Look for Little Scream’s Golden Tickets
Little Scream’s latest album, The Golden Record, was just released on Tuesday and tucked within 70 albums will be a golden ticket.
While you will not be granted access to the magical and wonderful kingdom of Willy Wonka with this ticket, you will be entitled to a hand-painted pendant made by the woman behind the small yawp, Laurel Sprengelmeyer. And that, my friends, is better than a lifetime supply of chocolate.
With the success of Little Scream as of late Laurel – a painter – began to spend less and less time at her studio and more and more time on the road. To ease the ache of squelched creativity Laurel built a mobile studio out of a cigar box and began painting miniature portraits.
“The pendants that golden ticket winners will receive are all hand crafted by me, containing signed and numbered copies of original paintings. I like to think of them as part of an ‘illuminated manuscript’ of the record, tiny portraits of some of the characters I tried to bring to life in these songs.”
Adding a personal touch to coincide with the celebration of a new release by an artist is something that most would not take the time to do, but it holds great significance in this digital age.
With the technological capabilities of complete and total visual and aural saturation we have become sponges sopping with information. I can listen to 5,000 bands a day if I want to and spend little to no time thinking of the people behind the notes. With this latest release, Sprengelmeyer asks that we take the time to think of the story behind the song, and the person behind the guitar. It is not only a great PR move, it is a genuine way for fans to feel connected to the artist they love. And, as sincere and earnest as her songs are, so is this outreach to those lucky 70 winners. This is obviously a labor of love.
Sprengelmeyer was born in Iowa but has since relocated to Montreal where she has joined the ranks of The Great Canadian Collaborative Collective (I made that up), teaming up with Richard Parry, Mike Fuerstack (Snailhouse), Becky Foon (Silver Mt. Zion), Patty McGee (Stars), Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre) and The National’s Aaron Dessner. Spanning from rock to blues to folk to classical and encompassing everything in between, Little Scream is in constant motion. Her music feels generous and unsparing, an obvious seepage from Sprengelmeyer’s own personality and a real rarity from within the posturing and voguing that most artists display. Check out the latest video for “The Lamb”.
http://vimeo.com/22354068
Little Scream is currently on tour in Europe but will be gracing us with her presence in May 31st at Slims where she will be supporting The Antlers.
