Lauren Curtis

About Lauren Curtis

Singer/songwriter Lauren Curtis has found an unlikely place among hip hop artists and Emo scene kids on the popular site, Myspace.com. In only two months, over 45,000 people have visited her profile page and enjoyed her original songs. Somewhere between country, blues and folk rock, you can find Lauren Curtis’ sound, but it is too cheap to pigeonhole the singer with a particular genre. Her music isn’t the kind you’ll hear on Top 40 radio stations, but it should be. Yes, she really is that good. Perhaps that is why she is becoming such a popular Myspace artist. Very few musicians on the site have that distinction.

Lauren's Life

A classically trained singer, Lauren Curtis was born to a musical family, one in which every member played an instrument. She explains, “I was bombarded with the gift of song from the get go. My dad was an incredible R&B vocalist whom I just idolized and was immensely inspired by. He sang with such passion and conviction that just tore through one’s flesh, his words just anchoring the soul”. Deep sentiments from an equally profound lyricist, her family’s frequent jam sessions are the subject of her song “Out in My Backyard”. The story of Lauren’s childhood is also peppered with struggles and heartbreak, as is the case with many great artists.

Although the marriage would end in a painful divorce, Curtis’ parents provided what they could for their children. Music lessons, too expensive for two daughters, would be shared amongst Lauren and her sister: “…when she’d come home with her lessons I’d try to follow, learn what she did and play with her”.

At the early age of 12, Lauren was already taking up the guitar, by “fiddling around” with her father’s. (Those who have heard Curtis’ “Here’s to You” know she has come a long way from fiddling.) Although inclined to follow a musical path from a young age, the singer was still incredibly shy as a child. Lauren says, “I always felt like an outsider, a most awkward teen never seeming to fit in. Girls my age were interested in things that just didn’t interest me at all like boys, dating, dances, mingling, etc.”. This awkwardness would only lead to depression after the ugly divorce of her parents in high school.

Growing Up Tough

Lauren looks back at her troubled teenage years with both painful reflection as well as admiration for her mother, who struggled to make ends meet on one salary. It was during that time that simple luxuries seemed out of reach, such as keeping the electricity on. Lauren remembers, “The day before the event [prom], the lights got shut off again since mom couldn’t pay the bill and all I could think of was how embarrassed I’d be for my date to pick me up and find me in the dark, candles lit, like some weird spook house. Just something else to be teased about at school. In order to remedy the situation fast she spoke to the neighbor who allowed her to run an extension chord from his house through a window to ours giving us one lamp lit to get through the night”. Curtis muses that this story is one that is destined to become a hit song.

After high school, Lauren would go on to study music in college, despite her parents’ wishes for a more stable future. However, there didn’t seem to be any other road for Curtis. Music and poetry had been a part of her life for too long to let it go. With scholarships and loans, Lauren was able to enter a music program, where she chose to study the classical genre. At last, she found the acceptance she had so longed for. No more an awkward, shy girl, one of her professors called Lauren her “Mezzo Song Bird”.

There were plenty of chances to hone her talents before discriminating audiences, too. Stage fright had to be conquered as she performed for the annual Martin Luther King Day event three years in a row. Before a crowd of 5000 people, Lauren remembers, “I had overcome a lot for one little white girl to perform with the gospel choir professor on piano before a packed auditorium of Afro Americans”. Upon graduating college, a new Lauren Curtis emerged. She was now “brave and fearless”.

Although she is now a formally trained, courageous singer/songwriter, life is still a struggle for Curtis at times. She has paid her dues in the music industry, experiencing more ups and downs than she can count. Says the singer, “You have to become really sharp in knowing who is who and who really has your back and best interest at heart”. That is an understatement in the oft-shady world of show business. Luckily, Lauren has been smart enough to avoid the pitfalls many young singers encounter. Indecent proposals, iniquitous contracts, they’ve all been offered to and passed on by Lauren Curtis. Although these decisions haven’t made her rich, it’s kept her integrity intact; something much more valuable to the singer.

Her Place in Music

So, where does an acoustic guitar-playing poet and singer belong in the age of iPods and American Idol? Lauren muses, “Though I am honored to see my face amongst many of successful hip hop artists on the Web, this is a place where I revert to those childhood days of just not fitting in”. Yes, the music world is saturated with manufactured talent, a sad state of affairs that is quickly infiltrating the singer’s home of Nashville, Tennessee. Once an earthy destination for hopeful musicians, Curtis claims her producer is inundated with requests for auto tune (that nifty little gadget that keeps Ashlee Simpson-types on pitch). He refuses such requests, showing strength of character that is rare in the industry. That is one more plus on Curtis’ side: a good support system that believes in the quality of work someone like her can offer the world.

Though the masses are being hand-fed hypersexual pop stars and misogynistic rappers, it seems the silent majority may be looking for something more. The fact that someone like Lauren Curtis has risen through the ranks of Myspace.com denizens speaks volumes about teenagers and young adults. She uses no tricks, such as half-nude photos (ala Tila Tequila) or aggressive friend request campaigns. She is merely being herself… and it’s working. No one can argue with the large response Lauren has received on the Internet. Could it be we aren’t giving the American public enough credit? Although she is sagely waiting for the right contract to come her way, it’s hard to imagine she will be waiting for long. Anyone who happens by her music is immediately captivated, as evident in the viral effect it’s had on Myspace. Lauren, not nearly as cynical about the music industry, predicts a change in the future: “I think we are on our way back to a more traditional, simpler style of music where talent accounts for more than what sound comes out of your expensive machine”.

We hope she’s right.

The Wing Maker

The Wing Maker is Lauren Curtis' debut album. A versatile collection of original songs, copies can be purchased through the links listed below.

Lauren Curtis Links

• Lauren's Myspace Profile- One of the site's most popular music pages, Lauren's music can be heard and purchased here.
  

• Lauren Curtis at Music Freedom.com- Music Freedom is another Web site where Lauren's music can be purchased and downloaded.