Incredible dreamy folk pop that combines neo-classical, organic gothic and a bit of earth pop on the new release by Laurel Brauns, titled "House of Snow." Laurel is friend of mine from Bend Oregon and she is one, very talented songwriter that we will all be seeing/hearing a lot more of in the near future. Check out her new release on iTunes by clicking below.

Merry Xmas and Happy New Year to everyone! What a great year and 2012 will be even better:-)

Got to sit in with Nolan Neal and Elizabeth Thompson last night at the Hotel Indigo...if you haven't heard Nolan & Elizabeth perform, I'm here to tell you that they are two of the most incredible songwriters that I've met in Nashville.

Here's some video Clips by Costa at Jordan Hill's Christmas Party... we were jamming out all kinds of tunes and just having a blast hangin' with Jordan and friends.

Massive storm building-up on the way back from Mahalia Thtr, LA and we literally just missed it. You know it's a serious storm when they interrupt all radio channels to warn you.

I took some incredible shots of a talented singer/songwriter and friend, Katelyn Epperly and posted them to my photo website: http://www.reedlawrence.com  Katelyn was my next door neighbor while living in LA and we became good friends and worked on music together here and there and I heard that she had also moved to Nashville so I tracked her down and we hung out for an afternoon and took some vibey shots. You can listen to Katelyn's music on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/katelynepperlymusic

Here's a pic of Dean Butterworth and I @ Studio City Sound when we were working on my Self Titled EP. Check out the EP on iTunes: "Reed Thomas Lawrence Self Titled EP"

Everyone, meet a very talented friend of mine - Mr. LAZ Glickman.  I had the pleasure of meeting Laz, his dad, Marshall Glickman, and his mom, Lisa Glickman, a few summers back in Bend, OR and over the last year I have kept up with Laz and his "just beginning" musical career.  I'm not kidding around when I say that my friend Laz is going to be a very successful musician.

I had the chance to sit and jam with Laz before I headed to Los Angeles, and I had a hard time keeping up with him and his playing (that's how incredibly good this kid is).  He was teaching me some really cool jazz changes and I was teaching him some harmonic movement techniques and lyric techniques for songwriting.  We were in our own musical world and totally got lost for a while trying to make up a few songs.  Then I just asked Laz to play for me because it's really amazing to watch someone at that age connect with music like he does. It's like he's been playing music all his life and he tunes-in to that channel where it flows through him and that's how I know he's got it!

I really admire his dad, Marshall, and mom, Lisa, for encouraging his talents and nurturing them as he grows into a professional musician.  But with that said, he's still just a regular kid and that's what makes him and his talent so special is the balancing of it all.

At 11-years old, Laz Glickman has travelled the world, lived in four different cities and has developed into a young man with a bright future. Born in Portland, Oregon, Laz has lived in Barcelona, Boston and, today, Bend, Oregon. As a result, Laz has learned to embrace people from multiple cultures and believes his humor, passion and competitive spirit will take him wherever he wants to go.

On most Sundays, he shuttles from a morning of alpine race training on Central Oregon’s Mt. Bachelor to rehearsal with a jazz combo, where he is a fine pianist. Laz plays ice hockey every week. He is a dedicated baseball player, showing a strong arm on the pitcher’s mound. In the summer, he mountain bikes and hikes. In the fall, he excels at tackle football, playing quarterback and middle linebacker. On the side, he occasionally plays tennis, golf, soccer and rock climbs.

As a student, Laz has achieved straight A’s as a 6th-grader at Cascades Academy. Each week, he studies Hebrew with his teacher in Portland, via Skype, preparing for his Bar Mitzvah. A die-hard member of the Red Sox Nation and avid fan of the Oregon Ducks, Laz is a young man of many passions.

Imaging his future, Laz says, “I want to be the world’s first professional baseball playing, ski racing, jazz pianist!”

On the music front, Laz has written six songs, topped by his signature “Laz Jazz.” He performs regularly at guest appearances throughout Bend, and has shared the stage with Tom Grant, Ron Steen, Michael Allen Harrison and other mainstays of the Northwest jazz scene. In Spring 2011, Laz was one of 10 pianists selected for Harrison’s “Ten Grands For Kids” concert, where he performed in front of nearly 9000 people over three shows at Portland’s Schnitzer Concert Hall.

Laz Glickman is a young man of many passions and whether we will see him on the big screen as a baseball player, ski racer or jazz pianist, we will for sure be seeing more of him so keep your eyes peeled and on the lookout.  But I have a feeling we will be seeing him on his Piano with his sunglasses on, and his head back feeling the music like the legends do:-)

For my friend Laz!

I've been working on this side project for the last year with Joseph Tavares, a hip hop artist based out of Oregon and Brian Bennett who is a Northwest producer and we are finally going to master the tracks and release them via iTunes. I will have more details soon, but here is a rough sample track off of the RTL Project titled "Do You See Me." Enjoy!     Do You See Me by reedthomaslawrence

On stage at The Gorge Amphitheater.

Q: What was the first concert you went to growing up?
A: The first one that actually inspired me was BB King in Eugene, OR

Q: What was the first CD you purchased?
A: Stevie Ray Vaughan, Texas Flood

Q: Who is your musical hero?
A: Stevie Ray Vaughan

Q: Who are you listening to now?
A: Agnes Obel, Philharmonics

Q: What has been your favorite live show to play?
A: It will always be the Tower Theatre in Bend, OR! I love that venue and it’s completely filled with a feeling of hoping for advancement with my music or just dreaming of something bigger and better and playing that venue always made me feel like it does exist.

Continued...

Q: Who is the biggest fan in your life, excluding family?
A: Well if I didn’t say my mother, grandmother, my wife and my uncle Stuart Johns, I would totally not get out of jail free but since you are excluding family I would have to say Dennis Plant at Bon Vivant Studios in Bend Oregon who I recorded my first CD with. He still continues to do licensing with our old project and he was always backing me up and still believes in what I’m doing.

Q: Favorite Drink?

A: If I could actually have it all the time it would be Thai Iced Tea, but it’s full of sugar and I guess I’m not a kid anymore.

Q: Who are your other musical influences?
A: Sting, Ryan Adams, John Mayer, The Beatles, My first guitar teacher Rich Hurdle, Rob Thomas and the list goes on and on but generally, just people who write incredible songs.

Q&A Continued...

Q: When did you decide to come to Nashville and how do you like it so far?
A: My wife and I decided to move here from LA this last September and we are both in love with the city, it reminds me so much of my home town because it still has a small town vibe about it and everyone in the south is so friendly that it sometimes shocks me.

Q: Are you currently working with anyone here on any projects?
A: No, I’m really not doing much of anything lately other than trying to get my feet planted here so I can focus on writing more and then get out and tour again because it’s been a while since I’ve been out on the road.

Q: The music on your latest EP is a bit more rock/adult contemporary, even a bit alt country, where did that sound evolve from and why is it so different from you last projects?
A: I think that the new sound derives from working with guys like Cliff Downs because he generally works in more of a Rock/alt Country genre so I think that the producer tends to rub off on the artist when it comes to the producer’s musical influences.

Continued...

Q: What was your and Cliff’s goal for the EP?
A: Well I would be a slack if I didn’t mention Allison Seale who was a huge contributor to this project as well as an executive producer on a lot of the songs and without her this project wouldn't even have been possible, nor would I have met Cliff Downs here in Nashville. So with that said, there were several people just brainstorming and coming up with different ideas for this EP, but I think that the main goal was just to create something that sounded a bit more like it was recorded live and to create as much space between the notes as possible.

Q: Agreed, what’s a slack by the way?
A: Not sure, just made it up!

Q: What were the sessions like and who were the players?
A: The sessions were completely unpolished and/or countrified in a way, we just didn’t really have a plan and having the studio guys come in and try to create a vibe live while sitting in the studio is a really great way to record. The players were Jeff King , Steve Brewster, Mark Hill, Blair Masters, Bruce Bouton and Cliff Downs.

Continued...

Q: One of my favorite songs on the EP is "Watching Angels" can you explain what that song is about?
A: It's about being an artist and having the burden of “maybe” not making it or not being able to do what you want and just trying to keep your head above water. The "watching angels fall" is just a metaphor for watching other artists around me fail or fail to succeed at what they love and hoping that I’m not next in line to fall. It also has a little bit to do with being in LA, hence the city of "Angels" and how that ties into being an artist in such a starving and hungry for talent type of city. You know, like what makes me different than all the rest and what if I fall.

Q: So what is your specific writing process and how do you approach songwriting?
A: I usually start with the chords our harmony because it creates the feeling and mood and then the lyrics usually just start falling into place, but in most cases, I have to re-look a song or rewrite the song several times before I say it’s done, so it’s always an ongoing process I think.

Continued...

Q:The album is definitely searching for something better and it feels like you were maybe going through a lot when you wrote these songs and struggling for things to pass, where did a lot of that yearning come from in your life?
A: Well, mostly it came from feeling like things kept hitting me from all angles and just feeling like I couldn’t rise above anything or even create a different life experience for myself so when you are that low I think the only place left to go is back up and you start becoming hopeful again and you start having clarity again.

Q: You are currently not signed to any label so what keeps you afloat in the industry and how do you keep making things happen for yourself?
A: That’s a great question because I’m not even sure how things come to me. I think, for me, things come in spurts so while it may seem like there are always things happening that’s usually not the case. But I think as far as not touring, if you just try to create really great songs that people will connect with and then put it out to the world via internet, something is bound to happen and someone will hear it and then if you continue to due that whether you are touring or not, people will pass it around and the word get’s out. But you do have to work at it and keep in touch with people constantly in order to be available for things to happen.

Continued...

Q: I noticed that you released a song on the new Oniric Records season 3 compilation album which features new music from the Wailers, how did that come about?
A: That was an opportunity that first came from co-writing the song with Franchot Tone and then having that opportunity open up through someone Franchot knew and that specific song just fit. So it was the right time, right place type of thing.

Q: So what is planned for the RTL future, I don’t see any tour dates on your site?
A: I’m not sure at this point, I plan on continuing to work with Allison Seale in LA on music licensing deals and then I plan to work with Cliff Downs a bit more and hopefully land a distribution deal for this new EP or even a licensing deal would be great. But as far as touring goes, I’m not currently with the booking agency I was with so touring is on hold for the moment. Just shows in and outside of Nashville for now.

It's been a long trip across the country to Nashville TN and I've been fighting a cold which is not conducive to having great vocal tracks!  But other than that, I feel like the new material is really starting to take life with each track forming it's own individuality.  I love the way music is made in TN, it's laid back, fun and has been my best experience yet in the studio.  I'm super blessed to be working with such talented musicians on this project. 

I'm proud to announce that my track "Never Pays" is featured on Solutions for Dreamers : Season 3, the latest benefit compilation CD from Oniric Records. All of the albums proceeds go directly to the World Food Programme (WFP) and its effort to fight global hunger.

WFP is the world's largest humanitarian agency, fighting hunger worldwide. In emergencies, WFP gets food to where it is needed, saving the lives of victims of war, civil conflict and natural disasters. But WFP also works to prevent hunger in the future by implementing programs that use food as a means to build assets and create more dynamic communities.

I'm honored to be a part of such an important project as this benefit album and encourage you to do what you can to support the incredible work done by WFP. Visit OniricRecords.com to purchase this album or individual tracks, and lend your hand to the global fight against hunger.

In the vocal booth, shot on my Nikon D3S.

Meet a good friend of mine, Chuck Greenwood, CEO of HumanCar® Inc. If you haven't heard of Chuck and his father, Charles Greenwood, I can guarantee that you will sometime in the near future. HumanCar® Inc. is an industrial design firm deep in the forest of Oregon (can't tell you where, it's top secret). They make the 189mph biofuel research rod, the iconic FM4 'Troublemaker' and the new Imagine_PS™ LMV (mobile power station/low mass vehicle plug-in hybrid), and let me tell you that these guys are currently making history so you might want to keep your eye on them before you miss the making of these guys becoming legends of their own.

Please check out their website and support what these guys are doing: http://www.humancar.com

Last year Reed caught the attention of Myspace Records through his songwriting & musical style - he is now being featured on the Myspace Music Artist Discovery program - check it out here:

http://www.myspace.com/artistdiscovery

It's getting better all the time...looks like I made it on the front of the Myspace music home page! Click on the screen shot below to see the feature.  ~ Cheers

I recently had the opportunity to meet and work with the critically acclaimed Northwest hip hop producer "Terminil," who currently just released "Cut Em or Pay Em" by Northe'n Lights. Featuring the talents of Punchline (NYC), Illmaculate (World Rap Champion), Toni Hill, Luck One, T Soprano, Mikey Vegaz, Arjay, Dubble 00, Pricy, Top Shelf, Grynch, Knuckles, and Element.  The release is doing incredibly well and was featured on the top hip hop blogs in the US, called "2dopeboyz," below.

Click on the blog below and give the album a listen.  I'm featured on "All My Life."   Track number two!

Last chance to download our track "Music" for Free! Just click on the Tankfarm Clothing website below and download our track "Music" for free (4th track down) and a ton of other great artist downloads from Myspace Records & Tankfarm Clothing...

This little one is a Rockstar all on her own. Just after eating an entire rack of Baldy's famous ribs, we still had room for dessert. Give it up for Whitney Tone, AKA munky.

Well, we finally did it, we made the lineup for the Rothbury Festival. There are not many words I can use to illustrate the feelings that materialize when you get word you are sharing the same stage with legendary artists you grew up listening to, it's just kind of a fortuitous feat! This is an accomplishment that I have achieved through my good friends, family and partners in crime (my band). I give thanks to all!

Meet Culver City Dub Collective (CCDC) who are ultimately assembled, produced and creatively grounded by two individuals: drummer/songwriter Adam Topol and guitarist/engineer Franchot Tone who is also the engineer and lead guitarist on my record.

Watch the video

You don’t have to look past the name of BendFilm to ascertain where the festival originated. While the non-profit independent cinema festival is, of course, rooted in our mountain town, this month will see BendFilm cross the Cascades for its first ever out-of-town event. If you are in the area of Bend, Oregon then you can't miss this special event. Come down, have some local wine and brews and hang with my friends and family. I will be playing an acoustic set on Thursday October 9th from 7:45pm-8:30pm @ the Tower Theater located in the heart of beautiful downtown Bend Oregon Tower Theatre -835 NW Wall Street.

More info: bendfilm.org or call: (541)317-0700

Everyone, meet Ben. He is one of those rarities among human beings who just connects with everyone, and they connect back. Ben just gets it! Like any other form of art, Ben is an artist that is super honest and doesn't try too hard to capture what is already there. You know, art is all around us, but sometimes we try too hard to see it and we just miss it.

Ben's work, always seems to debilitate the eyes which gaze back and forth from a brief sojourn through his very unique, very off the beaten track style of predicting life through a lens.

One of my personal favorites, a genuine artist.

www.benmoon.com

The first weekend back from LA and it's cloudy here in Bend, Oregon.  We've had a super long winter and I was getting a little worried that we might not see summer.  Sky, from Rage Productions gathered up everyone for the video shoot and we gave it our best shot.

Everything went super smooth.  Everyone arrived on time and everyone had a blast.  Thanks to Sky and the rest of the crew @ Rage Films. The team never ceases to amaze me when it comes to motivating the unmotivated, THX.

Thanks again to all the people who participated in making this happen.

I'm on a plane flying back from Colorado and I think its getting easier! "Unproblematic," you say?? Yes, trouble-free. Oh, flying that is. I utterly hate to fly. I'm not going to fabricate the truth on this one. Even though, I always say "oh flying, I love to fly", I'm speaking to you now from 27,000 ft. above solid earth so that is completely trumped-up when I say I love to fly, I'm not gonna lie to you!

And let me say this is serious and it just came to me. I am flying back on 9/11 and my heart truly aches for those who lost loved ones on that horrible and terrific day I will never fail to remember that day as I'm sure every person on the globe will never forget the day our lives would change dramatically forever.

There are two great observable things that happen when you fly. One, you are so scared shitless that you will talk with anyone, the person next to you, the guy in the front or the sweet flight attendant who normally you wouldn't have time to connect with but in this situation you appreciate the little things. Two, you always find out what your true dreams are when flying. Yes that's right, at least I do. Every time I fly, I'm so scared shitless that I start telling the person next to me everything that I want to experience in my life in the next 20 or 30 years. It's funny though, because the person next to me always looks at me like "wow, this kid is ambitious," and I am to a certain extent, but in all honesty, flying is my inspiration.

Just recently I had the opportunity to play on the same stage as Sheryl Crow and it was in the town I spent a majority of my youth in, playing small blues pubs and dreaming about moments like this at my hometown amphitheater in Bend, Oregon. Sheryl was late for the democratic convention and the stars somehow aligned for my band and I.