Jim Bianco knows how to captivate an audience. You can't help but be drawn in by his charisma, and you never know what to expect when he takes the stage. Bianco’s new record, Sing, is the first album to be released by the Hotel Cafe record label. Like his previous albums, Sing showcases his playfulness. "I Got a Thing for You" is destined to be a hit with burlesque troupes, and lyrics from songs like......

Part three of three. Tuesday: Greg Laswell, Priscilla Ahn, William Fitzsimmons, and Joshua Radin. Yesterday: Meiko, Jim Bianco, and Jessie Baylin. Today: Ingrid Michaelson, Cary Brothers, and Jesca Hoop. Again -- last Saturday, Hotel Cafe Tour 2008 (MySpace)'s Greg Laswell (MySpace), Priscilla Ahn (MySpace), William Fitzsimmons (MySpace), Joshua Radin (MySpace), Meiko (MySpace), Jim Bianco (MySpace), Jessie Baylin (MySpace), Ingrid Michaelson (MySpace), Cary Brothers (MySpace), and Jesca Hoop (MySpace) performed a sold-out show at the......

39 days • 12 musicians • 1 bus Though this may sound like the setup for “The Real World: Singer-Songwriter Edition,” it’s actually the description of the Hotel Cafe Tour—a traveling showcase of some of the best musical talent in the country, most of whom are LA residents and regulars at the Hotel Cafe on Cahuenga. You might think that with so many creative people packed into such a small space, drama would naturally......

Part two of three. Yesterday: Greg Laswell, Priscilla Ahn, William Fitzsimmons, and Joshua Radin. Today: Meiko, Jim Bianco, and Jessie Baylin. Tomorrow: Ingrid Michaelson, Cary Brothers, and Jesca Hoop. Recapping -- last Saturday, Hotel Cafe Tour 2008 (MySpace)'s Greg Laswell (MySpace), Priscilla Ahn (MySpace), William Fitzsimmons (MySpace), Joshua Radin (MySpace), Meiko (MySpace), Jim Bianco (MySpace), Jessie Baylin (MySpace), Ingrid Michaelson (MySpace), Cary Brothers (MySpace), and Jesca Hoop (MySpace) performed a sold-out show at the......

Part one of three. Today: Greg Laswell, Priscilla Ahn, William Fitzsimmons, and Joshua Radin. Tomorrow: Meiko, Jim Bianco, and Jessie Baylin. Thursday: Ingrid Michaelson, Cary Brothers, and Jesca Hoop. This past weekend, the 2008 installment of the Hotel Cafe Tour (MySpace) rolled back into town (last month it opened with stops in San Diego, Santa Barbara, Anaheim, and the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood) for the last of two sold-out shows during its domestic run......

Last Tuesday, singer-songwriter Rachael Yamagata (MySpace) performed two sold-out shows at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. A former Hotel Cafe Tour alumnus, Yamagata's appearance there two years ago drew fans from all over Southern California, and these shows were no different, with fans lining up hours in advance for her 8:30 PM and 10:30 PM shows. And since her upcoming two week tour in mid-April takes her to the Midwest and East Coast as well......

It’s shaping up to be a busy year for singer-songwriter Cary Brothers. With the fourth annual Hotel Cafe Tour beginning in just a few days and his first full-length CD, Who You Are, getting great reviews, things won’t be slowing down for him anytime soon. Brothers first received nationwide attention when his song “Blue Eyes” was featured on the Garden State soundtrack four years ago, and his fan base has grown with the release of......

Local singer/songwriters Meiko (MySpace) and Priscilla Ahn (MySpace) share similar qualities -- they are part-Asian (Meiko is quarter-Japanese and Ahn is half-Korean), and originally from back east (Meiko from Georgia and Ahn from Pennsylvania). So perhaps it was coincidental that both were booked in back-to-back shows last week at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood, with Meiko onstage last Wednesday and Ahn last Thursday. Meiko, a one-time Hotel Cafe waitress, became a favorite of controversial......