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The funny thing about inspiration is that it can strike at any time, any place. So it's always best to be prepared.

For Talia Segal, that means having access to pen and paper at any time, any place.

"A lot of ideas come to me while I'm driving,
so I do keep paper and pen on the dashboard of my car," Segal said, before quickly adding with a laugh, "I'm not encouraging people to write while driving, though! That's not safe!
"But sometimes I do pull over on the side of the highway to write something down. I saw a license plate on a car in front of me on the highway and it made me think of a bunch of things and suddenly I got an idea for a hook for a song."

Inspiration, though, has not been hard to come by for the Washington, D.C., native, who had the opportunity to perform in the D.C. area on Jan. 20. "After watching the inauguration, I got to go into town and play music and the vibe was very festive," said Segal, who, on top of her busy touring schedule, tries to get in at least two shifts a week performing at local Potbelly Sandwich Works restaurants.

"There were revelers coming into the restaurant, requesting things like the 'Star-Spangled Banner.' There was a totally different feel. Usually most of the people who come in are locals, but on this day, people were very forward with their stories. I talked to people who had come down from Connecticut, people who came to Potbelly with sleeping bags on their backs. It was very festive, very inspiring."

More than simply "girl + guitar," as her MySpace page (www.myspace.com/taliasegalmusic) states, Segal has proven herself to be an adept songwriter and skilled lyricist with a voice that might be just as comfortable singing soprano in an opera (or musical theater, another of her passions) as it is in performing folk pop tunes.

Perhaps no song on her debut EP, "Nonprophet," better displays her talents than "Anna Joy." The story of a female high school cheerleader, the track is impossibly bouncy, upbeat and rah-rah, but the lyrics spell out a surprisingly mature and serious tale of a secret crush ... on fellow cheerleader Anna Joy. "The person whose life story that song is based on, he told me this poignant and sad story of growing up in a very conservative town and not being comfortable being honest who he was and what his struggle was like," Segal said. "The song just sort of comes out of me, and I was thinking, 'There's no way we can record this as an acoustic, singer-songwriter kind of song.'

"So it's kind of the black sheep, I suppose, but what else are you going to do with a song about cheerleaders but make it sound like Green Day? You have to set it up accurately. I liked the song - I thought it could be a song other people could relate to, and on my first EP, it seemed like the perfect time to put it out there. I'm at a point where I don't have anybody standing over me saying, 'You can't put that on your CD,' so I might as well do it now."

Segal has a stripped-down, acoustic version of the song that will likely make it into her set lists when she makes two stops in the area in the coming weeks. Segal, whose songs have won close to 25 awards on GarageBand.com and have garnered awards and glowing reviews at scores of Web sites and magazines, will perform at MilkBoy Coffee Acoustic Café in Bryn Mawr on Feb. 19, then at Steel City Coffee House in Phoenixville on March 4.

Expect older songs and plenty of fresh, new material from Segal, as well as a glimpse into her life through song and stories.

"There's a part of me in everything I write," Segal said. "Even if it's a song about somebody else, it's still rooted in my experience and the way I view the world. Everybody who writes a song brings a piece of themselves. "A lot of the joy I derive from my older stuff now is presenting that material to an audience that's never heard it before and then watching them experience it for the first time, because it's all new to them."

And every performance is a new experience for Segal, who had logged plenty of time in musical theater when she first started down the singer/songwriter path. While she was comfortable onstage, she admits to some butterflies in the stomach during her early gigs.

"As an actress, I've never known stage fright until I had to get onstage and play guitar in front of people. And it was a very humbling experience," Segal said. "In my mind I'm telling myself I had nothing to be nervous about, but my fingers won't work. The biggest difference is that in theater we have the fourth wall. As a songwriter, people want to see you, they want to get to know you and your humanity. That was a little daunting at first - there's nowhere to hide, really, it's just you and your guitar.

"I went through this phase of being completely mortified by my guitar playing, and I developed all these fears and hang-ups about playing guitar in front of people that I had to work through.

"But I've played enough shows and gotten enough compliments and I've gotten my guitar to the point where I look forward to playing, to connecting with people in the audience. I go and play for complete strangers, and afterwards I have people come up to me and sometimes they'll tell me stories about themselves or how this song really spoke to them. Connecting with all these people I never would have met otherwise, and the music is the bridge. And it never gets old. It's so exciting to me."

Check out this review of 'Nonprophet' on The Muse's Muse!

In the five songs on Nonprophet, Talia Segal delivers stirring, soulful folk rock. She sings her poetic yet direct lyrics with a voice that is a soaring marvel. Her backing band is crisp and potent, and two instrumentalists in particular stand out: cellist Nioka Workman and Hammond organist Zach Abramson provide big, bold washes of tension and release.

The EP's simple, pretty acoustic guitar-and-vocal intro flows into the dramatic “Been There,” a percussive number that builds and takes off on the strength of Talia’s emotive voice. The following “Boy Wonder” is even more rocking, with another thrilling vocal turn, particularly in the chorus.

The bouncy-yet-wistful “Pretty Little Lies” is better than most folk rock radio hits. Talia has a gift for writing brilliant choruses, and this one is her best on the EP. The disc’s smoky ballad, “You Told Me So,” is vulnerable, yearning, and wise.

The last cut, “Anna Joy,” is one of the most delightfully peppy songs I’ve heard in a while, a giddy anthem for those who have had to pretend to be someone they are not in order to fit in. (And isn’t that most of us? So check out this tune – it will buoy your spirit.)

This fine EP is a wake-up call – it shows that Talia Segal is forging her own identity and exploring different musical vibes at the same time.

Check out this review of 'Nonprophet' on Smother.net (Editor's Pick)

"Anti-folk pop with slightly mysterious lyrics that are dark and inviting is what separates Talia Segal from the countless scores of other female singer/songwriters. Her music allows her to whet her creative appetite for song arrangements. Empowering lyrics that wear a heart on the sleeve and a brainy point about it are also complementary additions to “Nonprophet”. Talia Segal boasts daring vocals that are powerful and sublime all at once speak of a Harlem girl who embraces the city as much as its cold wretched underbelly pushes her away. Pick it up!"

Check out this review of 'Nonprophet' on Rambles.NET

"Talia Segal's debut EP -- five songs, 15 minutes -- is designed to showcase her talent. Her voice is willowy but strong, with husky overtones, flexible enough to caress a ballad or rock out on an uptempo song. Her lyrics have a degree of depth to them, and her music is a blend of folk and pop that soars above the ordinary. Yet the best song on the album, "Anna Joy," harkens back to the 1980s, its attitude and arrangement reminding me of Julie Brown's "'Cause I'm a Blonde." It's classic songwriting, brilliantly dressed up in a satirical bubble-gum package that can't help but to bring a smile to your face. If you hear this EP, you'll be craving a full-length album."

Check out this review of 'Nonprophet' in SKOPE MAGAZINE
On Newstands November/December 2007<

By: Bear Frazier

"Most people categorize young ladies with acoustic guitars as folk artists, but for those unknown songwriters, it's tougher to generate a solid following. To build up their reputations, they perform halfway decent Lilith Fair concerts on dirty city blocks for free and occasionally, a generous businessman will throw a quarter into their case. Talia Segal takes a more extravagant approach, however. Instead of fingering the frets of her guitar in the freezing cold, she finds warmth in the coffee shops of Washington DC. On her EP debut 'Nonprophet', the cute brunette has the nation gripping their java. Segal isn't the stereotypical acoustic artist who talks about saving the earth, but rather a lively angel who sings about love with pop-friendly, folk-infused melodies serving as a backdrop. Though her style could reflect that of Michelle Branch, Segal supplies just enough spunkiness to differentiate herself. She shares experiences from sour relationships on 'Been There' and 'Pretty Little Lies', but matures on 'Boy Wonder', as she sees through the mind of a player. Though 'You Told Me So' is more of a confessional, she is more positive on the sappy 'Anna Joy'. Segal's music is smooth like the foam of a latte, but the song themes she touches on have been explored half a million times by other female vocalists. In her defense, she shows an immense amount of creativity while embarking on the aforementioned subject matters. Although 'Nonprophet' is only an EP, Segal makes the most out of her musicianship with this sweet little sample."

Rambles.NET
http://www.rambles.net/segal_nonproph06.html

Raven Entertainment Promotions
http://www.ravenentertainmentpromotions.com/Nonprophet%20By%20Talia%20Segal.html

SKOPE MAGAZINE NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007 ISSUE

THE FARMVILLE PHANTOM
http://farmvillephantom.com/joomla/index.php option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=37

THE MUSE'S MUSE
http://www.musesmuse.com/columnistsgreylogs/archives/mrev-taliasegal-nonprophet.html

EARTASTE MAGAZINE (TOP 23 ALBUMS OF 2007)
http://eartaste.blogspot.com/2007/01/talia-segal-pretty-little-lies.html http://eartaste.blogspot.com/2007/01/talia-segal-anna-joy.html

SMOTHER MAGAZINE (EDITOR'S PICK)
http://www.smother.net/reviews/items/unsignedbands/797/Talia_Segal-Nonprophet.php

OPENING BANDS.COM
http://www.openingbands.com/reviews/?forceissue=2007-03-017

EARCANDY MAGAZINE
http://www.earcandymag.com/reviews51.htm

COLLECTED SOUNDS
http://www.collectedsounds.com/cdreviews/nonprophet.html

ALL ACCESS MAGAZINE
http://www.allaccessmagazine.com/vol5/issue06/hidden_gem.html

THE CHICKEN FISH SPEAKS
www.thechickenfishspeaks.com/musicreviewsnew.htm

JOHN SHELTON IVANY TOP 21 (ALBUM OF THE WEEK)
www.jsitop21.com/past.html

GARAGEBAND.COM
www.garageband.com/taliasegal
Named:
Best Female Vocals 7 times
Best Production 4 times
Best Melody 2 times
Most Rocking Track 2 times
Best Drums
Best Lyrics
Best Beat
Most Original
Track of the Day
Number 1 'All-Time Most Rocking Track-Folk Rock'
Number 1 All-Time Best Production-Folk Rock
Number 14 'All-Time Best Drums-Folk Rock
Number 24 'All-Time Best Female Vocals'-Folk Rock