Laying down the law

When Victor Records recording artist Mandi Perkins graciously stopped by our offices to play a few songs we did the only sensible thing and let the cameras roll. In the process we managed to capture a really compelling, stripped-down version of her debut single "Why Pretend." We also asked the Canadian-born singer/songwriter a few questions and found out that she has worked with One Republic's Ryan Tedder, released a digital album in 2007, and recently became a lawyer in the state of California. Her major label debut, "Alice In No Man's Land," comes out Aug. 5. We suggest you check her out now while you can still claim you knew about her before she exploded...

Q&A with Mandi Perkins:

24|7: Who is your biggest influence?
M.P.: My brother.

24|7: What one word best describes your music?
M.P.: Passionate.

24|7: What was the first concert you saw?
M.P.: Madonna in Toronto.

24|7: Where did you first perform?
M.P.: At age 5 in my kindergarten class.

24|7: Where would you most like to perform?
M.P.: I¹d love to do an outdoor tour in Greek Theatres worldwide.

24|7: What is the best album ever?
M.P.: My debut album, "Alice in No Man¹s Land!"

24|7: Beatles or The Stones?
M.P.: Beatles.

24|7: MySpace or Facebook?
M.P.: Myspace.

24|7: Where will you be in 5 years?
M.P.: Unfortunately, my magic 8 ball is hazy today...