LARKIN POE

HOMETOWN: Atlanta INFLUENCES: Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, the Band ALBUM: Kin, out now WEBSITE: larkinpoe.com

AS DESCENDANTS OF EDGAR ALLAN POE, SISTER DUO Larkin Poe has extended a long line of talented yet tempestuous artists. “We have a very colorful family history,” says Rebecca Lovell, 23. “There were a lot of creative, hot-headed and intelligent branches that went against the grain in our family tree.” Early on, Larkin Poe tapped into some of that. “Musically we’ve been a bit schizophrenic in our choices over the years,” says Megan Lovell, 25. “But we found a way to piece the fragments of our artistic personalities and musical tastes together.” Larkin Poe opened shows for Elvis Costello, and more recently released their debut album, Kin, for which they wrote together for the first time. “There are touchy factors at play in the creative process: ego, personal perspective—or in our case, sibling ISSUE #38rivalry,” says Rebecca. “But as a result of collaborating, we’ve become MMUSICMAG.COM closer and the songs have become better.”

RO SHON HOMETOWN: L.A. INFLUENCES: Prince, will.i.am, ALBUM: I Am Ro Shon EP, out now WEBSITE: roshon.com

RO SHON BURST ONTO THE SCENE AS STAR OF THE Disney hit show and celebrity dancer on Dancing With

Gabriel Santiago, Keta; Mark Hug, Larkin Poe the Stars. But he decided to take a break from TV to focus on his greatest passion. “Music is something I’ve done all my life,” says Ro Shon, 23. “But I haven’t really taken that step to say, ‘Here I am!’ So now I’m taking those steps and people are hearing the songs I wrote and produced.” Signed to Universal Republic/Lava Records, Ro Shon—born —has produced tracks for Wiz Khalifa and Britney Spears, and has been selected as a brand ambassador for Casio. His new single, “Bout That,” is a prelude to more music to be released. “I think the extremity is within the music, within the passion,” he says. “If you love it and you work hard enough, the proof is in the pudding. If you have great music, it’s going to be heard.”

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ISSUE #38 M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE

MARCH/APRIL 2011 M MUSIC & MUSICIANS MAGAZINE