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Originally written in 2012 with producer/guitarist Tomás Doncker and released on her 2013 debut Burden to Bear, “I Need a Man” is pure Lael: bold, sultry, unapologetic. The release comes via The Lael Project, a musical and advocacy initiative founded by Lael’s mother, Marla Mase — a longtime NYC-based musician, writer, and performer known for her raw, poetic activism. Since Lael’s passing in 2017, Marla has been honoring her daughter’s legacy by releasing her music and raising awareness around mental health and suicide prevention (attached a photo of them together). “The song showcases Lael's badass, tell-it-like-it-is persona — enough with the sweet talk, let’s see what you really got,” Marla says. 

Born and raised in Tribeca, Lael was a true city girl — obsessed with fashion and Sex and the City, sketching glamorous outfits at age four, clubbing in her early 20s, and always surrounded by her tight-knit circle of friends. “This was her homage to that time in her life,” says Marla. “Her gay friends loved this song — it resonated as deeply with them as it did with her girlfriends.”

DJ Touchy Feely was struck by the power of Lael’s voice and message: “Once I heard the chorus, I knew — this could be a club banger. The lyrics are strong, the song is timeless.”

This remix captures Lael’s fiery spirit and disco-diva joy — but The Lael Project also holds space for her pain. Lael struggled with depression, anxiety, and an eating disorder, and died by suicide in 2017 at just 24. Through music and conversation, the project works to break stigma and honor the full complexity of who she was. “Lael wasn’t defined by her mental illness,” says Marla. “She was fierce, funny, focused — and she struggled. This remix reminds us of the joy she brought into the world.”

Find more information here: https://www.thelaelproject.com

Waverly Drive BioJune2025Waverly Drive is the solo project of Phil Galloni, a studio engineer/producer and multi-instrumentalist. The Chicago native who has been running Voltiv Sound (Los Angeles, est. 2015) released thedebut EP “Living in a Fantasy”in Nov 2022,EP2 “Now I Know” in July 2023, and EP3 “Push My Luck” in May 2024. The music evokes some of the musician’s influences in the indie rock, new wave, indie pop, and electro pop realms, and is perfect for a drive upthe coast, daydreaming, and learning to escape the absurdities of life. Phil has been written upfor his workin publications including The Line of Best Fit, The 405, Clash Magazine, Deli Magazine, Post Punk, Mystic Sons, Psychedelic Baby, Good Music Radar, We Write About Music, and more for his work as a solo musician and producer/engineer for others. During his time as sole proprietor at Voltiv Sound, Phil has worked with countless musicians/bands, including: Magic Wands, Monica Martin, Cassidy Place, Family Company, DPR Cream, D’Arcy, Joe Sumner, Hey Boy, and many others. The debut LP from Waverly Drive,due out September 16th, 2025,presents reflections on a dystopian world where nothing is as it ever seems.A world in which the ruler’s nowhere to befound, a concealed outlaw behind the screen.A world in which the caregiver brings roses to the forlorn lover on a rainy day.A world where Cinderella waits, though her prince is lost in decadence.And the hero stands guard at the gates of Eden where the stakes are high.While the passerby’s temped by a debutante in a limousine.A decadent world, indeed.

FListen here: https://www.youtube.com/@waverlydrive

Author of Minute Men: Execute and Run, as well as the collection entitled This Way to Egress, which was adapted for Mick Garris film Nightmare Cinema: and the Bram-Stolker nominated Voices, which features Connolly’s best stories from The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Twilight Zone, Year’s Best Horror and other top magazine anthologies of science fiction, fantasy, and horror.

His novels include the eco-thrillers Veins, Vipers, and Vortex.

He is currently collaborating with Christopher Connolly and Academy Award-winning producer Jonathan Sanger to develop Execute & Run into a feature film.

Fid out more here: https://lawrencecconnolly.com

Don Cusic is one of the premier historians of country music and an internationally known scholar and writer. As an author, teacher, historian, songwriter, producer, and executive, Cusic has been actively involved in the music business since 1973. He is a 2022 inductee in the Western Music Hall of Fame.

Cusic is the author of twenty-five published books, including the biographies Roger Miller: Dang Him, Elvis and Nashville, Eddy Arnold: I'll Hold You In My Heart, The Life and Career of Gene Autry, The Cowboy Way: Riders In The Sky, James Weldon Johnson: Songwriter and The Trials of Henry Flipper. He wrote an encyclopedia of cowboys, Cowboys and the Wild West: An A-Z Guide from the Chisholm Trail to the Silver Screen and edited (and was the primary writer of) The Encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian Music. Other books include Johnny Cash: The Songs, The Sound of Light: A History of Gospel and Christian Music (re-published as Saved by Song), The Cowboy in Country Music, Music in the Market, Baseball and Country Music, Poet of the Common Man: Merle Haggard Lyrics, Willie Nelson: Lyrics 1959-1994, Hank Williams: The Complete Lyrics, Reba McEntire: Country Music's Queen, Randy Travis: King of the New Traditionalists, The Poet as Performer, and Sandi Patti: The Voice of Gospel. Cusic is also the author of two novels: Sharecropper’s Son and Dressed in Grey and Blue (a Civil War novel). 

Website: https://www.doncusic.com

Joan Slonczewski is a leading author of biological and feminist science fiction.  Slonczewski's books combine fully imagined ecosystems with exploration of artificial intelligence.

Slonczewski publishes research with undergraduates on bacterial pH stress, funded by the National Science Foundation. She also studies cold-adapted microbes from Antarctica. She authors science fiction novels, including her latest, Minds in Transit, The Highest Frontier and A Door into Ocean, both of which earned the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. 

She teaches courses on microbiology, virology and biology in science fiction. Two of Joan’s books won the Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel: The Highest Frontier, and  A Door into Ocean.

Besides writing books, Joan teaches microbiology at Kenyon College, authoring with John Foster the textbook Microbiology: An Evolving Science. She contributes to the nation’s economy by employing students to conduct research on bacteria in extreme acid or base, like the stomach or pancreas respectively. For arts and humanities majors she teaches the notorious course Biology in Science Fiction.

Singer/songwriter/bandleaderJosie Cotton hails from Dallas Texas. In the early 1980s, Cotton had an international hitwith “Johnny Are You Queer?” which was included on the soundtrack of the seminal film Valley Girl. She also appeared inthe filmwith her band the Party Crashers as well asJackassNumber Two. Josie is known for her quirky stylizations and musical experimentation from pop to rockabilly, electronica, swamp, lounge, Western,garage rockand beyond. She has to date recorded seven albums including Invasion of the B-Girls, a collection ofB-movie theme songs (great songsfrom bad movies) from the 1960s and ‘70s, which includedliner notes by John Waters who noted, “Josie Cotton has made the unlistenable unforgettable.”Now Cotton canadd record company mogul to her resume. With the formation of Kitten Robot Records, Cotton will be reissuing her entire catalog on her own label throughout the upcoming year. The first release is a single of two brand new songs with a Russian theme: “Ukrainian Cowboy” b/w “Cold War Spy.”

For more information: https://josiecotton.com