In 2013 I posted an interview with a young, talented Australian guitarist and singer called Laura Wilde. She’d just released her debut album called “Sold My Soul”, had been touring with Ted Nugent and would soon be embarking on a UK tour. Seven years on, Laura has just released her second album, called “Charmed & Dangerous”. I arranged to speak to her via Skype and recorded an interview that you can hear on the Friday NI Rocks Show on 17th July 2020. We chat about the new album, future plans, working on ‘The Voice’, dealing with the Covid outbreak and more.
The interview has been posted below and the Show is available on our MixCloud page - https://www.mixcloud.com/NIRocks/interview-with-laura-wilde-on-the-friday-ni-rocks-show-on-17th-july-2020/
Check out Laura’s website at - http://www.laurawilde.com/ - you’ll find a link to purchase her new album.
The 2013 interview can be read here - http://www.rockradioni.co.uk/interviews/1188-ni-rocks-interview-with-laura-wilde.html
Playlist for the Show
STORMZONE – Ignite The Machine
MADDISON – Fire
RISING STEEL – Mystic Voices
UNLEASH THE ARCHERS – Soulbound
PRINCESS PANG – Trouble in Paradise
WARLOCK – Metal Tango
DOKKEN – Live To Rock (Rock to Live)
LAURA WILDE – Show Me Love
Interview with LAURA WILDE Part 1 (6 min)
LAURA WILDE – Wind Me Up
Interview with LAURA WILDE Part 2 (6 min)
LAURA WILDE – I Love This City
Interview with LAURA WILDE Part 3 (5 min)
LAURA WILDE – Let’s Roll
GREAT WHITE – Mista Bone
FIREHOUSE – All She Wrote
DEF LEPPARD – Wasted
WILD HEAT – Call of the Wild
ROSCO’S RIOT – Bound To Hell
TREMONTI – A Dying Machine
JEFFERSON STATSHIP – It’s About Time
THE VENDETTAS – Face To Face
A JOKER AMONG THIEVES – Zombie
NIKKI STRINGFIELD – When The Devil Comes Down
ORIANTHI – Heaven In This Hell
NITA STRAUSS – Pandemonium 2.0
CANEDY – Warrior
NI ROCKS – Hi Laura, thanks for taking some time to chat with us. You’ve just released a new album, which we’ll talk about shortly. We’ve just played a track from it called “Show Me Love”. What can you tell us about that track?
LAURA – It’s so great to speak to you Nigel and I’m so stoked to have released this new record. So, “Show Me Love” was the opening track of the live show that we played the last time we were in the UK, so I thought that might be a fun one to start out with.
NI ROCKS – Ok. It’s been around a while then that track?
LAURA – Yeah, I guess so. That was the energetic rock n roll opener that I used to use to defrost sometime hostile audiences. It gave everyone a bit of a smack in the face and won them over to a degree. So that was the story behind that one.
NI ROCKS – The new album is called “Charmed & Dangerous”, which is a great title; when and where was it recorded and who did you work with in terms of production etc.
LAURA – So last year, sorry it’s funny because one of the reasons why the album took so long was because I was waiting for the right producer to come along and then eight years kind of drifted by. I was like, ok I’ve got all these songs, I need to pull them all together; I’m just going to block out some time and just get into the studio and do it myself. So I recorded the whole thing in my home studio. It took about a month of solid 8am to 2am days, but I got it all done and it was quite an undertaking. But seriously it was so much fun, with the most incredible learning curves. Now I’m looking at album number three.
NI ROCKS – Very good; we’ll come on to that later. Does anyone else play on the album at all or have you played all of the instruments? I think you played most of the instruments on the last album too?
LAURA – Yeah, this one was all me again. Because it was me producing it and playing the instruments I find it’s a lot easier with my work process because there is a lot more room to experiment and I can really take my time with certain parts and really tease out those individual quirks of each song and each part and do a lot of experimenting. I worked with the original engineer, Jonah Soolman, from “Sold My Soul” on this album, which was a total blast. It was the OG crew back together for this rock album!
NI ROCKS – The new album was originally flagged for release last year. What caused the delay?
LAURA – As I mentioned earlier, I tracked and produced everything in a pretty short space of time; but those final stages of really pulling everything together were the most difficult so I kept getting pulled onto other projects. My engineer was pulled onto other projects. Now that I’m looking back I kind of feel that the universe timed it out to be released now instead of last year.
NI ROCKS – Your debut album “Sold My Soul” was released back in 2012. When you did an interview for us the following year in 2013 you mentioned that you were already working on tracks for a new album. How many of those tracks have actually made it on to the new album?
LAURA – I think four of the tracks that were played at that (UK) show (in 2013) are now on the record. Those ones were “Scarlet Woman”, “Show Me Love”, “Tragedy” and I think “Take Me For A Ride” maybe. A bunch of those tracks made it on to this album. I toured pretty extensively around that time, then when I got off the road I did a pretty epic writing tour across the USA and UK. Because I was a four piece rock band, once I got into the studio I was like a kid in the candy store. I wanted to experiment with a ton of different instrumentation and genres and just kind of let the creative process dictate the genre; rather than keeping it primarily rock n roll. Of course I went off on a bit of a tangent. I do feel that it has taken until now to really ground everything and pull from those experiences and that musical diversity and really have the maturity to properly produce and curate this album.
NI ROCKS – You haven’t really toured extensively since the UK tour in late 2013. Are there plans for a tour once the current Covid situation allows?
LAURA – Oh, absolutely. Once the foot heals and once the restrictions are lifted I honestly can’t wait to tour the USA and UK again. I’ve had the best time doing that and I can’t wait to play this new record for everyone live.
NI ROCKS – Are there plans to try to get back to the UK?
LAURA – Oh yeah, absolutely. I actually went back just for a holiday last year and the year before and I absolutely love the energy in the UK and what it teases out of me. So I really can’t wait to get back there to play.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play another track from “Charmed & Dangerous” now. Can you pick a track and tell us something about it?
LAURA – Let’s play “Wind Me Up”. That was one of my favourite songs to produce and I had the chance to get super experimental with my vocals and production in general on that one. Let’s rock n roll!!
NI ROCKS – You’re quite often seen playing guitar for contestants on “The Voice” in the USA? When did you start getting involved in that and how did you get involved?
LAURA – So the first time I played on “The Voice” was in 2017. One of my girlfriends, Emily Dickinson from The Sunset Jam, which is this amazing jam night at the Viper Room that one of my friends Erik Himel puts on every Monday. She put me up for the gig and one day I just got a call from the music director at “The Voice” and next thing I knew I was up there jamming out with some of the greatest session players.
NI ROCKS – Is that something that you’d like to more of?
LAURA – Oh, absolutely! It’s honestly so much fun backing up these extremely talented artists on the show and it’s such an amazing team to be part of. So I’d love to do more of that.
NI ROCKS – I was reading on your website about your involvement with the Topspot app. What can you tell us about that?
LAURA – “Topspot” is a contest app that I co-founded with my brother. So, basically it’s like a talent show on your phone. From the moment that the concept was conceived my brain started ticking over about how much it could help new artists gain exposure. Since we started it has been so rewarding for me to be able to give back to up and coming musicians and talent and get them linked up with brand endorsements and label opportunities. It’s a free download in the App Store on Google Play. So get on there and start entering some contests!
NI ROCKS – There was also a mention somewhere of Holistic Hustler. What is that?
LAURA – “Holistic Hustler” is a conscious lifestyle brand that I actually founded after having insomnia on tour. I started using these two teas to quit drinking coffee and restore my circadian rhythm. It worked really well for me so I started handing out samples to my friends who mentioned having sleep problems and wanting to give up coffee. Within a couple of weeks they were coming back to me saying gosh, these teas are amazing, you have to start selling this! So, before I knew it I set up the company and started selling a bunch online and we’re available in, I think, around eight retails stores around LA.
NI ROCKS – You were working with Gibson at NAMM earlier this year - before the world got crazy and covid hit – what guitars did you use on the new album and how many guitars do you actually own now?
LAURA – Oh my gosh, I think I’m up to about 32 guitars (laughs). I admittedly have a problem! But the main guitars that I used on this record were my Gibson Clapton Cut Explorer which I’d say is very similar to a Les Paul; so it’s just got that phat rock n roll sound that you’ll hear on the record. I also used my Custom Shop Strat as well to give it that punk rock edge.
NI ROCKS – As I mentioned earlier, you did an e-mail interview for us back in 2013. One of the questions at the time was about getting acceptance as a female guitarist. There does seem to be a big increase now in the number of high profile female guitarists. I’ve been fortunate enough to interview some of those, including Nita Strauss and Orianthi – another Australian of course. Do you think the opportunities have increased over the past seven years for female guitarists?
LAURA – Oh most definitely. I think social media has actually played a huge part in that because we’re all able to stay so much more connected with our fans and constantly put out new guitar content and really show people who we are individually as players. I think that really helps to grow a following and build up the profile and ultimately get more gigs, which has been amazing.
NI ROCKS – Do you spend a lot of time on social media?
LAURA – Yeah, I do. I spend a lot of time making guitar videos as well as introducing people to the Laura Wilde lifestyle as well, which includes general bad-arsery (laughs) as I like to describe it – guitars, cars, power-tools, all kind of fun, craziness.
NI ROCKS – In that earlier interview you identified Dave Grohl as someone that you’d love to collaborate with on a project. Would he still top that list and who else might be on that list?
LAURA – Oh, absolutely! I’ve always found him to be so incredibly inspiring, even still to this day – as a front man and multi-instrumentalist. I’ve been lucky enough to do some amazing brand collaborations lately; so I’ve pulled a bunch of different industries together, which really, really excites me. I’m not sure if you saw, but I did a collaboration where I pulled together Gibson guitars and Aston Martin last year and that really combined two of my loves and I have a ton of other stuff cooking in the future; so stay tuned!
NI ROCKS – We’ll keep an eye out for that. That was a nice Aston Martin – I was looking at the photographs.
LAURA – Oh yeah! That was an insane car. That was the DB11. I was racing around town in that bad boy with my girlfriends, so we had a ton of fun.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play another track from the new album now. Again do you to pick a track and tell us something about it.
LAURA – Let’s go with “I Love This City”. This is one of my favourite songs to play live. In the live version the whole band each had a solo on the song and it has some of my favourite guitar licks. It was really, really cool to produce as well. I drew from a lot of my glam punk influences and you’ll hear a lot of Prince in there as well.
NI ROCKS – You live in California, though obviously you’re Australian. As we mentioned before when we were talking earlier, they’ve just re-introduced some Covid restrictions. How have you been coping with the lockdown over the past few months?
LAURA – Honestly, I’m a pretty positive person and I’m always trying to find the silver lining in every situation. Even being house-bound with a broken foot (laughs) and seeing what the universe is trying to teach me. I was a bit of an introvert anyway, but honestly it’s been nice to be off the hamster wheel and spending more time with family. I’ve been connecting with other artists on “Topspot” and really engaging people that way and encouraging them to stay at home and stay safe!
NI ROCKS – A lot of musicians have been doing live streaming sessions or gigs. Have you done any or is that something that you’d think of doing?
LAURA – Definitely. I think it’s a really interesting new way of artists connecting and performing live, so I’d definitely look into doing something like that as well as my usual guitar solo content on Instagram.
NI ROCKS – Has lockdown led you to spend more time checking out new music or new bands? What music have you been listening to recently?
LAURA – Absolutely. I’ve had a ton of friends release new music during this time – which has been super exciting. I’m wanting to support them, so check out Paper Jacket, Radio Ritual and my friend Dorothy is coming up with some new music so you’ll have to check that stuff out.
NI ROCKS – We mentioned touring post covid earlier. What other plans do you have musically for when things return to normal?
LAURA – As I mentioned earlier my brain is ticking over about album number three, as well as some other cool projects and collaborations in the works. We’re going to have a ton of great new brands, running contests on “Topspot” and it’s a super exciting time ahead.
NI ROCKS – There was, as we mentioned earlier, a eight year gap between “Sold My Soul” and “Charmed & Dangerous” was obviously much longer than you had planned or hoped. You have started thinking about album number three; roughly what kind of timescale do you think?
LAURA – I’d be looking to get it done some time next year. I really just want to promote “Charmed & Dangerous” for now and do some fun video content, do a lot of press and hopefully get some live stuff underway once everything gets back to normal. I’ve got a ton of tracks ready to rock n roll so I can’t wait to get them out there.
NI ROCKS – You mentioned videos there. Have you done a full length video for any of the tracks from the new album?
LAURA – I’ve got one that is almost done, so stay tuned.
NI ROCKS – At the moment the new album is available to order from your website. Will it become more widely available – either in CD format or for download?
LAURA – For now I’m just keeping it super simple and streamlined and I want to have direct access to the feedback from everyone, but I’ll keep you posted with more wider distribution details.
NI ROCKS – I’ll look forward to that. I always like a hard copy, but unfortunately the costs of postage from America are quite high!
LAURA – That’s why I have the digital downloads to combat that issue (laughs)
NI ROCKS – The other thing of course - vinyl has become very popular over the last few years – with increasing sales. Would you like to have either of the albums released on vinyl at some stage?
LAURA – Oh yes absolutely. I’ve been getting a ton of requests for “Charmed & Dangerous” on vinyl so I’m looking into doing that right now.
NI ROCKS – Are you a vinyl collector yourself?
LAURA – I inherited a pretty epic collection from my parents – of old punk stuff. And I got a pretty insane classical vinyl collection from my great uncle. I’ve definitely been into collecting vinyl for a while.
NI ROCKS – Are you missing getting out to go around the shops to look for more?
LAURA – There are some crazy vinyl stores in Los Angeles with vintage stuff and super obscure records. We have Amoeba (Music store chain) here as well. I need to go and check out what’s happening with that store. That place is like the Mecca for all vinyl collectors.
NI ROCKS – That’s all the questions that I have for you. We’ll finish with one more track from the new album. Can you select a track to play and tell us something about it?
LAURA – Let’s play “Let’s Roll”. This was the gateway track to the album because I was honestly just going to produce this one track myself and kinda test out my skills. I had such an incredibly fun time doing this one that I fell down the rabbit hole of doing the entire album.
NI ROCKS – It worked out ok well. That’s the first track on the album isn’t it?
LAURA – Yes. It was kind of the first everything. The first one that I produced and the first track on the album. I feel this is a real entree into the next nine tracks on the album.
NI ROCKS – We’ll play that one. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Laura.
LAURA – It was so great speaking with you and I really appreciate doing the interview
