Bad asses have been around since the beginning of time. There have been bad ass animals like the Tyrannosaurus Rex, bad ass historical figures like George Washington, bad ass scientists like Albert Einstein, and bad ass fictional movie characters like Rambo. Just like Rambo, Israeli Born Michal Towber is ready to kick ass. She may not have a fully automatic weapon, but she is equipped with musical talent and a voice that will leave you in shock and awe. Her songs are cleverly written and fully engage the listener, and a woman that isn't afraid to add the lyric, "Suck my fucking cock star!" belongs on my list of bad asses. Approaching the music industry with as much consummate skill as Michal, does not just magically appear. She has been on her journey since she was very young.
Playing classical music since she was a child, Michal started writing pop music analyzing the structure of Nirvana songs. She taught herself to play the guitar, and by the time she was 17, she had created multiple albums and was signed by a record label. She went on to win an Emmy for the musical composition work she did for the drama series One Life to Live. On the outside, it had appeared she was a shooting star in music, but it is a harsh business. She was dropped by Columbia Records, and it crushed her spirit.
After the crushing blow of losing her record label, Michal graduated from Yale and Columbia Law and traded in her rock star lifestyle to live incognito amidst the sea of corporate cogs that keeps the "American Dream" cycle going, but she was compelled to begin writing songs again. The lifestyle that she tried to live was smothering her creative spirit. The pent up creativity came bursting out in her new album that she has independently released called No Resolution.
Going from a label to independent is a big change, and Michal had to build a team. Towber began with her producer, Kaz, who she describes as a twenty-three year old, psychedelic-rock writer with a Disney movie voice and the sunniest disposition. Michal states he starkly contrasts her goth-grunge, Jewish/Puerto Rican grandma personality. Although they are completely different, she says, "We get along like a house on fire!" Another one of her collaborators was introduced to her by Robin Finck of Nine Inch Nails. A man named AR writes "baroque sounding songs" for the guitar. She knew she needed to put lyrics to these songs and convinced him to perform them with her and let her record them. She firmly believes that they are musical soul mates. Kaz, AR, and Michal mixed their sounds and made a delicious cocktail for the human ear.
When asked what her favorite song was on her album, Michal answered with one of the most heartfelt answers:
"This is like Sophie’s choice. I think probably The Crash at the moment. It’s the first track on the record, and it’s about my struggles with depression, and feeling things really intensely. That’s the biggest thing that’s wrong with me, but it’s also the thing that allows me to make music. Also, my really good friend Scott Putesky of Marilyn Manson (Daisy Berkowitz) wrote the guitar part and played on the original demo, and he passed away while I was making the record, after a very long and harrowing struggle with cancer. I held his hand and sang to him as he was dying."
I can see why she had a tough time answering this question because her entire album is brilliant. I feel like I was robbed from knowing about Michal's talent when I was younger. She belongs in the ranks of Fiona Apple and Tori Amos which, if you know me, is the highest praise I can give an artist. She has feminine angst, on point vocals, and can produce the most magical sounds out of a piano. Even Lin Manuel Miranda (creator of Hamilton), whom she graduated high school with, called her, "The most talented kid in our class."
Michal is currently working on another album with her team. Follow her on any of the following links and get updates from this massive talent:
https://www.facebook.com/michaltowber/
https://twitter.com/michaltowber?lang=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOleBJRQNBAd_pD0ErxdlSA
https://open.spotify.com/album/4J1rkTuo9fgmAGomhPzeVw
#MichalTowber #Towber #NoResolution #Emmywinner #Indie #Newmusic #SingerSongwriter