Laughing Cats is a dynamic musical partnership between singer-songwriter Lauren Schiff and renowned musician Tony Fredianelli. Together, they bring a nostalgic yet innovative take on pop and rock music, crafting songs that reflect their shared love for storytelling and melodies.
Their second single, ‘Jerk’, is lifted from their forthcoming debut album, Funny Money. They tell Entertainment Now how it’s going.
How did your musical project first start? Is there a story to tell about it?
There is definitely a story to tell. Tony and I met in a lucky way. He had a long, fantastic career as a 13-year member of Third Eye Blind. I was up in NY doing Off-Broadway during that same time frame: seemingly zero chance of us ever meeting… Fast forward- I met the man of my dreams and had a family. Then in 2020, Tony reached out to my husband via email. We all fanned out about that, and I back-pocketed his email since by then I had written quite a few songs. I finally got the nerve to write to him and bluntly proposed to him exactly what we are doing now. It wasn’t a beeline. He had no idea who I was or if I had any real abilities, so we collaborated on a few songs to see how it went, and the creative compatibility was apparent nearly right away. It’s the most fun I’ve had, artistically speaking, since the show “Around The World in 80 Days”.
What was your first gig?
Funny you’d ask that. We formed our duo about two years ago, and have been deep in the creation phase of the album for most of that time, but we feel ready to get out into the world and play some gigs, and start spreading our wings. Should I use a cat pun? We are on the prowl for gigs. Just in case any booking agents are reading this, we are an email away. Have we played live yet? Yes. We first played at my house with about 400 people. We had just completed our debut album, “Funny Money”, and we had the opportunity to play at a party a friend was putting on at my house. We recently played again at the same type of party, at my house, only this time there were 600 people. But all this to say, yes, we have played at these private parties amongst friends, but we are so looking forward to performing wherever we can in the world, and that is our number one goal this year.
What three words best describe your musical style and why?
Fun: We approach our music from a place of fun. Even when a song is coming from a more vulnerable place, like “Jerk”, I tend to want to be uplifted in my own work, and in order to pick yourself up, you gotta use the same energy as fun. The second word has been used to describe us and it’s very appropriate: “Nostalgic”. We aren’t afraid to admit that we are sincerely nostalgic for the 20th century. Music from the 60’s-90’s was magical and still kicks ass. I don’t know how many 20-somethings deeply know about the music of the late 20th century, but if they don’t, we hope our music causes some listeners to deep dive into playlists like “UK New Wave” or “1960’s Rock n Roll”. Not only were those times a creative renaissance, but they are significant in that technology was entirely different from any facet of our lives today. It’s important to pass that on to future generations. Lastly, I would describe our style as: Eclectic. Each song on “Funny Money” is a little bit different from the one before it. They are all in the genre of pop, but some are pop-rock, one is pop with a hint of country, some are pop-dance, and a few may be considered dream pop. My own music tastes are extremely vast, so I hope the music we make reflects that somehow.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
The Beatles, New Order, The Cure, The Troggs, The Zombies, Tears for Fears, and one hundred million one-hit-wonder artists. I love a ton of music from all ages… on the regular, I’m listening to more indie post-Y2K songs from the likes of Coconut Records, The Generationals, and Vampire Weekend. One of my curated Spotify playlists is called “Current On Repeat”, and it has a handful of songs in annual rotation in my ears. But my main influences, listed up top, I have listened to thousands of times and it’s in my blood at this point. That said, I couldn’t even begin to tell you the amount of various songs and artists I love. My appetite for music is super vast and varied. Being an artist, in general, is being influenced by many mediums. There is a piece of writing that I highly suggest anyone read. It’s a letter Martha Graham wrote to Agnes De Mille. It’s called “Keep the Channel Open”. It will ruin you in the best way possible, artist or not.
Tell us about your new release.
“Jerk” is an honest story about hitting rock bottom, hurting the people you love, and being strong enough to own up to it and doing what it takes to be a better person. Huge mental muscle is required to do that. I wrote it while watching an old acquaintance struggle with personal things and almost lost his wife. I’m not sure if he ever pulled himself out of his problems, but I certainly have my own times to draw from, as we all do. I am a warrior of the heart. I love fiercely. I wrote “Jerk” because it’s what I believe in, and it’s what I want us to all be able to do for ourselves and each other.
What inspires your lyrics?
I write from a few different spots. I write about relationships I witness around me, like “GYB”, “Jerk” and “Anything But Love”. I put myself in the position of the person I am writing about and I go. I have written about a particular past relationship. Those songs on the album are “Love On Fire” and “Cool Hand Lucy”. I have songs ode to the love of my life, my husband, like “Providence” and some yet to be on an album. Some songs I write about more broad subjects, like “The End” and “Stop N Dance”. We are releasing our album “Funny Money” in waterfall-style fashion. Every 6-8 weeks or so we release the next song. We thought that was fun and we like fun.
Do you have any upcoming tour dates?
We do not as of yet. I hope you can appreciate this, but I am an eternal artist, who found herself making music while also being a mother to two awesome kids. Yeah, I am going at this backwards, but doesn’t everything come from the mother? Red Hot Chili Peppers named one of their great albums “Mother’s Milk”. I want women to know that their lives will not end once they are moms. It just might get even better. Life is only as rewarding as you are willing to challenge yourself, right? So yes, this year we are very eager to tour and travel, and we will be focusing our energy in the live performance direction. I have a good support system around me and everyone wants us to get out there. I am not sure we will be touring, exactly, but we will be traveling. There really aren’t any traditional paths anymore. Humans are connected worldwide today. It’s really a matter of thinking outside the box, imagining what you want, how you can make that happen, and going in that direction consistently.
What are you/your band working on next?
We have a lot on our plate for sure. We are currently working with The Redliners, an incredibly talented DJ duo out of NY, on a “GYB” remix, and hopefully, we collaborate with them on other remixes, too. Look out for that on Spotify. Its release is imminent. Between that, our waterfall release, live performance goals, visual projects and large pipeline of music we can’t wait to build, we are a nonstop independent music factory. In the immediate future, it’s all about securing live performances, which we will be actively pursuing. Holla at us!
