The Ultimate Bearhug

If you are as big a fan of The Civil Wars as I am you've heard the story of how they met. Joy and John Paul were randomly paired together at a songwriting session for another artist and magic happened when they started working together and the rest of the story resulted in music that makes my heart sing. Finding that music magic is something that most artists hope to find in some way or another. Recently hearing the story of Los Angeles duo The Ultimate Bearhug its an all too familiar story. Doll Knight and Barrett Johnson met, chatted, decided they should write together and that music magic happen and they just knew they were meant to work together. After a year of writing their debut album Just South of Los Angeles was released. This album has been the soundtrack of last week as I've been going through a major career transition so its already found a special place in my heart and I think you will all love it too! Stream their album on Spotify and if you like it too join me at their show this Thursday, October 25th at Hotel Cafe in Hollywood.

 



 This week I was also given the opportunity to ask them a few questions and find a little more about Doll and Barrett. I'm going to honest and admit I'm a little jealous Doll was able to go to a Ricky Martin show at 11... wait, I mean not at all jealous...

1. How old were you both when you realized you wanted to do music for a living? 
Doll : 6 yrs. old
Barrett: When I was in grade school and first heard Bob Dylan's "Like a Rolling Stone."

2. Who are the artists/bands that inspire your music? 
We're inspired by a lot of older music, particularly jazz and folk. Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, Chet Baker, Bob Dyland, Simon and Garfunkel, and Joni Mitchell, and thousands more. There are definitely modern musicians that inspire us as well, such as Rufus Wainwright, Fiona Apple, Richard Swift, Jolie Holland, the list is seemingly endless.

3. What was the first live concert you ever went to? 
Doll: Ricky Martin 11yrs. old, on his "Shake your Bon Bon" tour
Barrett: One of the earliest concerts I went to was Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters.

4. What is your favorite venue to play at? 
So far, we like Hotel Cafe because of the audience that is usually there to listen. Dream venue... Hollywood Bowl :)

5. What is your favorite song on this album and why? 
Doll: They're all special to me for such different reasons. In terms of writing them, Foolish Things was a very fun one to write and for that reason it always reminds me of that really fun night when we wrote such a silly song.
Barrett: Either Foolish Things or Just South of Los Angeles. Foolish Things was a lot of fun and Just South of Los Angeles' lyrics mean a lot to me.

Website & Free Album Download

Spotify: The Ultimate Bearhug – Just South of Los Angeles 

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