Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Music + Style: [The Head and The Heart] Folk Modern meets Parisian Hip

Hello lovely readers! I am so excited to share this exclusive interview with you today as I truly feel it brings together everything The Daylight is about: heart + soul, music + style, art + design, and working on it meant reconnecting with an old friend and a woman who is doing what she loves and pursuing a passion. I hope this leaves you feeling a little lighter, a lot inspired and most of all, loving life....
photos via Jeni Nelson, Robertson Ashman
 What inspires you?

 REALITY. Street fashion. Live performance. Relationships. Human emotion. Nature. Documentaries. The newspaper. Biographies. Travel. Love. Brokenness. Beauty.

Where do your lyrics come from, is it personal or just comes when you play?

They are very personal for all of the songwriters in the band (Jon, Josiah and me) and affect me  whenever I perform them. Songs recount histories and emotions, finding their origin in when they were written. I'm reminded of past memories whenever i hear them. The good and the bad.


photo via Dylan Priest, Jeni Nelson, necklace sadiedesign

How would you describe your style?

Individual. Haute couture inspired classic non trendy. Parisian hip. I wear a lot of black and neutrals, juxtaposing textures, eras and feminine/masculine pieces. I love lace, leather, (recycled) fur, silk and sequins; a pair of j brand jeans; a chain purse; a unique heel (I'm a shoe girl); oversized sweaters/button-ups and layers of gold jewelry.

You have $100 to shop, where do you go?

 Every city I visit, the first thing that i look up is a vintage/consignment store. There are always inexpensive gems that you will probably never find again. After that I would venture to a Zara, Anthropologie or Top Shop if around.


photos via Diane Bolme, Dylan Priest 1. top shop 2. arteriors home 3. wisteria

Favorite Style Icons...

Sofia Loren. Marie Antoinette. Audrey Hepburn. Alexa Chung. The Olsen Twins. Kate Moss. Sienna Miller. Kate Bosworth.

Favorite Musical artists...

 The Beatles. Emmylou Harris. Willie Nelson. Radiohead. Ryan Adams. Arcade Fire. Ella Fitzgerald. Tom Petty. Dylan. Jay Z. Edith Piaf. Dr. Dog. Mississippi John Hurt. Sigur Ros. Wilco. Damien Jurado. Duke Ellington. Lauryn Hill.


pillow sachin and babi, chandelier arteriors home, painting robert rauchenberg, mirror wisteria, chaise urban outfitters, end table wisteria
Favorite Visual artists...

Jeff Wall. Robert Rauschenberg. Van Gogh. William Eggleston.

Favorite Designers...

Marc Jacobs. Tom Ford. Stella McCartney. Chloé. Paul & Joe. Chanel. Yves Saint-Laurent. Alexander McQueen
 
photo via Robertsen Ashman, Dylan Ashman1-3 topshop, necklace free people

"I was in Charelston, South Carolina the other day. We played at The Music Farm with Dr. Dog and all of us had like an hour to explore downtown. I started walking, hoping to find a great shop or two. At first, I was fairly disappointed given there were seemingly only souvenir shops and this church bizarre-like flea market. I bought nothing, although did stop at one of the antique jewelry vendors, which put jewelry in my subconscious.
Exiting the flea market corridor, I ran straight into a mall with a few shops.
The only stores I found were middle-age shops for the southern mother: St. John and Talbot's. Out of desperation and a little hope, I walked into Chico's. Yes, I know, Chico's. But to my surprise I walked away with four jewelry pieces marked down to 10 dollars each (see picture). Wandering to the venue, I found "The Trunk Show" vintage shop on the street where I purchased a multi-color beaded small chain purse for under sixty!"

photo by charity

Do you have solo work?

 I'm contstantly writing songs with my guitar. Some may be used for the band and the others kept as my own (personally recorded or performed at the open mic).

What album are you listening to right now?

Dr. Dog's Shame, Shame (2010). We, The Head and The Heart, are on a U.S. tour with them actually. It's been a bit of a dream for us to support them as we have so much respect and fondness of their music. This album is one of my favorites and they kill it live!

Do you have other projects?

Nope. The Head and The Heart is my project; although I love fashion and film photography.

photos by charity
I know you've traveled a lot. What is your favorite city and why?

That's a difficult one to answer. There is so much of this world I have yet to see...As of now, it would either be Paris or New Orleans. Paris is such a historic and romantic city. And New Orleans. There's a soul in that town.

When you are up on stage what brings you your calm and confidence?

A shot of tequila and the wave of contentment and energy I get from doing exactly what I love.

sketches by charity, photos via Diane Bolme, 1-3 topshop
What is your advice for girls dreaming big?

Keep dreaming big. Persevere and be confident in it. Take whatever it is that makes you unique and pursue that with as much fervor and earnesty as possible. Your resolute confidence and hard work in the pursuit will quiet the critics. I've tried to determine who I am and run with that.

And as some of you may know, this incredible band just signed with Subpop who will be re-releasing their album on April 16th...Make to check The Head and the Heart's site to see when they'll playing near you, and for all my Seattleites...April 29th @ the Showbox, and May 29th @ Sasquatch Music Festival, hope to see you all there!

10 comments:

  1. I've loved THATH since I saw them last July. And Charity is stunning. That voice, that face, that style! Thanks for sharing some insight on what inspires her.

    ReplyDelete
  2. this is an awesome profile! thanks for sharing. <3 THATH.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is such an amazing and inspiring interview! Thanks so much for sharing, Laura! <3 :o)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm checking them out now...love her style!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lovely interview and a beautiful blog :-) And to Charity - you were sooooo close to most of Charleston's wonderful shops - I'm sad you missed them. Just on the other side of the mall where you found Chico's is King Street which is chock-a-block with the best shops and boutiques. Hopefully you will return to Charleston one day as it is a hauntingly lovely city.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Laura, I LOVE this interview with Charity! She is something special. And so are you! I'm going to write you back right now :) xo

    ReplyDelete
  7. Laura, thank you for this interview. Truly inspiring. Do you know anything about the really prominent brightly colored necklace that she wore on the most recently aired Austin City Limits episode? I'm completely taken with it's beauty and style. Any help in identifying ANYTHING about it would be greatly appreciated... Thanks again!!! Are you on facebook?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Many thanks for this brilliant post! Many points have extremely useful. Hopefully you'll continue sharing your knowledge around. vintage engagement rings

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi, I would also love to know more about that NECKLACE SHE WORE ON AUSTIN CITY LIMITS! Very interesting! (hawkeyk@gmail.com)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I also want to know about that necklace! I can't find anything!

    ReplyDelete