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Ellen from Endwell's avatar

Thanks for profiling her. I've added her to my women in rock list.

Seems that the indie rock band she was with, Calpurnia, was led by Finn Wolfhard, none other than Mike Wheeler in Stranger Things (a show I love), whom she met at rock camp, and they were signed to Royal Mountain Records. Pretty cool for a teenage girl!

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Charles in San Francisco's avatar

Thanks Ellen! I enjoyed Stranger Things, but did not mention Calpurnia by name, because honestly, they were awful. A lot of people kept telling Ayla to ditch them, and she finally did move on. But the association with Finn certainly got her some exposure, so I guess it was worth it. One of the funniest clips I've seen of them was when some girls in the audience started throwing lace panties up on stage, directed not at Finn, but at Ayla. Glad you added her to your roster! She is certainly one to watch.

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Ellen from Endwell's avatar

That's a very funny story!

I haven't listened to Calpurnia, but did note that they did an EP or two but that was the extent of it, so I assumed that either they weren't that good or Finn was back to filming and it fell apart.

She is def one to watch!

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Arun's avatar

Thanks for the great post on Ayla. She is a master at tone and has that magic touch. Here is another great cover of a Tito Puente song made famous by Santana. I think Ayla was 15 when this video was shot. Ayla's musical mentor, Sami Ghawi, big in the Vancouver music scene, is on keyboards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmFKJgoSmbw

And here crazy good SRV and Hendrix covers that really demonstrate her magic touch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-098PQ4b2K0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRHY6TC-KZU

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Charles in San Francisco's avatar

Thanks for the comment and suggestions. I knew you would like this. Her latest stuff is quite out there--I hope she gets more recognition for her multiple talents.

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