Who are your main musical influences?
Tori Amos, Bjork, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Elliot Smith, Bright Eyes, Fiona Apple, Radiohead
Which of your own songs is your favorite?
Sonnet. It’s a more recent one and I feel like it has the perfect blend sweetness and complexity. It has some borrowed elements from an early song of mine that I had put away, so it was nice to bring that one back out and re-write it into something more solid and (hopefully) timeless.
What are your musical plans for 2017-2018?
I’ll be working mostly with my bands to get more music written, recorded, and submitted into catalogs for licensing. I hope to have an album’s worth of songs recorded for distribution for each band by the end of 2018, along with my own solo EP of 5 songs I’ve been trying to get professionally recorded.
If you could pass on a nugget of wisdom to the next musical generation, what would it be?
If you want to play music for a living, start early and don’t let yourself get sidetracked with other things. Life is fast and before you know it you’ll be in your 30’s wondering what happened to your 20s…that important decade is when you make a lot of important life decisions, and while it seems like it will last forever, it actually doesn't. Surprise!
Does being a member of Songstuff help you with your music?
Yes, immensely! I’ve gotten incredibly honest and detailed feedback that I haven’t found anywhere else. In my experience, family members and friends generally don’t have much constructive to say, because they don’t care or don’t want to hurt your feelings. I was able to use Songstuff to get valuable tips that have helped me expand my own skills, to know what works and what doesn’t, and to move forward from that. It has also helped me to listen better to other musicians. Part of the trade-off of joining Songstuff is that if you want constructive feedback, you need to listen and give valuable feedback to others. The reciprocity is incredibly valuable. I have learned not only from the feedback of others, but also from being compelled to construct my own feedback by listening better to detail and examining other people's music in a way I wouldn’t normally.
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