I first met Haviland Stillwell in Atlanta, back when we went to the same school. We weren't in the same class, but word on the street was that she was talented. And she is. But what do I remember most about meeting her for the first time? I remember thinking that this 12 year old girl was the kind of person people would refer to as a "mover and shaker." At twelve. If you know Haviland personally, none of this is a surprise. Haviland is talented as all get out and she's also quite the hard worker. Would you expect any less from someone who's been on the Broadway twice? [Fiddler on the Roof and Les Miserables, thank you very much.] You might also remember her from VH1's Single Ladies.? Or maybe you know her from her Autostraddle series, Unicorn Plan-It Or maybe you caught her on this year's Oscar telecast, singing with the cast of the Les Miserables movie? Or maybe you've been to one of her concerts, and have her album, How I Role? [check out her "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend"]
Mover. And shaker.
[from her concert at Joe's Pub in NYC]
On top of all that, she’s incredibly generous. When I shot a small role on Unicorn Plan-It, she was directing. [the series is hilarious.] Not only was she at the top of her game regarding all aspects of the story, but she also made a point to keep everyone feeling comfortable so we could all play. There were no ego issues coming from her – in fact, I don’t remember any ego issues coming from anyone on set that day. As you can imagine, it’s rare for things to go that smoothly on set. That kind of generosity of spirit is what you need from your fearless leader and is always great to be around.
So when she told me she was releasing her first original song, I had to hear it immediately. And I was not disappointed. "MKE Maximum Energy" is some serious swirly synth pop goodness. And its lyrics are a wonderfully trippy ride from outer space all the way into our hearts. It talks about love and letting go of fear and coming together - exactly what we need most from dance music. Exactly what we need from all music, if you ask me.
"MKE," is the introduction of a new character - as Ziggy Stardust is to David Bowie, as Sasha Fierce is to Beyoncé, MKE is to Haviland Stillwell. She is "your intergalactic space siren, shooting you with her ray gun, loaded with love."
She means business. Hear the song below, and find out for yourself! You can purchase it. Get out of your chair and dance!
Haviland has two SoCal shows coming up, in Palm Springs on April 5th at Hunter's and in LA on April 23rd at Rockwell Table and Stage. She'll be performing the new single and songs from her debut, How I Role." Get you tickets now!
Why do this?
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