Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is…
Lori Paradis (@sulfurcity)
I started out trying to write this biography as if I was someone else writing but always felt somewhat like a thief or better said, an illusionist. Let’s begin differently.
On this day 01 of 2020, I’ll start with dull honesty. I am a musician, writer, painter, and performer. Oh yes, I’m also a woman. Having raised 2 children on my own earning an average of $15,000 a year for all of their upbringing and way beyond that I managed to hold onto the one thing that put breath into my lungs; create art, to put into performance, music, lyrics, writings, photography and paint the thoughts in my head and the stories I wanted to tell.
And along the way was fortunate to have had small reflections of acknowledgment: first female-fronted band in the 21year history of Alive Naturalsound Records to have been signed for the release of the album Talking Loud (2016) now residing in the same library as Black Keys – The Big Come Up, Radio Moscow – 5 released albums, MC5 – Power Trip, Iggy Pop & James Williamson – Kill City and Paul Collins – Feel the Noise to name a few. Humbling reviews and interviews by The Big Takeover, New York Daily Music, PopMatters, Elmore Magazine, Glide Magazine, Classic Rock Magazine, L.A. Examiner, Vive La Rock Magazine as well as being on a compilation CD with artists such as The Record Company, Blues Pills and Joe Bonamassa. Shared the stage with bands such as Monster Truck, The Sheep Dogs, The Japandroids and Big Sugar. Blessed to have had Ben Ellis (Iggy Pop’s touring bass player past 5 years) touring Europe with us in 2018. Other humbling recognition is from the fans who come up after a show and thanks for “an experience” and from fans who only know our music through their speakers in their cars and at home who send heart-warming notes and praises. These are by far the best accolades.
In this year 2020 a new road and voice I am going to enter. There are glimpses and foreshadowing of this new project in the last 2 albums. ‘Talking Loud’ (2016) the song Pockets and in the last album (unreleased) ‘No Way Out’ the songs Big Brother and Dizzy. This project will be under the new name Kesslyn Ri.
I believe in discovering a new side of yourself exposing oneself to those hidden ideas and feelings, the thoughts that bury themselves in the brain and never stop knocking until you answer the door.
Lori shared what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:
“There is this line in the song – Don’t Explain by the amazing Billy Holiday and later redone by the great Nina Simon that embodies what it means to me to be an indie music woman artist: “you’re my joy, you’re my pain”. A simple line that says so much. Being an indie artist requires taking control of the process, doing the work. Booking shows, marketing, being the manager, agent, driver, merch sales, graphic designer, web layout, PR, tour manager, publicist, accountant, etc..…all along the way trying to maintain personal and family relationships and responsibilities. I believe this is true for most indie artists regardless of gender. But for me as a single parent at times, this struggle made me question why I do it. And it boiled down to this, I couldn’t imagine not doing it and I wanted to see what I was capable of.
But my joy as a woman indie artist is that; I define me. There is no mold that I need to fit into other than the one I create. Perhaps always staying on the fringes is because I cannot accept being defined, I refuse to be in a sweetly wrapped box with clear and neatly written words that assign my place as an artist. To me, that is the beauty of being an indie music woman artist, freedom of expression even if that means going against the grain.”
Hear Sulfer City’s single, “Dizzy” on the Indie Music Women Spotify playlist.
