Life Down Here

Determined to remain authentic at all costs, the Los Angeles based quartet Life Down Here goes against the grain of contemporary female fronted rock-bands with a sarcastic punk attitude and contagious energy that is evident both on and off stage. Categorically pop-punk, LDH consists of 19 year-old lead singer, songwriter and guitarist Michelle Blanchard, Eli Shkurkin (Bass), Jeff Dennis (Guitar) and Nick Adams (Drums). Formed in early 2011, the group was quickly discovered by super producer Jay Baumgardner (Evanescence, Papa Roach, Drowning Pool) who went on to sign them to his artist services company, ‘NRG Artists.' After spending a significant part of the year in the studio writing songs with industry heavyweights Marcos Curiel (P.O.D) and Jason Evigan (After Midnight Project) among others, Life Down Here is currently focused on promoting their debut album "The Beginning" which is scheduled to drop January 6, 2012. Produced and mixed by Baumgardner at NRG Recording in North Hollywood, CA, the 11 song album, delivers a pop-punk feel with a hardcore edge, and includes a heartfelt tribute to her father, who was a great supporter of her music career. Initially based in Las Vegas, Michelle's love affair with music began after receiving her first guitar at age eight, a miniature Jackson Surfcaster with lipstick pick-ups. She began writing music soon after in order to better learn riffs and chord progressions. By age 13 however, what began as a means to an end became an outlet for life's challenges as well as a place for her creative expression to flourish. Michelle made a seemingly suitable move for a future rock-star and dropped out of high school at age 16. Leaving the general indecision that torments the teenage years behind, while other kids killed time gossiping on their lunch breaks she chose to finish the remainder of her education at home where she could focus on cultivating her music skills. Michelle's heart was set on writing music and playing guitar from the get-go, it wasn't until after she left school that she realized she wanted to sing her lyrics rather than write them for someone else. Michelle moved to Los Angeles where she met Life Down Here bass player and fellow songwriter Eli Shkurkin at a local rock show. After hearing their demo, Jeff Dennis (Guitar) and Nick Adams (Drums) joined the duo and solidified LDH's line-up. Most of their current lyrics are about the love and loss of past relationships, as well as a short-stint in a mental institution which is the basis for one of the songs off the album titled "Running From Disaster." Having survived similar struggles, Life Down Here is an active supporter of the organization "To Write Love On Her Arms," a non-profit organization dedicated to helping those struggling with depression, cutting, suicide and addiction. As driven, talented and captivating young musicians with an uncompromising will, Life Down Here are well on their way to being rock-stars. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.