BY JULIA CIRIGNANO

MB Padfield is a singer-songwriter from New Hampshire with a passion for rhinestones and every type of music imaginable. Her music is a mixture of grunge, R&B, hip-hop, pop, funk, and blues. MB Padfield is known for adding her own unique sparkle to covers of popular songs. She covers songs from an array of different artist such as Eminem, Fetty Wap, T.I., Nick Jonas, Beyonce, Rhianna, Drake, Queen, Amy Winehouse, Dr. Dre, Dropkick Murphys, Awolnation, Imagine Draons, Hall & Oates, Katy Perry, Led Zeppelin, Daft Punk, and Ingrid Michaelson, and creates one-of-a-kind medleys.

Her covers become much more than just a copy of a song, but a masterpiece of her own once she adds her magic touch. She often jokes about bedazzling everything, and this is true both in terms of her physical and musical endeavors.

Padfield’s got swag and soul, her voice has a slight twang, and her songs are edgy and funky. She’s got a gypsy heart — can’t stay in one genre for too long, even when it comes to her own songs. Along with her covers, Padfield also performs her exceptional, sassy, originals songs such as “Why Do I Love”. Due to the lyrics, she has to introduce the song with the disclaimer that she never harmed an animal. Why’s that? Check out the lyrics:

“I want to light your cat on fire

And I don’t care what your mom thinks about me either

’Cause I’m just a nut and

You know that you’re screwed and

You know that this relationship is completely doomed so

Why the hell do I love you?

You’re completely insane but I guess that I find that sexy

But I can’t complain because rehab is where you met me.”

Padfield is a one woman band. She doesn’t need help from anyone else; besides maybe her loop pedal so, like a magician, she can be in two places at once. She often uses a loop pedal to give her vocals and guitar a full band feeling, and to give herself the freedom to explore more complex guitar parts.

Even off stage, Padfield is independent and self-sufficient. She has basically no management, but has managed to make herself a full-time touring artist. Along with her stellar, unique vocals, Padfield is an excellent guitarist both when she is playing lead, or when she is playing the bass line over her own loop. Padfield is bad-ass and pure, all wrapped up into a true rockstar — with a matte black Harley 1200 Nightster and all.

Padfield is everything you would expect from a rock star. Yet unfortunately, even some of the negative stereotypes to the rock star life have come true for her too. Throughout Padfield’s entire life, she has dealt with emotional issues such as depression and anxiety due to childhood trauma such as bullying. At the age of 16, she picked up her first drink, and found alcohol to be the perfect bandage to cover up a troubled past. Only one year into drinking, she realized she had a problem far bigger than the alcohol consumption she saw from her peers.

“I knew I was an alcoholic by age 17. I identified the things that I felt with someone who told me they were an alcoholic,” she said. “The loneliness, self-destruction, self-medication, self-loathing. I was also a habitual drunk driver to the point it was a hobby but I was never caught or hurt anyone. I’ve never been arrested nor had any legal ramifications to my actions. That was a barrier to me identifying myself as an alcoholic.”

It took Padfield awhile to realize that she wasn’t drinking in a normal or healthy way. She thought everyone her age abused alcohol in the ways she did.

“I just thought I was young and that is how everyone drank,” she said. “The reality is that my personality drastically changed and I blacked out because I couldn’t stop once I started. Normal drinkers don’t black out.”

Padfield has a very addictive personality, which is why she finds herself lucky that she never got into any drugs besides alcohol. She said ironically, that she was always too drunk to go out looking for drugs.

“I’ve only smoked weed once and I didn’t even get high. I was extremely lucky,” she admitted.  “My personality gets addicted to everything. I also drank in seclusion. I didn’t like people seeing me drunk because I knew what I became. I think that almost prevented me from networking for drug connections. I would actively drug seek but ironically I was too drunk to get out my door.”

Padfield has a positive way at looking at her situation. “Alcoholism isn’t a death sentence, I see it as a life sentence. As crazy as it sounds, I am so thankful and grateful that I have the disease of alcoholism because today I have a solution for the real problem– which is me.”

Padfield has grown stronger through her struggle with alcohol. She has successfully been sober since March 17, 2014. Although she has overcome her alcoholism, most importantly, she has also resolved her underlying issues.

“I had childhood trauma and I believe that I have a genetic competent as well,” she said. “My whole life I lived with anxiety, depression, nonverbal learning disorder, and complex PTSD.”

Once Padfield stripped away the bandage, alcohol, she still needed to fix the real problem.

“I was sober for an entire year by just not drinking and I was miserable. The anxiety, depression, and irritability came back ten-fold. Alcohol was my solution; the problems were still there and now sober without a solution. I felt trapped, I became suicidal. What I had was untreated alcoholism.  It wasn’t until I found a twelve step program is when I finally found relief.”

Today, Padfield finds herself in a better place than she has ever been, but she still struggles. Diseases such as anxiety and depression don’t ever go away, but Padfield has found ways to cope without needing alcohol.

“I will always be an alcoholic. That is to say that I’ll never be able to drink safely. However, I don’t suffer from my disease,” said Padfield. “Some days are easier than others, especially when musicians face more rejection, scrutiny, and self-doubt than most. The fact that I don’t have to wake up and drink every day is a miracle, but I still dealt with the hard wired emotions long before I picked up my first drink. Today I have a solution for that too. The way I immediately experience the world probably won’t change but I don’t have to suffer because of it.”

Struggling with alcoholism and underlying emotional issues is hard enough without being a musician. Yet, surprisingly, Padfield says that performing at bars, or shows where alcohol is served, hasn’t been too much of a problem for her.

“Every once in a long while I might get a ‘bright idea’ that somehow this time drinking would work out better. That’s when I have to utilize my recovery network that I’ve built. I call my sponsor or another person who has gone through this experience. I have learned to be aware of myself,” she said.

Padfield has found ways around alcohol, without totally excluding herself from parties.

“I got sober at age 18, did 21 shots of Red Bull for my 21st birthday. There are LOTS of young people getting sober, they even have twelve steps specifically for us,” she said. “For me, sobriety is freedom from alcohol. Recovery is freedom from all the things that made my use in the first place. Sobriety means nothing to me without recovery.”

Padfield is now comfortable in her own skin, yet she is faced with many challenges due to her career. She explains her stage as “a double edged sword”. Padfield believes that many people expect musicians to use drugs to enhance their creativity. She expressed how grateful she is to have learned how untrue this really is.

“I think there were a lot of lies that I told myself I had to be as musician, in terms of my sobriety,” said Padfield. “The biggest being that I had to be some big irreparable tortured soul in order to write and produce the music I do. I justified my use as lots of musicians drank and used drugs to enhance their creativity. For me, it couldn’t have been farther from the truth. I didn’t write or release anything for four years because of it.”

Padfield has also struggled with the social aspect of being a musician, such as trying to network and navigate herself through the complicated social world that is the music industry. She no longer feels the need to be Keith Richards or Lil’ Wayne, and sees that drugs lead to destruction not success.

“I also thought that being an experienced partier was a job requirement for networking in the music industry,” she said. “I’m not chained to church basements and staying home on the weekends for the rest of my life. I go out to venues and bars to see my friends play or to network and I do it sober. It’s much more effective when I’m not being a drunken asshole.”

Padfield recalls a moment when she first learned this lesson. “I remember one time I somehow managed to get backstage with one of my favorite guitar playing idols and his crew. They wanted me to drink with them and that stung immediately but then I played the situation though. I would much rather tell him I had a great time at the show and I respect what he does than getting shitfaced and trying to act cool. Trust me. It seemed like a big deal in my head to turn down alcohol at the time but the truth is the person who offered: A. doesn’t care, B. won’t think twice about you saying no, [and] C. would much rather prefer to remember you as that chill musician than the sloppy crazy chick.”

This story shows Padfield’s introspective intelligence, and also her strength as a woman. Many women feel the need to impress men by drinking with them, and by drinking more than them. If Padfield can turn down a drink from a rockstar, you can turn down a drink from anybody.

Padfield wants to show the world that both women and men can be great musicians without destroying themselves. Padfield highlights the many other sober musicians and actors who have achieved success, including “Eminem, Sia, Lana Del Rey, Clapton, SRV, Joe Walsh, Elton John, Trent Reznor (of NIN), Bradley Cooper, Robert Downey Jr, Leona Lewis, Bowie, Anthony Kiedis of RHCP, Christina Perri, Slash, Nikki Sixx, Macklemore, Calvin Harris, Ozzy, James Hetfield, [and] Keith Urban.”

Padfield has learned that drugs do not lead to creativity. There may be a connection between the two. This connection is a genetic component called DRD4. Padfield says that many, “Musicians and other artistic types are theorized to have a genetic component called DRD4. It supposedly links behavioral disorders, mental health issues, and addictions to creativity and artistry. [….] They estimate 1/10 have that genetic marker. That’s a lot of people.”

Padfield uses her unique position as an artist to both help understand addiction, and help people who are struggling with addiction. Padfield doesn’t see herself as a role model, and takes “absolutely no credit for helping others get sober”.  With this being said, she has been part of many people’s journey to recovery, and they have in turn, been part of hers. Padfield doesn’t wish to praise herself or be praised. She views herself and her friends as a supportive community who is working together to feel better and live better lives.

“I’m just an alcoholic who was introduced to a solution by someone who did the same for them.  I’m just grateful to be a part of their journey and to have them in mine. We’re all in the same boat,” she said.

Padfield is close with many fellow addicts such as the late Cody Sanborn, “I lost my original bass player, Cody Sanborn a little over eight months ago to heroin and suicide. His death put the ax to the grinder to get active and open in recovery for me. His mom actually has a foundation in his honor (The CHOOSE Foundation) that helps provide financial scholarships to those looking for treatment.”

Padfield speaks of her own, unique path to recovering, “I needed more than just twelve step meetings to get sober. I went to professional counseling, I take medication that helps balance the chemicals in my brain. I also have to work out and eat right, which I’ve recently been slacking on…I love pasta. Oh well.”

Padfield is still working to keep her life moving in a positive direction, but no matter what she says, she is a great role model for people who are in a similar situation. Recovery is a personal experience, but also a group struggle. Padfield has a message to those who are still struggling with addiction.

“First off, you’re not alone. Even though that’s what the disease of addiction tells you,” she said. “Second, find me on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, or e-mail, whatever and let’s talk. I always have time to talk recovery. Ask me anything, I’m an open book.”

Padfield is a genuine person with a big heart. She isn’t perfect, but has grown in leaps and bounds since her 16 year old self picked up her first glass of alcohol. She may not have all the answers just yet, but even her story is bound to help others in similar situations.

BY JULIA CIRIGNANO

Their lead singer is 14 years old. Their last album was titled Eternalize. They are from Canada. They are all related. Their new music video is titled “Doves + Snakes”. Who are they?

Motion Device is a band from Canada consisting of Sara Menoudakis (vocals), Andrea Menoudakis (bass & keyboards), David Menoudakis (drums), and Josh Marrocco (electric & acoustic guitars). They started playing together in 2010 when Sara (at the time only nine years old!) was busy covering heavy metal songs from bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Dream Theater, Led Zeppelin, and Rush. Soon, the band started playing original songs, and ended up raising $32,000 to record their debut album Eternalize that was released last year.

Motion Device is not your typical rock band. The band consists of three siblings (Sara, Andrea and David) and one cousin (Josh). They go on the road with their parents instead of groupies. Being with your family this much has to be difficult, especially through these musicians teen and early adult years. Although this band is younger and closer than typical rock bands, Josh talks about the positives aspect to their unique set-up.

“The fact that we’re all family has been a huge plus since the very beginning of Motion Device,” he said. “We’ve always had great relationships with each other and our families as well and I don’t ever see that changing. We spend a lot of time with each other outside of music so that makes us even tighter.”

Sara perhaps may have spent some of the most difficult years of a young girl’s life, facing stardom with her family. Through the journey though, Sara has managed to embrace the positive aspects of her life. Sara shares how a nine-year old grew to love heavy metal.

“[….] my parents got me into rock music at a very young age,” she said. “I’ve always listened to all kinds of music, not just rock and metal, but the heavier stuff has always been my preference from the first moment I picked up a microphone.”

Sara says that her age hasn’t been a problem. She has actually managed to live a normal life, for the most part, “I go to school and have friends like everyone else. The only difference is I happen to be in a rock band and you might know my face from all our YouTube videos.”

Sara loves what she does and seems genuinely happy. Being a young vocalist must be hard since a nine-year old’s vocals are physically less developed, but Sara has pushed through, and become an extremely successful singer — better than many of her elders.

“I’ve been to quite a few vocal teachers and each one of them has taught me something new that helps me be a better singer and performer,” she said. “I also have been playing guitar for quite a few years and that helps me a lot when it comes to writing vocal melodies for our music. Playing in a band with older members has really helped me develop my own unique style as well.”

As the members of Motion Device grow and mature, so does the band as a whole. Like fine wine, these four band member have developed a great deal since 2010. Josh talks about the band’s “natural and necessary” transition from playing covers, to writing and recording original tunes.

“I feel like the transition from covers to originals is a great reflection of how Motion Device has grown as a band,” Josh said. “Working on covers and playing covers live was a time to not only become tighter as a band technically, but also a time to find our identity among our inspirations. On our Eternalize album and in our new material currently being written, I feel like we are really starting to develop our own sound.”

As the band refines their own sound, they are also getting to know themselves and each other better. The band agrees that there isn’t one main songwriter. David explains the relaxed way in which the band writes their music.

“We all work together and feed off each other’s ideas to create our music,” he said. “Most songs come from an individual or a jam session and start as instrumentals with vocals and lyrics getting added at the end.”

Lyrics are very important to Motion Device. Unlike typical musicians at their age, they are socially aware, and prepared to use the stage they have to their advantage. They have something important to say.

“We want our music to have a deeper message than most songs out there today,” offered Andrea. “We like to write about what’s going on in the world, whether it’s positive or not, and how it affects us as a society and individually.”

Motion Device has definitely touched and affected some people, since they were able to raise $32,000 through a crowd-funding campaign to record Eternalize. Once recorded, the album received a very positive response from fans the band weren’t even sure they had. David talks about their surprise over the money they raised.

“It was hard to predict how successful our crowd-funding would be. We actually were only looking for half that amount but fans all over the world kept donating,” he said. “It was great to know that people are really listening to us and the positive feedback and comments just make us want to work that much harder.”

Around this time, Motion Device discovered that their fan base spread throughout their country and also throughout the world. Because of this, the band has begun to make their way out of Canada. They made their U.S. live debut at Brother’s Lounge in Cleveland, OH, on July 25, 2015.

“Playing in Cleveland, Ohio was our best gig yet,” said Andrea. “Meeting our fans and seeing how passionate they are towards this band and our music was amazing. People came from all over the U.S. and Canada with one family coming from as far as Norway for a meet and greet. It was really fun to perform in front of people who know and love what we do.”

Their success in America has shown them how many fans they really do have all over the world. David talks about their plans for the future saying, “More shows in Canada, the U.S. and the world hopefully. We have a ton of fans in Europe, South America and Australia as well.”

Along with a tour, fans should also keep an eye out for new music from Motion Device next year.

“Right now our main focus has been on writing new songs for a 2017 concept album and developing Motion Device’s sound,” said Josh about the band’s immediate future. “We’re always pushing to become better technically and our new material will have a lot of twists and turns that I’m sure our fans will love!”

For more information about Motion Device, visit their website HERE.

BY JULIA CIRIGNANO

Jenna Lotti is a 26 year old singer/songwriter from Boston. Lotti has pursued a career both in interior design and music, and has found a way to combine both of her skill sets. Lotti is hard working and self-critical in a constructive way. Since the release of her first album Tunnel Vision, she has greatly improved as a musician, vocalist, and songwriter. She has big plans for the future release of her EP titled Bad Habits, and announced the track-list during our recent talk together.

It is clear that Jenna Lotti was destined to be a musician. She is a very hard worker, yet her road to success was almost inevitable. Here’s the story.

Jenna Lotti (full name Jenna Bortolotti) was raised in a creative environment, yet didn’t actively pursue her dreams of being a musician until after college.

“I was so shy and would only sing in front of my roommates,” she said. “I was always involved in the arts and grew up in an artistic household with my mother being an artist/seamstress.”

Lotti attended Endicott College in Beverly, Mass., where she majored in interior design. For Lotti, being a musician always seemed an unattainable dream, yet she managed to prove herself wrong.

Lotti always had a passion for both music and writing, but after school she continued to pursue her career in interior design. While she is grateful for the lessons and years of hardship, Lotti eventually realized that interior design wasn’t the life for her.

“I always felt out of place, like I wasn’t where I was supposed to be while working in the design world. I literally would cry in the bathroom almost every day because all I wanted to do was music and I felt trapped,” she revealed.

Luckily, Lotti followed her heart. Five years after graduating, she decided to dedicate all of her time to music. Lotti is satisfied with her decision, and still uses many of the skills that she learned at Endicott.

“I don’t regret any of my experiences working in design because I learned so much and met some amazing people along the way,” she said. “I feel lucky now because I can apply my skills in Photoshop, etc., to my music branding. I am able to create most of my artist artwork, posters, websites because of my skill set from Endicott.”

Lotti is best known for her music, yet interesting enough, she was a writer before she was a musician. While Lotti’s road to success may have been rough due to personal struggle, her practiced writing skills have greatly benefited her.

“I have depression so I would keep journals and write a ton of poetry for self-medication,” she shared.

While it’s in Lotti’s nature to write by herself, she recently chose to step out of her comfort zone and try co-writing. Lotti talked about this experience when she said, “Co-writing is great. You get to see how another person’s mind works while writing and their perspectives. It’s a great learning experience as well. This EP, is all co-writes. I wrote three of the songs with my good friend/producer, Susan Cattaneo, and the other two with my fiancé, Chris Facey.”

Lotti shows maturity in her decision to co-write. This experience helped her grow as a songwriter and also as a generally shy and introverted person in the chaotic world of musicians.

Lotti’s new musical exploration has led to her newest EP titled Bad Habits which is due to be released on October 20^th. It consists of five tracks: “Bad Habits” (written by Lotti and Cattaneo), “My Oh My” (Lotti and Facey), “Drive” (Lotti and Facey), “Simple Man” (Lotti and Cattaneo), and “Passenger’s Seat” (Lotti and Cattaneo).

This EP was produced by Cattaneo, and Lotti is thrilled to announce that she is having a CD release show at Thunder Road in Somerville, Mass, on Oct. 20^th. Dan and the Wildfire and Now for Ages open the show.

While talking about Bad Habits, Lotti especially expressed excitement over how diverse the songs are.

“The new album is VERY diverse. Every song on this is so different from one another,” she said. “I want people to be able to dance and groove to this album as well as connecting with it on a deeper level.”

With Bad Habits, Lotti wants to show the world who she is and what she is capable of. She isn’t shy about critiquing her first album, Tunnel Vision, saying “These new songs are so much better than Tunnel Vision. They are better written and more mature. I’ve learned a lot since writing Tunnel Vision and I think that is obvious once you listen to Bad Habits. Also, vocally, I’ve grown so much and that is also very obvious.”

Lotti is thriving in the world of music, which includes her recent tour of the country.

“We toured with our friend, Keelan Donovan, who has been touring for quite some time now,” she said. “We learned a lot from him and had so much fun on the road! My favorite part was just being in a different place each day. We were exhausted by the end but it was so worth it!”

All those exclamation marks are evidence enough that Lotti is happier than ever with the new experiences she is having. She finally has an outlet for her creativity, and a solid fan base to appreciate it. Lotti is enjoying her success, and has more exciting things to come. Once Bad Habits is released, Lotti will be going on tour. The dates aren’t up yet, but they should be up soon on her website www.jennalotti.com.

Grab a copy of Bad Habits at her CD release party and peel back the different layers of Jenna Lotti. Tickets available HERE.

BY J. KENNEY

At the young age of 17, Jimmy Bez is an up-and-coming blues rock guitarist. He was already a prominent guitar player on the original rock scene in Boston with the 21st Century Fugitives. A songwriter and blues fan, he formed the Jimmy Bez Blues Band in 2015 and won the under 21 category at the Boston Blues Society’s Blues Challenge that same year. He also represented Boston in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis, TN, to rave reviews. His style is often compared to a young Joe Bonamassa with strains of early Eric Clapton and the late Mike Bloomfield. He recently released his debut EP Lies of a Sinner and will be opening for Tinsley Ellis at Thunder Road Music Club and Rock n’ Roll Bistro in Somerville, MA, on July 15^th. We recently caught up with Bez who is planning to make music his career after high school.

Limelight Magazine (LM): You released your debut EP Lies of a Sinner on May 16, 2016. When did you start recording the album? Are you pleased with the final product?

Jimmy Bez: The 17th and 18th of April were the two main recording days.  We were all very pleased with the outcome.

LM: Four of the songs on the EP are originals written by you. Can you walk us through your personal song writing process?

Jimmy Bez: It always starts with the music for me…the lyrics come later.

LM: The last song on the EP is a cover of “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” by Billy Myles. Why did you select that song to cover?

Jimmy Bez: “Have You Ever Loved A Woman” is an old blues classic written by Billy Myles and first recorded by Freddie King. Besides the fact that it’s a great tune, I’ve always loved the Derek and the Dominos version.

LM: Did you consider covering any other songs for the EP and, if so, what were they?

Jimmy Bez: Recently we’ve been playing “If I Had Possession Over Judgment Day” by Robert Johnson, “Killing Floor” by Howlin’ Wolf, and a few B.B. King tunes but I knew right away I wanted “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” on the EP.

LM: The name of the EP is an interesting choice. Why did you select that title?

Jimmy Bez: The title track “Lies of a Sinner” is one of our favorites to play and people seem to dig it.

LM: You’re opening for Tinsley Ellis at Thunder Road Music Club & Rock n’ Roll Bistro in Somerville, MA, on Friday, July 15^th. Are you looking forward to this show? Will you be playing most of the songs off your new CD at this show?

Jimmy Bez: Really looking forward to it. Tinsley Ellis is awesome and Thunder Road is a great new venue with a great stage and sound system. We should be doing most or all of the songs from the EP at the show.

LM: You’re also a member of the award-winning 21^st Century Fugitives who previously opened for The Dropkick Murphys. Why did you decide to pursue a solo project separate from them?

Jimmy Bez: I got really into the blues last summer and started a blues band for fun and it just ended up doing pretty well.

LM: The style of music for the Jimmy Bez Blues Band is different than 21^st Century Fugitives. Are you influenced by all styles of music? Who are some of your biggest influences?

Jimmy Bez: I was originally influenced the most by Slash, Jimmy Page, and Tony Iommi when I was younger. Getting into the blues really got me hooked on guys like Mick Taylor, [Eric] Clapton, and Gary Moore.

LM: Last year, you won the under 21 youth category in the Boston Blues Society’s Blues Challenge. How did you feel about winning that award, especially since you just started the band around that time?

Jimmy Bez: We were shocked to have won but very excited to get to go play on Beale Street in Memphis.  It’s an incredibly cool place….just one blues club after the other.

LM: You’re currently 17 years old. What are your plans for the future?

Jimmy Bez: I’m hoping to make a career of this as an adult.

LM: Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Jimmy Bez: Thank you for always being such big supporters of local music. I really appreciate you guys checking out my new stuff and I’d like to also thank all the DJs that have been playing the EP.

For more information about Bez and upcoming tour dates, visit his website by clicking HERE.