Leticia Wolf
Nashville, Tennessee, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
For singer-songwriters in this town, it’s hard to make a mark. The glut of first name/last names illuminated on the city’s marquees has stigmatized the idiom to such a degree that the story of making a name for oneself in Nashville is one of escaping the Bluebird-ified pigeonhole. When considering the amount of talent it takes to accomplish such a feat, that isn’t such a bad thing. Take for example local chanteuse Leticia Wolf. Fans of artists ranging from Mary Lou Lord to Feist would do themselves a favor by giving her newest offering The Fire and the Flood a listen. The record addresses the concerns of a quarter-life crisis with a tone that shifts from dramatically dire to warm and resolute, reflected sonically by dense but tasteful arrangements featuring a healthy dose of lush strings and wet organ sounds. They’re driving when they need to be, yet laid back and understated enough as to never distract from the soulful smoky singing voice that is easily Wolf’s greatest asset. -Adam Gold - Nashville Scene
One of our local songbirds has definitely stretched out her wings and flown the coop, so to speak. As I’ve mentioned before, Leticia Wolf moved to Nashville a little over a year ago, and left a lot of her friends, family, and fans missing her. But as we all know, if you love something, you’ve got to let it go. Luckily, the short driving distance between here and there allows her to come back to us pretty often.
She moved to pursue bigger and better opportunities, and she’s been quite successful in doing just that. Leticia signed into a contract with Myspace Records, and became a part of their Friends and Family program, which is basically a one-year contract where Myspace helps with free advertisements, banners, articles, links, and other promotional tools. She’s been given the main feature on the login page and on the Myspace Music page. They have also helped her to network with other Myspace artists and have served as a stepping stone into the line-ups of many festivals, such as the Florida Music Festival, Miami Music Festival, and coming up in March, South By South West.
She will be returning to Chattanooga to share her new album, The Fire and the Flood, with us at Rhythm & Brews on February 10, with a full band and special guests The Nim Nims. If you’ve ever wondered if you shared any of my musical taste, this would be a perfect show to attend, as I love both artists.
This is what Leticia had to say:
Hellcat: What’s behind the title?
Leticia Wolf: It came pretty easily. We started looking at it and what the songs were about. A lot of mentioning of water and fire in the lyrics, whether the water was sweat or tears or just plain water. I find that fires and floods are both devastating elements, but they are also very cleansing and can help you start over. A horrible circumstance that can lead to a rebirth, which is what the album is about.
HC: I like that. It’s like taking a tragedy and making a growth period out of it. What’s your favorite song on this album?
LW: They change, because I’ve been working on this album a little under a year, but right now it is “Then I Woke Up”. There are three different drummers on the song. It’s not loud or heavy, but it has a lot of things going on. One drummer just plays brushes. I like it because it’s wordy and fast, so it’s fun performing it, too.
HC: What has the hardest song been for you to get down?
LW: Several songs on the album got tracked and then re-tracked as we found new textures and layers we could add or take away. “Money, Love, Cold”, was recorded four different ways. I wanted it to be a throwback-sounding tune that was tongue and cheek but not typical Nashville style. Ben Jarvis put a shaker on it, and it fixed everything.
HC: Is it weird coming back to Chattanooga?
LW: Nope. It’s been a while since I released an album in Chattanooga. I did this record and I’m really proud of it. I want to share it with Rhythm & Brews, and all my friends and family in Chattanooga. Plus, I will be bringing a full band that I play with often; so that will be a nice change, since most people aren’t used to seeing me with a full band.
HC: Count me in, you and The Nim Nims? Wouldn’t miss it.
Leticia Wolf and The Nim Nims
$5
9 p.m.
Wednesday, February 10
Rhythm & Brews, 221 Market Street
(423) 267-4644. www.rhythm-brews.com
-Hellcat - The Chattanooga Pulse
My pal John Hinchey was kind enough to send me a copy of Leticia Wolf’s new album, The Fire and the Flood, which is available now on iTunes. Among his many talents, John is a brass and string arranger extraordinaire, and worked on four songs on Leticia’s new album, including Comfortable in Hell, which eagle-eared listeners may recognise from the ReWire example video on the Sibelius web site.
John was brought onto this project by his collaborator Mark Hornsby, who produced the album. John and Mark made extensive use both of Sibelius and Pro Tools in putting together the final mixes.
“There are four songs with my string arrangements,” John told me. “We recorded string quintet on It’s Fine, The Clue, Dig, and – of course – Comfortable In Hell. I also did an arrangement for three euphoniums and tuba on The Flood.”
John relied on the ReWire feature in Sibelius 6 to make the demos of his arrangements really pop. “It was incredibly helpful on this project. Being able to create good demos for a client is always important, but when you are trying to convince a producer that using three euphoniums and a tuba on a alternative rock track is a good idea… a great demo is crucial!”
Mark, of course, decided to go with the unusual brass combination in the end, and John is delighted with how the final album sounds.
“I’m really tickled with the mix. Mark used only room sound on the strings and brass, no digital reverb. It really brings them to the front and makes for a transparent mix.”
“The album was recorded and mixed in Pro Tools HD,” Mark added. “The vibe of the album was intended to be dry, intimate, and organic. No reverb was used for ambience – just room mics from the tracking sessions. I used IK Multimedia’s T-Racks, Chandler/Abbey Road’s TG Limiter and Massenburg Design Works’s EQ3. This achieved a very warm yet clean sound.”
As for Leticia herself, she has described the album as “a coming of age record”:
"There are songs about letting go of the impossible, and songs that revisit the painful. It’s got classic whiskey and cheating tunes, but I tried to make it more than that. It’s about learning how to dream the right dreams, and hold on to them. The album is dark, but it’s soft and delicate, even hopeful at times. The stories explore a meandering path that is green with acoustic guitar, piano, rhodes, organ, strings and even a few euphoniums. The production is dry, warm and at times playful, but never over-done."
The album is definitely worth a listen. Check it out on iTunes today. -Daniel Spreabury - Sibelius
Discography
Leticia Wolf 'The Fire and The Flood'
2010
Echo XS
Radio spins "Then I Woke Up", "It's Fine", "Money Love Cold"
Leticia Wolf 'Self Titled EP' 2008
Echo XS
Radio spins "God Killed My Love", "Dig", "Comfortable in Hell"
Leticia Wolf 'Sad Songs Kill Themselves' 2006
Radio spins "My Love Waits" "Momentum"
Photos
Bio
A self-taught musician, Leticia Wolf is an artist, writer and performer. As a child, her musical style developed from eclectic combinations like Nirvana to James Taylor and Johnny Cash to the The Beatles.
Her writing style has been described as "method-acting" and her recent EP is a perfect example of her diverse abilities. When she teamed-up with Nashville-based producer Mark Hornsby in late 2008, they had a rough concept of the sound they wanted, --combining the themes of the South with the angst of grunge music. Most of the songs were written as the recording process took place. At almost every recording session, Leticia brought in a new song that she thought might sound even "darker" than her last. The song Comfortable in Hell was written in the middle of the night, two weeks after all the songs were finalized. The strings for the song were actually recorded during the last day of the mixing process. Needless to say, the EP took on a life of its own and inspired Leticia to write. The final product was a sonic journey that ebbed and flowed gracefully. From hard rock to old-school country ballads, it maintained its continuity with lyrical content, organic instrumentation, dry vocals, and an underlying "dark groove".
In 2010, EchoXS Entertainment has released Leticia's new full length album "The Fire and The Flood", focusing on the Americana based themes that were so well received from her EP. Leticia is hitting the road with these songs and performing with a full band. She is decidedly different from other artists because she never had a "super-star" dream. Writing music came as naturally as writing in a diary, and performing was just as common as telling friends a story. It's no surprise that, over time, the industry has taken notice of a performer who has played consistently for years and still looks and sounds fresh.
Leticia has opened for many acclaimed performers and songwriters including James McMurty, Kevin Kinney, Emerson Hart, Shawn Mullins, Angie Aparo, Scott Miller and Jason Isbel. She has been featured on The Howard Stern Show, and was invited to write the opening and credit music of the first original series on HowardTV. She's also a proud member of MySpace Records Friends and Family and has been selected to showcase at SXSW, The Florida Music Festival and the Miami Music Festival.
Over the past several years she has fronted rock bands, punk bands and all-girl metal bands, but has always been able to throw down an amazing solo acoustic show at a moment's notice. Ultimately, it’s the stories she spins and the characters she plays that won't let her fans go.
Leticia's music is always changing and evolving, but the sexually charged themes of death, dispair, whiskey and unpreventable heartbreak are always presented with a knowing wink and an evil smile.
Her music is not angry ... it’s just a little dark.
The band she's currently touring with includes dear friends that share the same influences and passion for putting on a great show. Her shows, much like her music, have a wide appeal, but will be enjoyed particularly by fans of Johnny Cash, The Avett Brothers, Drive-by Truckers, Neil Young, and Drivin' 'n' Cryin'.
Links
