Singer, pianist and songwriter CARLA LOTHER has visited many diverse areas of the music industry. A native of Canada, Carla was a serious award winning pianist. Growing up, she often traveled to compete in music competitions and spent summers studying at prestigious festivals such as The Banff School of Fine Arts.
Carla hitchhiked to New York City and enrolled in graduate school earning a Masters Degree in Piano Performance from The Mannes College of Music. She paid her way with the aid of scholarships and worked on the campus cleaning bathrooms and answering phones. Upon graduating, the reality of the legality of remaining in the United States became apparent. Carla took an administrative position at Mannes and by the age of twenty-five, was running the Continuing Education Division. She started a successful jazz program at the school, but found herself missing out on playing music and developing artistically. Five years later, she wrote her first song.
Since signing with Chesky Records, Carla has participated in a myriad of musical projects. She can be heard as a pianist on a recording of contemporary music for CRI Records. She arranged for and performed on a Christmas CD for Museum Music, and sang on a Bang-on-a Can release. She can be heard on numerous jingles - Dove Soap, Maxwell House, Ikea, Kitchen Aid, KitKat and MasterCard, among others. She has directed musical theater for at risk kids in the South Bronx and remains on the Mannes faculty today.
In her Brooklyn neighborhood, Carla met Richie Stotts, the lead guitarist who fronted the punk rock band The Plasmatics alongside Wendy O. Williams. An un-likely match, they began collaborating on songwriting – four of which appear on her most recent Chesky release.
Carla has performed on several occasions with her 7-piece band at the famed Bottom Line in New York City which sadly closed its doors this past year. She recently formed a duo with Stotts in a toned down acoustic setting of their songs accompanied by piano and acoustic guitar. In May, 2004, Carla performed for a crowd of 1200 opening for singer sensation Joan Osborne. Her band that night included members of the legendary Tom Scott All Star Band, including Will Lee on bass and maestro Tom Scott on saxophone. Carla continues to write and arrange for other artists, keeps active with session work, and teaches piano to keep her grounded and to remind her of her roots in classical music.
XM Radio & Delphi Present a Benefit Concert for the ELF Foundation - Part of the Home Entertainment Show
On May 24, 2004 Carla performed for a crowd of 1200 opening for singer sensation Joan Osborne. Her band that evening included members of the legendary "Tom Scott and the New York Allstars", including Will Lee on bass and maestro Tom Scott on saxophone.
New York Post, Friday February 27, 2004
Mary Huhn writes "Plasmatic Richie Stotts, once known for smashing guitars, wearing a tutu and sporting a blue Mohawk, has resurfaced, writing tunes with Carla Lother, a folk singer/songwriter with a classical background and a lilting voice…."
Midwest Recap re: CD release 100 Lovers
This songwriter vocal date is so well recorded that the separation jumps out at you even from laptop computer speakers. The sonic jolt is so striking that it takes you a minute to get your bearings and get into Lother's pen and voice, which are both just as good. This sneaks up on you as the kind of adult pop date the mainstream has been trying to turn out and missing. A delight throughout.
The Canadian Music Scene...
The Canadian Music Scene would like to thank Carla and Chesky Records for allowing us to preview this album before it's debut. For Carla's fans the wait is worth it. The day I received it we had a beauty of snow storm and the ride home was long, but the time well spent listening to Far Away, Let's Grow Old, False Fly, 100 Lovers, utilizing Carla's exceptional voice, backed by a brilliant array of musicians. Carla, Richie Stotts, and Jack Morer's collaborations work well together. The CD's official release in Canada is February 4 and the 28 in the USA.
Musical Discoveries, Russell W Elliot, reviewer
Chesky Records' release of Carla Lother's Ephemera earlier this summer is a stunning vocal-oriented album of extraordinary depth and balance, with tremendous quality, crystal clear clarity and astounding acoustic imaging……..With its tender ballads, light acoustic folk songs, warm orchestral tracks and moving Celtic-influenced tunes, Ephemera is a work of earth reaching proportions, outstanding quality and a testament to an award-winning and rising singing/songwriting talent.
Stereophile Magazine
...It's an atmospheric sound that's hard to resist.
From a review of An Introduction to SACD by Richard Elen on audiorevolution.com
...Perhaps the most ear-catching recording on this album is Carla Lother's "The Lake". A distant solo piano starts the track, and immediately gave me goosebumps. Her voice enters similarly distantly, and it's stunning…….."
RPM, Vol 69 No. 3 (Canadian Publication)
...Front racking is recommended even if for no other reason than to proclaim "we were there at the beginning of something big, and we knew it"
CIM Radio, New York, NY
Start with new age, add some country, rock, traditional Irish and you get Carla Lother's 100 Lovers album release. This recording closely resembles those pop superstars that are more country-oriented such as Jewel, Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and many other related female "superstars". Although more pop oriented than it is new age, 100 Lovers does have elements of traditional, folk and classical instrumentation in certain tracks. Richie Stotts, former guitar player for Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmastics, contributed to this recording.
NEWS AND GIGS
- Friday October 29 at 8:00 pm with special guest Richie Stotts
