Not walking away

Many a fledgling musician has used San Diego as a launching pad for a musical career. Jewel came from Alaska before catching the eyes and ears of talent scouts at Inner Change in La Jolla. Jason Mraz came from Virginia before he was noticed at Java Joe’s. Enter Angela Correa. Correa has since moved to Los Angeles, but she got her start playing open-mic nights at San Diego venues like Twiggs and Lestat’s while also partnering with Tom Brosseau in Les Shelleys. “I was in grad school at SDSU when I realized that music was more than just a hobby for me.  Without San Diego, I would’ve never discovered that.”

After moving to L.A., Correa continued playing open-mic nights. That’s when she received a phone call from writer/director Jake Kasdan, who was looking for female vocals for a film he was directing (and co-writing with Judd Apatow of Knocked Up and The 40-Year-Old Virgin fame) called Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story. “[Kasdan said] ‘I need your pipes,’” Correa recalls. “I only thought I was recording to fill in for someone who’d eventually be hired for the role. Then months later, it turned out Jenna Fischer [The Office] was filling the role, so they kept my voice.”  
Earlier this year, Correa was told “your voice is in,” but she didn’t really believe it until producers began calling her to finalize the credits for the film. Now, Correa hears herself sing every time the movie trailer comes on.  “It’s so surreal to hear your voice like that on TV, in a movie trailer,” she says.

Correa’s career appears to be taking off, with two of her songs featured recently on television shows Cane and Grey’s Anatomy and with the release of the Walk Hard soundtrack just around the corner (Dec. 4). “It’s been a long road, but I finally feel like things are happening,” she says.

Correa is recording new material and plans to launch a winter tour, but first she’ll return to her roots when she plays with Brosseau and Gregory Page at the North Park Vaudeville and Candy Shoppe on Dec. 14.  “San Diego helped me rediscover music,” Correa says. “There’s a really supportive [music] scene.” (MS/correatown)

Notes from the smoking patio

Black Friday is over, and the holiday season is officially upon us. That means time for family and friends (if not scarves). It also means a lull in the music world as local bands and touring acts take a reprieve for the holidays. But not everyone is taking a break. Roxy Jones vocalist/guitarist Peter Graves is busy resurrecting the concept of a holiday compilation album featuring local acts. Several bands and individual musicians are already on board, creating original songs to accompany holiday covers. The album (which Graves says will be available for free) is set for release on Dec. 15 and will feature Roxy Jones, Trash Can Fires, Drew Andrews, Mikey Face, Apes of Wrath and Di Nigunim, among others. Graves says there’s still room on the compilation for bands or solo artists willing and able to contribute holiday and/or winter-themed covers or originals. He’s accepting submissions through the Roxy Jones MySpace page (MS/roxyjonesband) until Dec. 5. The album will be available at various bars and music venues, as well as through the musicians featured on the compilation.  

Jessie Fritsch—pro skater, co-host of the Sirius Satellite Radio program Tony Hawk’s Demolition Radio and member of SayVinyl—has joined the team at ShredOrDie.com, a site (founded, in part, by the Hawk himself) where users are encouraged to upload their own videos of skateboarding, BMX riding, surfing and other extreme sports. Fritsch is encouraging local bands who’d like national exposure to contribute music that can be used in the videos featured on the site. So far, Apes of Wrath, Silverbird and First Wave Hello have taken him up on the offer. Other bands interested in submitting music can e-mail Fritsch directly at jesse@shredordie.com.

“I lost a friend to domestic violence, so the subject is very near my heart,” explains Sara Petite, who will host her second annual benefit for Becky’s House (which provides assistance for victims of domestic violence) on Sunday, Dec. 2, at the San Diego Wine & Culinary Center. For a $10 donation, the audience will be wowed by a roster of some of San Diego’s finest singer/songwriters, including Petite, Lisa Sanders, Steph Johnson, Joanie Mendenhall, Regina Dawn, The Flimz, Married by Elvis, Evan Bethany, Anna Troy, Michael & Nan, Chelsea Flores, Julie Mack, Molly Meekin, Lou & Virginia Curtis and Cathryn Beeks. www.sara petite.com.


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