At the age of 3, Janelle Lauer picked up a tambourine and started to play along while traveling with her mom's band. Thirty years later, Janelle's life is composed of the music and people she loves — and they are the reason for the passion in her voice.
Singing, Lauer is at once controlled and unrestrained, smooth and intense, playful and polished, sultry and tender. She communicates with her audience through the nuanced strength and power of her voice and engages each person who hears her sing in a rich dialogue. Like a great teacher, her tone imparts deep meaning that cannot be found in the lyric or melody alone, but in the delivery, in the style, and in the passion of her voice.
"Just about anyone can sing a song, but few can live each word like Janelle. She entices, teases and outright drags the listener into the individual universe of every song, where every color is brighter and every emotion more wrenching."
Dennis Green
General Manager, KCCK 88.3 FM
Janelle's own voice and style is the result of an amalgam of musical experience, including immersion in theatre and concerts, and growing up with musicians. Those experiences and way of life contributed to her contemporary jazz/pop style — a style that highlights Janelle's versatility and defines her strengths without constraining her expression.
Trained as an opera singer at the University of Iowa, Janelle's performance experiences include a long list of musical theatre, opera, and band involvement during high school and college. Lauer played in a folk duo called Kaji's Tears in Nashville in the early '90s, In Iowa, Janelle's performances have included community theatre productions of Starmites, 42nd Street, and Pump Boys & Dinettes.
In June of 2000, Janelle joined Liars Theatre as a regular performer in its monthly radio variety show, Liars Holographic Radio Theatre. LHRT is presented to a live audience, as well as recorded and produced for radio and television broadcasts. Thousands of people watch Janelle on a bimonthly basis on Iowa Public Television as a part of LHRT broadcasts, and her performance and recording experience with Liars cultivated a loyal audience that adore and follow her solo activities. Janelle developed an independent artistic career out of her Liars following and built a foundation of performances that feature her own talent.
Janelle brands energy into every song she sings, owning the lyrics, the harmony, the attitude, the experience. Standards metamorphose when they hit her vocal cords; every tune exposes some momentous human fragility.
In 2003, Liars Theatre Publishing released Janelle Lauer Live at Liars, a 16-track compilation of live recordings ranging from jazz standards to pop, rock, blues, and show tunes. The range of styles on Live at Liars showcases Lauer's musical versatility more than anything else; she slides easily between a sweet but fiery “Turn Me On” into a visceral growl with Tom Waits's “Chocolate Jesus”, and a serene and deliberate - yet also uninhibited and exhilarating - version of Bob Marley's “Waiting in Vain”.
No matter the size of the crowd or the tune at hand, Lauer always gives herself
to her audience in unrestrained, yet carefully executed performances that
showcase her vocal flexibility, natural musical understanding, and easy show
manner. Her sleek style and ability to transition smoothly from jazz standards
to vocally demanding cross-genre material gives her performances and recordings
an originality that leaves an indelible impression on her audience and perpetually
brings them back for more. Janelle's soulful connection with her audience
and vocal sensitivities continue to create a devout following of fans who
respect her integrity, sincerity, originality and - above all else - her talent.