Spring Awakening
"I have a thing for ballet stuff. I never quite grew up," said singer Alison Sudol, otherwise known as A Fine Frenzy, on the set of Style Section L.A.'s Griffith Park photo shoot last week.
It's a fitting match. The well-spoken Sudol possesses an innocent, effervescent quality that enchants whoever happens to be in her immediate radius. And for the next two Wednesdays, she'll be mesmerizing fans at the Largo at the Coronet Theatre, where she's playing a residency through the end of the month. "I'm so excited for these shows," she said. "I rarely get the chance to play at home, I'm always on the road."
Only 25, the witty artist already has two albums under her belt, nearly 1.7 million Twitter followers ("I was the first musician on Twitter," she boasts) and recently wrote her first children's book. But Sudol's sweet, folksy, literary-inspired sound is decidedly grown up — as are her fashion choices. "Clothes are always hard for me," she said, citing the Victorian-era dress code, dolls and — you guessed it — ballerinas as playing into her aesthetic. "But I like to look like a woman. Just with a little edge."
We sat down with the flame-haired musician at the photo shoot to talk music and style.
Style Section LA: You’re doing Lillith Fair soon, aren’t you?
Alison Sudol: Yeah, first year back. I can’t even believe we’re on the schedule. I wasn’t really into that kind of music when I was [growing up]. But to be included in that group of women, it’s pretty big. There are a lot of female artists but this particular group that they’ve picked out is really specific. It’s an honor. And it’s cool to be around a lot of artists that are all women. Because everyone is really nice and has their own thing going. It’s such a male-fronted industry. On the road, you’re around guys constantly. Guys everywhere, in your face. Guys working. And you don’t really see a lot of female bands or anything like that. So it will be nice to be with some girls. We only have, like, four dates I think, but we have the whole West Coast, which will be really nice. We start off in Seattle, which is my hometown.
SSLA: But you grew up primarily in L.A., right?
AS: Yeah, in the Valley. Which is also kind of sweet because it’s quirky and there’s weird shops by where [my parents] live and I don’t think they're real stores. I feel like they’re fronts, mannequin-part stores. I’m like, do you sell mannequin parts or are you actually a mob front?
SSLA: I overheard you say that you liked L.A., but you had to be in the “right place.” What is your right place in L.A.?
AS: The Eastside is pretty great. But it’s also about the right people in the right place. Because if you’re around people who are, like, normal and nice and into similar stuff as you, then you can be anywhere really and you’re fine. There’s some cool stuff on the Westside, too, by the beach. But I like it over here because you have the hills and all the little boutiques and restaurants and it’s not so mass-produced. It doesn’t feel like you’re living in a strip mall. Coming home, I’m never mad where I live.
SSLA: Since you are an Eastsider, we assume you shop in Los Feliz and Silver Lake. Where do you like to go?
AS: Yeah, and Echo Park too, is great. And I like to go to the flea markets, too. And sometimes I’ll just get up and go to a Barneys or a Bloomingdales because they have great staples. I go to the Pasadena City College Flea Market.
SSLA: What’s the first thing you look for when you go to a flea market?
AS: Never anything useful. I’m like, okay, I need a lamp. And then I come out with a Lucite tray and playing cards. I look for stuff that’s interesting and catches my eye that has some sort of feeling or oddness to it, that’s not regular. I bought this super-old teddy bear there once that had little stitches up front and looked all sad. It was probably from the 40s or 50s and beautifully made. It sits by my bed now. It’s kind of creepy.
SSLA: You’re a jack of all trades and recently finished a book, your first. What is it about?
AS: I’ve always wanted to write a book and one day I was like, I’ll start writing a short story. And the short story got longer and longer until one day it was a long story. It’s hard to sum up. It’s a journey of these two children, an adventure, to an island where all the animals talk. And their parents have been kidnapped. So they have to go up into the clouds looking for them, and then they go to the bottom of the ocean. It was great to write, because it’s such a different format from music. Music is so structured. But having empty pages where you can write whatever, it’s quite freeing.
SSLA: Which type of writing do you like better, music or fiction?
AS: They’re so different. Music is the closest thing to my heart. It’s the deepest, it’s the most honest. It’s also much more passionate, so it takes a lot more out of me. I get obsessed. Writing prose is much more playful and I just sit and type. It’s much less of an upheaval.
SSLA: On set, you mentioned that you don’t really drink soda or eat junk food. You also hike a lot. Any particular trails that you can recommend?
AS: I’m like the little kid who has the hippie parents and the no sugar, granola kind of house. Then I go to the other kids houses and I’m like, Lucky Charms! Cheetos! I go all over, really. I never really tell anyone. But there are so many places in L.A. There are some great hikes down by the beach that are incredibly woodsy. And in Griffith Park it’s nice, because it’s close and there are lots of little woodland creatures scampering about. My car even got skunked the other day.
Catch A Fine Frenzy at the Largo at the Coronet each Wednesday until April 21. 366 North La Cienega, Los Angeles. 310-855-0350. Tickets $20. largo-la.com
