Elizabeth and the Catapult Rooting Against Florence and the Machine at Grammys

Posted on Jan 31st 2011 2:00PM by Emily Tan
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Verve Records

Elizabeth and the Catapult aren't up for a Grammy this year, but frontwoman Elizabeth Ziman is still feeling competitive with Florence and the Machine. The reason? Esperanza Spalding, Ziman's former bandmate and friend, will duke it out with the London indie rock band for the Best New Artist prize at the Grammys on Feb. 13.

"[Florence Welch] is actually competing against my first bass player of my band, Esperanza Spalding, at the Grammys this year," Ziman tells Spinner. "I'm a little a bit on edge about who's going to win that. If [Florence] wins, I'm not going to lie, I know she's very talented, but I will be a little let down because Esperanza deserves the prize."

With the similarities between Ziman's and Welch's band names, the Brooklyn-based singer can't help but mildly jab at the UK redhead because of the various comparisons she's been receiving on the Web. "When [Elizabeth and the Catapult] formed, she was still in high school," Ziman says, jokingly. "I know that sounds a little bit high school of me to say because she's awesome. I'm only a little bit competitive with her because all my YouTube comments involve her right now."

Rivalries aside, Ziman is excited for Spalding's Grammy nod this year. The two met while studying at Boston's Berklee College of Music and became backup singers for Grammy-winning jazz artist Patti Austin. If it wasn't for Spalding, Ziman thinks she probably wouldn't have pursued singing.

"It was actually interesting because I wasn't doing much singing before I met her and we went on the road together. We were both backing up Patti Austin, this jazz singer, and I was just touring with Esperanza all time," Ziman says. "She was really encouraging me to play my own music out, and I started doing that. I just had a lot of fun and played with her. At a certain point, Esperanza Spalding needed to be her own force and her own band. Now she's maybe winning a Grammy."

Elizabeth and the Catapult's sophomore record, 'The Other Side of Zero,' is out now via Verve Forecast.

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