slothtrop's artists
Anna Vogelzang
Punk Rock Banjo
Sometimes it’s better to get a handmade gift instead of just another assembly-line product from the big-box store. Sure, it’s not perfect, but there’s something honest about work that’s so from the heart.
It’s easy to apply that analogy to the music of Anna Vogelzang. Her songs mix acoustic pop and indie rock for a sound that resembles a hands-on gift that still gets prominent placement in a special place in your house. Writing about subjects from the sublime to the surreal, Anna – who lives in Madison, Wis. – takes folk tradition and gives it a shot of DIY punk spirit.
Anna’s new to the Midwest, but she started her music career while studying music at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Her college thesis was an album, “The Things That Airplanes Do,” released in 2007. Along the way, she befriended and then sang for cabaret-punk cult favorites the Dresden Dolls on several tours, including Lollapalooza 2006 and on the World Café radio show through NPR. She also opened shows for or shared the stage with artists as diverse as Regina Spektor, Franz Nicolay (of The Hold Steady), Mirah, Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio) and Deer Tick.
Even with her big-studio experience (Carnegie Mellon’s setup isn’t a 4-track in the basement!) and some time in the national spotlight, Anna decided to downshift a bit when she moved to the Chicago/Madison area. She played more solo shows and then self-released and self-recorded two more albums in 2009. Each one showcased her playful, experimental style, and audiences responded: both of them sold out their pressings.
It’s that quirky yet charming work – and constant shows between Chicago and Madison -- that caught our attention here at Slothtrop Records. We are pleased that our first vinyl 7-inch ever will be for her single of “Marry Me” from her upcoming CD, “Paper Boats,” both of which continue Anna’s DIY tradition with boisterous group vocals, interesting instrumentation (there’s plenty of banjo!) and lyrics handmade from the heart. She also plans to continue her nomadic ways until the wheels on her 1998 Nissan stop going ‘round and ‘round.
