Today we bring you , Roses and Cigarettes. Let’s just say , I think Emmylou , Stevie and Joni would be instant huge fans . The range of these two is something you have to listen to yourselves. If you are not convinced Roses and Cigarettes are the real deal, I would be shocked. The voices are so dynamic , you can picture this big expansive scene of the West, rolling out before you. Laurel Canyon sound updated for a new Generation that’s a big takeaway. I’m glad that we are in a time that Singer-Songwriters are starting to be heard again, I’m so sick of what Corporate America passes off as “good” music. Good music . comes from the heart and soul of the artist that are making it and when it’s real, unique, and authentic , that shit can move you, give you Goosebumps, tear you up a little….Meet, Roses and Cigarettes
Hi our name is….
Roses and Cigarettes
People say we sound like…..
AP: That’s kind of a tough question for us to answer, really. Jenny and I have so
many musical influences that our songs really take on bits and pieces from each
of the artists we love. We don’t like to put ourselves in a box, musically speaking.
We have so many musicians, singers, songwriters, and bands who deeply inspire
us and our craft, and we like to keep our horizons open to whatever calls us
creatively when we decide to write music together. So many people who come to
our shows really don’t know what genre to place us in, and we like that. We like
to sound like us, but we also like to give our respects to those artists who have
inspired us to be the artists we are today.
We are….
Jenny Pagliaro (lead vocals) and Angela Petrilli (guitars and backup vocals)
We are from…….
Los Angeles, CA
Can you tell us a little about your debut album that came out
this week, ideas behind some of the songs, how long did it take
you to record and anything else that you would like to share with
us…
JP: We are so proud of our self-titled debut, it was definitely a labor of love. We
started tracking drums last August and wrapped up recording in March. We did
all the recording at our producer, Michael Lyons’ home studio. We really pushed
ourselves to record as often as possible. We are releasing this album ourselves
without any financial backing so we really had to work hard at our daytime jobs
and our music to make it all possible. The first song that was written for the
album was “Laurel Canyon.” It really came from a place of feeling stuck and
writing my way out of it. We wrote “Driving” together after a day of drinking
margaritas! We just sat down with the guitar and it came out! We feel like these
songs take you on a journey. They are all very different but they kind of tell a
story of where we were at when we wrote them.
AP: Our song “Another Way” first started as an idea I had on the guitar. I am a
huge fan of Led Zeppelin and Jimmy Page’s approach to the guitar, especially
his open tunings. I remember playing their song, “Going to California,” and I just
loved the Double Drop D tuning, which is when you tune your guitar to DADGBD.
It makes your 6-string guitar sound like a droning 12 string, which I love. I really
wanted to write a song in that tuning, so I put a capo on the fourth fret of my
Martin guitar, and the song really just presented itself to me, which as most
songwriters know, can be a very rare thing. Right away, I recorded it on my
phone and emailed it to Jenny. Little did I know that around the same time Jenny
had come up with some great lyrics about the passing of time and watching life
slip by. We met up the next time, combined our ideas, and the song was born.
Who are some that have an influence on you
JP: Ray Lamontagne, Patty Griffin, Fleetwood Mac, Bonnie Raitt, Miranda
Lambert, John Mayer, Norah Jones, Heart
AP: Definitely Ray Lamontagne. We both just love his voice and his way of
writing. His imagery never ceases to inspire me. Guitar player wise, I’m a huge
fan of Stevie Ray, Jimmy Vaughan, Buddy Guy, BB King, Lindsey Buckingham,
Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Duane Allman, Joe Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., John
Mayer. So…obviously I’m a sucker for the blues.
How old were all of you when you started to play and who plays
what in the band
JP: I came out of the womb singing!
AP: I started playing guitar when I was 9.
Can you tell us about the process you use, from writing the
songs all the way through getting the songs out
JP: A lot of times with writing, either Angela will record something on guitar and
send it to me or vice versa where I will sing an idea and send it to Angela. Then
we start coming up with ideas for it. We start filling in lyrics and then get together
and discuss what we have come up with. It really is a collaborative effort on how
we decide the song is going to go. Once all the demos were done and our 10
songs had been decided on with our producer, Michael Lyons who was also a
co-writer on our album, we went into the studio to start tracking the real deal!
First was drums, then Angela recorded every guitar track on the album, that took
a while! Then we just started layering the rest on there! We started our recording
in August and the release date was May 1st! It was a long process that we are so
proud of.
AP: We write very collaboratively. We love bouncing ideas off of each other. It’s
really worked for us because Jenny may hear something I may miss or disregard,
and Jenny may sing a certain note or sing her idea a certain way that inspires me
to play the song a different way. It’s exciting and always keeps us on our toes
creatively. We try not to get stuck in a rut of having all our songs sound the
same, or writing the same album twice. For our song “Giving Up on Love,” it was
just a chord progression I wrote that I really liked. Again, I liked it so I sent it over
to Jenny so she could come up with some lyrics to go over top of it. I remember
the next time I went over to her place to rehearse, that the song was almost
done. The words were so haunting yet so beautiful and heartbreaking. For a
while we were going back and forth if a bridge was needed with our producer,
and finally we came to the realization that a key change was needed to build the
song to its climax after the guitar solo. We’ll always be thankful for Mike with that,
really brought the song where it needed to go.
What are some of the challenges you face as musicians and how
have you overcome those challenges
JP: I think our biggest challenge as a female duo is people don’t know what to
expect from us. Every time we walk in the door we have to prove ourselves as
musicians.
AP: Absolutely. We have found that there will always be a level of proving
ourselves at shows, especially because we are two female musicians. To
overcome it, we just own what we do. Jenny’s a kick ass singer. I love playing
guitar. It’s my favorite thing in the world to do. Of course it’s annoying sometimes
to have to prove yourself just for the fact that we are young women. But our
favorite way to overcome it is to give people a show they didn’t expect.
If you could pick any time to travel back to for music, where
would you go and what year would it ….
JP: 1970s FOR SURE!
Who are all of you currently listening to ….
Both: Some new artists/albums we both have been listening to a lot lately are
Lake Street Dive, Shakey Graves, Foo Fighters, and Ray Lamontagne.
What do you think of “the state of rock n roll”…
JP: I think it’s coming back! People seem to want more real rootsy music right
now.
AP: I agree with Jenny. I really believe people are starting to yearn for real music
that’s played with real instruments by real people. I find it hard to believe when
people say rock is dead. It isn’t. I’d like to think it just hasn’t been the
mainstream. We believe guys like Dave Grohl, who’s a huge inspiration to Jenny
and I, is bringing rock back to the place it once stood. I believe he’s inspiring
people to grab and instrument and learn how to play it. He’s inspiring people to
go support local musicians and record stores. He’s doing a lot of good for the
rock movement. As musicians, we can truly attest to the way playing music
makes you feel: it’s the best feeling in the world.
Some albums that you have played on repeat over the years……
JP: Bonnie Raitt: Nick of Time, Ray Lamontagne: Trouble, Any album by James
Taylor or the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac Rumours
AP: I’m a huge Incubus fan, so Morning View and Make Yourself definitely. Pearl
Jam’s Ten, Norah Jones’ Feels Like Home, Ray Lamontagne’s Trouble, Led
Zeppelin I and Houses of The Holy, Bad Company’s Bad Company, Rumours for
sure…and SRV’s Texas Flood.
If you could open for any Band right now who would that be
JP: There are so many bands we would love to open for!! Heart for one…really
get the girl rock band thing going! Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, and Zac
Brown Band.
My youngest son is 13 and in a Band, what advice would you
offer him…
JP: Keep practicing!!! Go out to your garage with your friends and just practice
and jam. Observe as many great musicians as possible and expose yourself to
every genre old and new even if you don’t think it’s for you….you will always learn
something new if you keep exploring!
AP: Don’t be afraid to suck. Mess up. Sound shitty for a while. Be the worst
musician in your band. All of that will allow you to learn from those around you
and will make you a better musician. Always surround yourself with musicians
who are better than you. Always.
80’s or 90’s???
Both: 90s!!!
Plans for 2015
JP: Our plans for 2015…..To keep getting our names out there. Hopefully do
some shows in New England this summer and maybe a mini acoustic tour up the
California coast in August. And to continue writing, now that album one is done
we gotta think about album two!
a few tunes…
listen to the Album , on Spotify…
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