laurel brauns

     Laurel is from a small town in central New Hampshire. This background has instilled in her an obsessive love of the outdoors, and a healthy hatred of vinyl siding and SUVs. For a short time she was a member of the Gunstock Parish Militia, an organization formed to ward off encroaching developers and suburbanites from out of state, but the group soon abandoned monkey-wrenching for drinking, and became a loose association renamed Lovers of Schlitz, or LOS for short.Laurel is a singer/songwriter whose work ranges from indie americana to quiet rock. She did not sing in a punk band before getting in touch with her sensitive side. She was a trad-music geek in high school, and spent much of her time learning obscure Celtic ballads and raucous Pogues songs. After high school, she lived in Ireland, busking on the street and joining sessions in pubs.During college in Portland, Oregon, she formed a number of duos and trios, the most popular of which was Queen Anne's Lace, featuring Anna Fritz on the cello and Erica McGee on violin. She did her senior thesis on indie labels of the Pacific Northwest such as K Records, Kill Rock Stars, and Sub Pop, then started her own label after graduating. Laurel's first album, recorded in friends' apartments, has sold 2,000 copies and received reviews in Performing Songwriter and other national media outlets. Her second release, Periphery, was recorded and co-produced by Larry Crane at Jackpot! Studios (Elliott Smith, The Decemberists). Jeff Saltzman (producer Stephen Malkmus) mastered the album and hailed it as “elegantly arranged modern/folk pop” and “one of the strongest efforts I've worked on this past year.” Logging over 100,000 miles on her car in the past few years, Laurel enjoys being out on the road. Lured by the possibility that there is something left of Kerouac's America out there on the great highways, her songs are "like wistful Polaroid's, nostalgic memories of people and places throughout the country." (Matt Kanner, The Wire, Portsmouth, NH)"It's somewhere out there that she meets her characters and gives you a peak into their stories, she puts you right out there in the cornfield under the wide-open skies..." (Melissa Bearns, The Source, Bend, OR.) Laurel released her third album, Closed for the Season, in February of 2007, produced by Jon Nolan, and inspired by the mercurial scenery of her native New Hampshire. Chris Dahlen of Pitchfork and Paste Magazine says, "She brings to bear all of her Celtic and indie influences on her haunting new album where cellos and dark finger-picked acoustic guitar all but surround you with the ghosts of the by-gone characters the songs speak of."While living in Portsmouth, NH, she booked and promoted the Hush Hush Sweet Harlot music series, showcasing regional and national talent like John Vanderslice and the Winterpills.In 2008, Laurel moved to beautiful Bend, Oregon where she lives in a little cottage with her sister. She started a band called the Sweet Harlots and will be releasing a new album in the summer of 2009.