Up to this point, Juliette Commagere has been best known as the keytar-playing frontwoman of the band Hello Stranger, which has opened for everyone from the Foo Fighters to Kings of Leon. And although "Queens Die Proudly" is her first solo outing, she's still surrounded by friends and family in this effort--including guest performances by legendary slide guitarist Ry Cooder, his son (and Commagere's high school sweetheart) Joachim Cooder, and her siblings, Robert Francis and Carla Commagere. LAist sat down with Commagere for dinner at Oaxacan restaurant Monte Alban to learn about the new record, how she's bringing the keytar back and the process of creating an orchestra via Craiglist. more ›

Last Wednesday, Hello Stranger (MySpace) frontwoman Juliette Commagere (MySpace) -- backed by a 13 piece band that includes Hello Stranger bandmembers Joachim Cooder and Ben Messelbeck, as well as Obi Best (MySpace) frontwoman Alex Lilly on backing vocals and keyboards, not to mention quartets of horns and strings -- performed her solo act at Spaceland (MySpace) in Silver Lake. Opening for Commagere were Charlie Wadhams (MySpace) and the aforementioned Obi Best, who premiered their music video "It's Because of People Like You." more ›