ROCKWIRED spoke with the young songwriter over the phone. Here is how it went.

I think the youngest person I’ve ever interviewed for ROCKWIRED.
Oh really?

As a matter of fact, I think I’m positive that you are. I think the youngest artist I’ve ever interviewed was eighteen, so this will be different. Your CD ‘CONVICTION’ is a great CD and I had no idea that you were a teenager until I read the press release afterwards. h
Thank you very much.

Now that the EP is out there for people to hear and all of the work that has gone into it is behind you, how do you feel about the finished work?
I feel great about it. I think it’s been a way for me to learn about the whole studio process and to get more ideas to write music and to progress.

Who all worked with you in putting it together?
My producer’s name is BOB PASCARELLA. He’s produced all seven songs and played the guitar, drums and bass and put everything together for me. He learned the songs that I brought to him and made it all come together.

I usually ask people how music began for them but in your case it seems like music is just beginning for you. However I’ll ask that question anyway.
I’ve been singing for about as long as I can remember. I started playing piano when I was seven and took lessons for a couple of years. By te time I was eleven, I got a guitar and taught myself how to play and later started writing songs. That was pretty much how it all happened.

Songwriting started at eleven?
Yes. Right after I had started playing guitar.

Who do you think influenced you as a songwriter?
I don’t know. I think it might be people like MICHELLE BRANCH and another girl singer like AVRIL LAVIGNE. I also like JOHN MAYER because he writes all of his own stuff and so does ALICIA KEYS and people like that.

What inspires your songs?
Usually I can pick a topic that I really want to write a song about or I’ll be going through something that day and I’ll write a tune or I’ll come up with a melody first and then come up with a topic and put the song together that way. After I’ve completed the song, I will go back and change it and make sure that it’s universal to everyone and that everyone will listen to it and that it won’t be something that will appeal to my ears only.

Obviously in pursuing the music thing at such an early age, I assume that you have a tremendous amount of parental support. Describe what that’s like.
It’s great. My parents are great! They have totally supported my CD when they heard how many songs I had written. They were amazed by how much I was able to write and figured that I ought to do this while I’m young. I have nothing to lose really because I am so young, you know?

Still in school though. That haven’t pulled you out for home tutoring or anything like that.
No nothing like that.

Would you like to?
Hey, whatever happens, happens. I’m ready for anything.

Are the songs on this EP songs that have been with you for a while or were they written specifically for this recording?
There is one song on the EP that I wrote when I was twelve but most of them were written when I was around fourteen or fifteen.

Talk about three songs from CONVICTION that resonate for you the most and why.
I really like A SONG FOR YOU which is the fifth song on the CD. I like that one because I wrote it when I was kind of young and it was one of the songs where I first realized that I could put together a melody with words and I kind of learned from that song. I like the whole concept of it. Another song would be ALL THAT YOU ARE. I really like the instrumental to that one. Another one is THE SUN which is the second track on the CD. I like that one because it’s a little more rock and blues than the others and it gives a whole other vibe to the CD as a whole.

I was about to point out the bluesier sound that you have that a lot of younger performers – especially girls – haven’t quite embraced. Does the blues influence come from JOHN MAYER or does it come form somewhere else?
My dad plays guitar and he listens to a lot of blues and seventies music so I grew up listening to the music that he would play in his car and I’m that had influenced me a little bit. My dad kind of got me started in wanting to play guitar. Even though I taught myself, he was the one who introduced me to it.

CONVICTION is a very interesting title for this EP. How did you settle on that title?
My older sister used to work for this company in New York and one of their descriptions for the company was ‘conviction’. At the time, I didn’t know what the word meant. I saw it on a company tee shirt and I looked up in the dictionary and found out that it meant to go with what you believe in and to go by your word and say what you mean. I thought that word would make a great title for a CD and this was a year before I had even thought about doing a CD. The word had stuck with me for a while.

How does songwriting work for you?
Usually I’ll come up with a melody from playing around on my piano. Once I think of a good opening line, I’ll progress from there. I’ll write a verse a chorus and a bridge and then out it down for a day or two then come back and finish the whole song. The songwriting process happens pretty quickly. Once I start writing a song, the process doesn’t drag out for too long. It all depends on how inspired I am at the time.

Is it safe to say that music runs in the family?
Not really. My dad plays guitar but he’s never played in a band or anything like that. Music isn’t really in the family which is kind of funny because my brother and my sister sing at all. It’s just me.

How have your classmates responded to your music?
Most of it is really good feedbacks. I gave copies of the CD out at school and I remember walking down the hallway and hearing a gym class playing it. Everyone has been very positive about it.

What would you like a person to come away with after they’ve heard this EP?
I want people to get to know me more as an artist feel as if they can connect my music and would want to listen more.

BRiAN LUSH (FOUNDER, EDiTOR-iN-CHiEF)
BRIAN LUSH holds a BA in Creative Writing from  the UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO. He established ROCKWIRED on New Years of 2004 and hasn’t looked back since. From January 2005 to March 2009, LUSH was the host of the weekly internet radio show ROCKWIRED LIVE. He produced the program for the AMERICAN RADIO NETWORK. As the editor-in-chief for ROCKWiRED MAGAZiNE, LUSH is hands-on when it comes to interviewing and building a lasting rapport with the artists that come ROCKWiRED’s way. As a youngster, BRIAN LUSH had no idea what kind of seed was being planted by reading magazines such as HIT PARADE, HIGH TIMES, SPIN, REQUEST (remember that one?) and even ROLLING STONE (but to a significantly lesser degree). “Those were the days before the internet and being a rock journalist looked like the coolest job imaginable.” says LUSH “But reading these magazines had me imagining that one day I’d be the artist giving all of the clever answers to some poor guy with a tape recorder. Well, life has a way of surprising you. Now, I’m the poor guy with the tape recorder and asking all of the questions.”

CONTACT BRiAN LUSH AT: djlush@rockwired.com