one because she’s gleaned the best from them all, fusing them together, giving her voice a distinct but immediately accessible shape.This shape was bolstered by a full band, including electric and acoustic guitarists (Rose’s husband on acoustic), a bassist, a drummer, and a backup singer. It’s invigorating to see a singer-songwriter travel with such a deep crew, and the full sound enhanced Rose’s poppier compositions, swelling to meet her peaks and dropping out to let her shine in moments of melancholy and quiet triumph. But the standouts were Rose’s country-tinged numbers, acoustic laying the earthy foundation and electric guitar solos threading the seams between Rose’s uplifting vocal choruses.Recorded, Rose sounds a touch bubblegum, but onstage she spits more attitude. She sings songs about disaster with sly pride. She banters about “guns and drugs and puppies.” She tells you she likes to write sad songs and then throws down “Sad But Blue,” a drum-heavy powerhouse that hardly seems sad when delivered with such unapologetic resolution. She sings, “I’m a lucky girl…I’m a happy girl…I’m a troubled girl..." on "Okay," her lyrics suggesting trust and graciousness, coupled with a distinct distaste for game playing. She cuts to the chase, and effortlessly.That ring could be a promise string or a five-carat rock. Regardless, I’m sure it is precisely what the woman wanted.
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