INDIE BAND/ARTIST OF THE WEEK: LAURA WILDE

The timing couldn’t have been any better to choose Laura Wilde as our “Indie Band/Artist of the Week” as she just released a new video for the single, ‘For You’ from her debut album Sold My Soul, which was released earlier this year. The 22 year old lead guitarist landed on US shores less than two years ago from Australia and has generated a huge fan base along with support from the likes of Lemmy Kilmister (Motorhead) and more recently, Ted Nugent himself, who personally picked Wilde to be the sole supporting act on his latest tour which ended in late August.

I was witness to Laura Wilde’s talents as a guitarist/singer by sheer circumstance and good luck. The Director of Artist Relations for Fuchs Amplifiers (Laura rocks the Fuch out of them) asked me to go check her out live in Atlanta, see how the new amp sounded and if I liked what I saw then perhaps do an interview with her. To be honest, I wasn’t overly excited but went out of respect for my friend and her insistence that, “This girl ROCKS!” If you’re in the music industry and hadn’t already heard of the “hot as hell Australian guitarist chick” then you’re in the wrong business. However, since a majority of comments put the main emphasis on Wilde’s appearance and not her musicianship, I’ll admit that it was easy not take this girl too seriously – she’s gotta be a gimmick, a Barbie Doll trying to play rockstar, she can’t be very good; just a “flash in the pan.” Damn, was I ever wrong…big time!

Having grown up in Atlanta, I’ve attended literally thousands of concerts here throughout the years. I can honestly say that although this town has a thriving music scene, it can be very fickle and clique-ish with crowd reaction biased by genre or a marked age difference a common occurrence. So I was very curious to see how this venue filled to the brim with very Southern, gun-toting, American flag waving, Uncle Ted fanatics of old school rockers (that probably haven’t embraced a new artist in 20 years), were going to react to the Australian version of “Rock n’ Roll Skipper.” It could have gone either way…

Wilde hit the stage looking like a supermodel gone badass and from the very first note commanded her due respect as she proceeded to SHRED the shit out of her guitar, sing her ass off with a pounding voice that has just the perfect amount of “grit/bite,” and by the end of the second song had the entire crowd on their feet! Her set ended with resounding applause and as much excitement from the crowd as was later bestowed upon Ted Nugent himself. I was hooked.

In an industry that seems to feed on youth, looks, image and “marketability” before talent, I find it incredibly ironic that Laura has probably been misjudged or discounted because she really is so strikingly beautiful. This is a girl that men love and women wish they could be. However, this musician is not just another pretty face. Laura Wilde is the real deal – the TOTAL package: an incredibly gifted young guitarist, singer/songwriter and performer that we believe is the next big thing!

Check out the pictures taken of Laura at Center Stage in Atlanta by our Photo Editor, Josh Rienecke, watch the brand new video “For You” and look for a featured interview with this fantastic artist in the next issue of RockRevolt™ Magazine!