Goodbye Harmony Guy: Singer/Songwriter John Laprade Takes Center Stage

Singer/Songwriter John Laprade just went from supportive "harmony guy" sidekick to show-stealing solo artist with his debut solo album "World-Class Faker." Formerly a guitar player and vocalist with NYC rock band Astro Chicken, Laprade has released one of 2011's best indie albums.

Joe Viglione, music critic for TMRzoo, says "..it's just totally brilliant pop -- ."

"When I started writing World-Class Faker I think I wanted to make a record like Elliott Smith's 'Either/Or.' Intimate, simple, moody recordings." Laprade says. "There are some power pop tunes, some darker ballady type songs, some rockers, and some country flavor as well."

The album's co-producer Emmy-nominated Robert L. Smith says "I loved working with John on this album. It was fantastic to see him channel his heroes and come up with his own take on things. I feel like what we came up with stands right up there with the same quality."

When asked which songs had special impact during recording, Laprade talked about how song "Knock You Down" surprised him.

"We spent most of the session doing some of the slower moodier songs and going for the 'less is more...don't overplay' philosophy. When it came time for 'Knock You Down' we were running out of time and I think we were all burnt. I basically said to the guys 'go nuts...more is more.' They pulled out all of the stops, especially Joe (drums) who is just amazing on that song. We did one take and listened to the playback and kept it."

Laprade has a long list of important musical influences, including The Beatles, U2, Wilco and Matthew Sweet. "Matthew Sweet's album 'Girlfriend' came out just as I started writing songs and recording and I was so blown away by him."

His other influences are much closer to home. "This list could go on and on -- But I have to mention my old Astro Chicken band mate Barney Miller . He was very encouraging and was never stingy about giving out writing credits for song ideas I contributed to his tunes. He also encouraged me to 'write more bad songs' as a way to be less precious about the process and that advice was so important for me because I was such a harsh critic of my own ideas that I would abandon songs before they had a chance to form."

The first video release for "World-Class Faker" is Blind and was created by German film-maker Dirk Roth.