ALL TIME LOW - Ragged

ALL TIME LOW 

FLYING HIGH 

+ 

SUM 41 

THE LIKE 

NATASHA BEDINGFIELD 

THE NAKED AND FAMOUS

Foster the People @ The Echo (Los Angeles) VS. Detroit Bar (ORANGE COUNTY) 

Publishers: 

Alan Miller & Alan Sartirana 

Editors: 

Pat McGuire & Breanna Murphy 

style editor: 

Heather Cvar 

The month of January saw not one, but two in-house Southern California residencies by 

Foster the People, so we decided to wage a friendly fashion war. The glitchy, synthy, 

fully danceable Los Angeles outfit hosted Monday nights down the coast at Detroit Bar 

in Costa Mesa, and headed back to their neighborhood spot The Echo for Wednesday 

takeovers. Long lines dominated both venues every week with the masses all trying to 

get a good look at the rising up-and-comers—here’s a snapshot of the pretty people 

who managed to get in the door. 

layout designer: 

Melissa Simonian 

WRITERS: 

Heather Cvar, Lauren Harris, Jessica Jardine, 

Cord Jefferson, Daniel Kohn, Clare R. Lopez 

interns: 

Clare R. Lopez, Geneva Perezcastañeda, Leila Tredemeyer 

All Time Low 

Photographer: Ben Watts 

Photo Assistants: Raegan Glazner, 

Andrew Stinson, Melinda Wang 

Stylist: Misha Rudolph 

Assistant Stylists: Robin Fitzgerald 

& Monique Vatine 

Hair: Anthony Christiano (ABTP) 

Make-Up: Jodie Boland (SEE) 

Models: Nina van Bree (Nicola) 

& Sheridan Watson (Ameerah) 

Tailors: Susan Balcunas 

& Joel Gomez 

Natasha Bedingfield 

Photographer: Piper Ferguson 

Photo Assistant: Apollo Star 

Stylists: Laura Francis & Jonny Lozano 

Hair: Christi Cagle 

Make-Up: Heather Cvar 

Intern: Jasmine Safaeian 

The Ready Set 

Photographer: Pamela Littky 

Stylist: Jaclyn Robinson 

The Like 

Photographer: Piper Ferguson 

Photo Assistants: Apollo Star, George Campos 

Stylists: Laura Francis & Jonny Lozano 

Hair & Make-Up: Heather Cvar 

Intern: Jasmine Safaeian 

Sum 41 

Photographer: Atiba Jefferson 

Photo Assistant: James Tutor 

Stylist: Heather Cvar 

The Naked and Famous 

Photographer: Dove Shore 

Stylists: Luke Storey & Lauren Messiah 

(The School of Style) 

Hair & Make-Up: Tanika McConnell 

Ragged is published by Filter Magazine LLC, 5908 Barton Ave., Los Angeles CA 90038. Vol. 1, No. 12, 

SPRING 2011. Ragged is not responsible for anything, including the return or loss of submissions, or for any 

damage or other injury to unsolicited manuscripts or artwork. Any submission of a manuscript or artwork 

should include a self-addressed envelope or package of appropriate size, bearing adequate return postage. 

STYLE 

1. Street Level: Los Angeles vs. Orange County 

6. You Wear It Well: THE LIKE: Glam, Sweat and Tears 

18. Dress Code: One American Rag Piece Four Ways 

42. Play It Again: Four Pioneers Pick Their Favorite Playlists 

SOUND 

2. Punk Survival: The Return of SUM 41 

12. THE NAKED AND FAMOUS: Going Further 

36. NATASHA BEDINGFIELD: Join the Chorus 

COVERS 

22. ALL TIME LOW: Flying High 

30. THE READY SET: Trust Your Instincts, Take Control 

produced with support from 

DETROIT BAR 

©2011 Filter Magazine, LLC. 

all rights reserved 

Ragged is printed in the usa 

raggedmag.com 

front coveR: ALL TIME LOW BY ben watts 

back cover and above: THE READY SET by pamela littky 

THE ECHO

sum 41 

photographed in LOS ANGELES 

2 ragged // raggedmag.com raggedmag.com shirt // by ragged American 3Rag

When you’ve been playing in a band 

as long as Deryck Whibley and Steve “Stevo” Jocz have, a break can be a 

positive thing. Until recently, the two members who formed Sum 41 had 

felt pressure to churn out albums at a frantic pace. Though they’ve been 

critically panned and written off countless times by non-believers, the 

Canadian natives have not only survived, but are one of the most popular 

touring bands in the world, consistently playing to tens of thousands of 

fans. “We love our fans and our goal is to make music that appeals to 

them,” Whibley remarks. 

Despite not releasing new material since 2007’s Underclass Hero, 

the band (which includes vocalist/guitarist Whibley, drummer Jocz, 

bassist Jason “Cone” McCaslin and guitarist Tom Thacker) has continued 

its relentless touring schedule. Now, after a four-year absence from 

recording, Sum 41 is back with its latest effort, Screaming Bloody Murder, 

which dedicated fans will discover is wholly different from the band’s 

earlier material. 

According to Whibley, many of the new songs are a direct 

reflection of certain events that occurred in his life around the time 

they were written. The eclectic styles, which vary between raucous 

rockers and more subdued ballads, show a wide range of emotion and 

represent some of the outfit’s strongest material. Songs like “Baby You 

Don’t Want to Know” and “What Am I to Say” show Whibley’s growth 

as a songwriter, but don’t stray far from what made Sum 41 popular in 

the scene to begin with. “The sound is big, heavy and punchy—unlike 

anything we’ve done before,” Jocz says. 

The songwriting process for Screaming Bloody Murder was also a 

new experience. “Writing this album was great because we sort of fell off 

our label’s radar. For the first time, I didn’t sit down and have pressure to 

write,” Whibley recalls. “I was able to write whenever something popped 

in my head. I could go months without writing another song.” 

Inevitably, the label called and found out the band had a batch 

of new material, and then did put pressure on the guys to finish the 

album. “The break has been long enough and we’re excited to be back,” 

Jocz says. 

Once the album is released, Sum 41 will embark on yet another 

extensive tour, adding several new stops to the schedule. “We’re 

excited to play in places we’ve never been to before, like Eastern 

Europe and Central and South America,” Whibley says. “We love seeing 

our fans all over the world and can’t wait to see the ones we’ve never 

played to before.” 

Whether you love them or hate them, Sum 41 is back with a 

vengeance, though they’ll argue they never left to begin with. “All I 

wanted to do was to make a cool rock record,” Whibley says. “The only 

things I care about are our fans and our music, and the only way I can 

explain this record is: We’re back.” R 

sum 4 41 ragged // raggedmag.com raggedmag.com // ragged 5 


shirt by American Rag

The Like 

Glam, Sweat and Tears 

By Heather Cvar 

Photos by Piper Ferguson 

Styling by Laura Francis & Johnny Lozano 

location courtesy of Jonamor Decor 

ALL CLOTHES BY AMERICAN RAG 

6 ragged // raggedmag.com raggedmag.com // ragged 7

Once in a while, an all-girl band comes along and leaves a fashionable impression. The 

Supremes, The Shangri-Las and The Ronettes immediately come to mind as 

definitive fashion icons of their musical era. With the flirty air of a French gamine 

and dolled-up like darlings of Carnaby Street, Los Angeles’ The Like revisits this 

girl-group glam of the ’60s not only with their look, but also their sound. 

“The ’60s were the birth of rock and roll and sexual freedom. It was, all in 

all, a time of great taste, excitement and talent,” says lead vocalist and guitar player 

Z Berg. 

The girls, Berg, Tennessee Thomas, Laena Geronimo, and Annie Monroe, 

usually do their own styling, hair and make-up when playing shows—and even while 

doing photoshoots. They’re all so good at being glam they can probably double as 

a beauty team themselves. This is what happens when you’ve become accustomed 

to playing shows in places all over the world since you were 15 or 16 years old, 

alongside bands like Arctic Monkeys, Muse and The Futureheads. 

To learn a bit more about what makes The Like such a fashionable force of 

nature, we photographed Z and Laena in Los Angeles and asked Z Berg to take 

RAGGED on a magical mystery tour of her style icons, her love of the ’60s and to 

fill us in on her individual take on a throwback lifestyle. 

What was the process of reassembling the band after a five-year break 

What went into making the last album after such a long hiatus 

The process was arduous and maddening, really. Assembling a band is a wildly 

difficult task—trying to find cohorts who are both talented and like-minded is not 

easy, but we managed! What went into the album If “blood, sweat and tears” wasn’t 

such a cliché, it would have made a disturbingly appropriate album title. 

What do you find so influential about the ’60s 

We are influenced by and love many different eras, genres and artists, but I grew up 

listening to The Beatles and nothing else, and I always find I go back to that time. 

Tell me a little about your individual style. 

I often dress like an 8-year-old. No, actually like an 8-year-old. I make a beeline for 

the kids’ section of any vintage store. There’s surely a bit of Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick 

and Mia Farrow in my style, but mostly I just look like my 8-year-old self. 

“But by the end, winning the crowd over and crumbling 

their preconceived notions is a reward in itself.” 


Who do you find to have iconic style today 

Keith Richards, Alexa Chung, Jenny Lewis, really well-dressed toddlers. 

What did you think of the pieces you wore for the shoot Did you 

have any favorites 

They were really cute! That white lace dress has been haunting my dreams. 

Also those leggings were the perfect leggings—not an easy feat, mind you. 

What are some of the benefits and challenges of being in an all-girl 

group 

This photoshoot has kind of a spooky theme. If you could evoke the 

spirit of any musician, who would it be 

Every group has its challenges and benefits. Certainly when we walk onstage 

I watch an entire room of people say, “Yeah, right.” But by the end, winning 

them over and crumbling their preconceived notions is a reward in itself. 

10 ragged // raggedmag.com raggedmag.com // ragged 11 

John Lennon, duh. 

If you could go back in time to the ’60s, what band would you play 

with What would you wear What modern clothing accessory 

would you take with you to impress everyone with 

All of them. The Beatles, The Stones, Dylan, The Supremes, The Ronettes… It 

would be a long show. I would probably wear pretty much exactly what I wear 

now, but then it would be new. I’d do some serious time-travel shopping. I’m 

not sure I have any modern accessories, really. I’ve got some eight-inch Vivienne 

Westwood heels that might blow some minds… R

TheNakedandFamous 

Going Further 

By Clare R. Lopez 

photos by dove shore 

the naked and famous 


All clothes by American Rag 


The Naked and Famous has come quite a ways 

since keyboardist Aaron Short and singer-guitarist Thom Powers first bonded over Nine Inch Nails 

in high school. Over the past year, the five-piece has seen their infinitely catchy single “Young 

Blood” and debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You, go to Number One in their native New Zealand. 

Late in 2010, they also ventured out on their first international tour and recently tucked all six 

days of Australia’s landmark Big Day Out festival under their belts as well. 

With Passive Me, Aggressive You out in the States in March, now they aspire to even greater 

heights for their live performances. “We’d like to get visuals up and running for our tracks and 

actually have a much stronger visual element to what’s going on onstage,” says Short. “It’s all part 

of building things up and we’re not quite at a place where we can take it on yet, but soon enough.” 

During the band’s recent stop in Los Angeles, their first, Ragged sat down with Short to talk 

about their recording philosophy and taking in the moment. 


Did “Young Blood” come together any differently 

than the other tracks 

There are some songs we spent over a year on, whereas that 

one was such an A-to-B song. The entire idea was developed 

from just a little key line Alisa [Xayalith, the band’s lead 

singer] was playing around with at two in the morning— 

within a couple of hours an entire song was created. 

Since your music has such key electronic elements, 

what do you aim for when playing live 

Our whole principle behind the album recordings is that 

we don’t like putting anything in that we can’t re-do live. 

We like our live performance being completely natural; 

everything you see in front of you is what’s going on. We’ve 

always got that in the back of our minds while we’re making 

the music—“Is this track gonna work live How do we want 

to execute it” 

This is your first international tour—ever. What 

does reaching this milestone feel like 

We were saying yesterday—we’re going home in a couple 

of days now—we can’t help but feel like slightly changed 

people after the last three weeks of going through Australia, 

experiencing London, New York and now in Los Angeles. 

Especially the reaction in every place… There’s been 

nothing but great crowds to be playing to and constant “yes, 

well done!” kind of moments for us. 

What are your hopes for the album’s reception in 

other countries 

I think we’ve been incredibly fortunate with everything 

that’s happened so far. But it’s never been our goal at any 

point to write a song and be like, “This is going to be our 

song that we want to make Number One.” So it’s not really 

a strong focus in terms of writing the music, but at the 

same time it’s nothing but pleasing how well things have 

developed. I guess we can’t help but hope that it carries on 

into every other territory as well. R 


ONE AMERICAN RAG PIECE FOUR WAYS 

Julie Alexandria 

Krissie Garland 

How do you pay the rent 

I’m a TV personality, side reporter for the Major 

League Gaming Pro Tour, as well as a voice-over 

actress. 

How would you describe your style 

N.Y.C. frills with a touch of SoCal surfer. I’m a 

sucker for a vintage tee, skinny jeans and a power 

stiletto. 

How does this piece fit into your style 

I like how this vest adds texture, it’s feminine and 

it’s the perfect add-on to punch up a simple outfit. 

Julie is a TV personality, side reporter for the Major 

League Gaming Pro Tour, and a voice-over actress. Follow 

her at twitter.com/juliealexandria. 


I sell vintage clothing in my Etsy store, She’s in 

Parties, and at vintage markets in L.A. 


Rock and roll–meets–’90s rap with a penchant for 

leather, fringe and lots of brights. 


I wear lots of vintage clothing and love ’70s rock 

and roll but don’t like to look too literal. The vest 

has a definite bohemian feel so I chose to mix 

it with a simple T-shirt and silk printed shorts. 

Mixing textures and styles is what my look is all 

about. 

Krissie Garland is an East Coast girl living in sunny 

L.A. She has been shopping and wearing vintage since 

the times when it was embarrassing to say so. She 

sells vintage clothing at her Etsy store called She’s in 

Parties, and she’s always dancing: soul, rap, rock, goth, 

pop—she digs it all. 

18 ragged // raggedmag.com 

Peter Fackler 

ERIN GARCIA

Kate Moore 


I run a little shop in Echo Park called Bobbie 

Boutique. 


A time machine with a short. I take inspiration 

from every era. 


The vest reminded me of the girls on old episodes 

on Starsky and Hutch. So I threw it on with a 

vintage ’70s disco dress. 

Kate opened Bobbie a year ago as owner, clothing buyer 

and manager. Located in the Echo Park neighborhood of 

Los Angeles, Bobbie Boutique provides new and vintage 

clothing and accessories to supply everyone’s guilty, girly 

pleasure! Currently Kate is working to build her online 

store; you can check it out at bobbieboutique.com. 

Mie Sorensen 


Depends on where in the world I am! My job description 

and location changes as frequently as I change my socks. 

Currently I am in Los Angeles, where I’m a freelance editor 

for Lodger Films and Electus. I’m working on a web series 

for Myspace as well as a separate travel series that finds the 

world’s most amazing places as suggested and hosted by 

viewers. 


“Past’s future.” I’m into the idea of dressing in the futuristic 

styles of decades past. It’s my way of giving a nod to the 

designers who imagined crazy future scenarios in which the 

year 2010 had all of us wearing neon polyester nurses outfits. 

That didn’t quite happen, but I’d like to think that it did in 

some small way. I’m the embodiment of their unrealized 

futures. 

How did this piece fit into your style 

I can’t really rock a vest that often because of my body 

type, but somehow this vest nods to my favorite decade of 

filmmaking, music, and style: the ’70s. The ’70s were chockfull 

of boho clothing, conceptual filmmaking, nudity, nature 

and—of course—David Bowie. I’m naturally drawn to those 

flavors, so the vest was a natural fit. 

Mie (lilwondermat.com) is an interactive designer, filmmaker and 

editor. Her clients range from Disney to NBC, and she recently won 

an international design competition for her interactive installation, 

Chatter, in which two computers generate real-time conversations 

using Twitter feeds and speech recognition. 

20 ragged // raggedmag.com 

Wendy Mirts 

Nic ray


Even if you didn’t know it at the time, if you’ve listened to the radio, seen a movie or watched television in the past five years, you’ve 

heard Natasha Bedingfield’s music. “Unwritten,” Bedingfield’s breakout hit from her debut album of the same name, is one of the biggest 

songs in recent memory, used for everything from cosmetics commercials to ice-skating routines to the theme of hit MTV fake-reality 

shows. You know how it goes: “Feel the rain on your skin/No one else can feel it for you...” 

Half a decade and another well-received album later, Bedingfield is debuting Strip Me. The title isn’t as scandalous as it sounds— 

less an allusion to nudity and more a reference to how Bedingfield wants to be seen by fans: bare, exposed, totally open. A former 

Londoner, she’s now in Los Angeles, a city tailor-made for exposing oneself if there ever was one. 

In early 2011, one month before traveling to the White House to sing for President Obama, the 29-year-old sat down with 

RAGGED to discuss the new album, the true dedication she has to her fans and her love of collaboration. 

Join the Chorus 

By Cord Jefferson 



A lot of the music on Strip Me sounds very modern. Was that a 

goal of yours 

Definitely. I really wanted to grow and develop as an artist this time around. 

I executive-produced the whole thing, and I was just trying to show my taste 

in music. I’m a pop artist, but that’s not at all indicative of what I listen 

to regularly. I like really classic songs. I love the whole neo-soul scene and 

other progressive stuff, too. I come from London, and that’s a city of so many 

different cultures, so I feel like my music should represent that. 

While you executive-produced the record, you also collaborated 

a lot on this record. Do you enjoy collaboration 

I love collaborating. I think it’s quite heaven-sent. You can do your best on 

your own, and that’s wonderful. But collaborating always makes it a lot more 

fun. I also feel that it makes me a better artist; I learn something each time. 

Your very first record was massive, and one of your first singles 

was almost inescapable. How was it to watch your career go from 

zero to 150 miles per hour 

It was amazing and incredible, but also overwhelming. Nothing could prepare 

me for it. All my life I was quite shy, so something like the stage was nervewracking 

at first. But once I was forced out there because of the success, I 

learned that I could be very dramatic and come alive—not only that, but it 

was expected of me. So it really helped my confidence a lot. 

38 ragged // raggedmag.com

Some of these songs sound pretty anthemic, as if they’re meant 

to be sung in arenas. Is that intentional 

One of the things I considered when I was making this record was how to 

make the live experience better for my fans: How do I make my concert 

such that anyone who comes feels completely included and completely like 

they can lose themselves in it I like writing music for people. I like thinking 

about people when I’m writing. This album, more than any other, is about 

being human. It’s much more outward than usual, and the goal is to remind 

human beings how connected and similar we are. 

It’s interesting that you picked that up, because I definitely was thinking 

about the live show. It’s one of my favorite things when the crowd sings 

along. I’m not sure I could be one of those artists who asks their audience to 

be silent and sit in a chair. I really get off on people singing along with me. 

A lot of artists say, “I don’t do this for fans; I do this for me and if 

other people like it, that’s great.” But you’re obviously different. 

Do you realize how abnormal that is 

Yeah, I do. I think when an artist says, “I make music for me and don’t 

care what other people think,” they’re saying that to protect themselves. 

This is an industry, and you can put your heart and soul into an album 

and it might not be the one that’s Number One. And that hurts, and so 

you have to protect yourself from all the criticism. A good way to do that 

is to say, “Well, I didn’t care anyway.” You’re being judged all the time on 

numbers and figures, and that’s the biggest challenge for someone who’s 

had a lot of success as well. Because you’re only as big as your last success, 

and you’re then competing against yourself, and that’s something nobody 

wants to have to do. 

But I can’t lie: I always have the fans in mind. I feel like music is 

communicating something. It’s on a deeper level than saying something, but 

it’s still communication. The songs that really mean something to you have 

a power in them. They can cross languages. I love some French music, for 

example—French rap and French folk music—but I don’t speak French. 

Good music transcends something, and you’re communicating to everyone 

and allowing your audience to come with you on a journey. R 

natasha bedingfield 


All clothes by American Rag

Trust Your Instincts, Take Control 

By Jessica Jardine 

Photos by Pamela Littky 

the ready set 

photographed 30 ragged in // LOS raggedmag.com ANGELES 

raggedmag.com // ragged 31 


IIf you thought there was only room for one impossibly cute, 

tweeny-looking pop star with brown hair flung across his forehead, 

you’re sorely mistaken. A quick glance at the YouTube video for 

“Love Like Woe,” the hit single from The Ready Set (aka Jordan 

Witzigreuter), and you’ll see that more than 11 million viewers 

have taken in the infectious, electro-tinged dancefloor bumper. And 

that’s just one of his songs. 

Over the last year and a half, the 22-year-old has been slowly 

inching up the charts with his debut major label release, I’m Alive, 

I’m Dreaming, which has helped introduce the singer-songwriter to 

a rapidly blossoming fanbase. As one of the first acts signed to Fall 

Out Boy’s Pete Wentz’s label Decaydance, TRS was taken under the 

pop-punk star’s wing and mentored before he burst out the gates. 

“[Wentz] gave me some pretty insightful advice on how to 

deal with the things happening now,” Witzigreuter says, during a 

warm winter day in an L.A. park. “He talked about how to decide 

what you want to do and make sure you always do what your 

instincts tell you—to make sure you’re not letting anyone call the 

shots for you. Which is awesome because that’s what I wanted when 

I signed—a label that would still let me have control of everything.” 

Speaking of having control of everything, Witzigreuter left 

nothing to chance when recording his smash debut and plays every 

instrument on I’m Alive. “It’s always been just me,” he says. “When I 

started doing this, it was me in my basement poking around on my 

keyboard, making not very good electronic songs and singing into a 

cheap microphone. And that’s kind of what I built the whole thing 

off of: me writing songs I want to write. And if I want real drums 

on a song, I’ll play them; and if I want a real piano, I’ll play it. I try 

to keep it all pretty much a one-man thing.” 

That sense of determination helped propel him out into the 

music world at the tender young age of 16, when his love of Green 

Day and Blink-182 had him joining bands and hell-bent on hitting 

the road to tour. Surprisingly, his parents obliged and let him go on 

tour. “They were cool with it, but the whole thing was terrible,” he 

laughs. “I lost a ton of money and it was an absolute joke but I think 

that was the spark.” 

By booking shows through people on Myspace after 

graduating high school early, Witzigreuter began piecing together 

a fanbase and, slowly but surely, graduated from his parents SUV, to 

a van, to the proper tour bus he now rides around the country in. 

Meanwhile, those relationships he was able to forge through 

Myspace were what helped turn the young Midwestern-native from 

an aspiring musician to a real, live touring act. 

“I’d post a bulletin saying, ‘Here are the towns I want to go 

to. Respond to me if you can help me and I’ll come play in your 

basement or whatever,’” he recollects. “I was spending a good sixto-eight 

hours a day on that thing just commenting back and trying 

to maintain this huge online presence. But that was one of the most 

helpful things for me at the time because it’s really what started the 

whole thing off.” 

But those first fans who let the budding pop star play their 

parents’ basement and crash on his floor haven’t been relegated to 

distant memories. 

“I still see a lot of them at my shows and those are the ones 

that I usually end up talking to and make a point to say hi to. Because 

those are the ones that have been there for so long,” he says, tugging 

on one of the jagged, long pieces of hair jutting out from the back of 

his neck. “They’re pretty much the root of everything.” R 




Even if you didn’t know it at the time, if you’ve listened to the radio, seen a movie or watched television in the past five years, you’ve 

heard Natasha Bedingfield’s music. “Unwritten,” Bedingfield’s breakout hit from her debut album of the same name, is one of the biggest 

songs in recent memory, used for everything from cosmetics commercials to ice-skating routines to the theme of hit MTV fake-reality 

shows. You know how it goes: “Feel the rain on your skin/No one else can feel it for you...” 

Half a decade and another well-received album later, Bedingfield is debuting Strip Me. The title isn’t as scandalous as it sounds— 

less an allusion to nudity and more a reference to how Bedingfield wants to be seen by fans: bare, exposed, totally open. A former 

Londoner, she’s now in Los Angeles, a city tailor-made for exposing oneself if there ever was one. 

In early 2011, one month before traveling to the White House to sing for President Obama, the 29-year-old sat down with 

RAGGED to discuss the new album, the true dedication she has to her fans and her love of collaboration. 

Join the Chorus 

By Cord Jefferson 



A lot of the music on Strip Me sounds very modern. Was that a 

goal of yours 

Definitely. I really wanted to grow and develop as an artist this time around. 

I executive-produced the whole thing, and I was just trying to show my taste 

in music. I’m a pop artist, but that’s not at all indicative of what I listen 

to regularly. I like really classic songs. I love the whole neo-soul scene and 

other progressive stuff, too. I come from London, and that’s a city of so many 

different cultures, so I feel like my music should represent that. 

While you executive-produced the record, you also collaborated 

a lot on this record. Do you enjoy collaboration 

I love collaborating. I think it’s quite heaven-sent. You can do your best on 

your own, and that’s wonderful. But collaborating always makes it a lot more 

fun. I also feel that it makes me a better artist; I learn something each time. 

Your very first record was massive, and one of your first singles 

was almost inescapable. How was it to watch your career go from 

zero to 150 miles per hour 

It was amazing and incredible, but also overwhelming. Nothing could prepare 

me for it. All my life I was quite shy, so something like the stage was nervewracking 

at first. But once I was forced out there because of the success, I 

learned that I could be very dramatic and come alive—not only that, but it 

was expected of me. So it really helped my confidence a lot. 

38 ragged // raggedmag.com

Some of these songs sound pretty anthemic, as if they’re meant 

to be sung in arenas. Is that intentional 

One of the things I considered when I was making this record was how to 

make the live experience better for my fans: How do I make my concert 

such that anyone who comes feels completely included and completely like 

they can lose themselves in it I like writing music for people. I like thinking 

about people when I’m writing. This album, more than any other, is about 

being human. It’s much more outward than usual, and the goal is to remind 

human beings how connected and similar we are. 

It’s interesting that you picked that up, because I definitely was thinking 

about the live show. It’s one of my favorite things when the crowd sings 

along. I’m not sure I could be one of those artists who asks their audience to 

be silent and sit in a chair. I really get off on people singing along with me. 

A lot of artists say, “I don’t do this for fans; I do this for me and if 

other people like it, that’s great.” But you’re obviously different. 

Do you realize how abnormal that is 

Yeah, I do. I think when an artist says, “I make music for me and don’t 

care what other people think,” they’re saying that to protect themselves. 

This is an industry, and you can put your heart and soul into an album 

and it might not be the one that’s Number One. And that hurts, and so 

you have to protect yourself from all the criticism. A good way to do that 

is to say, “Well, I didn’t care anyway.” You’re being judged all the time on 

numbers and figures, and that’s the biggest challenge for someone who’s 

had a lot of success as well. Because you’re only as big as your last success, 

and you’re then competing against yourself, and that’s something nobody 

wants to have to do. 

But I can’t lie: I always have the fans in mind. I feel like music is 

communicating something. It’s on a deeper level than saying something, but 

it’s still communication. The songs that really mean something to you have 

a power in them. They can cross languages. I love some French music, for 

example—French rap and French folk music—but I don’t speak French. 

Good music transcends something, and you’re communicating to everyone 

and allowing your audience to come with you on a journey. R 

natasha bedingfield 



Not all cities are created equally when it comes to being bike friendly. In 

Los Angeles, where merely driving a car is frightening enough, only the 

brave bike. Alexis Lantz is working hard to change that. She’s “dedicated 

to creating a better, more bike-able Los Angeles County, where people 

of all ages and abilities can safely bicycle to meet their daily needs.” 

Currently, she is working for the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition 

as its Planning and Policy Director. It’s pretty fitting that one of her 

favorite songs is “Tonight the Streets Are Ours” by Richard Hawley (“I 

wish I had a stereo on my bike so when I ride around at night with friends 

I could blare that song!”). 

“The Aquarium” 

Camille Saint-Saëns 

Maureen McGinnis 

“Tonight the Streets Are Ours” 

Richard Hawley 

“Inní mér syngur vitleysingur” 

Sigur Rós 

“Surprise Hotel” 

Fool’s Gold 

“Madder Red” 

Yeasayer 

OWEN HODGKINSON 

“Samba em prelúdio” 

Vinicius de Moraes 

“Pas le temps pour les regrets” 

Lunatic 

“Pousse ça à fond” 

Puzzle 

These days, it feels like everyone is doing their part to go green: driving a Prius, bringing a canvas bag to the grocery store, turning off the 

water when they brush their teeth. But French-born Cesar Harada is a pretty tough act to follow as he juggles three benevolent projects, 

which have earned him honors like a prestigious 2010 TED Fellowship. A fleet of oil spill–cleaning robots called Protei has presently brought 

him to New Orleans. Harada’s other two projects include an International Ocean Station and WEA (World Environmental Action), an 

“environment crowd-sourcing platform” in which you can text, Tweet, email and picture-message about environmental problems and have 

them documented, time-stamped and eventually addressed. His musical taste is just as eclectic as his impressive résumé. 


Teeravat Pawasittichot, who usually goes by “Tee,” 

is a one-man factory of business ideas and a master 

of consulting, helping others to make their business 

dreams a reality. He mostly specializes in web-oriented 

businesses, one of which is TLOW.com, an all-in-one 

travel website. TLOW.com has partnered with companies 

like Travelocity, AccuWeather and others to put together 

an online community for travelers. Tee also created a web 

show called Tru MMA with mixed martial arts expert and 

friend Aaron Tru in December 2010. R 

Nicole Turley left her life as a classical dancer behind, trading in her ballet shoes for a drum 

set at the age of 22. Now 29, she is recording and producing her own music as well as the 

music of others. Currently she is wrapping up the second album for Swahili Blonde, her 

poppy prog-rock-with-a-dash-of-world-music solo project. It’s pretty rare to hear of a lady 

mixing and producing, which makes her pioneering approach to music pretty special in 

our book. 

“Scoundrel Days” 

A-ha 

“Swan Lake” 

Public Image Ltd 

“Reflections” 

The Supremes 

“Father Figure” 

George Michael 

Serge Hoeltschi 

“What They Do” 

The Roots 

“B+T” 

Battles 

“The Fire in Which You Burn” 

Company Flow 

“Fortified Live” 

Reflection Eternal 

(f. Mos Def and Mr. Man) 

Shaun Cvar 


Trust Your Instincts, Take Control

ALL TIME LOW - Ragged

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