Scott Morrow

Wild Belle

Q&A: Wild Belle on familial dynamics, schmoozing, and using loss as inspiration

Wild Belle: IslesWild Belle: Isles (Columbia, 3/12/13)

“Keep You”

Wild Belle: “Keep You”

Though eight years apart in age, siblings Natalie and Elliot Bergman have a long musical history. Whether playing together in church in their youth, hearing James Brown and Neil Young records from their parents, or soaking up influences on trips abroad, the two have a shared musical heritage that has manifested itself in Wild Belle, a multi-cultural pop project that was born from Natalie’s demos and rounded by Elliot’s professional experience in Nomo.

Isles, the group’s debut full-length, is a blend of pre-1980s reggae and rocksteady, dub, R&B, rock, and African influences, all held together by Natalie’s airy vocals and lovelorn lyrics. Here she speaks about familial dynamics, quickly signing to a major, and using loss as inspiration.

Dave Grohl SXSW keynote speech

See Dave Grohl’s SXSW keynote speech

In case you missed Dave Grohl’s SXSW keynote speech and have 50 minutes to kill, it’s worth a listen — covering multi-tracking at 12, being taken to see Naked Raygun, his devastation at the death of Kurt Cobain, and finding his “musical voice.”

Cathy Pellow of Sargent House

Q&A: Sargent House’s Cathy Pellow on redefining the management-label relationship

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Named after the historic home where its offices reside, Sargent House isn’t your ordinary music company. It’s a management company but also a record label — and houses a PR company (US/Them Group), a video-production site (Terroreyes TV), and, now, a licensing and music-supervision division (1656 Music).

Situated between Hollywood and downtown Los Angeles, Sargent House is all of these things, and its owner and founder, Cathy Pellow, isn’t your ordinary businessperson either. From her beginnings as a 20-year-old representing fashion photographers in New York, to her role as a film producer and talent-boutique owner, to creating a music-television show and commissioning videos for Island and Atlantic Records, Pellow holds an unusual pedigree for an indie-label head.

Reggie and the Full Effect

Kickstart this: Reggie and the Full Effect’s No Country for Old Musicians

An infectious, goofy, and under-appreciated “side project,” Reggie and the Full Effect is the solo effort of multi-instrumentalist James Dewees, best known for his roles in The Get-Up Kids, Coalesce, My Chemical Romance, and more. You might know Reg from such classics as “Girl, Why’d You Run Away?”, “Dwarf Invasion,” and “FOOD,” but now you can know ’im in a more intimate way — by donating to his Kickstarter campaign for a new album.