Meet Lauren Tannenbaum: Music-maker and herbalist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lauren Tannenbaum and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lauren, do you have a favorite quote or affirmation?
“At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you.” It’s a quote by Goethe, but I heard it for the first time by way of Barbra Streisand, via my mom. It is a quote I keep coming back to when I need to remember to make a bold choice, or to recommit to my wildest dreams. It reminds me to move in directions where my commitment, heart, and action is in alignment, because that is when magic inevitably happens…that is when adequate space is made for synchronicity and spirit to do their thing. I like that these words have been an anchor for the better part of two decades, and that the very words have become their own special kind of charm.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I came to LA to pursue a career in music, but what I found is that the more I tried to create the sounds I thought people wanted to hear, the further I got from why I became a musician in the first place. Music has been my mode of understanding myself and the world since I can remember. As I developed my craft, I couldn’t imagine any other career than the music industry. Over the last couple years or so, however, things started to feel stagnant. I was writing music from a place of desperation (how will I make money? How will I get this into the right hands/ears?) rather than from necessity, and joy, of creating. If music was akin to my religion, what does it mean to sell out your gods? During quarantine, I started to come back to myself, in a profound way. My songs started to write themselves again, and I sang to, and from, the places that needed healing most. I feel like I returned to my artistry this year, and to the spirit of music that has always been so central to my life. I’ve learned that this is part of the dance…the getting lost and the coming back…I’ve learned to trust that music will always be there. I want the world to know that our art and our relationship to it is meant to evolve, and transform right along with us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The first stop would have to be a coffee from Cafecito Organico before a drive out to the beach. One of my favorite things about living in Los Angeles is the proximity to beautiful natural spaces. Elysian Park and Malibu beaches would be must-sees. I would take them to Green Wisdom, an apothecary and western herbalism school in Long Beach, one of my favorite places owned by one of my favorite humans. I’d take them back to LA for some vintage shopping at Vintage Vortex and lunch at Friends and Family. Stories Cafe in Echo Park would also be crucial to an LA visit. Knowing my friends, we’d probably spend the week doing a lot of eating and drinking. I love Edendale, and Skaf’s in Glendale is still some of the best food I’ve had. Since Skaf’s is BYOB, I’d pick up some wine from Vinovore, a wine shop in Silverlake with a focus on female winemakers. The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate this shoutout to Celeste Makoff, who has had my back every step of the way since high school, and whose very friendship feels like living proof of the universe conspiring to assist me. She is one of my greatest sources of creative and artistic inspiration, and the first person I send a new song, poem, or babbling voice-memo’d idea to. She is one of the most incredible artists I know, and one of the most extraordinary humans to ever grace this weird, wonderful world.

Instagram: @gold.e.music

Image Credits
Troy Barboza Lauren Tannenbaum