It’s easy to imagine Emily Lacy living inside of a giant old tree, and fairies come to her for wisdom about saving the world. For the past few months, Lacy has been rallying for the revolution with her Occupy shows in town, and she’s teamed up with producer Scott Barber to put it on virtual wax. Opening song “Beat” reveals she’s riled up with some psychedelic details and plenty reverb. The big tree she lives in, it has great natural reverb chambers. Flowers bloom out of its cracks when the sound escapes. “Country” is a catchy battle cry. “Riches” encompasses with guitars while “Rise” digs its fingers into some beautiful feedback as Lacy wails like a proto-punker. Stylistically, “America” and “Goodbye” will please fans of her meditative album Country Singer. And although the art is priceless, you can download the EP Rise for free. Whether you’re into the politics or not, this is fucking good and inspiring. Lacy is a true folk artist, whether she’s strumming a guitar or manipulating frequencies on a machine, she makes the people’s music. This EP is most literally “for the people,” the first of a proposed Occupy Trilogy by Ms. Lacy. Her musical message is unselfish, personal and universal. We ain’t in Greenwich Village and she ain’t really a hippie, but I’m going to go burn my bra now.

Oh, by the way, happy birthday Emily.

—Daiana Feuer

A mighty twenty six bands will play the Folk Fest event at Zorthian Ranch on August 6th. That’s something like one band member for every four guests attending this musical feast. Tickets on sale now at http://lafolkfest.com.

Listen to Amanda Jo Williams, Ana Caravelle, Cowboy And Indian, The Djin Aquarian Band (that’s the Djin of Ya Ho Wa 33), Dustbowl Revival, Emily Lacy, Fabiano Do Nascimento Trio, Ferraby Lionheart, Ghiant, Julia Holter, Matt Taylor And His Laurels, Nasambu And The Mystic Nomads, Nostalghia, Radical Face, Ramona Gonzalez (aka Nite Jewel), RT N’ The 44′s, Ruthann Friedman, Space Comes Soft (Anna Oxygen doing psychedelic country), Spindrift, Stone Darling, The Stevenson Ranch Davidians, Tommy Santee Klaws, Triple Chicken Foot, Very Be Careful, Yellow Red Sparks, at this link here:

STREAM: Various Artists “The 2nd New L.A. Folk Fest”

Between right now and this Sunday, July 24, at midnight, good deeds are available by donating to The Folk Fest’s Kickstarter campaign. Don’t have $$ to donate but time to spare? This Sunday you can earn a dip in Zorthian’s pool by volunteering for project Ranch Restoration (july 24, noon to 4pm), and helping spruce up this historic party site. Contact lafolkfest@gmail.com to sign up.

Bonus fact: long-time L.A. Record illustrator Christine Hale made the flyer, which will also appear as a tshirt and a towel.

Read Tiff Reldon’s  review of the show after checking out these photos by Kate Rentz. The photo gallery begins with Emily Lacy, then Fort King, Olentangy John, Stone Darling, I See Hawks In L.A., Wimberley Bluegrass Band, The Chapin Sisters, The Driftwood Singers, Jenny O, Tom Brosseau + John C Reilly, RT N’ The 44′s, and a little bit more Stone Darling.

[View with PicLens]

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The New L.A. Folk Festival put together a cozy Louvin Brothers tribute show at HM157 featuring covers of Louvin classics by an array of L.A. folk-inspired bands. Fort King started the night off a little rocky by cutting a song in the middle when singer Ryan Fuller could not hear his guitar, but the crowd would have preferred he just play through to keep the vibe magical and not stall. When you’re only playing two songs, it seems like you gotta be a trooper and keep the people smiling. Then a helicopter arrived, hovering right over HM157 as they arrested some bad guys in the lot next door. Fort King refused to play until the chopper took off after a while and then the duo finally performed. Then the chopper returned! But Emily Lacy stepped up to the mic anyway because it was the right thing to do and played with the helicopter adding harmony to her yodels. It was beautiful and the crowd was really touched. Olentangy John followed in true grit form and the night continued with sweet renderings of Louvin Brothers genius by Wimberley Bluegrass Band—one of the most amazing family bands you’ll ever get to see, so catch them while they’re still underage. Robert Waller of I See Hawks In L.A. brought Tony Gilkyson out on stage with him and they repped the old timers in style. Jenny O was joined by Sean Watkins and Leslie Stevens on stage, which provided a treat of pretty voices. RT N’ The 44′s wowed the crowd with their homemade instruments and good looks. The Driftwood Singers took a request for “Knoxville Girl” and ya know a song about murder never sounded so sweet. Stone Darling filled the stage with lady glamor and more female power was stirred up by The Chapin Sisters, who let their voices rise to the heavens where sinners turn out to be good people. Finally Tom Brosseau and John C. Reilly capped an amazing night off with great harmonizing and humor. Brosseau’s voice reached uncanny heights! Everyone agreed that this night was special. It was more than just a concert. It felt like an experience. We were transported by the visuals and the music and the environment and the funny delivery of a story by the hostess about Charlie Louvin, Johnny Cash, and crackers. All this makes me look forward to anything The New L.A. Folk Fest does. I hear that’s their specialty. And the free O.N.E. coconut water cocktails and Metl Tequila were an bonus! I only wish there were a CD of the night’s music so we could repeat this over again.

—Tiff Reldon

Want to know what songs will be performed tonight by the likes of Tom Brosseau, John C Reilly, Stone Darling, Chapin Sisters, Emily Lacy, Wimberley Bluegrass Band, RT N’ The 44′s, Olentangy John, Fort King, The Damn Sons, Jenny O and Driftwood Singers? …We know! Here are some of them:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWp7MGY3II4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXTdvPZ9hSY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW1AuvknOe4

www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQBuE7KTEJk

www.youtube.com/watch?v=EdPWcwSbhBM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dy9GCWirmas

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUku1YzbwA8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjHUaEz7s2A

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7Gr86EcJHo

www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6Jaic2x_qA

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebvAzFIpvzY

www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-tOXo3Wt7M

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KvIj2Og90o

www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUqO_rG3wYw

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfPFCPDdiSM

www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5XVEUdNye0

www.youtube.com/watch?v=PizBVqcAn0o

Grab the Louvin Brothers Youtube Playlist

Photography by AMMO

Producer Nicole Disson takes theater out of the ‘theater’ and drops it out of the sky into places like the rooftop of the Standard Downtown, where confused and bemused businesspeople wonder at the dancers in the pool and the actors in the fire pits. Her March performance of her one-night-only THE SERIES put L.A. RECORD alumni like Julia Holter in strange new performing environments—even for them! This interview by Drew Denny.

You’ve got a thing for rock operas, eh?
I was talking to Rachel Kolar. She and her partner in crime, Lauren Brown, were reviving a script that she wrote called NEW. Those past two years I was working at a brand-marketing firm as my second or third job. I thought I’d come on board as director of marketing so I could apply all this knowledge I’d gained in my day job to something I cared about. I succeeded in finding corporate sponsorship which was my first money deal—you know, not a trade. I brought the Standard on. Got Million Dollar Theater—a 2,500-seat house. We worked endlessly for months. There were only two shows but it was so special. It featured different musicians. I performed in it as well—a minor role but super fun. Around that time—April of 2010—I felt it was time for me to spearhead my own independent project. I was starting to see what my friends were doing and join their team and help build up the projects but not feel like I was taking on enough risk. … I had been doing cover shows, like I would do an entire show dedicated to Gershwin or Ella Fitzgerald. Becky Stark inspired me—she did a show at Largo and asked me to sing the opening and closing songs. I realized I had found my niche. Instead of show tunes, it was standards. That’s what I enjoy singing. All the while I was finding opportunities to perform. I wanted something bigger. I was shooting independent shorts for friends but it seemed like live events was where it was going on for me. The Standard approached me about really wanting to work on something else together—they liked my work and said they’d continue with me. From a marketing standpoint I realized I could really leverage this. I thought of this as an opportunity to help build their image by doing what I really wanted to do, which was more curating and producing than promoting. By making a show that was site-specific and avant-garde. It was an experiment to see how we could merge the nightlife-social element of L.A. that people flock to endlessly with the performing arts. Basically, I wanted to use the space and the budget to give the performing arts a new platform in L.A. to be produced and to be seen more aggressively than how they are at a theater or a dance hall or a museum. Not that those places aren’t frequented but … sometimes it’s hard to get people to come. So I launched THE SERIES, and that was just a really crazy wild experiment. August of 2010 was the first one and it was so exciting and so fun and so nerve-wracking. I didn’t know if anyone would come. We were taking people on this ride on the rooftop through all these performances.
No dancers drowned in the pool?
No! There were glitches, but we learned from everything. The second one featured a sixteen-piece orchestra. The talent has continued to grow, and I’m really excited about the people who have come on board. It’s a great concept, but at this point I want to further develop it. Refine it. The cast is huge for this next one! It’s gone from ten names to … I don’t even know! I don’t know if there’s anything like this going on in L.A.
Like a recurring group show for performance?
It’s more like a great party where everyone who’s involved invites their friends to enjoy pieces they’ve created with artists that they’ve never worked with before presenting it for the first and only time on a rooftop in the middle of Downtown L.A.!
Has the hotel ever gotten scared?
They totally think I’m crazy, but they’ve been great. They all love me and laugh at me but that’s part of my job. I really present to them what I want to do. I don’t try to brush anything under the rug. I respect their space. This is our theater. And we‘ve really been working together to use the space in a way that is seriously unorthodox.
What’s gonna happen at The Series in March?
D’arcy French-Myerson is directing this one. Our theme is ‘Sound Off’—the relationship that sound has with social interactions, exploring the different dynamics of sound in a social space through musical performance, sound installations, and some intriguing multimedia performances. We’ve got an amazing cast! Julia Holter, Aaron Drake, Jason Grier, Tearist … two clowns, there is a sign language performance, some movement …
Have any hotel guests accidentally stumbled into any of your performances?
The show caters to art enthusiasts, but the hotel welcomes and is open to guests, businessmen, people looking for a good time, the general public … The businessmen have been—not problematic but funny. They love the dancers in the pool. You hear women talking in the bathroom about ‘that weird thing with the people talking over there!’ I have people planted, listening to audience reaction. People were coming back again and showing their friends where to go. People are picking up on it. But each one is its own show that’s never gonna be done again.
What’s different about producing an ‘art’ event in a commercial space versus an art institution?
I have zero interest in promoting a party for a brand launch or something. They want people to come to the space. They need some energy up in there. I thought, ‘How can we use this quirky rooftop Downtown with this beautiful view? Let’s get a dancer in the pool, a performer in the elevator, an actor in the fire pit!’ When I lived in London, I saw a wide variety of theater, and the stuff that moved me the most wasn’t in the theater—like a play in an old abandoned tube station. Or this Argentine troupe with acrobats performing in an old bank. I really respect, love and enjoy traditional theater, of course. People don’t regard this city as a theater hub but there are so many performing artists here who are innovating and who are hungry to work!
You’re a theater girl at heart?
I want to work in the theater again at some point. I like to make people laugh, to give them the opportunity to be self-reflexive and if it can be a cathartic experience, even better! But I also just like to make people laugh. … While THE SERIES was going I started NOMERICA with Ana Calderon—which was really fun. No American music Thursday nights at El Cid. Then I did this show at the Soho house in West Hollywood—I brought Mandy Kahn on as my trusty writer and Mecca Andrews came on as my choreographer/director. We created this character Susan, and it was our opportunity to test this in front of a live audience. I got a standing ovation which I was pretty surprised by. I did this long melodramatic classical monologue then I did a zany dialogue with the audience and I had a three-piece band and I jumped on the bar and sang ‘Love for Sale’ and did a full dance piece in four-inch heels. Totally unique. … I like to make a good moment. It’s a bit of a drug in itself. To have an audience. To navigate their emotions, take them from really quiet to really loud. It’s an incredible gift and it’s what I love to do. Part of why I produce is because I can give myself an opportunity to perform! I don’t deny that. I’m super-driven. It’s hard for me to sit and wait for someone else to give me an opportunity. I find ways to create my own stage. In turn, it’s led me to giving a stage to a lot of others.
Do you learn from studying or from trying?
I think there’s value in both. I learn from watching people every day—both mistakes and achievements. It’s trial-by-error, but I’m young and I have a lot to learn. There are things I’ve done—even in the past two years—that I’m like, ‘What?’ But it’s all good. I’ve created this opportunity for myself and I’m learning all the time. I’m just now growing in to my own skin. I’m not a veteran! I think I’m up-and-coming.

L.A. RECORD AND NICOLE DISSON PRESENT THE SERIES WITH TEARIST, EMILY LACY, JULIA HOLTER, DREW DENNY, SOPHIA MORTE AND MORE ON TUE., MAR. 8, ON THE ROOFTOP OF THE STANDARD DOWNTOWN, 550 S. FLOWER ST., DOWNTOWN. 8 PM / FREE / 21+ / RSVP AT DTLA@STANDARDHOTEL.COM. VISIT NICOLE DISSON AT NICOLEDISSON.BLOGSPOT.COM.