Sourgirl + Musician in Loxley, AL

ABOUT

Hello world--I am Sourgirl! I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, some time in the 1970's (I won't specifically name when--lol). I grew up in the Park Slope area. Always trendy--even in the late '70s and early '80s--the neighborhood had an eclecltic mixture of cultures all living next to one another. I grew up listening to the music that surrounded me both at home and on the streets--Salsa, Disco, Freestyle, Rap, Rock, Metal. In my teens and very early 20s, I was an avid "Metalhead"and was a constant patron of the world famous L'Amour--The Rock Capital of Brooklyn, where I saw the likes of Biohazard, White Zombie, Carnivore, Type O Negative, and Life of Agony, just to name a few. I also frequented the legendary Limelight. Spending many Friday and Saturday nights swaying with the sweaty masses to the Electronica giants of the day and banging my head with fellow Metal lovers on Rock and Roll Church Nights. When I wasn't thrashing about to the screams of the Metal Nation, I was learning about the roots of all the music I loved---Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd. I also visited the acid days of the 60's and fell in love with the fantastic sounds of The Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin and The Velvet Underground. In addition, I watched the Grunge scene unfold and got swept up by its raw power--Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice In Chains--these were fixtures in my CD collection, and to this day, they still are. In my late twenties, the need for further exploration into musical worlds I hadn't visited yet came over me. These were the times of really getting down into "Old School" territory. Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline, Nat King Cole, Sarah Vaughan, Etta James, Billie Holiday, and Ella Fitzgerald. Recently, I've been immersing myself in the world of Downtempo, IDM and Trip Hop. You can hear the influences of Massive Attack, Zero 7 and Portishead in some of my work. My two vocal inspirations from these genres are the lovely and haunting Beth Gibbons (Portishead), and the raw, amazing and incomparable Sia Furler (Zero 7). I write all of my own music and use my laptop to produce and record my music. Very low budget, but for now, it does the job. At the moment, I have no back up band, so all the music you hear is put together by me using sound loops. I've never had any formal music training. Everything you hear is straight from the heart and the gut. For me, there could be a genetic factor at play. My paternal grand father was a classicaly trained pianist, who sold his own records and collaborated with many great musicians of his time in his native home, Ecuador. He also had his own radio show in Guayaquil. When we visited many years ago, he heard my mother sing and asked her to sing on his show. She was so well received, she became a regular on the show. Aside from that brief step into the world of music, my mother has never done any professional singing, although she has a lovely voice and could have very well done so. My maternal grand mother is a singer of Christian music. She and her husband have been playing Chrisitan music for many years and have put out several albums. You can say music is in my blood :-)

Goals

I am at the infancy of my music career and see it more as a form of "therapy" at the moment than a means to earn a living. I am trying to juggle making music with real life responsibilities, but I am making it work. I am having fun doing this now and should my music catch the interest of a few folks, that is the best I can ask for. Would I be open to a career in music should it present itself? Yes, but I am not trying to be the "next big thing". I'd be more interested in doing music for movies, TV, commericals--things like that. It would be nice to be able to work with a REAL producer instead of with the limited resources at my disposal ;)

Why the name Sourgirl???

In anticipation of being asked this a million times, the name "Sourgirl" is inspired by the Stone Temple Pilots song "Sour Girl" that came out in 2000. I loved the song, and still do to this day. Aside from my love for the song, I have often felt like a sour girl because of events in my life, which were beyond my control. I have tried to make something positive out of any negativity and sadness in my life and my message to all who hear my music is that no matter what life throws in your direction, you need to try to persevere and make something positive out of your circumstances. It is a name that to me speaks of not just where I've been, but how far I've come.

Screen name:

Sourgirl

Member since:

Feb 22 2011

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Just for Fun

Years playing music:

1

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Influences

Portishead, Massive Attack, Tricky, Zero 7

MUSIC