The Album “California Loves You” by California 

What is this album about?
Les: “The album tells the story of a journey between a man and a woman to find love . “
Loretta: “We hope this album offers a respite from so much endless negativity and it offers love and positivity. “

How did you come to create this current album?
Loretta: “We wanted to release a collection which included both recent hits of ours that we wrote combined with lyrical rewrites of older Les Fradkin material, all communicating positivity. “

Les: “This is our first Vocal album release. The band recorded 22 sides for Laurie Records back in the 1970’s and 1980’s. “

Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Les: “The Beach Boys, The Moody Blues, Yanni, The Left Banke, ELO, Tom Petty. “

Who has most impacted your message as musicians and why?
Loretta: “Our interaction with each other. Because we listen to each other and respect each other’s opinion. “

Why did you get into music?
Les: ”Taught Piano at age 6 by his Mother who was a Concert Pianist. Saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan at age 13 and thought- that looks like a good job!” Loretta:”Church Choir at age 10. Hiring Les to perform a Beatlemania Concert in 1999. We have been together ever since.”

Music is heavily influenced by technology today. How does this affect your music?

Loretta : “Although we record on Digital Performer on a Mac Laptop, Les plays everything front to back.”

Les: “And we do not use ghost writers or ghost singers. Of course, it’s a big change from the old days with only a few tape tracks. “

In some ways Technology has become a necessity in every day life for musicians especially in the form of communications and productivity. What has been the benefits for you?

Les: “The biggest benefit is the ability to view the overall picture and make editing decisions as needed. With just the two of us involved, things get done without endless deadlock. I tart it up and Loretta gives me the brutal version!”

What do you most fear about technology in the music world?

Les: “For a beginner, the amount of options is so overwhelming that it could stifle creativity.”

Loretta: “Since Les has been heavily involved with pioneering Technology since 1983, he no longer fears it. “

Can you tell me a bit about the Album cover of your music?

Loretta: “Yes. We have decided to present ourselves exactly as we appear with no gimmicks, no funny costumes, no weird hairdos, no poses. We just appear the way we are. In essence we’re presenting ourselves realistically to a world that’s increasingly focused on virtual reality. The results indicate to us that our fans find it refreshing.”

Art plays a huge role in music especially in todays online world where the single thing that represents your music is that image on the cover. How do you make an impact through this opportunity to grab people attention?

Loretta: “Again, we are presenting ourselves, exactly as we are, we find that to be the most effective way to present ourselves. In addition, we’re avid traveler, and so one of the things that appeals to us and our fans is to be able to see where we’ve been and experience what we’ve experienced through the videos that we do on YouTube which are always filmed and photographed on location in the various exotic places we travel to.”

Inspire us with a struggle you have overcome.

Les: “Keeping in mind, that persistence is one of the greatest tools we have in order to achieve any goal in life, Les tells the story of the fact that it took him 50 years to finally get his college degree, a bachelor of arts in Baroque music literature and orchestration. The reader may ask why it took 50 years?

Les attended Kenyon college in Ohio in the late 60s early 70s and majored in music in his Junior and Senior years there. One of the issues that he confronted in order to graduate was that his ability to sight read music is compromised because of his poor eyesight. He cannot read music at a level necessary to sight read, although he is classically trained.

Regardless, the department accepted his choice of Major. When the Music department abruptly changed that policy of no sight reading requirement, Les was unable to prove to the music department that he could pass a sight reading test two weeks before graduation, even though he performed Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 by heart on the guitar for the test, entirely by memory.

Les recently released a solo album, called “Escape from Earth”, nominated for three Grammy Awards, where he presented over a dozen pieces of Baroque music done with rock arrangements and played every single part of the score across the entire album. Kenyon College heard this album and was so overwhelmed with what he had done that they granted him the degree regardless of his disability- 50 years later. The message? Never give up. Success might just be around the corner.”

Listen to the music..

https://californiatm-featlesfradkin.bandcamp.com/album/california-loves-you

California –
Music Genre: Pop Rock
Vibe: Upbeat
Located in: Colorado USA
Sounds like: Tom Petty, Bruce Springsteen, Beach Boys