Gabby La La (born Gabriel Lang on May 23, 1979) is a vocalist and

multi-instrumentalist A multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays two or more musical instruments at a professional level of proficiency. Also known as doubling, the practice allows greater ensemble flexibility and more efficient employment of musicians, where ...

(including

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...

theremin The theremin (; originally known as the ætherphone/etherphone, thereminophone or termenvox/thereminvox) is an electronic musical instrument controlled without physical contact by the performer (who is known as a thereminist). It is named afte ...

and toy piano), signed to

Prawn Song Records Prawn Song Records is an independent record label owned by Les Claypool of Primus. The name and logo are a parody of Led Zeppelin's label Swan Song Records. Prawn Song is based in San Francisco, California, and distribution is handled by RED Di ...

. Her music is self described as "fun, unique, crazy (and) kooky". La La's debut album, '' Be Careful What You Wish For...'', is a collaboration with

Les Claypool Leslie Edward Claypool (born September 29, 1963) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. He is best known as the founder, lead singer, bassist, primary songwriter, and only continuous member of the ro ...

that though "peculiar... reveals gems of pop merriment."Prestianni, Sam (July 20, 2005)
Gabby La La ''Be Careful What You Wish For...''
''SFweekly''. Retrieved on June 18, 2011. Gabby La La is primarily a solo artist but, at times, she has been a member of Weapon of Choice, and she was a member of

Les Claypool's Fancy Band Les Claypool's Fancy Band was a lineup of musicians on tour with Les Claypool from 2005 to 2007. The band consisted of Claypool on bass, Skerik on tenor and baritone saxophone, Mike Dillon on vibraphone, marimba, tabla, cuíca and percussion, ...

Career

La La sings with a high pitched voice "like art singer

Dagmar Krause Dagmar Krause (born 4 June 1950) is a German singer, best known for her work with avant-rock groups including Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, and Art Bears. She is also noted for her coverage of songs by Bertolt Brecht, Kurt Weill and Hanns Eisler. Her ...

helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

". She plays the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

toy piano The toy piano, also known as the ''kinderklavier'' (child's keyboard), is a small piano-like musical instrument. Most modern toy pianos use round metal rods, as opposed to strings in a regular piano, to produce sound. The U.S. Library of Congress ...

and

. She plays the sitar, which she is classically trained on, like she's playing a guitar. She also

tap dance Tap dance is a form of dance characterized by using the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion. Two major variations on tap dance exist: rhythm (jazz) tap and Broadway tap. Broadway tap focuses on dance; it is widely perfo ...

s. She has been compared to

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct three-octave vocal range and eccentric persona, she has de ...

Hello Kitty , also known by her full name , is a fictional Character (arts), character created by Yuko Shimizu, currently designed by Yuko Yamaguchi, and owned by the Japanese company Sanrio. Sanrio depicts Hello Kitty as an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphi ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. Her live band occasionally consists of

on bass. She generally wears brightly colored

wig A wig is a head or hair accessory made from human hair, animal hair, or synthetic fiber. The word wig is short for periwig, which makes its earliest known appearance in the English language in William Shakespeare's ''The Two Gentlemen of Verona' ...

s when she performs. La La has been called Claypool's

protégé Mentorship is the influence, guidance, or direction given by a mentor. A mentor is someone who teaches or gives help and advice to a less experienced and often younger person. In an organizational setting, a mentor influences the personal and p ...

and she performs in his Fancy Band. She has performed on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' with

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

. La La has performed with

Jane Wiedlin Jane Marie Genevieve Wiedlin (born May 20, 1958) is an American musician and singer, best known as the co-founder, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist of the new wave music, new wave band The The Go-Go's, Go-Go's. She has also had a successful ...

and

The Coup The Coup is an American hip hop band from Oakland, California. Their music is an amalgamation of influences, including funk, punk, hip hop, and soul. Frontman Boots Riley's revolutionarily-charged lyrics rank The Coup as a renowned political ...

. She has taught young girls how to play rock music through music classes at the

Phoenix Theater The Phoenix Theater is an all-ages nightclub located in Petaluma, California. The club has been in existence since 1905 and has changed in both structure and purpose, mostly due to severe damage caused by several fires. History The Phoenix The ...

. La La has been reviewed and featured in the ''

SFist Gothamist LLC is the operator, or in some cases franchisor, of eight city-centric websites that focused on news, events, food, culture, and other local coverage. It was founded in 2003 by Jake Dobkin and Jen Chung. In March 2017, Joe Ricketts, ...

'', ''

Metroactive ''Metro'' is a free weekly newspaper published by the San Jose, California, based Metro Newspapers. Also known as ''Metro Silicon Valley'', as well as ''Metroactive'' online, the paper serves the greater Silicon Valley area. In addition to print ...

'' and ''

The Aquarian Weekly ''The Aquarian Weekly'' is a regional alternative weekly newspaper based in New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1969, its focus is rock music and related events in the New Jersey/New York City/Eastern Pennsylvania region. From 1986 to 1992, it ...

''. She has been a solo performer at

Bonnaroo The Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival is an American annual four-day music festival developed and founded by Superfly Presents and AC Entertainment. Since its first year in 2002, it has been held at what is now Great Stage Park on a farm in M ...

Personal life

La La was born in

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 a ...

. She has a sister, named Mimi. She has a child with

Boots Riley Raymond Lawrence "Boots" Riley (born April 1, 1971), is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, rapper, and communist activist. He is the lead vocalist of The Coup and Street Sweeper Social Club. He made his feature-film directorial ...

Discography

Studio albums

;As writer, arranger, and/or performer * 2004 ''

The Big Eyeball in the Sky ''The Big Eyeball in the Sky'' is the 2004 album by Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains, known by fans as "C2B3," released on Les Claypool, Les Claypool's own Prawn Song Records, Prawn Song label. Reception AllMusic gave the album an a ...

'' by

Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains (C2B3) was an experimental rock supergroup (bands), supergroup featuring bassist Les Claypool, guitarist Buckethead, keyboardist Bernie Worrell and drummer Bryan "Brain" Mantia. History Les Claypool, b ...

( CD; Prawn Song) * 2005 ''

True & Livin' ''True & Livin'' is a studio album by Zion I. It was released by Live Up Records in 2005. Critical reception Kabir Hamid of ''Chicago Reader'' described the album as "soulful hip-hop that favors acoustic sounds over electronics, thoughtfulness ov ...

'' by

Zion I Zion I was an American hip hop project founded by MC and producer Baba Zumbi (real name Stephen Gaines) in Oakland, California. K-Genius and Amp Live were also project members. Career Originally formed as a group, Zion I released the debut s ...

(CD, 2×LP; LiveUp) * 2006 ''

Of Whales and Woe ''Of Whales And Woe'' is the first solo album by Les Claypool, the bassist and vocalist of Primus. The album was released on May 30, 2006. The album features Skerik (saxophonist of the Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade), Mike Dillon ...

'' by Les Claypool (CD, LP 180 gr.; Prawn Song) * 2007 ''Turn My Teeth Up!'' by Baby Elephant (CD; Godforsaken Music)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:La La, Gabby American accordionists Women accordionists American multi-instrumentalists American women singer-songwriters Living people Singer-songwriters from California Sitar players Theremin players American ukulele players People from Petaluma, California Musicians from the San Francisco Bay Area 1979 births Les Claypool's Fancy Band members 21st-century accordionists 21st-century American women musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers