Bio
Hailing from Chicago by way of Texas, Marla brings a mix of alt rock, pop, and country to her songwriting. Her first bands, Back40 and the Patterson Project, melded bluegrass, country, and lush girl indie pop harmonies. In 2004, she formed The Souvenirs, which tipped its hat to power women like Sheryl Crow and Liz Phair when it recorded Souvenirs in 2006. In 2009, Marla joined The Captain Blood Orchestra (CBO), an established and popular Chicago 50's-70's cover band, to play a tribute to 1968 at the Chicago History Museum, and she quickly joined as a permanent member until 2020. During this time, Marla became a mom and began to write songs for her son. In 2020, Marla reunited with a former bandmate who had since entered the kindie realm to write and record the single, "Kindness is King", which was released on World Kindness Day under the Brighter Light Brigade moniker. Marla is a clinical psychologist in private practice who specializes in parenting and family therapy, and her bandmate Amy, is a licensed clinical social worker and certified music therapist. They decided to write more songs, and they released two EP's in 2022, Feel it All and Traveling Together. These two collections of songs are intended to be conversation starters for families about expressing feelings in helpful ways and to support kids in building emotional literacy.
