iNTERViEWED
BY BRiAN LUSH
With all the hullabaloo surrounding the likes of LADY GAGA
and KE$HA, it’s easy to forget that great music doesn’t have to emanate
from
computers and drum loops. Hailing from
Los
Angeles
and then finding herself in
Salt Lake City
and back again, singer-songwriter MICHELE
VREELAND eschews the severe make up and robotic choreography in place
of an
acoustic guitar, a big clear voice and sincerity as wide as a clear
blue sky.
Having amassed a catalog of songs within the past ten years, the
pursuit of a
music career never got underway for VREELAND until 2007. Now the public
can
feast their ears on her debut EP ‘NEVER NOT MYSELF’ – an engaging
collection of
tunes that examines life’s little victories and heartaches with
tremendous
empathy.
ROCKWIRED
spoke with MICHELE VREELAND over the phone. Here
is how it went.
How do you feel about
the finished work?
I feel like I did a good job considering that this is my
first effort. It was my first time producing and arranging an album or
an EP
rather and considering the money that I had – the recording was
entirely funded
by me – I feel that it turned out well. Could it be better? Could it
have live
drums? Maybe. Could it have been done in a big studio? Sure. For the
budget
that I was working with I feel pretty proud of it. That was my main
focus. When
I was done with each song I wanted to make sure that when I shared it
with
anybody that it wouldn’t matter what anybody else thought. If some one
said
that the album sucked, it wouldn’t matter to me. If they said it was
great then
cool! Thank you! That’s awesome! But if people didn’t like it, it
wasn’t going to
matter to me and that was when I knew that I was ready. At that point I
knew
that I did the best that I could with the song and material and money
that I
had and that was it.
Is this a stand alone
project or is this the hint of a larger work on the way?
I’ve been writing songs for a long time. I’d say that for
about twenty years, I’ve been writing songs, but treating my songs and
music
like a business is something that has only been going on since 2007. I
actually
have a huge catalog of work and this EP was supposed to be a full
album. The
co-producer and engineer that I was working with was pressed for time
in the end
of me recording stuff with him so scheduling conflicts came in between
me
making this a full album. The songs were already done but there was no
more time.
Eventually I decided that an EP was good. It’s a good teaser to get out
there
just so that people will know who I am and what I’m doing. I have been
tripping
out over how many song ideas have been coming to me. I work on the
business end
of my career throughout the week and the weekends are spent focusing on
songwriting. I’m not quite recording these songs yet. I’m ready to be
in the
studio. It’s just a matter of finding a new studio to record this stuff
in and
developing a budget around that. I’m a very creative, artistic person
but I’m
also very business minded as well. For the next album, I not only want
to have
a set of songs that I’m very proud of but I also want to have a means
to market
it and get it out there. It’s hard at the moment because the industry
is going
through all of these changes. We’re trying to figure out the next
creative way
to get people on board with paying artists for their effort. There is a
lot to
come and my stuff that I’m playing out at shows people are really
responding
to. I’m just sorry that I don’t have anything recorded for them to
listen to.
My goal is to have this new full length album out by this year.
So
these songs have
been with you for a while.
Yes they have but I did put the songs together under that
specific title ‘NEVER NOT MYSELF’ because I felt that I wanted to tell
stories
with each and every track like singer-songwriters used to do in the
seventies.
I wanted the entire recording to have a flow. If you listen to the EP
from
track one to track seven, it has a flow to it. I also wanted the
content to be
as such. Each and every song for me tells a story of me always trying
to be
myself and that is what ‘NEVER NOT MYSELF MEANS’. It’s about always
trying to
be yourself no matter what and that is not always easy when you’re
dealing with
life and your own insecurities and maybe your own inability to do
something. In
the end, if you’re true to yourself, you’re always going to find a way.
At
least that is what I try to tell myself. I’m sure that comes across
sounding
grandiose and ‘All about her’ but to
some degree, it is all about me because for years it was always about
everybody
else. I was always giving to someone else and caring for someone else
more than
about myself. I never spent enough time with the things that mattered
to me
which was my music and putting myself out there as an artist. So it’s
all about
me right now. This is my turn and I feel like I deserve it. I also want
the
songs to tell stories for other people as well. I write songs for
myself but I
always keep a listener in mind when I write. I think that’s important
for a
songwriter to do.
How
did music begin
for you?
Oh my goodness. I was raised LDS Mormon.
I see. I saw Utah in your
bio and
wasn’t quite sure.
I was born and raised in Los Angeles
and we moved to Salt Lake City, Utah when I
was in high school in
the middle of my ninth grade year. We didn’t move there because we were
Mormon.
There was an actual program that my sister was involved with and that
was the
reason we had to move. We ended up in Salt Lake City
and the first few years there were some of
the most depressing times of my life. The Mormons that I met there were
unlike
any Mormons that I had met in my life up to that point. They were so
strange
and foreign to me and they thought I was foreign to them so we were on
the same
playing field. In my junior year of high school I started to find my
place.
People started to appreciate me for me and I appreciated them for them
and I
think it was the right high school and it wasn’t as clique-y as some of
the
other high schools. This was my third high school at that point and it
just
seemed to be a good fit. Of course I was still depressed because it was
another
move so my dad tried to cheer me up and my counselor tried to cheer me
up by
signing me up for choir. Music began for me in choir throughout my
junior and
senior year. I’m not a natural performer in that I love being on stage.
I don’t
love being on stage.
Interesting!
That is where my Virgo side comes in. I very much prefer the writing of
the
song and I love singing them but the stage part doesn’t come naturally
to me. I
still have stage fright. I perform a lot on stage but it’s still not my
favorite place to be.
You and CARLY SIMON.
It’s so intimate being on that stage. It’s also technical.
There are so many technical things going on that you have to be aware
of. After
I do it, I feel like ‘Oh, that was a good
show!’ but when I’m on stage it’s like ‘I
can’t wait for this to be over!’ That’s a horrible thing to
say. However, I
do enjoy meeting people whom I’ve never met before who’ve come to my
shows and
have come just for me. I enjoy that so much.
At what point did you
realize your potential as a singer-songwriter?
I’d say maybe twelve years ago when I was living in this
house in Salt
Lake City
with a friend of mine. It was a very creative environment. There were
always
creative types coming in and out mainly in the fashion industry but it
was
really all over the map. I come from a hair and makeup background.
That’s what
I do. That’s what I have been doing in order to make a living up to
this point.
There were photographers, filmmakers and hair people that were staying
at this
house. I’ve played guitar since I was twelve and we would all be
hanging around
and playing music and drinking, having a good time and being free
spirits. That
is what I loved about Salt Lake City.
It’s easier to be a free spirit there because you don’t have to pay so
much for
rent. You can just relax and be a creative type. It was during that
time that I
started writing songs. I don’t know how it happened. I’d be jamming out
with my
friends on the porch and these songs just started flowing out of me and
I would
go to my book and writing songs and putting chords next to my lyrics.
Prior to
actually doing that, I was constantly writing all the time every single
day
without fail for years. I had books of writings and poems. When I was
living in
this house with these creative types, I started to become a songwriter.
I
actually do have a debut album that was released back in the year 2000.
Maybe
“released” is the wrong word. It was definitely recorded and done. It
wasn’t
released because I didn’t think that I was ready. It wasn’t something
that I
wanted to put out as a debut artist. I didn’t know how to release
anything at
that time anyway. In those days it was all about sending your demos out
and
getting a deal.
I remember those
days.
You weren’t thinking about being a business owner in those
days.
I know. In those days
you were going to be a “star”! I’ve been there, trust me. I call those
the WAYNE’S
WORLD days.
You’re right! The music industry changed and life changed
for me. I’ve always committed myself to being a songwriter but in terms
of
putting my name out there – that didn’t happen until 2007. I was ready
then. I’m
starting a little late in the game I guess. I know what I’m putting out
and I’m
really proud of it.
Explain how songs get
written for you.
It happens in different ways. Sometimes I’ll sit at my
guitar and I’ll be playing a riff or I’ll be playing chords and all of
a sudden
I’ll start singing and the song comes out. Sometimes I’m sitting down
with my
book and writing and not worried about melody or chords. I’m just
writing a
good story. When I wrote ‘I’M A PERSON’, that was all words before it
was
melody. I just sat down and wrote the words and they just flowed right
out of
me. Arranging is different. It takes time to arrange a song. ‘WANTED TO
SAY’ was
done while singing and playing guitar at the same time. ‘LA DREAMS’ was
poem
that I wrote when I was living in Salt
Lake City
and really missing Los Angeles.
I really wanted to come back home. In writing songs, I always try to
keep a
listen or an audience in mind. I don’t think that there are many
songwriters
that think about audience members much and I do but I think that stems
from my
tendency to think about other people more than myself which is kind of
crappy.
Maybe
it gives you
empathy as a songwriter.
I do but I also write things that matter to me. I wouldn’t
write something if it didn’t matter to me. I think a lot about women’s
issues.
NICO is song where I wanted to tell the story of a type of girl that I
really
admire. This type of girl isn’t the kind that most, normal people would
admire.
I wanted to tell the story of a girl who was off the beaten path but
what made
her really cool was that she was herself. In the chorus of that song, I
was
trying to shake things up by saying ‘What’s
wrong with the world?’, ‘What’s
wrong
with her?’ and ‘Why can’t these two
get along’
It brings to mind the
NICO from VELVET UNDERGROUND.
She inspired the idea. The name came from her and it’s about
girls like her. I’m not like those girls but I like them. I get why
they are
the way they are and I think that people need to give them a break and
this is
my song to them.
What would you like
someone to come away with after they’ve heard this EP?
That’s a really good question! I’d like them to enjoy it and
I’d like for them to think about some of the issues brought up in the
song and
I’d like for them to feel inspired. I try to keep my songs inspiring.
No matter
what story I’m telling, I always make sure that there is a line of hope
in
there. I’d also like for people to have a good time. I don’t
necessarily want
them to be depressed. I think that those are the things that I would
want the
most but I would also hope that they would come away with the message
of being
themselves and facing who they are even if it is ugly. Even by facing
some of
the ugly parts of yourself you can work through anything and you can
come out
winning in the end no matter what.
MARCH 23,
2010
BRiAN
LUSH (FOUNDER,
EDiTOR-iN-CHiEF)
