Music as Fuel: Artist Statement

It started when I was very young. I was still in Kindergarden and I was taking my first piano lessons. At the time I thought nothing of playing piano. Everyone else was taking lessons, so I was just like the rest of them. As we all developed and went our seperate ways, some people continued music lessons and some people didn't. I did. Time went on and on and slowly people were narrowing down their hobbies and focuses. I had reached nine years old and decided to leave the piano behind, but start playing the harp. Here I continued for 6 years. However, just because I left the harp does not mean I left music. I guess it would be cliche yet fitting to say that music has been a part of my life since the beginning. As I developed in age and maturity I realized that playing music whether it be the harp or singing or anything made me truly happy. It was one of the only escapes that I found could really take me away from what was normal and create something that was unique to me. 

The big choice in life for me right now is playing music and singing a professional endeavor or merely just a blissful hobby? I want to be able to say that I can make my living off of doing something that makes me happy and hopefully makes others happy as well. But there is a lot of risk in that thought. Mainly, would putting a cost on my creations take away from the original intent of my work? I predominantly write about human emotions according to myself, because that is all I know. If I'm forced to create I'm afraid these emotions will lack sincerity. As well, I don't want music to become something that I have to do, It has always been something that I want to do. But in the end I am creating songs and playing music for a living! Nothing sounds more appealing. 

As a musician I am influenced by these sort of questions. I am constantly thinking about my life in regards to others and to what is considered "conventional" or "normal." Up until now I have been feeding these thoughts through my music and would like to continue to do so. I am fueled by the idea of creating and collaborating. I do not want to lose that.

Byrne baby Byrne

On august 3rd I saw David Byrne play at the Greek Theater. The night included his new songs that he wrote with Brian Eno as well as some of the good oldies that were written during the Talking Heads days. It was incredible to see such an icon live up to the genius that he has been damed. He came on stage with such a subtle tone of self awareness. I mean all these people are here to see this one person and he is easily considered one of the most influential musicians of the modern time, yet his stage presence would suggest otherwise.
His new songs still carry the style that is so distinct in all of his writings. The wackyness of his lyrics as well as the melodic sound that he has created cotinues to permeate throughout his entire music career. There are not many people who can sustain the kind of respect that for instance Byrne or Bob Dylan have been able to maintain. I definitley felt that I was witnessing something important in music history. I was watching someone that I felt really paved the way for the future of music and musicians, and that is not something many people can say especially today when the proability of seeing a crappy show is high.
His show was very quirky, consisting of his band and himself in white jumpsuits as well as the back up dancers. These dancers were extremely wierd in that they had a somewhat choreagraphed routine, but were reluctant to dance in time with eachother. The only way I could describe it would be a choreographed interpretive dance, which does not make too much sense, but seems to fit the description to what I was watching. In all it was an interesting show to watch because of the strange sensibility that it had. Also it is always intriguing to see what someone who you tremendously respect will cook up when it's show time. David Byrne rocked my world and will continue to do so for as long as he goes.

Chairlift is Burnin' up

I recently was introduced to a music trio called Chairlift including two men (Aaron and Patrick) and one woman (Caroline). I immediately was hooked the moment I heard the voice of the female lead vocalist. Her voice is incredibly captivating as she sings with power and confidence allowing her to reach a wide range of notes and distinct styles. She does not have the typical sweet, soft sound that female vocalists usually have in the genre of indie-pop rock; instead it is more rugged and harsh. Contrasting the sweet and catchy melodies, she adds her unique touch giving the listener a spectrum of interesting sounds. As I search for other bands to compare Chairlift with I realize the they are as fresh and unique as disco was when it hit the early 70's.

The music they create is extremely catchy and fun, filled with sweet lyrics and odd concepts. One of their songs is called "bruises" in which the lyrics go "I grabbed some frozen strawberries, so I could ice your bruising knees..." This song is about doing bends and flips for someone to show how much you love them, even if it means getting bruised all over. This idea has been done many times before,  yet never in the light of headstands and cartwheels. This c.d. has a variety of styled songs however having a common sound throughout making it recognizably Chairlift. This is not a quality that many people can accomplish and one that I look up to as a musician. I recommend this album entitle Does You Inspire You to anyone who wants listen to fun and unique tunes.