Sawtelle Studios Los Angeles, CA
Contact: [email protected]
Web: harrietschock.com
Players: Harriet Schock, vocals, digital piano; Andrea Ross-Greene, background harmony vocals
Material: Harriet’s one-hour-plus-standing-ovation-encore-set featured a good mix of past favorites and new material off her latest offering from 2023 entitled Paintings. Highlighting a standout tune “Brick and Mortar,” she performed it live to much audience laughter with honest lyrical sentiment. “'Cause I’m your brick and mortar and I’m barely hanging on, with the sleazy competition of that cheap slut Amazon. She may lure you with a drone or a smiling big blue truck, it’s true she might come faster with your sauce for Peking Duck.”
Musicianship: The main focus at this intimate house concert was the lyrics and storytelling mastery that earned Harriet her stripes. Still listening to her solo rendition of her tune “Mama,” (recorded by Helen Reddy), with its seventh chord blues riffs, reminds one of Elton John’s ivory tinkering and talent. In addition, call-and-response and harmony vocals by Andrea Ross-Greene add more emotion and angelic nuance without one realizing the techniques necessary to make that happen.
Performance: Stories told by Harriet before several tunes keep the audience engaged and connected. Harriet and Andrea have a radiance that just brings the audience closer to them naturally. By the time her epic tune, “Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady” is performed, the audience isn’t just in her hand, most likely they want to be in her suitcase as well.
Summary: From TV music like “The New Adventures Of Pippi Longstocking,” to collaborations with Arthur Hamilton, Harriet has a 50-plus yearcareer as a master songwriter and lyric coach. Her songwriting classes continue to keep her schedule busy to this day. Perhaps a most poignant idea illustrated to this reviewer was after the show when a young buff gentleman was expressing his astonishment with the music and lyrics, and started to break down. I told him, “I know how you feel. Harriet’s songs do that to me as well.”
