Thursday, July 26, 2012

INTRODUCING LAURA WILDE!

America is just finding out about Australia's LAURA WILDE, a beautiful 22 year old powerhouse guitarist, who is taking the world by storm with her debut album "Sold My Soul". Laura is multi talented as she not only writes her own songs, she plays all the instruments as well! She is currently touring the USA with the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent. I had the pleasure of speaking to her recently between gigs...

MICK: Congratulations on your new album!
LAURA: Thank you! It's been a bit of a whirlwind since it was released. We been out on the road touring all over the country! We are very excited to be coming to New York!
MICK: How long did it take you to record the album?
LAURA: It was recorded over four years. The first song was recorded when I was 18. The last one was recorded in Los Angeles in 2011. It was a long time and I've certainly grown up! I don't think the next one will take that long.
MICK: I see that you play all of the instruments on your album. That is quite impressive!
LAURA: Thank you! Sometimes if you want it done right you just do it yourself!
MICK: Did you get any help at all with the other instruments?
LAURA: I got a few people to teach me some drum stuff. It was definitely a big learning curve doing this album. I made a lot of mistakes. You never learn unless you make mistakes.
MICK: When writing a song, what comes first for you...the words or the music?
LAURA: It all depends. Sometimes I can write a song with a guitar riff when I'm practicing or messing around. Sometimes a song can come to me, the lyrics and everything, when I am falling asleep. I feel I do my best work when I'm not sitting down and trying to write a song deliberately. The songs write themselves.
MICK: How is the tour going so far?
LAURA: It's going very well! It's been very hectic. Ted Nugent does over 300 shows a year and his team runs like clockwork. It's been great learning from someone like Ted.
MICK: Do you get to play with Ted at all?
LAURA: I got to hang out with him a little bit. He came into our dressing room and gave us the pep talk before his show. He said "Hey this Aussie chick can play guitar!" I thought "Wow, Ted Nugent says I can play guitar!"
MICK: How do you like living in the USA?
LAURA: I love it! I've been given the chance to play shows every night and tour the country and see it all through a car window. It's been such great fun and I feel so lucky to have this opportunity.
MICK: On this tour, what has been your most memorable moment up to this point?
LAURA: We have had a lot of technical errors. In the Boston show, my guitar cut out for three songs which was not a good thing. I guess you have to learn from stuff like that. It's been great seeing the country. You really get to know the band and grow with them.
MICK: Have you had the chance to meet any of your influences like Slash, Suzy Quatro, Lita Ford?
LAURA: I met Steven Tyler. I think he is the most recent influence that I've met. There's still more time for that kind of stuff.
MICK: I've read that you played a private accoustic show for the Saudi Arabian royal family. What was that like?
LAURA: That was a "wow" experience. I couldn't believe it was happening! I was staying at the same hotel as them and they found out I was a musician. They looked me up and liked my music. So they requested a private accoustic show and they really liked it! It was amazing!
MICK: Do you think about possibly doing an accoustic album one day?
LAURA: Definitely! I know the Foo Fighters and Nirvana have done unplugged stuff. I just love it. It's a different way of presenting a song.
MICK: What do you do to unwind?
LAURA: I've actually been going shooting! I was in Las Vegas recently and they have different gun laws so I got to shoot a shot gun and an AK47.
MICK: Do you havce any hobbies besides music?
LAURA: I like to hang out with friends. I like to play video games, watch movies and stuff like that.
MICK: What's next after this tour?
LAURA: We are going back into the studio and record the next album. It is now in the proccess of being written. We'll do it all over again!

Laura Wilde comes to the Westbury Theatre in Westbury, NY on 08/01/12 as shew opens for Ted Nugent.
You can see more about Laura Wilde at: http://www.laurawilde.com/