Show notes
Korby Lenker, Megan Slankard, and Alex WongThese three amazing singer/songwriters stopped by CAU on their way to perform at "Space" in Evanston. That was over a year ago and the files were lost, but now found. Check out the Bio on these artists and you can see just how amazing they areKORBY LENKER: Korby Lenker is a sneaky-good songwriter. And singer. And multi-instrumentalist. An abbreviated list of Lenker's achievements so far includes: a significant amount of airplay on the legendary Seattle indie rock station KEXP; a BBC 2 interview with Bob Harris, which is only about the highest honor a rootsy singer-songwriter touring the U.K. can get; opening slots for acts ranging from Willie Nelson to Ray LaMontagne, Nickel Creek, Keith Urban, Susan Tedeschi and Tristan Prettyman; a successful run with one of the hottest young West Coast bluegrass bands of the aughts; and wins in the Merlefest folk songwriting contest as well as the Kerrville Folk Festival's elite New Folk songwriting competition. Lenker's composition "My Little Life" brought him the Kerrville honors this year. It doesn't seem possible that one song could work so well in such disparate worlds, but it also proved its powers as a galvanizing piece of indie-pop, drawing a small army of likeminded, rising Nashville artists and personalities-Jeremy Lister and Katie Herzig to name two—to make lip-syncing, ukulele-strumming cameos in Lenker's music video. MEGAN SLANKARD: "Nearly everyone who encounters this attractive and sophisticated singer-songwriter agrees that she has 'star' written all over her," says Acoustic Guitar Magazine about Megan Slankard. "She forges a distinctive sound with her smooth and courageous vocal dynamics, intelligent and diverse song styles, and sheer infectious enthusiasm." Slankard, who has sold just over 20,000 copies of her three CDs, self-produced her first CD at age eighteen and her third with help from Counting Crow's guitarist Dan Vickrey, and is currently working on a new project. Last year Slankard formed a new alt-rock band, and is already getting industry attention having been selected as a semi-finalist in Discmaker's 2007 Independent Music World Series and a finalist in the 2008 Musician's Atlas/Borders Books Independent Music Awards – even before the official release of her new band's first album, scheduled for mid-2008. Slankard and her music have appeared on TLC's "What Not To Wear", generating purchases by TV viewers after her first appearance that placed her second CD "Freaky Little Story" on the 5 spot on Amazon.com CD sales charts and on the Top-10 Rock Bestseller list on CDBaby.com. Because of the episode's popularity, the show's producers featured her in a follow-up episode, bringing her back onto the Top-10 with "Freaky Little Story". Upon its release months later, "A Little Extra Sun" also reached the Top-10 sales chart. Her songs have also earned over 175,000 plays on MySpace.com, and "Freaky Little Story" remains a Top-20 all time Rock Bestseller on CDBaby.com to this day. Slankard's music has also been featured on San Francisco AAA station KFOG's compilation CD and has been spun over 500 times on Modesto, CA. She has been featured in Rockgrl Magazine, Owl Magazine, The Synthesis, and online sources Fresh Tracks and Women In Rock, in addition to Acoustic Guitar magazine, whose editors named "Freaky Little Story" one of their top albums of 2005. She was a final selection artist for RPM Direct Presents: Unsigned Artists Volume 3 compilation CD; an AR Online featured artist; a Song and Film Spotlight artist; and, an Acoustic Cafe featured artist on the "One to Watch" syndicated radio program (sponsored by the USA Songwriting Competition). Slankard also co-wrote and performed on the title track of Dire Straits founding member David Knopfler's new record, "Ship of Dreams". Megan has performed in over 200 cities in five different countries, including at showcases in Boston (NEMO) and Toronto (NXNE), on three tours as support for David Knopfler (Germany and England), and at the international festival InGuitar in Zurich (Switzerland). She will resume touring after the completion of the new CD. ALEX WONG: Alex Wong is a Brooklyn-based producer, writer and performer whose signature sonic style resonates in all he creates–from cinematic pop soundscapes to electronic tinged theater scores to his honest, direct songwriting. He has produced recordings with leading artists such as Delta Rae, Ari Hest, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Melissa Ferrick, Vienna Teng and Grammy nominee Ximena Sarinana. Alex has garnered critical acclaim for his songwriting collaborations with recording artists Amber Rubarth (The Paper Raincoat), Vienna Teng, Paul Freeman, Elizabeth and the Catapult and Alex Berger (Independent Music Award winner). His songwriting has been heard in film and television projects such as "The Last Song" (Disney/Touchstone), "One Tree Hill," and "The Lincoln Lawyer" (Lion's Gate). His solo project, A City On A Lake, is releasing it's debut self-titled album (featuring vocal performances from Ari Hest and Ximena Sarinana) was released in 2012.Click to view all four videos from this Podcast
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