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"And oh, how burning was the band? Imagine your ultimate dream band and you’d get close...We are lucky little chicks, indeed. They are powerhouse players on short breaks from touring with the big guys like...Tom Jones, Kenny Loggins, Juan Gabriel, Diane Reeves, Gloria Estefan, Tower of Power…"

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"As I was just about to call a break, I realized that no one in the audience had left! I saw groups of friends having dinner together, sharing bottles of wine, enjoying one another’s company and digging the show..."

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Carla's LA Story

Carla's LA Story:
There's No Place Like Home

[The following is an article by Carla Hassett, a former co-director of CSN Los Angeles.]

Here in L.A., the club scene bears a strong likeness to the yellow brick road. Think about it: Dorothy, a chick singer, and her freaky pals, who back her up, find themselves wandering around a strange, disturbing, and beautiful world of good and evil searching for home. Even the name Oz is a two-letter city word just like LA!

Now, time, in the land of Oz is a little bit vague (remember, there were poppies involved!) and it’s hard to say how long it took Dorothy and her crew to find their way back to Kansas. The whole journey could have happened in just a few days or perhaps it took months. Well, if D and her band were anything like the CSN crew, I’m guessing it took even longer. But just as they, through some pretty wacky adventures, found their way home, so, happily, did we.

Tangier is a fairly new club in town, but it’s quickly getting noticed as a great venue to kick back with friends and hear good music. The wide-open space, with its dark carved wood and copper doorways and stairways and Turkish rugs on the walls, passed the CSN litmus test with flying colors. I knew we were home when I saw the band effortlessly finding room for all their amps, pedals, keyboards, etc., and still have plenty of room left for the artists, backup singers and guests sitting in. In the trusty hands of Luke, our soundman and adopted son, the sound magically came together and far exceeded our expectations. And then the true test…DINNER! It rocked!

With a smooth rehearsal behind us, bellies full, and a drinks in hand, we kicked off the show with Bay area artist Francesca Lee. Francesca brought in three brand new songs that the band wrapped some serious love around. Her very cool sound and look made for a great set. Looks like she got a Music Connection write-up out of it as well! Melissa Lewis came up next and rocked the house hard with her funky country kickass songs. Melissa left Nashville behind not too long ago for a new life in LA and we’re SO glad she’s here.

Keeping in mind that we’re called Chick Singer Night, not chick songwriter night, we were so happy to invite Claire Lecour to the mix. Claire sang three rockin covers that were a blast to sing along to and relive old times. How fun to sing backup on the old Tubes song Talk To Ya Later while the band burned on the groove! And oh, how burning was the band? Imagine your ultimate dream band and you’d get close. We are lucky little chicks, indeed. They are powerhouse players on short breaks from touring with the big guys like—warning: I’m about to drop names, so if this sort of behavior is too LA for you and grosses you out, just skip to the next paragraph—Tom Jones, Kenny Loggins, Juan Gabriel, Diane Reeves, Gloria Estefan, Tower of Power…I swear, I could go on.

As I was just about to call a break, I realized that no one in the audience had left! I saw groups of friends having dinner together, sharing bottles of wine, enjoying one another’s company and digging the show. I didn’t want the vibe to change, so we kept going with lovely Kristen Cothron. Kristen is a Nashville artist and we’re so pleased she came up for our show. She has a really cool Joss Stone-ish voice and really nice songs. I could tell the audience enjoyed her set. Whitney Cline came up next for a quick acoustic appearance while the band chilled at the bar for a minute. Whitney, a CSN featured artist alumni, just released a beautiful record and we wish her the best. I threw in one of my tunes just for fun and then welcomed Kat Parsons to the stage. Sassy and adorable, Kat ripped into her three songs and stunned the audience with her powerful, rich voice and kickin’ songs that belong on the radio now!

With the merch table all a buzz, the guys tearing down the stage, and one more sip of wine left in our glasses, Lori and I looked at one another and giggled at our good fortune to have found such a great space for our gem of a show. Who knew that the roads in Los Feliz were yellow-lined.

Happy holidays!

XO,
Carla