Category: Interviews (Page 8 of 11)

Interview with Drummer Tripp Beam

March 26, 2013 / aftertheshow

Photo Credit: Marina Chavez

Tripp Beam is an LA-based drummer and one-half of the band Psychic Friend.

After The Show: So you recently got back from SXSW with Psychic Friend – how did that go?

Tripp Beam: Great! It was my first time visiting Austin and the festival so I was real eager to get to do that. Our shows went very well and we met a lot of nice people. And so much music! The town itself is growing so much…a really cool place. Only downside, I was bummed I missed Prince [laughs].

Is playing live more fun for you than recording in a studio?

I think I’ll always be comfortable in the studio. Both are great but different. Playing live can be a boost and there’s a real thing or excitement about having musicians in the same place making music together. For me it’s more about being a part of the creative process that may involve coming up with parts, working with producers, and capturing a moment on tape that I love.

You recorded My Rocks Are Dreams at Dangerbird Studios. What was that experience like?

It was great. We were on a quick schedule so it was kind of a ‘one right after the other’ sort of thing when it came to laying down the tracks but fun at the same time. The studio is in a house right by their office so it’s got that home studio vibe. Lots of great gear and very cool sounds. The staff were super nice and accommodating. That’s them doing hand claps on track 7 of the record. Just a really fun experience. We were scheduled in between two pretty big bands so we were honored to do it.

“Never Burn, Never Bruise” is my favorite song on the album, and I think the drums are most potent in “Softer Side.” What’s your favorite song to play?

It’s funny because that song was never really thought of as a potential single but people are loving it! “Quality Control” comes to my mind just because it has a cool, tough groove to it. Live, people really seem to enjoy “We Do Not Belong.”

Photo Credit: Marina Chavez

How is Nashville vs. LA in terms of being a good place to be a drummer?

Both are great places I would definitely recommend. At the end of the day it depends on the musician and where he/she feels comfortable or inspired to create. I had always seen myself going to LA but chose Nashville first mainly because lots of people were moving there (and still are)…More affordable, closer to my family, the list could go on and on. But in the end I found I wasn’t going to be happy unless I took a chance and did what I thought was right for me. I’ve been in both places for the same amount of time now and for me LA has been better in the way of opportunities and the music scene. People give LA a bad rap but Nashville was VERY hard for me to break into.

You’ve played interesting one-offs like with Moby and the Paul Williams night…How do you find opportunities to play?

Both of those situations happened because I either knew the Musical Director, or someone close with the artist. So I would say relationships are very important in getting opportunities to play. When I first moved to town I knew no one and had no gigs… zero. It took a while but gradually I began making friends with songwriters and started playing with them who introduced me to more and more people in the industry. It takes time but eventually people will have a reason to call you and then you gradually get worked in.

How did you realize that you wanted to play drums professionally?

I didn’t really grow up in much of a musical family. During high school was when it really hit me that you could make a living at being a musician and that’s when I started taking it more seriously. It was one of those things I knew I wanted to do but had to find out on my own how to do it. Playing music professionally was always in the back of my mind but for some reason I was intimidated by it mostly because it’s a bit of an odd profession and seemed like a ‘too good to be true’ sort of thing. After college I moved to Nashville to work on the business side of things and then I knew right away playing was what I wanted to do.

Are you discouraged or encouraged by the current state of the music business?

There’s definitely pros and cons in my opinion. As a songwriter I can see where it’s frustrating because obviously revenue has taken so much of a hit these days compared to what the industry was used to long ago. As an artist I can see how now the playing field is as big as it’s ever been. As a musician I think it’s a good time to try and break in, which is where I’m at. I mean the upside of not having big budgets for records and stuff is that people might be more likely to give someone else a chance verses an A list session guy they can’t afford. And I would imagine it might be the same with tours and other aspects of the business.

Regardless, we’re all in this sort of big transition that still after 10 years has not resolved itself. I think it’s on the right path; I read an article recently in the NY Times that global music sales rose for the first time last year since 1999. Maybe it’s a freak thing but I think the digital market is on its way to being profitable. It’s just a whole new world now and I think it’s here to stay.

Thanks Tripp! For more info. visit TrippBeam.com, Psychic Friend, and Psychic Friend on Facebook

Interview with Christy Carlson Romano

March 23, 2013 / aftertheshow

I spoke to Christy (Carlson) Romano, who you know from Disney shows like Kim Possible and Even Stevens, about doing Broadway, being a writer and director, and how music-centric entertainment for kids has changed over the years.

After The Show: So you’ve done Broadway as both a child and an adult – how do you keep up the mental energy and physical stamina to perform night after night?

Christy Romano: You pretty much don’t have any other life but doing the show. It wears on your voice singing…if it’s a straight play you have more leeway, but pretty much you have to be dedicated to the show, just focusing on it. The upside is that you get to sleep late, but it’s tough on your body. You almost have to look at it like you’re an athlete.

When I was doing Beauty and the Beast I was getting acupressure and acupuncture weekly, on top of throat massages, and inhalers for my vocal chords!

You’ve balanced acting, film, academics, theatre, & music seemingly very effectively. Do you have any advice for kids and teens about achieving success, maintaining balance, and not burning out?

I think I did burn out after doing Beauty and the Beast and ran on fumes after coming back to LA & having a record deal and a book deal…My biggest advice would be ‘everything in moderation.’

In summer when I was on hiatus from Even Stevens I would be doing computer camp or basketball camp or sailing camp. There was one summer I loved doing sailing camp.

My mom was my manager and got me grounded, which is important [for kids] even when they get older. Have a real life outside their passion or dream…it’s great when they can coexist and help each other…my fiancé is also my business partner now, but we keep life separate.

What can you share about your current projects? I know you started Interstitial Productions & have been working on a short & a feature too?

Yes, that’s correct! I started directing, went back to school (Columbia University) for directing. I’m waiting to hear about AFI and hoping to go there in August, so my fingers are crossed right now. I directed a music video that did really well on YouTube — We had a lot of hits – over a million within a month.

The Mad Musician — Steph Gold is his name. Our budget for “The Sun” was small and that went well – there was buzz about it. I’d love to direct other music videos. Music and singing is always going to be my first love and first talent, but there’s so many things I want to do that are surrounding our industry.

Everyone Says I Love You is one of my favorite movies, so I think it’s so funny that you had a bit part as the singing Chiquita Banana.

I think it’s so funny too. I know someone really knows my work well when they mention that, because it’s so obscure. I’m so young in it and that was cool because I met Woody Allen.

Originally there was another girl — this flapper girl singing a different song — who played the banana and they actually recast her with me after they shot her. They wanted a different image…I guess they fired the old banana and put me in [laughs].

You authored the novel Grace’s Turn [Hyperion]. What was your goal with that book? Is that kind of writing something you might want to do again?

Absolutely. I’m in talks and writing a presentation to make another Young Adult book that’s somewhat based on Valley of The Dolls. I’m really excited about that and hopefully Hyperion will like it. My goal [with Grace’s Turn] was to do something different and share my knowledge in a different way – sort of a snapshot/semi-autobiographic take on my experience.

From your perspective how has kid-oriented music entertainment changed over the past 10 years?

Thank you for asking because I really do think about this all the time, having been someone who’s lived it. Even Stevens was the first [Disney TV] show to ever do a musical – way before Glee and way before High School Musical.

We did really well in our ratings that Disney decided to do more music stuff…and decided that was a direction that they wanted to take, when they started seeing that music was really important to the audience. In a way we feel responsible for paving the way for all these kids now.

If I were to see a Selena Gomez or Vanessa Hudgens – I did see Vanessa Hudgens a few years ago and she was so respectful and thanked me. When you’re a Disney kid you look up to the people who came before you. I’m impressed with the talent – the kids on Disney get more and more talented.

I’m glad you said that because a lot of people don’t realize the impact the music-centric Even Stevens episodes had. Do you have a favorite episode, music-related or not?

I remember this one episode where I had a pig that I had to be followed around with – it was a Sadie Hawkins day dance – I had to act with the pig and it was really sweet. Besides that I definitely didn’t like the one where I had to get a sundae dumped on me.

I liked the musical one [“Influenza: The Musical”] probably the best.

You’ve co-written some songs with The Matrix – what was that like?

Pretty fantastic. After my record deal with Atlantic I had a development deal and developed some songs with The Matrix and Kara DioGuardi – two development deals essentially. I learned so much as a songwriter.

I don’t really write music anymore. I was trying to find my voice because I didn’t want to be the type of person who was just going into it for the sake of it / the platform. What I wanted to do was more of a Sheryl Crow thing [than Katy Perry] and it was before women were coming out and having success with that. It kind of just didn’t work out and I think I’m okay with that.

You’ve mentioned that living in LA as an adult vs as a child actor feels really different. How so?

When I was younger I was really busy working and as an adult it’s really hard to stand out from the crowd. If you’re not a character actor, you’re just like everyone else. You have to be at the right place at the right time, and the writer or director has to like you for some reason – it’s so picky. Living here requires a lot of strategy.

Thank you Christy! Check out her brand new official website.

Interview with Kathryn Gallagher

March 22, 2013 / aftertheshow

After The Show: So how do you like Thornton [USC School of Music]? What kinds of classes are you taking?

Kathryn Gallagher: I love it! It’s such an amazing program. I take songwriting and pop harmony, performance classes and guitar lessons…anything you need, you can find there. It’s so exciting.

In terms of business, what are your goals? Do you want to sign with a label or publisher?

I want to make my first record and release it. I want to work with everyone, try everything, and make a really good record. I love performing – my dream is to go on tour with my own music…that seems like the most perfect thing in the world.

Right now we’re working on my first music video, for a song called “Damaged” that was placed in this movie Thanks For Sharing (with Gwyneth Paltrow and Mark Ruffalo).

I love your song “How Do I Grow Up” – it’s so, so good. Do you want to share the inspiration or how the song came about?

Yes, thank you! That song I wrote for the movie Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You. The director loved another song of mine so much that he sent me the script and I wrote a song. He said that it was too sad…so I got [to watch] the scene in an email –Toby Regbo is running with his therapist – and picked up my guitar and the song [“How Do I Grow Up”] was done in 20 minutes. I know exactly this feeling of not knowing what to do.

I was a senior in high school waiting to hear back from colleges – I saw that scene…I really identified with this kid — the feeling ‘I don’t know anything, I don’t know what I’m doing.’ It came out of this crazy point of desperation. It’s a really confused desperation. And after I finished it – maybe it’s okay that I don’t know. No one’s going to tell me and I just have to figure it out.

That’s cool – I didn’t know that you wrote the song specifically for the movie/scene. What qualities do you look for in collaborators/musicians to write or perform with?

Humor and honesty. Honesty’s a big one. I start any co-write with just talking. Openness and all the things I look for in a friend. And also talent is always lovely [laughs], but it really is almost further down on the list. You have to like them as a person, especially because co-songwriting can be such an awkward thing…you have to be honest and open, and that’s not an easy thing to do at all.

I’ve noticed that many kids of actors or musicians, who also want to do something creative with their lives, often face a backlash and resentment, and accusations of nepotism. Is that something you’ve had to deal with at all?

It’s funny because it’s definitely present but I’ve never had another dad [Peter Gallagher], and I never will…I love my dad because he’s an amazing dad. Both of my parents are amazingly supportive and I feel so lucky because of that.

I’ve been around it my whole life – my dad lives in that actor/musician world – so I definitely think it helps being around [the] creative. So I understand that more than, like, finance. I know there can be weird feelings or questioning…times when people assume that I get certain things because of whatever reason, but I just work and try to make my parents proud. There’s not much I can do about it. I wouldn’t trade my parents for anyone.

I discovered your music via Someday This Pain Will Be Useful To You. What about licensing – is there a type of film or certain kind of scene where your songs would naturally/thematically fit well?

That’s interesting – I’ve never thought about that. I think any scene where anyone is very confused or sad or self-deprecating, my songs would just fit right in there [laughs]. I write from such a personal point of view that I’m always surprised when a song can take on so many other meanings. It’s such an honor that anyone would want to use my songs.

And serious question: Your thoughts on Taylor Swift vs Miley Cyrus, in terms of the quality of their music + career longevity?

I’m a huge fan of both honestly. I’ve been listening to Taylor Swift since her first record. I’ve been loving Taylor Swift forever — I think she’s such an amazing songwriter…her tour is amazing. And Miley Cyrus – I totally watched Hannah Montana.

They’re so different – I hope they both have really long careers and are extremely successful, I think they’re so cool and so honest about who they are and what they stand for.

Thanks Kathryn! Check out KathrynGallagherMusic.com + stay updated on new music/shows on Facebook & Twitter @kathryng

Interview: Evan Lowenstein of Stageit

February 13, 2013 / aftertheshow

Stageit is an online video platform that allows artists to stream and monetize live performances while interacting with their fans in real time.

I spoke to Evan Lowenstein, the founder and CEO of Stageit, about using technology to connect artists and fans and running a thriving music startup.

After The Show: What are a few key attributes essential to being a successful entrepreneur, especially in the music & tech worlds?

Evan: That’s an excellent question. The first thing that comes to mind is tenacity. Perseverance. Having the vision and belief that what you’re doing makes sense. Not quitting. The challenge when you have a concept that is so unique – people will tell you you’re crazy or barking up the wrong tree, which can cause you to question your belief.

But as an entrepreneur, listen to your gut. Try to go back to whenever you had moments of success – even as far back as 5th grade – and tap into that. Having a good idea is arbitrary/an opinion, but knowing what success tastes like and knowing ‘I can do this’ is essential.

How do you sustain and motivate yourself when you’re running a startup in the months or years before it reaches that profitability point?

Exactly – it’s lonely at the top. What you just asked about is perhaps one of the largest reasons why people quit because they can’t get through that pre-launch time. Just getting a company to market is a huge accomplishment. It’s about perseverance and staying focused so you can really dig deep into your vision and your project.

It’s interesting that the tip jar is such a popular and lucrative part of the Stageit experience – my gut reaction was that artists might perceive it as being degrading or amateurish.

A lot of people in the beginning thought it would cause us to fail. The reason I knew it was going to be the tipping point to our success – pun intended – was because we listened to what the consumers were saying.

The advent of mp3s meant fans were able to drag, drop/copy, paste – i.e. steal music. They said ‘give us the music for free or cheap and we’ll pay you on the back end.’ Thousands of people actually tried to send money into Napster for music they liked.

This is not about double dinging. It’s about giving fans the opportunity to come in for cheap and be true to their word – they will pay less on the front end [for the Stageit ticket] but if they like what they see, they’ll pay more after.

We did research behind the methodology and psychology of tipping. By showcasing those who tip in real time, the artist is able to thank the fan in real time, which causes excitement and the fans to tip even more.

Why did you decide to use the Stageit currency notes system as opposed to just plain dollars?

Once you get into dollars and cents it can get weird when you’re tipping. It’s hard to do credit card transactions for just a dollar. One note equals ten cents. The other real reason is it’s a Vegas methodology…people feel more comfortable when they’re playing with notes. It’s awkward to throw down a 20 dollar bill to an artist.

You let artists place a cap on the number of tickets sold to any given show. What percentage of shows sell out?

Another thing we do to protect the artist is enable them to pull back tickets as they see fit. We’re an elastic venue so we never have to worry about that. I wish that could’ve happened back in the day that I was touring [with Evan and Jaron].

If I’m playing a 5,000 seat venue and there’s only 3,000 tickets sold, I would love to shrink the venue down to 3,000. We don’t have to worry about shows selling out because the artist doesn’t need to be held to the number of tickets initially released.

You cover the licensing, credit card transactions, broadcasting & bandwidth. How does the licensing work – is it a blanket license to ASCAP and BMI or a sync license too?

Just a blanket license to ASCAP and BMI. We don’t need a sync license since we don’t archive the shows. In addition we offer 4 people who work full time, around the clock serving artists. We help these shows get off the ground. A lot of shows don’t need us, but we’re available.

I know people are eager to pay for virtual interaction with the artist. But I still see a discrepancy/irony in the fact that making artists so accessible and even average (they can play a show from their kitchen) somehow devalues them. The artist is brought down to the audience’s level – the separation between creator and consumer has shrunk and the mythology or idolization of an artist seems to be gone.

I respect your opinion but I completely disagree. Do you have a problem with artists tweeting?

That’s the same situation…Twitter is of course hugely helpful to build, connect, and promote, but I don’t think it adds value to the artist when he’s tweeting about, for example, what kind of sandwich he had for lunch that day.

And I’ll tell you why we bring back a sense of mystery and romance to the artist/fan experience. Because of the on-demand nature of media, artists have careers that last 4 minutes. Each live stream is one-time and exclusive and not archived. The quality of the stream heightens intimacy and makes it so valuable.

We’re using technology that people have been saying has ruined the music industry. Our tagline is ‘a front row seat to a backstage experience.’ Even if you’re in the front row seat at a concert, there’s separation.

It’s true that you lose the glam if you actually go to a nasty backstage green room, but it’s real and close and enables the fan to have this moment to “meet” their favorite artist. The artists who are losing in this day and age are the ones maintaining that “rock star” distance.

Fair enough. Have you explored the idea of integrating curatorial or discovery options, positioning Stageit as a tastemaker or gatekeeper where people can discover new artists as opposed to just coming for an artist they already like?

Yes. Excellent. That’s exactly what we’re doing this year. We’re moving from a venue to a destination service. We want to have something for everyone…multiple artists in different genres each night of the week. A destination service where people can come any night of the week and know they’ll find a good show.

With the Kickstarter model, an artist sells rewards (such as Skype shows or other opportunities for artist/fan interaction). Do you see that as competition?

Not at all. For almost a year artists have been rewarding their top tippers with Skype chats and one band is even flying a fan to Haiti for a show. A lot of artists are telling us they prefer to use Stageit because they can get thousands of dollars from our service for 30 minutes of work, and not have to deal with fulfilling orders after.

As an artist originally, how comfortable have you been immersing yourself in business and getting involved in things like the venture capital world?

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was 19. Artists/bands are entrepreneurs because they create something from nothing and have to market themselves. Dealing with venture capital is similar to dealing with record labels – they want something for less money and you want something for more money.

But we’ve chosen at this time not to go that route. We’ve gone more of an angel investor route. I want to protect our artists – we just changed our business revenue model from 60/40 [artist/Stageit] to 63-83% [for the artist] based on ‘the more you make the more you take’ to give the artist substantially more money – that’s not something a VC firm would be happy about.

How important is it to Stageit’s growth and exposure that you speak at different music and tech conferences/summits around the world?

Every conference is different. I benefit from a lot of conferences from what happens in the hallways – artists coming up and business development relationships. Every single panel I’ve ever spoken on has immediately led to artists joining our service.

How valuable is it? It’s hard to say – I think often these types of things work on multiple impressions…doing things again and again. And decent press reports on these panels/conferences.

Thanks Evan and Stageit!

Visit Stageit.com and on Twitter.

For more on Stageit, check out these features in Forbes, Fast Company, Business Week, and TechCrunch.

Magneta Lane: Inside the songs of Witchrock

January 23, 2013 / aftertheshow

Magneta Lane is back with some great new music — a 4-song EP called Witchrock.

Lexi Valentine shared with After The Show a behind the scenes/songwriter’s perspective look at the upcoming EP.

People in Toronto – you can go to the EP release show (at The Rivoli) on February 14th. More info. at MagnetaLane.com

1. “Burn”

Lexi: It was the first song that was written for Witchrock.  I wanted to lyrically write something that purged what was going on in our lives at the time. We had been through a lot and I wanted to write something that for us would make us feel better and stronger. I never like to victimize myself and I wasn’t going to start doing it now.

There goes that saying that ‘success is the best form of revenge’ and leaving those things behind that hold you back, hurt you, and limit your growth as a human being. In the most candid sense, we found strength in the idea of just burning it all down.

2. “Good For”

Lexi: The song was about what your mind goes through when you feel you just want to give up at times – we are all human, it happens. Sometimes there’s that voice in your head that’s giving you that tough love and telling you to get back up again but your mind can be your own worst enemy. Or it can be about a relationship where it’s become almost sadistic.  I like to leave those interpretations up to the listeners.

3. “Leave The Light On ”

Lexi: The song is about being a woman in her 20s, exploring the idea that it can be really hard to settle down because you know that there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to be tamed in any way. She is fighting between her good vs evil sides. You can’t hate her because she is completely self-aware and apologetic.

4. “Lucky”

Lexi: “Lucky” was written about women, and how we are pitted against each other and how ridiculous that is. It’s about two types of women – the ones who go along with everything, don’t stand up for themselves and the ones who fight back, the ones who never gave in. And how in the end nothing is worth compromising your own human dignity for – whether it’s another person or group of people, or an idea.

For me it has always been important that we stay true to ourselves. It’s important to have integrity in this world.

Or it can be about a very horrible love triangle. Haha!

After The Show: “Lucky” is the catchiest, most classic Magneta Lane-sounding. And the background vocals in the chorus of “Good For” are perfect.

Keep up with Magneta Lane on Twitter and Facebook.

Interview: Natasha Agrama

January 11, 2013 / aftertheshow

I recently talked to LA based singer Natasha Agrama about what makes a good jazz club, her upcoming debut record, and how the recent death of close friend and collaborator Austin Peralta has shifted her philosophy on life.

After The Show: What is it about jazz as a genre that appeals to you?

Natasha Agrama: I grew up in jazz. My stepdad is Stanley Clarke, legendary jazz bassist, one of the trailblazers of fusion in the early 1970s. With Chick Corea he was in a band called Return to Forever, and growing up, he was always shoving Ella Fitzgerald under my nose.

I went to art school. I studied painting and performance art and video production. I spent a lot of time not studying music, loving jazz the whole time — it’s the family business.

I loved singing — it was my favorite thing to do ever since I was a little kid. It’s what I need to do on this planet, and a lot of people need to hear…That’s the situation I find myself in, in this body, in this lifetime. It’s about jazz music for me, there’s nothing that I love more.

Also, I’m half Egyptian and half Chilean/Argentinian. I’m first generation American on both sides of my family. I felt totally ostracized…I’ve always felt displaced, both of my parents are transplants, my parents are not normal. I just never had a place, and in jazz, I have a place. I have a home, and I’ve been accepted. And the music accepts me. That’s my art form and it’s American — jazz music being the great American art form — and it’s built by people who never felt that they had a place. I feel a really deep connection to the music and the history of the music.

You’ve played at clubs like Blue Whale in LA and Blue Note in New York. What makes a venue good to perform in and do you have a favorite?

Actually it’s my dream to have my own venue. So I will be researching this question more and more in my life. And I’m just now starting to ask people and to formulate my own opinions. Stanley always makes fun of me because if you were to talk to him, he’d tell you that for the last 3 years of my life, I go to jazz clubs every single night of the week. That’s not true all the time, but it certainly is true a lot of the time.

Every time I go to New York…7 days a week. I’m at Smalls, I’m at Blue Note, Village Vanguard, the Jazz Standard.

And in Paris, I love all of the underground jazz clubs, like Le Caveau des Oubliettes which means ‘the cave of the forgotten ones.’ They have an old, functioning guillotine and carvings on the wall of people that were in there being tortured and suffering God knows when.

The first place I ever got on stage repeatedly was this place called Caveau De La Huchette. In World War II it was a bomb bunker! And then I love how Blue Whale is quiet and like an art gallery for jazz.

You have to have good sound and it should be affordable so that people can access it. People should come to the music. A good jazz club nurtures the music and makes it available to people. It should have beautiful drinks, and food probably, although I don’t think that food is necessary. Personally I can’t eat and listen to music at the same time, it’s like eating and crying — I just don’t want to do it at the same time.

Lighting is something I want to explore more, visuals with jazz music – no one’s going there. They’re so compartmentalized – it’s like Art. Jazz. Dance. Cooking. It’s all different worlds, and I’m kind of a jack-of-all-trades with a deep passion for singing, so I want to bring it all together…that’s my destiny. I have to, to be fulfilled in this life.

The last show that Austin Peralta played was with you (November 20th, 2012)…how are you processing his death?

It was my second show at Blue Whale, and it’s a show that will go down in history. People came up to me that night that I had never met, and I got messages from people like this German guy who had already gone back to Germany, who told me he couldn’t get this show out of his mind…it’s the best show he’s ever been to.

It was a magical show and it’s because I was so hyper aware that playing with Austin was my dream come true. I’m so glad I was present enough to get that and to not let it pass me by without really taking stock…it’s a huge gift.

Let’s talk about how you arrange. It seems like there’s almost an infinite amount of possibilities and directions you could take in making a song your own.

For me, arranging is really a team effort – it depends who I’m playing with, what their vibe is. My foundation is in performance art, where anything can happen. You have a concept and then you bring it to the world, and you put it out in the vacuum of the world, in the elements and it weathers your idea, breaks it down, smashes it or it picks it up in a whirlwind and takes it and it touches someone…you never know.

I like to let things come up organically…I heard the other day, Miles Davis never told anyone what to do — he just picked the right players. And this is in a live setting of course.

Normally I have a feeling of how I want it to go, and it either happens that way or it doesn’t. I never really tweak what people are doing. I’ll set the tempo with my body because I dance too. When you set up a song it’s a theatrical thing.

Like the last night at the Blue Whale, we did this song called “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” and it changed my life…I’m a different person after singing that song and playing it with Austin. We play one of these songs that everybody has done, it’s a classic Duke Ellington song, in my favorite key F, and it’s “Solitude.”

So I said “Solitude,” and Austin said “can you give me the quarter.” And it came in and it was EXACTLY what I wanted, deeply what I wanted. I say darken it up a bit, and he adds this tension…and the perfect arrangement came out. I just sang the whole form through twice and it got so dark, so heavy, it went into a shuffle feel…it was grinding. And it found its way because truth was guiding it.

What’s the breakdown between covers and originals on your record [hopefully out this spring]?

I think I’m shooting for 4 originals and 8 other songs. Out of those 8 other songs there are some jazz standards. One’s “All Matter” by Bilal. There might be Little Dragon…There’s Mingus, there’s Ellington, Joe Henderson…so not even ‘standards standards’ but songs in the jazz family.

As you know I love your song “Stand Still” ~

I was challenged to write a song about beauty. And I did it over this little loop – D minor G minor, D minor G minor, D minor G minor, F major 7, A minor 7. And that repeats. It just came out…our beauty is that we will never be/this will never be right.

What’s your philosophy on life and how does it affect your music?

I’m learning a lot about life right now. Well, we never die. I’m pretty positive about that. Every go around we have, let’s see how much weight we can lift up this time around. You get thrown in this world and all these things make you forget your purpose. Society tries to turn you into a mindless zombie slave, and there’s evil everywhere…like shallow modes, staleness, and depraved humanity on every advertisement, and it’s just the lowest vibration.

My philosophy is: I’m here to heal and I’m here to elevate, and music is the way I’m doing that today, and it’s the way I can get my voice heard, and it’s something I love.

When I first started dedicating my life to music I didn’t realize that I’d have to become a different person. My body is my instrument…I have to take on this responsibility. Austin has made my sense of purpose blossom and I know the path that I’m supposed to go down now.

On Austin Peralta ~

I know the path – I’m very lucky in that he’s showed me. I want to play with the musicians he’s played with in the same venues and cities. I can’t believe it, but I got to play his last show on earth with my idol.

The way that he lived his life, enjoying everything. He loved things so much. Everything is so much more beautiful since he died. It’s crazy that death makes me want to live more. And my dad brought this up the other day…That’s where humanity is at, that we still need people who we love to die to get it, but one day we’re not going to need that.

His death is an enlightenment and it’s changed my philosophy on life and music– I got this tattoo that says ‘the love the music forever,’ because as long as you have the love and the music, which are synonymous, then life is full of purpose and music is full of purpose.

People make music that is not full of heart, it’s full of ego. Even people whose music I enjoy…their process is squelched of passion. I never want to make music for the wrong reason, and I have, because it’s scary to put your soul out there and be vulnerable, but I really want to get into it and die every time. Then rebirth every time. Remind people without having to die for them why we’re alive.

Now I’m really serious about life. I’m not this raging soul, consuming life fast and hard. I used to be kind of like that. But I’m a nurturer. I’m serious. I’ve wasted a lot of time not taking life seriously. It’s a really dark scary place without the love and the music, and without the understanding of infinity and forever.

It’s so exciting that we exist and we can enjoy music. That’s exciting. This is a privilege and a chance and I want to uplift — I really take that very seriously these days. I’m not going to let it fade it away — I’m not going to let Austin fade away.

Thank you Natasha!

**People in LA – you can catch Natasha performing this Sunday, January 13, at Room 5.