Tune In, Turn On
By Doug Deutsch
We first discovered Jade Starling and her band Pretty Poison when they performed at the long-since-closed Red’s nightclub in Margate a long time ago and have been a fan and following her career eversince.
“The dance music scene has certainly changed and evolved over the years,” said Starling in a recent interview. “With the addition of social media, it’s been a lot easier to stay connected with DJs and fans when we release new music. With streaming platforms such as Spotify it’s so much easier to have your music available the day it drops.”
Speaking of new music, Starling and Pretty Poison – which includes her longtime collaborator and cellist/keyboardist Whey Cooler – will drop the video for their hot new dance track, “Place in The Sun” (billed as Jade Starling and Pretty Poison featuring Lee Dagger) Friday, Sept. 15 on Tazmania Records (the single was released Aug. 25).
“I’m so blessed to have an amazing songwriting partner. Whey Cooler is one of the best in the business,” adds Starling.
“This feel-good anthem brings to mind the fact we all need to get away and take a break from the stress of our jobs and everyday life and escape to an exotic location in the sun,” says the Philadelphia-based Starling, who also performs Thursday night, Sept. 14, at the launch of ACX1 Studios on The Pier at Caesars Casino Hotel. Visit www.acxstudios.com for tickets and additional information.
“‘Place in the Sun’ is available on all streaming platforms,” Starling adds. “We have also been hard at work in our studio writing and producing the new album to be released in 2024.
“(With) so much amazing material we are trying to choose the songs that will make the final cut and finish ones we are currently working on. I think this album will be the best collection of songs that we have ever released at one time. Album title and release date TBA.”
Back in the day, Starling and Pretty Poison had a rock-oriented sound with songs such as the hauntingly cool, “No Tears.” Her sound has morphed into more of a dance-pop hybrid first heard to great success in the group’s hit single, “Catch Me, I’m Falling,” still very popular after all these years, and which Jade and the band perform regularly in concert.
“Our set list varies according to the time allotted for our performance on each show,” says Starling. “We’ve been doing many multi-act freestyle shows over the years that only allow 15–20-minute sets, but our normal show is 45 minutes to one hour. We normally start off with classic covers and crowd pleasers like ‘A.E.I.O.U.,’ ‘If You Leave Me Now’, ‘Yo No Se’ and of course our classic hits ‘Nightime,’ ‘When I Look into Your Eyes’ and (the aforementioned) ‘Catch Me, I’m Falling’.”
“I’ve been doing a lot of old-school shout-outs that really get the crowd going to such classics as ‘Jump Around’ and ‘Up in Here.’ And of course, we include our new hits, ‘Fired Up,’ ‘So Alive,’ ‘Crazy’ (classic hit by Seal), and our new hit ‘Place in the Sun.’ It’s a very high-energy, fast-moving set with medleys and lots of audience participation. We have a video playing behind us that adds to the excitement of a total audio-visual experience.”
The future continues to look bright for Starling and Pretty Poison.
“We are currently doing tour dates with well-known top international DJ and producer Markus Schultz in support of his new album, “The Rabbit Hole Circus,” said Starling. “We had a blast collaborating on new music with Markus. He recently did a mind-blowing remix of “Catch Me, I’m Falling” that we have been performing in his shows. We are planning to release it sometime next year. 2024 promises to be one of the greatest years of our musical careers.”
More on Pretty Poison at www.prettypoisonmusic.com.
Get The Led Out at Hard Rock: Classic rock continues to resonate greatly with the concert-going baby boomer market. Get The Led Out, also from Philadelphia, is one of the most popular and successful Led Zeppelin tributes around. Dubbed “The American Led Zeppelin,” GTLO return to perform at the Hard Rock Casino in Atlantic City Friday, Sept. 15 (show is sold out). They’re fronted by Paul Sinclair (vocals, harmonica) and Paul Hammond (guitars, mandolin, theremin).
“Led Zeppelin are sort of the classical composers of the rock era,” said Sinclair in an interview. “I believe that one hundred years from now, they will be looked on as the Bach or Beethoven of our time. As cliché as it sounds, their music is timeless.” Info:
www.hardrockhotelatlanticcity.com; www.gtlorocks.com.
Doug is the owner/operator of Doug Deutsch Publicity Services, which since 1995 has been servicing nationally touring acts, and working record release campaigns for clients. Doug also hàs experience writing for the one time shore-based weekly publication, Whoot! He also was a team member with Chip Braymes Advertising. Doug loves bicycling and aspires to bring the Blues to Atlantic City. He can be reached at ShoreLocalDoug@gmail.com and www.facebook.com/dougdeutschpublicity.
