This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Greg Laswell,the husband of popular singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson, likes girls. So much so that on his last album. "Landmine," he enlisted some of his favorite female singers to back his folk-infused pop songs, including Sara Bareilles and his wife. Part of the inspiration, Laswell said in a Tribune interview, comes from listening to a hip-hop mixtape his friend gave him about a year ago. "It was listening to a lot of things I didn't normally listen to," Laswell said. What he found engaging were the dynamics of songs such as Eminem's "Love the Way You Lie," where the rapper would handle the verses and Rihanna would sing the hooks. As he jogged when listening to the mixtape, he realized he wanted to "make something different." Another new strategy for Laswell is realizing that he was writing when happy — as he is, since marrying Michaelson. Before, he could only write songs when he was sad, he said. One last tidbit of trivia: Laswell knew well one of my best friends from high school, Shaun McClellan, when both attended Point Loma Nazarene University. Small world. Elizabeth Ziman from Elizabeth and the Catapults opens.
When • Tuesday, June 5, at 8 p.m.
Where • The State Room, 638 S. State St., Salt Lake City
Tickets • $15 at thestateroom.com