Spotlight Interview: LauraLea
Periodically, MyJerseyShore.com puts the spotlight on an individual who helps make the Jersey Shore the special place it is. This month’s interview is with LauraLea Taraskus. LauraLea is a local singer-songwriter and lead singer of the band Tripp Fabulous. Her band plays hundreds of shows a year from Virginia to Vermont, many of them at the Jersey Shore. She also does acoustic shows either solo or with other musicians.
Interview:
Where did you grow up? Atco, NJ.
How did you get started in the music business? My friends pushed me into it! Anytime we went out they’d make the band let me sing with them. I would do it under protest until I realized I REALLY liked it; then I was like, “Let’s go out so I can sing!”
Who are the other members of Tripp Fabulous? Steve Miceli (lead guitar), Ritchie Hate (bass guitar), Daryl Freda (keyboard and vocals) and Jake Wiener (drums). I sing the lead vocals and I also play rhythm guitar.
What kind of music can we expect to hear at a Tripp Fabulous show? Mostly covers (we’ll sneak an original or two in if the atmosphere is right) but we cover songs from a VERY wide variety of artists. To name a few: Counting Crows, Pink, Blink 182, Nirvana, The Killers, The Cranberries, 30 Seconds to Mars, Danzig and of course a bunch of ’80s one-hit wonders - the list goes on and on.
You do about 300 shows a year; how do you keep your voice so strong? I ask myself that same question! Luck I guess. I try to take pretty good care of myself. I actually had a laryngoscopic procedure today and everything was “pink, shiny and perfect” (thank God!), according to my ear, nose and throat specialist who calls me a “freak of nature” (in his professional opinion!). Ha!
Your band plays all up and down the East Coast; how do the crowds differ from one state to another? There’s definitely a difference. It seems like the farther south we go the quicker the crowd tends to warm up. The crowds in some of the northern states take a little more work to get them going. It also depends on the time of year. Summer is ONE HUGE PARTY no matter where we go but especially at the Jersey Shore and Dewey Beach, Delaware!
Would you rather play solo acoustic or with the full band? Good question. They both have their pros and cons. I love the full-band show because I have SO much fun up there with my boys that I don’t even have to think about it and there’s definitely more energy, but the acoustic shows are less physically (but more mentally) taxing. I have complete freedom to alter the song at any given time depending on my “vibe” during a solo show so there’s a pretty good balance.
What do you do to get ready for a show? Writing the set list is my big prep session. I like to write a new one for EVERY show (other singers and band members tell me I’m nuts) but I like to be in the club when I write it so I can get a good vibe on what people will respond to. I try to think about each song and how it works with the end of the previous song and the beginning of the next and take it from there. Of course we never stick to it and I’m up there giving hand signals to the boys the whole show! But it’s therapeutic to write it out and to have it in front of me regardless of whether or not we actually follow it!
What’s your favorite original song and what inspired you to write it? My favorite original song at the moment is a baby one (that means it’s new and still growing). It’s called “Perfect” and I’ll play it differently every time until I find the version I want to stick with. I think I almost have it down! It’s about what could have been rather than what will never be. I guess it’s a slightly more positive way of looking at something that didn’t work out.
What’s the biggest mistake amateur singers make? Well I can’t really speak for other singers but the ones I’ve made are not getting enough sleep, consuming too much alcohol and abusing my voice on off days (screaming at the dog, yelping during suspense movies, doing my Artie Lange impression, etc). One thing I see a lot of other singers do - that I try my best not to do - is to take on a song that’s just not within their natural range. I think there’s a way of knowing your limits and I don’t think a lot of singers pay attention to that. Maybe they are more brave than I am.
What advice would you give aspiring musicians? The same advice I was given by my parents that I repeat to myself every day: If you want it you will find a way to get it. If you don’t get it, you didn’t want it enough. I’m still working on the “wanting it enough” part.
What local bands would you pay to see? Ian Walsh, Fools & Horses and Fat City Reprise.
When will your new CD be out? That is a question I hear AT LEAST ten times a show! I know it’s a good thing! I have a four-song, full-band EP in the works. It’s almost done but we failed to finish it before the summer schedule kicked in and with the gigs and travel it’s been impossible to get into the studio for the finishing touches. Full-band stuff takes a LOT more time because there are more parts, more musicians and more schedules to work around. But, as I said, it’s close to being finished.
For more information and the band’s schedule go to TrippFabulous.com.