Porter

Friday, November 30th, 2007

Porter Singer has drawn comparisons to everyone from Tori Amos to Fiona Apple. You decide. Tonight at 8 the Westport-based pianist and singer/songwriter will play a free gig at Borders bookstore at 110 Federal Road in Danbury.

Singer has been performing since January. She caught the bug after a four-month "soul-searching trip around the Pacific Rim" after graduating college in 2005. "I was completely alone and away from everything familiar, but the only thing I missed was making music," she said.

A year ago, through a friend of the family, Singer met Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, who'd penned tunes for everyone from Elvis to Peggy Lee. That, she said, propelled her to pursue her musical dreams.

Now working on a full-length album, Singer said if the audience at Borders this evening likes "piano-playing poetesses," they should be prepared to "be amazed." - Danbury New-Times

Porter Singer, a local singer, pianist and songwriter, will perform in New York City for the first time, on Thursday Jan. 11, at Fat Baby on the Lower East Side.

Singer, who performs under the name Porter, will present a 45-minute show of original songs, including some written during the holidays.

"Playing piano isn't the most convenient for touring since places either don't have a piano, or don't keep it in tune," said Singer, who will be carting her full-sized keyboard to the Manhattan gig.

"But I'm just glad to be able to perform, so it's not a big deal," she added.

Among the place she and her keyboard traveled to in 2006 are Groovy's in Fairfield, Reality Cafe in Stratford and Javapalooza in Middletown.

She was also recently invited by the regional marketing manager of Borders Books and Music to play and sell CDs at stores in Waterford, Fairfield, Milford, and Danbury.

Performance dates and times can be found on the Borders newsletter.

For questions, or to be added to her mailing list, e-mail porter@portersinger.com - Westport News, 01.10.07

Excerpts: "Porter is establishing herself as a must-listen to vocal in Lower Fairfield County."

"Being humble, and her willingness to learn from experience, enabled her to improve and become smooth in delivering stellar shows."

"... she has performed at the Westport Arts Fair and this past April, she sand at the Women of Song Concert with many other artists at the Fairfield Theater."

"In the Spring of 2007, she was an opening act for the renowned Leslie Gore, who sand the 1963 hit, 'It's My Party.'"

See full article, with photos: http://portersinger.blogspot.com/2008/08/norwalk-citizen-article.html - Norwalk-Citizen News 08.08.08

WESTPORT — Porter Singer is a Border’s Books and Music favorite. Considering that the Wesport resident will perform more than handful of times at stores all over New England, the nationwide chain seems to understand what makes the 24-year-old performer’s songs so precocious.
But, some folks just don’t get Porter Singer’s music. She is now in the process of recording her debut CD, after several demos, but things didn’t go so well at first. Let’s just say prospective producers didn’t see songs like the delicate and nuanced “Like The Turtle” the same way Singer did.
“I met with a few people that were interested in working with me,” explains Singer, who performs simply as Porter. “They would listen to my music, say they’d like to be a part of it, but the wanted me to conform to their motto, to the way they make music. One guy wanted me to record to a click track because he said the beat has to be consistent. That’s not me!”
One of Singer’s most easily recognizable characteristics is the way her songs discard traditional song structure, forgoing the classic verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus structure, with her piano parts coming close to matching the intricate movements penned by Tori Amos. It’s another thing engineers tried to kill from Singer’s tunes.
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“Yeah, one guy started by saying he really liked everything,” she continues, “but then said he wanted it all to be standard song form. He clearly didn’t understand my music. Then he got mad at me for being inflexible when I said I wouldn’t do it. That’s when I decided I’m going to do it myself and see what comes of it.”
Luckily, Singer has plenty of experience recording. A music major at Brown University in Providence, the artist worked mostly with making and recording electronic music, which gave her experience with the software necessary to record a disc by herself.
“I’m doing the recording at home, so I don’t have a lot of the equipment I had in college,” she explains, “but that’s not a bad thing. I do a lot overdubbing and layering on my songs, but nothing as sophisticated as the things I did at Brown.”
But while in school, Singer actually didn’t perform her music. She’s been writing songs and poetry since middle school, but didn’t start playing out until she returned from a long trip around the Pacific Rim just after graduating from school.
“I was gone for four months,” says Singer, who grew up in France, but whose parents moved to the Nutmeg State when she went to college. “I was by myself, and I was surfing, hiking and doing things I wasn’t used to. Things would come up and I was like, ‘Yeah sure, I’ll do it.’ I was never that way, but on the trip, I kind of became that person who says, ‘Yeah, let’s go surfing. Who cares about the jellyfish?’ After that, when I got home, going out to an open mic didn’t seem that intimidating anymore.”
Through her father, Singer scored a meeting with the songwriting team of Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, the duo responsible for such Elvis Presley hits as “Hound Dog,” “Jailhouse Rock” and The Coasters’ “Yakety Yak,” among many other hits. The legendary duo’s thoughts on her music made Singer even more determined to perform around and get songs out there.
“The meeting was really motivating,” Singer says. “It was so exciting to sit in a room with those two. And when Jerry said he liked my lyrics, that’s so flattering. It made me start getting serious.”
Singer then began calling local venues, some in Connecticut, some in New York, just looking for a chance to perform. Since then, she’s played around both states and began to earn a following. It’s one that should continue to grow once she finishes her debut album, on her own, of course.
“I’m actually really happy that I didn’t end up working with anyone,” Porter says. “I started back in January, and because of the process, I really didn’t start (until a couple months ago). It’s such a good thing. I’ve gotten so much better as a musician since then.” - New Haven Register

Porter, The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy (portersinger.com). "Everyone I know has been pre-loved," Porter Singer sings. "They've been dicked around like used cars." Relationships take center stage topically on The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. It's a record bursting with piano ballads, seasoned with a variety of woodwinds and strings. The vocals are clean and sweet, a soft but heady listen after a day of sitting in traffic and arguing with close friends of the opposite sex.

—Mike Sembos - New Haven Advocate, 7.24.08

By Kathleen Cei

Age: 24.

Next gig: June 22 at the International Festival of Arts & Ideas, on the New Haven Green, at 2:30 p.m.

Music style: Alternative, tonal architecture (see portersinger.com).

Armed with: Voice, keys. One day I will be hauling a grand piano around with me.

First record bought: Tori Amos, Boys for Pele.

First concert: Lilith Fair, Summer ’99, with Chrissie Hynde, Sarah McLachlan, Beth Orton, Sheryl Crow and many others.

Listening to: Mieka Pauley, Elijah Drop Your Gun; Noe Venable, The Summer Storm Journals; WFUV 90.7 FM; WESU 88.1 FM.

While cleaning: Panic! at the Disco.

Concert that changed her life: The first time I saw Tori Amos, I was overwhelmed by the virtuosity. That energy is transformative.

First notes: I had an amazing opportunity to meet Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller. They listened to a horrible demo I had done and were taking it seriously, giving me feedback and career tips. Lieber said he liked my music more than Joni Mitchell’s. How could I not be inspired? I started playing last January.

Buy her a drink: Water with lime, please.

Reading: The Mayan Calendar and the Transformation of Consciousness by Carl Johan Calleman.

On TV: Big Love. Thankfully, the season is over and I can get back to my life.

Favorite websites: Blackle.com, goneraw.com, MySpace.

Films: The Chipmunk Adventure, Once, Fame, Hope Floats.

Join another local band for a day: The Crickstones would be fun to jam with. It would be cool to sing in a band that was percussion-based; I don’t do a lot of that in my own music.

Most memorable local shows: The Meriden Daffodil Festival. I was put in the food court, which I thought would be weird at first, but that’s where everyone was!

Also found: Teaching music to children, training to be a yoga teacher, bike riding. If Long Island Sound weren’t so polluted, I’d go swimming all year round. I love cold water.

Fun fact about Porter: I’m raw vegan. Is that fun? I think so.

Question she wished I asked: Anything that would have conveniently allowed me to plug my new album. It’s called The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy. Thanks for asking! - New Haven Advocate, 06.20.08