Laura Kepner-Adney serves at Barrio Brewing Company by day and tends bar at the Rialto Theatre by night. She also makes exquisite jewelry (Wingflash Designs) and co-runs an apron business (petitebonfire.com) with local rocker chick Tracy Shedd. Finally, she sings and plays guitar with the Silver Thread Trio, sings backup for the Michael P. Nordberg Big Band and "may or may not" have a new musical project starting soon. The Silver Thread Trio will play Saturday, Nov. 27, at Plush.
What was the first concert you ever saw?
That would be Lyle Lovett and His Large Band in Milwaukee in 1994. I told my folks that a friend's parents were taking us, but really, it was her 18-year-old brother, with a fake ID, and his girlfriend. It was awesome, and I'm pretty sure Lyle winked at me.
What are you listening to these days?
Beach House, Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter, The Sounds, and Nirvana.
What was the first album you owned?
An Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong collection on Verve.
What artist, genre or musical trend does everyone seem to love, but you just don't get?
Jack Johnson. Why does that guy make money?
What musical act, current or defunct, would you most like to see perform live?
That's a tie between Billie Holiday and Nirvana.
Musically speaking, what is your favorite guilty pleasure?
Pop country: It's just such good driving music, and it's got hooks coming out of its ears.
What song would you like to have played at your funeral?
The Staple Singers' "What You Gonna Do?" played as a New Orleans-style funeral march.
What band or artist changed your life, and how?
One day, I was singing backup with Michael P. Nordberg, and he threw his guitar on me and made me play a song I didn't know. ... I was horrified and furious (and rightly so: I sounded pretty bad), but I decided I would never be that bad at guitar ever again. And I'm pretty sure I haven't been.
Figurative gun to your head, what is your favorite album of all time?
Miles Davis Sextet, Someday My Prince Will Come.
