As a child I used to love listening to music, but pursuing music was never thought of highly in our family. I learnt to play the guitar and a little bit of drums in class 12th to impress someone. When I reached IIT Kanpur, it was a totally new and open field. We had a music club which one could devote some time to and prepare for in-house competitions. I used to sing western songs. After passing out I became engrossed in handling our family business which is a big chemical manufacturing business, requiring my rigorous involvement in everything. From 1998 to 2013, there was not much I did about music. Around 2 years back I started composing and writing. I pursue this only after 9 pm on certain days.
Category Archives: Music
Shardul Pandey Talks To Lucy Raw
I welcome you Lucy Raw at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.
Well I’m from London, and have lived here my whole life. It’s my favourite city in the world. My parents are both business people and also very inspirational to me, so I always knew that I wanted to get the most I could out of life.
However, school was not for me, like both my parents, I liked to think creatively and step outside the box. I went to full time theatre school, Sylvia Youngs, at the age of 10. I then went to boarding school, and then back to theatre school, this time The Art’s Educational Schools for two years of sixth form studying Musical theatre, I just love change and constantly seek new and exciting opportunity’s. However after my first year of sixth form I started to wonder what I was doing, I loved the school and the people and the atmosphere and I appreciated the chance to go to such an amazing school and have such wonderful opportunities, but at the end of the day I wanted to break out into the world and start working for my own success.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Morgen Stiegler
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Morgen at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens
Morgen Stiegler: I’m a professional Jazz, Pop and Rock singer from Ohio. From a young age, I loved jazz. My grandfather was a swing clarinet player. My first exposure to jazz was to hear him play and to see how much passion and love he had for the music. I never thought that I would be a jazz singer, or even a singer at all. It was not until a few things happened on my journey that I realized this was my calling. The first was a call from Kim Nazarian of the New York Voices. She remembered hearing me sing in college and asked me to open for her at a small show. I felt so honored. I did it, and then I studied with her for a few years. She helped me to grow so much as a singer and a person. In 2011 I released my first album, Reaching for the Moon. My career started to gain speed, and as it did I became very interested in recreating the 1940s and 50s in my performance through fashion. At first, this was just a passion of mine, but this year the British fashion magazine Vintage Life wrote a review of my album and featured me and my performance style in their July issue. I am working on a second jazz album, and have also launched a retro rock band called The Pinup Project which is really taking off.
Shardul Pandey: What makes your endeavors unique ?
Morgen Stiegler: I am not only a one faceted performer, but perform across many genres with one unique image. I live out 1940s and 50s fashion and aesthetics on stage, but do so as a jazz musician and through my various projects. One such project is my retro rock band, called The Pinup Project. We reinvent rock and roll from all genres from a jazz perspective with a rockabilly image. Another project I have is a free improvisation group that reinvents Kurt Weill songs. This is more of an art music/new music setting. I strive to be genuine in how I present myself and use clothing, hair and aesthetics as a way to express myself and to connect with my audience. I was recently featured in Vintage Life magazine because of this mission.
Shardul Pandey: On what musical projects you are currently working one? What can we expect from you in the next few years ? Any long term goals?
Morgen Stiegler: I am in the studio now creating a “straight ahead” jazz album with Gene and Ray Parker, a father son team who have played with some of the greats in jazz. This album will be intimate, focusing on all jazz standards and featuring Ray Parker on upright bass and Gene Parker on vibraphone. We may also release a Christmas EP next year. I am also planning to get into the studio with my rock group The Pinup Project.
Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist ? Any favorite moment you would like to share?
Morgen Stiegler: There are many moments that stick out in my mind, but most valuable to me are small moments of connection with my audience. Hearing from an audience member that the song I sang was exactly what they needed to hear warms my heart so much. I view a vocalist’s role as being a vessel of the lyrics.. it gives us a supreme purpose to be there. Telling a story allows us not only to transport ourselves but to connect with others that may be walking the same journey.
Shardul Pandey: Any other creative mediums you work in?
Morgen Stiegler: I teach ethnomusicology, which focuses on studying the musics of the world. I have been known to draw, paint, and create visual art, but my preferred form is and always has been music. I truly believe it is a window to the soul.
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
Morgen Stiegler: Music is a means of expression, an outlet for frustration and elation, and a way to connect with other members of this human race. We are all so different, but there are many basic needs and desires that make us very much the same. Some of them are the desires to be loved, understood, and heard. Most importantly I think, is this need to be connected to others. Music is a direct way to achieve this connection… Regardless of race, ethnicity, religion, political views, etc… we have all experienced heart-break. We all know what it’s like to feel down and out, and we all crave happiness and acceptance. Music taps on this raw nerve in us, and brings out the best, the worst, the saddest, and the happiest parts of who we are. It is truly a beautiful thing that helps us to adapt, grow, accept, and move on.
Shardul Pandey: Who were your biggest musical influences ?
Morgen Stiegler: My grandfather was my biggest musical influence. He was a jazz clarinet player. Famous influences include artists from many genres that have in common one thing – to connect to the audience and touch lives. Some of them are Louis Armstrong, Carmen McCrae, Ella Fitzgerald, Holly Cole, Tori Amos, Kimbra, Sting, Eva Cassidy, New York Voices, and many more.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving ?
Morgen Stiegler: Groove is my one guilty pleasure.. I will move to anything with a great sense of groove. I love so many types of music styles that achieve this – rockabilly, rock and roll, hip hop, country, r&b.. it all comes down to the connection factor.
Shardul Pandey: Any plans for an international tour on your skyline?
Morgen Stiegler: I have lots of plans in my mind… of course an international tour would be great!
Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a musician and how would you like to be remembered ?
Morgen Stiegler: My strength as a musician (I hope that I achieve) is creating a genuine connection with my audience. I love connecting with new people from all over the world – people I may not meet in any other place, but I have the privilege of being with them at a show or sharing music with them. I hope that I am successful at this goal, and that I am remembered as someone who makes music for the sheer passion and love for making it, and I hope to touch some hearts along the way.
Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians?
Morgen Stiegler: Have PASSION! This world is not always an easy place to live, but passion can drive you to places you never thought you could go. Passion also makes life so much more positive and enjoyable.
Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain ? Where netizens can find latest news feed about you and your music ?
Morgen Stiegler: I own a domain Morgenstiegler.com and also a new website coming in this month for my new retro rock and roll group, called The Pinup Project. I also have a Facebook page: Facebook.com/MorgenL.Stiegler. The Facebook page for The Pinup Project is launching soon and the address will be: Facebook.com/thepinupproject.
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Morgen Stiegler: No matter what you do, what is happening in your life, or where you are on your journey… always remember you are not alone. Find your passions in the small things, and live big dreams by doing this.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Gabriel Lynch
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Gabriel at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself, your story.
Gabriel Lynch: My name is Gabriel Lynch. I’m an independent Australian musician and songwriter. Music has been a big part of my life since I was a very young. My parents encouraged me to take up the violin when I was five years old. Shortly then I also became a member of the Australian Boys Choir. When I was 8, my dad – a music scholar and classical guitarist – showed me three chords on the guitar and from then onward, I was writing my own songs. By age 13 I had played my first show in a pub in my hometown of Melbourne, and I have never stopped performing since then.
I’m now 26 years old and I have spent most of the last three years making my living out of touring, performing and selling my own self-funded CDs. I’ve played in countries all over Europe, Australia and Asia and last year I was lucky enough to even perform at a festival in Singapore, alongside my heroes Elbow, The John Butler Trio and Architecture in Helsinki.
I’ve worked along some incredible musicians of various styles and genres. For the last three months I was working my improvising chops as a jazz singer with a small band at Bangkok’s renowned music hub, Brown Sugar. I have also been working alongside Australian DJ and composer, Robbie James, to create a new album of electronic music under the name Stray Nation.
At the present time, I’m working as a musician for hire in Bangkok. I’m also in the process of preparing to create a new record of my own (after having great success with my last EP, Dependent State). The finance for my new album will be raised via an online crowdfunding campaign which is a very new concept to me. But it’s also very exciting because I’m using that campaign to challenge myself as a songwriter – everyone who pledges has a chance to choose a song title and topic that I must then write and record for YouTube within two weeks!
Shardul Pandey: What makes your endeavors unique ?
Gabriel Lynch: The thing that makes my endeavours most unique is the fact that I am totally independent. That means that every tour, every record I make, every project I undertake is self-funded and produced. The other thing that perhaps makes my approach to my work unique is that I am always trying new ways to expand my own horizons. Beyond my own releases and performances, I also love to collaborate and play outside of my comfort zone. In the near future I’ll be releasing a joint electronic music project with Melbourne producer/dj Robbie James called Stray Nation. And, of course, in raising funds for my new solo album, I am asking my audience to help me with the songwriting process by suggesting song titles and topics. They get the opportunity to do this when they pledge their support. I think this brings in a new level of online audience participation and I think that interaction (which is one of my favourite things about playing live) is crucial to creating art that is all the more personal for my followers and supporters.
Shardul Pandey: On what musical projects you are working on? What can we expect from you in the next few years ? Any long-term goals?
Gabriel Lynch: As I mentioned, my main project at the moment is the songwriting exercise/crowdfunding project for my next album. This is a big challenge for me as I will have to pour out a lot of music in a short period of time. I’m hoping to then incorporate the best songs I come up with into the new album. The new album will be recorded in 2014 and will be followed by tours in Asia, Australia and (hopefully) the US for the very first time. I’d be lying if I said I had any strict goals. But my main ambition through everything I do is to make more friends, expose my music to more people and find those individuals who connect with what I do. Music is about sharing and I hope to do that in every way possible. That means playing and performing at every opportunity, continuing to write and create new material for my followers, and collaborating with other artists.
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to share the experience of your first performance?
Gabriel Lynch: I was about 13 years old when I first played live. I was invited by a small collective to participate in an open mic night at a pub in Melbourne. It was a very small affair, but I remember being deeply excited because it was my first time performing my music in front of strangers. It was also exciting to be inside a pub! Of course, my mother had to accompany me to many of my shows when I was under the legal drinking age (18 in Australia). But she was really supportive and ended up taking me to loads of shows throughout my teen years.
Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist ? Any favorite moment you would like to share?
Gabriel Lynch: There are a great many to choose from. I think the best moments for me when I receive words of comfort or encouragement from strangers. That sometimes happens when an audience sings along with my songs. It happens when somebody sends me an email to say ‘thank you’ for a song that touched them in a particular way. Perhaps the one experience that comes to mind first was my début performance at Singapore’s Esplanade Theatre. The audience was incredibly enthusiastic and were so excited by the opportunity to sing harmonies with me (something I like to do when I play live – the results are often mixed). They really gave it their all and they were so quick to approach me afterward, one at a time, to introduce themselves and say hello. I think I met a couple of hundred people that night and I’ll never forget it!
Shardul Pandey: Any other creative mediums you work in?
Gabriel Lynch: I stick with music mostly. Although that’s a broad statement. I have several projects on the go and I work as a hired gun for jazz ensembles and cover bands to keep myself busy. But I have recently started writing online for a handful of music websites. The most popular column I have is for Philippines’ DIG Radio site. The column is entitled “All Musicians Go to Hell” and I use it as an opportunity to talk about all things music: performing, music criticism and analysis, tips for other musicians. The fun part is using humour to convey my message.
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
Gabriel Lynch: I think I’d describe it as expression. Simple as that. When I hear music that makes me feel something, irrespective of what, and irrespective of genre, that says to me that the composer has achieved something special.
Shardul Pandey: Who were your biggest musical influences ?
Gabriel Lynch: I’m extremely fond of many different musicians from different backgrounds and periods of history. My favourite contemporary artists are groups like Elbow, Radiohead, Ben Folds and Eels. But I also have a deep love of classical music (Debussy and Elgar are among my favourites) and jazz (Brad Mehldau is one of my heroes). But musically I find my experiences, meeting people and going through the trials of life are some of the best sources of inspiration.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving ?
Gabriel Lynch: The uptempo numbers from Ben Folds Five are usually a good start for music to make you feel energised. Songs like “Kate” and “Song for the Dumped”. I also love Mutemath and their style of bluesy rock. It’s sophisticated and incredibly intense, but a lot of fun.
Shardul Pandey: Any plans for an international tour on your skyline?
Gabriel Lynch: Yes indeed. Once my new album is finished, I’ll be attempting to reach as far and wide as I can. I’ll start with Asia and my home country, Australia. But I’m hoping to get to the US for the first time. This will all take place midway through 2014.
Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a musician and how would you like to be remembered ?
Gabriel Lynch: Musically speaking? I suppose it would be my songwriting. I never really thought of myself as a singer, much less a guitarist. But I think I have the ability to express, through melody and song, the things I write about before lyrics even come into the equation. But what really matters, at the end of the day, is that I love working with other musicians. I think my best quality, therefore, is my approach to making music with others. I like to think I make friends of anyone I play along, and having that relationship opens you up to the possibility of creating something very unique and special.
Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians?
Gabriel Lynch: Be honest in your music. Forget about being cool. Forget about playing the most current and popular style. Be honest and write and play the music that speaks to you. If you’re honest, people listening will be able to find it and that’s how you’ll reach them. That’s how you’ll grow a support base. And it will also make you happy.
Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain?
Gabriel Lynch: Yes, TheGabrielLynchBand.com. There are a few other places: Indiegogo Campaign, Gabriellynch.bandcamp.com, Facebook.com/gabriellynchmusic, Twitter.com/glynchmusic
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Gabriel Lynch: I hope that your readers and all netizens who stumble upon this article and/or my music will give it a chance. Support doesn’t come in the form of money or page ‘likes’. But if you hear what I do, and if it means something to you, you can support me by sharing my songs with your friends. You can support me by following my news. And, most importantly, if you make it known that you like what you hear, then I’ll have all the more reason to come and perform for you the next time I hit the road. And I hope that will be sometime very soon.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Aspyre
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Aspyre at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netiznes about yourself.
Aspyre: My name is Aspyre. I’m a Canadian born country singer. I started writing songs when I was 8 years old. I always loved singing but I knew just singing wasn’t enough. I always had an interest in guitar but never knew how to play. As fate would have it, I ended up getting a guitar with a broken neck from a friend. He was gonna throw it out, so I decided to see if I could fix it and teach myself. A little wood glue and dedication changed my life forever. I’ve never had a real lesson in my life, but think I’m doing pretty well with it! I know all the odds are against me in this industry but I’m hoping to beat those odds and travel doing a career that I love!
Shardul Pandey: So what are you doing now-a-days ? What musical projects you are currently working on?
Aspyre: Well right now I’m working at a seniors home and pursuing music on the side. I’m completely self-taught on guitar and practice non stop! I’ve dreamed about this since I was a little, and it’s so exciting that I was FINALLY able to start this journey two months ago. So far though, the support has amazed! I’m planning to record an EP in the next few months, so everyone can keep an eye out for that and a music video! I’m always uploading new videos on YouTube (Aspyresings) and new photos on my Facebook page all the time!
Shardul Pandey: How would you describe your sound to people who have not yet heard your music ?
Aspyre: Describing my sound is hard for me to do, but if I had to put it into words, I would say I’m an indie/country singer. My sound is what makes Aspyre so different from the rest.
Shardul Pandey: Any loves, other than music? Is there any other creative mediums you work in?
Aspyre: My two love’s other than music are my miniature Australian shepherd Baxter, and being able to help others any chance I get! I’m also a great sculptor, not just a writer! I can’t draw at all, but give me a ball of clay, and I can make anything.
Shardul Pandey: Any favorite moment you would like to share?
Aspyre: My favorite moments would have to be the first time I ever heard my voice on a recording and realised, I sounded good! How am I unique? My story is a long and special one. I won’t go into detail, but I will say that I’ve been on my own for this entire journey. My parents/family never encouraged me to sing. I taught myself how to play guitar in my basement bedroom with my guitar I found and fixed.
One day I will share my whole story with you:)
Shardul Pandey: What you do for fun & entertainment? Any peculiar interests?
Aspyre: For fun, I don’t go to cinemas or watch tv. I prefer to spend my time surrounded by my closest friends.
I believe time spent with loved ones is a million times more precious than hours wasted on a TV screen.
Shardul Pandey: Tell us about your favorites.
Aspyre:My favorites:
- My favorite films are Edward scissor hands, SNL’s Superstar and Anchorman.
- My favorite actors/actresses: Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.
- My favorite singers: Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts and Luke Bryan
- My favorite international artists: I really enjoy european EDM artists. Hardwell, avichi, kaskade.
- My favorite food will always be pineapple and black olive pizza or simply, a grilled cheese sandwich
- My favorite travel destination would be hawaii, but I would love to see England!
- My favorite music festival is Shambhala in British Columbia.
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Shardul Pandey: Best advice ever given? First song ever sung? Secret craving?
Aspyre: Everything happens for a reason. Never give up, and never stop trying because clouds will always go away. Sunshine is only hidden as long as you let it.
My first favorite song that I remember is ‘don’t be stupid’ by Shania twain. My all time secret craving is candy! Cotton candy, rock candy, sour candy,… Etc..
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
Aspyre: Music to me is what water is to a fish. With out it, I couldn’t make it through my day. I wouldn’t be able to travel anywhere, I wouldn’t be able to keep a smile on my face when others pulled me down. I couldn’t go to sleep at night or wake up in the morning. Music is what I live and breathe for. Music is everything to me.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving ?
Aspyre: Red- taylor swift, Killin it- krewella, Get down – Kairo kingdom, Chicken fried – Zach brown band
Shardul Pandey: According to you, what are easy and hard parts of singing ?
Aspyre: The easiest part of singing for me,is simply just the singing part! But I do find that it is harder for me to play certain or difficult guitar rhythms while I sing.
Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a performer and how would you like to be remembered?
Aspyre: My strengths would have to be my strong vocal range and vibrato. Similar to Carrie Underwood. I hope to be remembered by my unique sound!
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to give any advice to newbie musicians?
Aspyre: Never put your self down or worry what others think of your music. Confidence is everything these days.
Shardul Pandey: Any new plans for an international tour on your skyline?
Aspyre: I have some plans for a tour around the southern united states for summer 2014, but I haven’t even released my EP yet so it’s still up in the air where I will end up in the future!
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Aspyre: My ultimate message to everyone: never give up!! Always follow your heart with a positive attitude and outlook. People will always be waiting to pull you down, but if you don’t let them, you will rise to the top!! Never let anything tell you that your dreams are not possible.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Mr Sinis
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Sinis at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.
Mr Sinis: First of all I thank you for the time you spend to interview. I’m Mr Sinis and I’m 25 years old. I’m from Spain and live in London. Music is a passion that all we have inside us. So grabbed a pen and was starting to write my experience. All songs are part of me and if you want to learn me more, just listen them. The first touch with Music Industry made by my first album The S-MASK, two years ago.
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to briefly explain your sound to people who have not yet heard your music?
Mr Sinis: If I’m pop-dance singer,at first album my manager and music producers suggest me to try something different.
Made an album with different kind of music, with central characteristic ”dance”.
Shardul Pandey: What yo are doing now a days? What musical projects you are working on and what we can expect from you in next few years?
Mr Sinis: I already upload my new work, a song called ”Dimwind”, maybe I will compete in Eurovision by representing Spain. I can’t tell more about my future work but i can promise to my fans the best.
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
Mr Sinis: I cant describe it but I’m full in love with pop-house-trance music.
Shardul Pandey: What is something you learned recently about singing, and what are you learning about right now?
Mr Sinis: The area of music industry is too hard, also the acceptance of the world.
Shardul Pandey: Do you try giving messages in your songs? If so, what are they?
Mr Sinis: All my songs have meanings but you have to find it alone.
Shardul Pandey: Do you have any plans for an international tour on your horizon?
Mr Sinis: Not yet but I hope soon.
Shardul Pandey: What makes your endeavors unique ? What’s next for you? Tell us if you have any long-term goals?
Mr Sinis: I suppose that the hidden identity is what makes me unique and trying to touch the world with that
Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a singer and how would you like to be remembered?
Mr Sinis: Cause my ugliness goes me back, so I wear mask. It gives me the strength to stand up. I would like to remember me as ”The man with the mask”.
Shardul Pandey: According to you, what are cushy and hard parts of singing?
Mr Sinis: As songwriter, I believe is a good job and the difficult is to catch the crowd with my words.
Shardul Pandey: Who were your biggest musical influences?
Mr Sinis: All top singers Jackson, Madonna, Lady gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Iglesias, Martin, Rihanna…
Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist?
Mr Sinis: My foremost experience is to walking around the people with mask and strange make up, during a video clip.
Shardul Pandey: What does success mean to you?
Mr Sinis: To sing in front of 1,000,000 people.
Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians?
Mr Sinis: Don’t copy. believe in yourself
Shardul Pandey: Any loves, other than music ?
Mr Sinis: There are many thing, ski, water sports… but most of all my girlfriend.
Shardul Pandey: Do you own a domain name?
Mr Sinis: I do:
- http://www.mrsinis.com
- http://www.mtv.com/artists/mr-sinis
- http://www.facebook.com/mrsinis
- https://twitter.com/MRSINIS
- https://myspace.com/mrsinis
- http://www.youtube.com/user/mrsinis0
- http://www.tunecore.com/music/mrsinis
and soon at
- https://wavo.me
- http://www.beatport.com
- http://frc-all-music.com
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens?
Mr Sinis: As crazy as is your dream, make it real. Because one day you will regret for not to try it.
Shardul Pandey Talks To K.C. Loy
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you K.C.at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.
K.C. Loy: I always remember choosing paths least traveled. Usually for the adventure it promised, but mostly ‘cos the rest seemed so boring. Yes! ‘Boring’ is one disease I’ve tried to avoid like a plague. Music, Dancing & Performing came naturally. I felt at home on the stage, even at the age of 5.
I think I can still remember the audience, my parents and of course my teacher, by the pews, all waiting with bated breath. I loved it when they broke into smiles and applause. That little flame kept the embers in my heart, glowing, soft & warm up until the day I realized, long after I’d chosen this path, “This is where I am supposed to be! Dreaming – Creating – Performing!”
I started off as a Composer of music for Advertisements & Television, moving on to Bollywood with the Hindi feature I.Proud to be Indian.
I Co-produced a Marathi feature film “Pak Pak Pakaak” along with Composing the songs, I also assisted in the Story development & Screenplay. “Pak Pak Pakaak” went on to win 8 of The Maharashtra State awards including Outstanding Music, of course.
Well, awards are all nice but I was still missing out on something… direct audience.
All my works have all been, innocently, goading me towards performing my originals to a live audience and of course publishing them.
So, here I stand, Mic ready and Band all tuned up, to sing for you something Raw and Earthy.
Shardul Pandey: Please briefly explain your sound to our netizens who have yet not heard your music?
K.C. Loy: I am an indie singer-songwriter. So naturally my songs are Lyric and melody based. I love to perform my songs Raw, Organic and straight from the heart. There’s a story in every one of them and of course, they’re sing-able and fun.
Shardul Pandey: What keep your endeavors unique?
K.C. Loy: My compositions are straight from my heart to your heart and nothing in between. Every one of my gigs, is like my first and last gig… I just go all out. My audiences reciprocate with such great vibe, it makes me more powerful, creating an electric atmosphere.
Shardul Pandey: On what musical projects you are working one? What can we expect from you in the next few years? Any long-term goals?
K.C. Loy: Right now I’m working on releasing my first single LIFE IS… it’s a ‘Baul’ (songs sung by minstrels/ fakirs of Bengal) influenced song. It’s simple and yet deeply philosophical. The melody is infectious and just keeps ringing in your head. Making the video is fun but also the hardest part. However it’s promising to be colourful!
I plan to release more songs in the following months. I want to take my Sound all around India… and then the world. My long-term goal would be to hear strangers sing my songs, that would be like receiving a Grammy or whatever great music award exists.
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to share the experience of your first performance?
K.C. Loy: I remember each one of my first performances, however there’s one particular performance that changed my life. Some years ago, at Rang Bhavan, we were performing originals for “The Concert for Freedom”. The first row of “rockers” wanted to listen to Iron maiden, etc. and kept hooting/ swearing at us. We were furious and some of us wanted to break their skulls. Just then my girlfriend(when I peeped off stage) whispered “sing for those who want to listen to you!” And that hit me like… BOOM! I then focused on the 500 odd, behind the guys in the first row. I realized, they were singing along and cheering for us. Wow! That day on, I never lost my cool on stage.
Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist? Any favorite moment you would like to share?
K.C. Loy: Life as an artist is made up of great moments and terrible ones. From the moment you get an interesting idea that has great potential, to the moment you’ve completed the song, is one big buzz. Now, this buzz, gets to its highest point when the audience shows its love. If, however, the audience hates it, the buzz goes down but it somehow, doesn’t usually die. It’s like your baby, your own flesh and blood. I’ve had all these moments many a times over.
Shardul Pandey: What other creative mediums you like working in?
K.C. Loy: I love writing short stories (mostly because I never actually had the patience to write a ‘long’ one). I have a bunch of them that I intend to publish sometime next year. Professionally, I have written screenplays for two Marathi films and many thriller TV shows. I love capturing faces in the sun with a DSLR. I work with a 500D and hope to upgrade soon.
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
K.C. Loy: Music is a ‘Miracle’ for me. I never can guess when I’m going to compose a tune or write a song. It just hits me when I least expect and flows till I’m all out. Then I look at it and wonder “Why” I wrote it? And the reason, if I find one, never answers the “How”.
Shardul Pandey: Who were your biggest musical influences?
K.C. Loy: SD & RD Burman, Salil Choudhary, Hridaynath mangeshkar, Beatles, Cliff Richards, Pearljam, Ian Anderson and so many more.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving?
K.C. Loy: Simple songs with lyrics, usually get me moving and tracks with large symphonies.
Shardul Pandey: Any plans for an international tour on your horizon?
K.C. Loy: Nothing planned but of course… as I mentioned earlier, I intend to take my songs to world.
Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a musician and how would you like to be remembered ?
K.C. Loy: My melodies and my lyrics are my strength. I would like to be remembered as a person who spread hope through his songs.
Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians?
K.C. Loy: Follow your heart!
Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain ? Where netizens can find latest news feed about you and your music ?
K.C. Loy: Yes, www.kcloy.com. I am also on:
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kcloy1
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/K.C.Loy
- YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/TheKCLoy
Shardul Pandey: What you do for fun & entertainment? Any peculiar interests?
K.C. Loy: I love to trek, find a spot in the mountains and read a book. Or watch movies at home.
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
K.C. Loy: Go on and check out all the songs on youtube/vimeo as you like, but ‘Don’t’ forget to BUY indie music online ‘cos that’s the only way you make sure the artist survives and keeps creating songs for you.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Audra Kubat, A Folk Musician
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Audra at SANGKRIT.net, tell me your story.
Audra Kubat: My name is Audra Kubat, and I’m a folk singer-songwriter based in my native Detroit, Michigan. I started playing music as a child, teaching myself how to play piano by ear. I started playing guitar in my late teens and began putting words to the music shortly after that. I have performed out since the 1990’s, and have three albums released independently on my own Remedy Records, and two released nationally through a label called Times Beach Records.
I started writing music because it helped me to process and work through the troubles in my life. It was healing for me. As I began to share my work with others, I found that people were moved in a similar way, and this really helped motivate me to branch out and play more and more shows.
I have had the honor of performing at many music festivals in my state and participating in many charity events that have helped numerous causes throughout the years. In 2001, I won an award for “Outstanding Folk Artist” in the Detroit Music Awards, and have been annually nominated ever since.
There was a point back in 2005-2006 when I was in light rotation on over 250 college radio stations nationwide. I began to tour regularly along the route between Detroit and New York, and at the height of my exposure through Times Beach, I moved to New York City with the intention of spending a year or so sharing my music there. When I arrived, I spent 4-5 days a week seeking out and playing open mics throughout Manhattan and Brooklyn. Meanwhile, as the year passed, it became apparent that my label back home was unable to sustain itself, and folded. Suddenly I found myself out there on my own, without access to the connections they had made for me.
This was hard, and it hit me emotionally at the time. I struggled with depression yet pressed on in New York the best I could for the next few months, but in the darkest part of that experience I returned home.
Disappointed by the collapse of Times Beach Records, and my own, I retreated into a period of reflection, writing, and practice. I played less shows and became a little more reclusive, but I didn’t stop generating new work and got back on my feet.
In the years since my last release, I have steadily built up dozens of new songs, and carefully honed the ones that will become a new album. I feel that I sound better today than I ever have, and with this album, I am stepping back into the ring.
As an acoustic artist, I was long focused on lyrics and melodies and left the digital work to recording engineers. However, recently I’ve stepped into the digital waters, and it is exhilarating. With my laptop and ProTools I’ve had hands-on mixing control for the first time in my career. With these new tools, I created the 20-minute score for ‘Knowledge Is Power‘ at 2012’s DLectricity, a celebration of light.
http://vimeo.com/55759334
I’m a working musician, making my living on gigs, shows big and small, giving lessons, and working with local Detroit organization InsideOut Literary Arts Project which places artists and writers in the Detroit class rooms to share their artistry.”
Shardul Pandey: Any new plans for an international tour on your skyline?
Audra Kubat: I am open to this; however I don’t currently have the resources. I have sold a few thousand records overseas though, many of which were concentrated in the Netherlands. So, it would seem that there are possibilities.
Shardul Pandey: What makes your endeavors unique?
Audra Kubat: Well, I am not sure it is so unique, but I work to find meaning in the world through my work. The music is trying to negotiate the difference between hope and reality. Picking up pieces and turning them over to see all sides, and uncover the ever-changing dimensions. I guess I am searching for the answers by singing out loud into the universe and asking for a response. Maybe what’s unique about it, is its timing. I am working in a medium that is one of the oldest. In that, I’m trying to find something new that can be said. Something that can again, like many old folk songs, try to explain our position against the backdrop of the present; something that acknowledges our collective need to make sense of it and to belong to it, yet still be ourselves.
Shardul Pandey: According to you, what are cushy and hard parts of singing?
Audra Kubat: The cushy part of singing for me is that it seems to be effortless. I can’t really even stop myself from singing…any time of day or night. I am constantly making up tunes, as I am walking, waiting in line, driving…I sometimes don’t even realize I am singing and am reminded when someone from the next stall over, ha. Words too, come like this. It is like I can just see something and be moved to sing about it on the spot. Most of my songs come this way…melody and lyrics together.
The hard part of singing for me is trying to be completely in the song and give it its just due when I am performing it. For the song to work it must be honest, I really have to dig down and find the mindset that I had when I was moved to write it. This is the tough part…reliving those moments. Whether happy or sad, they all were quite intense, or I would not have written about them. Regardless, that is the challenge. This part takes all of me, and I am not saying that is it not worth it. It is a part of the process and in the end is the most meaningful for me. It is that you deliver the song to the people and that they feel it and they know that you gave it to them with honestly and you can feel it coming back to you. This is the goal. This is where the real value is.
Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist?
Audra Kubat: My foremost experience as an artist…that is a big question. I could answer this in a simple way, really. I think my experience overall is that being an artist is not a choice I can make. It is a joy and a burden. The highs are glorious and the lows, just devastating. Really, for myself, it is like having an affliction that causes you to feel such a connection to the things outside of yourself that you are crippled and empowered at the same time; a challenge in a world with so much tension, right? Yet, this pressure is what causes the pen to push on the paper, and causes the artist to react. It helps make the unbearable seem conquerable.
Shardul Pandey: What do you feel is your strength as a performer?
Audra Kubat: I believe allowing myself to be vulnerable is a strength, and doing so in turn allows others to be. This is when a connection can really happen. I believe vulnerability can be a good thing at times. Really what’s happening, is that one is being honest about their true feelings. When we stop hiding and allow ourselves to be open, we can know each other more wholly. Kind of a nice thing, I think.
Shardul Pandey: How would you like to be remembered?
Audra Kubat: I guess if I am remembered, I would like it if people said I gave myself to the world. I wanted so badly to help others be themselves and love each other, that I sacrificed for a dream that is not mine alone, The dream of a global love and respect between people. This is why I write and I struggle, why I push and dig. I can see it sometimes, imagine it when I try…
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to say anything for “Shardul Pandey Talks”?
Audra Kubat: I love the Internet. It is important for understanding our global significance. It creates a place where conversation can take place and open dialogues can be inclusive and expansive. People can talk about their experiences from many miles apart. They can share a collective experience and have it change how they view others. From a business perspective, it’s freeing, and allows me to be at home and still connect with people directly.
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Audra Kubat: Be kind, follow your hearts, be fearless, love hard, travel, spend time with your elders, be like a child, challenge your beliefs, be leery of stereotyping, sing out loud in a restaurant, spend time alone, spend time with friends, listen to the beggar once in a while, question authority, be real, dance with your lover sometimes, even if you hate to dance!
Shardul Pandey Talks To Arpita Mukherjee
Arpita Mukherjee was the WINNER of the “GOLDEN VOICE HUNT “ on Zee tv’s SAREGAMAPA. An Air Force officer’s daughter , and an Economics (Hons) Graduate and Sangeet Shiromani from Delhi University, she has a strong musical base with her classical and semi classical training.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Trenton Thomas
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Trenton at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself, your story.
Trenton Thomas: My story really begins when I was four years old. My mom was a garage sale, and there was a very old and beat-up piano in the corner of the garage. It turned out the piano was not for sale, but was awaiting a trip to the dump! My family saved it from said trip, and it was the piano I learned on, and continued to play until I was fourteen, and its old keys could no longer keep up with my more demanding pieces. Because of that old piano, I began writing Christian songs at the age of six, and took over as music director of my church at the age of ten. Music theory came naturally to me, as did songwriting. While most children played dodgeball, I practiced piano during recess at school. When most teens were dating or playing sports, you could usually find me listening to an orchestra or at the piano bench. Music was my life’s work.
During college, while studying for a degree in Sacred Music, I sang for and traveled with several music groups, and even wrote some of their music. Because I went to a Christian university, our groups performed at churches – hundreds of them, and most of them small. I would talk to the pastors, and ask them about their church’s musical needs. Most often, the response was the same – “We need sheet music. We simply can’t afford it for our choir and pianist every week.” I decided to do my part to fill the need and began the online ministry of Free Sacred Music (www.freesacredmusic.com). Initially, the site offered only my own arrangements/compositions, but has since grown to include works by many talented and generous writers and arrangers. Today, over 4,500 people download music from the site every month – many from nations where Christian music is not otherwise accessible.
During the same time frame, I discovered a new passion in the music world. I was volunteering in the university’s recording studio, and found that I loved it! I learned from an excellent recording engineer and several producers the “tricks of the trade” that have become essential to my life’s work today.
Today, I continue to write, record, and perform music. I still run Free Sacred Music, as well as my own website, www.trentonsmusic.com. I have seen some successes in the wide world of Christian music. My singles (and even my full album, in some cases) are played on several large stations across the United States, and my songs have gained recognition. More importantly to me, my music is being sung in hundreds of churches all around the world. I long to be able to visit and perform at some of these churches, but have not been financially able to travel in order to do that. Currently, I am running an Indiegogo campaign to raise finances for that very thing at –http://igg.me/at/trentonsmusic/x/4980077.
It is my dream to one day soon be able to perform at many of the churches my music has ministered to. I hope that someday my music ministry will grow further, and that the hymns I write will end up alongside some of the great hymns passed down through church history.
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to briefly explain your sound to people who have not yet heard your music ?
Trenton Thomas: My sound is very unique. Many people hearing my music for the first time use words such as “worshipful,” “deep,” “beautiful,” and “relaxing” to describe it. My favorite compliment is, “I think I could listen to your music all day!” And some people do, for which I am grateful.
Shardul Pandey: What makes your endeavors unique ?
Trenton Thomas: My entire purpose and main goal as a modern Christian artist is entirely different from most other contemporary artists. I am primarily a writer of modern hymns, so my music is driven more by quality and depth of content than commercial appeal. As a hymn writer, my main goal is to provide the modern Church with hymns that fit this generation, but still contain the depth of theology and Biblical truth for which hymns have been historically known.
Shardul Pandey: On what musical projects you are currently working one? What can we expect from you in the next few years ? Any long term goals?
Trenton Thomas: Right now, I’m working on getting together a tour to visit some of the churches here in the US that use my music. I have released a full-length album and three singles, and most of that music is getting airplay on some large Christian radio stations, but I have not yet been able to tour with my music, due to a lack of funds. I’m trying to raise the funds for a tour through an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign (http://igg.me/at/trentonsmusic), so I really hope that people will get involved in my music ministry by supporting this campaign and in turn getting some very cool perks for their donation!
In the next couple of years, I hope to release my next full-length album, with many more original hymns that will resonate with churches in this day and age, and hopefully stick around with some of our long-standing hymns.
Long term, I hope to be able to make my music a full-time ministry. At this point, I am working 1 ½ jobs to make ends meet, and basically fully supporting my music ministry. If I can get to the point where this is full time, I can definitely reach a lot more churches with a lot more music. Right now, I am limited by time, which is limited by finances, so I hope that I can dive in to this ministry full-time in the future.
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to share the experience of your first performance ?
Trenton Thomas: I believe my first performance was a piano recital at the age of five, and I honestly don’t remember it vividly. I do remember being pretty scared at the time, since it was my first time on stage. I will tell you that I still get nervous, but more so for a small crowd than a large one. Something about a more personal audience makes it more nerve-wracking!
Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist ? Any favorite moment you would like to share?
Trenton Thomas: My favorite experience as a musician was actually a side project, where I collaborated with three of my professors while in grad school. We did a Valentine’s Day concert as a barbershop quartet, with all sorts of antics and dusty old barbershop love songs. In-between music sets we had another grad student who was an excellent amateur magician do tricks and stunts. The whole thing was really fun, and we had such a packed auditorium that we ended up doing the whole thing twice that night so people could all see it! So while it wasn’t even a formal concert, it was definitely my favorite performance memory.
Shardul Pandey: Any other creative mediums you work in?
Trenton Thomas: Actually, yes, I do wildlife & scenic photography, and actually considered it as a career at one point. I began in high school, and received several awards and publications. I still really enjoy it, whenever I get a chance to do so, and have a large photography section on my website (www.trentonsmusic.com/photography), where people can view my work and order prints, photo puzzles, and calendars. I believe music and photography go together extremely well, and someday I would like to integrate multimedia slide shows into my concerts.
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
Trenton Thomas: Someone very wise once said, “Music is the language of the emotions.” I definitely believe this to be the case, and that is what makes it such a powerful medium of communication. In my field of church music, I think music is the single most powerful method of teaching solid biblical truth and impacting lives with the power of God’s Word. Music is also the best way any group of people, such as a church, can communicate something simultaneously, which makes it the absolute best method of praise to God. On an individual level as well, music can and does impact people for real life-change, and if the music is Scripture-based, that change can be a permanent change for the better. In short, music is the most powerful catalyst at our disposal for expressing praise, learning truth, and aiding change in someone’s life.
Shardul Pandey: Who were your biggest musical influences ?
Trenton Thomas: Early in life, I became enthralled with classical music, and would sit and listen to Rachmaninoff, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, etc. for hours. In the area of Christian music, I received heavy doses of artists such as Fernando Ortega (still my favorite Christian artist), Michael Card, Buddy Green, Steve Green, and Dallas Holm. I took over as music director for our church at the age of ten, so naturally I was also heavily influenced by church hymns, which ultimately led me to become a hymn writer in the modern hymn movement.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving ?
Trenton Thomas: “Smellin’ Coffee” by Chris Rice is one of my favorite “get-up-and-go” songs – its really fun and upbeat! Probably my favorite artist to simply enjoy life to is Adam Young (Owl City).
Shardul Pandey: Any plans for an international tour on your skyline?
Trenton Thomas: I would love to do an international tour! Because my ministry of Free Sacred Music is so international in nature, I have a large number of fans in Australia, South Africa, the Philippines, and Asia, as well as several countries in Europe. I would love to visit them! Hopefully someday I will. I honestly think I have as many fans in other nations as I do in the U.S., so it would really be an honor to be able to travel to some of those countries someday.
Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a musician and how would you like to be remembered ?
Trenton Thomas: I would love to be remembered as a solid theologian who wrote some of the hymns sung fifty or even one hundred years from now. I work very hard to write music that fits our current generation, but is also timeless in nature because it is solid lyrically and musically. Ultimately, only time will tell if I have accomplished that goal.
Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians?
Trenton Thomas Four things: 1. There is no substitute for practice – especially not success. 2. Don’t ever compromise quality for commercialism. 3. Never stop learning and improving. 4. If you ever start feeling like you’re the best there is, remember there is some child in a remote corner of the world who can play and sing much better than you ever will!
Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain ? I mean where netizens can find latest news feed about you and your music ?
Trenton Thomas: People can find my music, latest news, monthly blog, photography, social media links, free stuff, and more at my website, www.trentonsmusic.com.
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Trenton Thomas: Always make sure the musical praise in your church is the best it can be. We serve an awesome and holy God, and it is our duty to praise Him with the best of our frail human abilities. Never settle for less simply because it is easier, cheaper, or “cooler.” Music is powerful, and as such should be treated with care, preparation, and understanding.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Michael Paul
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Michael at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself, yourstory.
Michael Paul: I arrived in the town of Century, Florida, but most of my adolescence was spent about an hour south west of New Orleans, Louisiana. My interest in music And it’s ability to change a persons mood and feelings, were noticed early on. It has an uncanny ability to communicate feelings and stir emotions to a listener like no other form of communication known, and that’s what intrigued me the most. Even though my love and passion for music was birth from youth, I did not discover my musical abilities until my mid twenties. From there I began to mesh my English and writing background with chord progression and melodies.
I am Currently residing in the state of Texas, (For now) and Within the last four months quite a few changes. I gave up my sales and marketing career, sold the majority of my material possessions I began to follow my passion and my dream, which is to convey a message of hope peace and love, to the majority of humanity that walk this planet. I Recently signed with a record company who is starting the promotion process here in Dallas. So, at the present I am really at the genesis of my music career, even though I’ve been writing and performing music for about a decade. My art reflects my reality…. The struggles I dealt with from the age of five to the present. I try to Paint a picture of my life, some of the struggles, some of the victories, but always about what’s real.
[quote url=”http://igg.me/at/MichaelPaulProject”]Please help Michael Paul reach his goal before the deadline! [button url=”http://igg.me/at/MichaelPaulProject” target=”blank” size=”2″]Contribute Now[/button][/quote]
Shardul Pandey: What makes your endeavors unique ?
Michael Paul: To be honest, I write or observe from a different vantage point or paradigm. I believe that our ‘developmental’ years, and what we were surrounded by during those years, mold and shape the majority of our personality or character. There are those who have faced much trauma or feelings of rejection during that critical time. Many times it is the angle from which I write from. So… I’m not sure about uniqueness or originality…
But I hope what I am ‘given’, can be a form of hope and ‘inner healing’ to many that are searching for that very thing.
Shardul Pandey: On what musical projects you are currently working one? What can we expect from you in the next few years ? Any long term goals?
Michael Paul: Currently, i’m writing the material for a new EP that should be out before the end of 2013. With the completion of that release, I am hoping to have the opportunity to share my music On a much larger scale, travel & breath in The air of new cities and continents and look forward to meeting many new and interesting people along the way.
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to share the experience of your first performance ?
Michael Paul: Small low lit coffeehouse with a handful of people. And I’m asking myself what the heck am I doing here? Then found my courage hiding…closed my eyes, opened my mouth and here we are.
Shardul Pandey: What is your foremost experience as an artist ? Any favorite moment you would like to share?
Michael Paul: Usually it’s the moments when the ones you least expect it, come up after a show to say, ‘thank you’….
Those moments are inked in my memory.
Shardul Pandey: Any other creative mediums you work in?
Michael Paul: I enjoy photography, and sketching…. Painting, but it’s been a few years. ( something to pick up again soon )
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
Michael Paul: Music is time slow down. Like heavens hand written notes with just the right amount of spaces in between. (that happen to be ‘art forms’ in there own stunning and peculiar way) It’s An individual form of communication that can be interpreted by the universe. It’s how many of us are able to breath.
Shardul Pandey: Who were your biggest musical influences ?
Michael Paul: I would have to say the biggest influence musically would be Pearl Jam. I can remember that unfamiliar tone coming from my grandmother’s television set when music television played “music”. Then discovered that Vedder happened to be one of the most intelligent minds in music today. Especially when using his thoughts for lyrics. Many bands from era, but also the ones before as well. Hendrix, The Who, Tom Petty; and I can’t leave Bob Marley off the list.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving?
Michael Paul: My blood seems to circulate a little more freely when I am tuning into Rage Against The Machine, POD, or some funk delivered by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Especially useful for Those much-needed gym hours.
Shardul Pandey: Any plans for an international tour on your skyline?
Michael Paul: I definitely have it as is one of my goals set. Just how far on the skyline is still yet to be determined.
Shardul Pandey: What you feel is your strength as a musician and how would you like to be remembered ?
Michael Paul: I would hope to think that my biggest strength would be my awareness that we are not guaranteed our next breath much less tomorrow. Some of where my motivation comes from. And when I’m gone….. I hope that ‘humility’, is the common word chosen when being remembered.
Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians?
Michael Paul: Stay positive! Don’t be afraid of the word ‘No’.
Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain ?
Michael Paul: My site is under currently under construction, but my artist page on Facebook is located here:
[list style=”check”]
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelpaul4321
- Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/Michaelpaul4
- iTunes link for my debut “The Drifting EP” – https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/the-drifting-ep/id686258292
- Indiegogo Campaign: http://igg.me/at/MichaelPaulProject
[/list]
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Michael Paul: To Choose a positive mindset & to choose to help one another. We ALL need help in some fashion or form.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Kristin Lagasse
Shardul Pandey: I welcome your Kristin at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself, your story
Kristin Lagasse: I am a 30 year old singer-songwriter from Maine, currently living in Hawaii.
My musical journey began when I was 13 years old when my Dad handed over his beloved 6 string guitar and taught me a couple chords. I had always loved to sing and after a brief one sided love affair with the violin, I found the guitar much more suited to my needs. I could play and sing at the same time and it was only a matter of time before I was writing the depths of my 13 year old soul down to my 3 chords and belting it out for the whole world to hear. And I haven’t stopped since.
I have explored the world, responded to my hardships, praised my beautiful moments, all through music for over half of my life now. Quite honestly I don’t know how else to do it. As I grew older I found that I am a born traveler, and so I have spent my time traveling, recording, working odd jobs, writing and singing. I just simply love it.
My 3rd album will be released in December 2013 and I am very excited to share it with the world.
Shardul Pandey: Tell us about your sound, your Third Album. How much have you done and how many songs are recorded ?
Kristin Lagasse: My sound tends to lean to the stripped down side of music production. I enjoy acoustic instrumentation. Lyrics and melody are very important to me, and I try not to let them get lost in the mix. My first album I recorded myself without a clue of what I was doing. My second I chose to take to a studio, and when money got tight I went to a sound recording school in California and had students record me for free. For my third album I have gone back to the home studio, but I have been taking my time, and for the past two years have been learning about my recording program and gear and practicing. It has been nice to have the freedom to record whenever I feel like it, and full control over the final results.
I am currently raising funds to help with the mastering (which I plan to have professionally done), the production and packaging, with a crowd sourcing campaign on Indiegogo. Every little bit helps! http://igg.me/p/550889/x/4977230
Shardul Pandey: Tell us about the tracks which you have already recorded ?
Kristin Lagasse: I have already recorded most of the album, though not all of the tracks I’ve recorded will end up on it. I never stop writing songs and so the album track list has changed many times. And is going to change at least once more to make room for my two latest songs which I’m really excited about. Several of the songs feature the cello alongside my acoustic guitar (Cellists name is Rebecca Roudman- she is lovely!), several others are guitar and uke, or guitar and piano, and others still are just guitar and voice.
Shardul Pandey: What inspired your passion for music? What excites & motivates you about it ?
Kristin Lagasse: Everything inspires my passion for music. It is simply how I experience life and how I react to it. I have written songs for so long now that I barely think about doing it or why I’m doing it.
Shardul Pandey: Any loves, other then music?
Kristin Lagasse: Other than music I love chai, monkeys, the color orange, road trips, and down comforters. Oh and my friends and family :)
[box title=”Kristin Lagasse – My Favorites”]Color, Orange. Film, A Few Good Men. Actor, Zach Braff or Matthew Perry. Actress, Natallie Portman. Male singer, Jason Mraz. Female Singer, Ani Difranco. Food, bacon. Holiday destination, home (Maine) for Christmas. Hobby, it changes and fluctuates. Right now I’m very into crocheting. Festival, Common Ground Fair in Maine. Author, David Sedaris. Book, Naked. Or Pat Conroy and Beach Music. Or Barabara Kingsolver and the Poisonwood Bible. Or Nikki Giovanni and anything by Nikki Giovanni[/box]
Shardul Pandey: What you do for fun & entertainment?
Kristin Lagasse: For fun I love to ski, swim, crochet, do yoga, and read.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving ?
Kristin Lagasse: If a song hits me just right it’ll get me moving even if it’s not a particularly upbeat song. I don’t dance though. Or, if I do, it is alone in the kitchen.
Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain ? Where netizens can find latest news about you and your music ?
Kristin Lagasse:
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Kristin Lagasse: Support independent musicians (and artists of all kinds)! No one will appreciate your support and love more than we will. I have been doing this for over half my life now and I still feel absolutely thrilled every time someone buys a CD, signs my mailing list, asks for an autograph, or just takes the time to stop and listen.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Alex Smith
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Alex at SANGKRIT.net, please tell us about yourself.
Alex Smith: Hey :D I’m Alex Smith. I’m a musician based in Brisbane Australia. I’m currently raising funds for my debut EP although I have been performing under the stage name Your Man Alex Smith since May 5th!
Shardul Pandey: Tell us about your music and your upcoming EP? When do you think it will be released?
Alex Smith: I’m not entirely sure what my ‘thing’ is. Usually musicians have something that makes them stand out from the rest, be it their voice or their instrumentation but I’m still finding my unique sound.
I do however write as honestly as I can. Without honesty, I feel that the music is hard to relate to and that’s one of the most important parts!
While I perform with an acoustic guitar, the album will feature a whole band. I want to immortalize these songs as the best versions they can be!
The EP will really depend on how much success the indiegogo campaign achieves. At a very minimum it will consist of two songs but the bigger the end result, the more tracks I will be able to get on the album! The album is predicted to be released around March 2014
Shardul Pandey: Tell us about the tracks which you have already recorded ? What are the themes?
Alex Smith: I actually don’t know for certain which tracks are going to be on the album. I’m working with a producer and he’s going to decide which has the most potential. Though currently there’s a lot of buzz around ‘Gingerbread Man’ ‘Guilty’ and ‘Tragedy’
Shardul Pandey: What is the story behind your title ‘Your Man Alex Smith’ ?
Alex Smith: Originally I was just going to be Alex Smith but it’s such a common name that I couldn’t get any useful or memorable usernames on sites like YouTube or Tumblr.
I used to have my own vlog and I’d start every episode with ‘Hey guys, it’s your man Alex Smith!’ And I thought that’d be a fun little thing.
Shardul Pandey: What inspired your passion for music? Have you always enjoyed the art of music?
Alex Smith: My dad is a huge fan of music. He’s been collecting Vinyls for years and the house was always full of classic rock songs. I vividly remember my dad sitting me down in the living room and preparing me to listen to ‘Bat out of Hell’. At first I thought he was just being dad but that song blew my mind. I’ve always really loved music since then.
Shardul Pandey: You are an acoustic singer, you also write songs so did you receive any formal training?
Alex Smith: That’s hard to say. I am self taught on the guitar and piano and predominantly with voice but I’ve been part of a few different choirs and I love musical theatre so I’ve absorbed a lot of valuable lessons from them that I otherwise wouldn’t have. Most recently I played The Sheriff in Underground Production’s ‘Bat Boy: The Musical’ with Nick Hollamby as the Musical Director. Nick’s one of the most prestigious vocal coaches in Brisbane so I paid close attention to everything he had to say!
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to share the experience of your first performance ? You perform no mind or you think about something when your are preforming?
Alex Smith: I remember my first proper performance got egged by a passing car. I’m not sure whether it was just an act of wanton mayhem or whether it was premeditated but it was unsettling to say the least.
I personally think that the best performers are those that reveal part of themselves and are honest with the audience. You need to tell the story otherwise you’re just singing notes. When I sing I try to go back to the place I was when I wrote it. This is usually why I end up singing with my eyes closed.
Shardul Pandey: Any favorite moment you would like to share?
Alex Smith: One of my favourite moments would have to be when I performed at ‘The Zoo’. It was a big deal for me and I had a huge amount of support from the people who enjoy my music. The gig was pretty terrible but the atmosphere was just electric! And I met my girlfriend there.
Shardul Pandey: Are there any other creative mediums you work in?
Alex Smith: As I previously mentioned I used to do a lot of acting on stage as well as a little bit of screen acting but I’ve had to knuckle down and focus on my music career. It’s hard enough to make it even when it’s all you’re doing let alone with other things going on.
Shardul Pandey: Any loves, other then music?
Alex Smith: I’m a pretty big fan of ice cream. Like whenever Tash and I are out, we’ll usually end up getting some. Nothing comes close to music though.
Shardul Pandey: What you do for entertainment? Any peculiar interests?
Alex Smith: I do enjoy movies and I’ve recently started playing GTA V which is very addictive! I also love listening to ‘The Protomen Act Two: Father of Death’ it’s my favorite album.
Shardul Pandey: Excluding guitar is there any other musical instruments you like playing ?
Alex Smith: I like playing piano but I’m not super good at it.
Shardul Pandey: What songs get you moving ?
Alex Smith: I’m so far from a dancer it’s not funny. I usually can’t help dancing to ‘Caramel dansen’
Shardul Pandey: How do you best describe what music is to you?
Alex Smith: Without sounding really pretentious, music is what feelings sound like.
Shardul Pandey: Any other musical projects which you have planned for future ? Any plans for an international tour ?
Alex Smith: I am actually writing a rock opera concept album inspired by the Protomen about a robot created to make music. It’s called ‘Amadeus’ though ‘Amadeus ex machina’ has been considered as a title as well. It’ll be a cross between rock, neoclassical and musical theatre. I’m very excited about it.
I do have plans for an international tour in the sense that I plan to one day but I don’t have nearly enough of a fan base to afford it yet.
Shardul Pandey: What is your web address, do you own a domain ? Where netizens can find lastest news about you and your music ?
Alex Smith: I have:
Facebook: Facebook.com/yourmanalexsmith
Tumblr: Yourmanalexsmith.tumblr.com
YouTube: Youtube.com/yourmanalexsmith
And I currently have an Indiegogo page open to fund my first album!
http://igg.me/at/ymasep/x/316267
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Alex Smith: What are you passionate about? Are you on your way to achieving that/currently doing it? If you’re not, then change something. It’s never too late to turn everything around. You’ve only failed if you stop before you’ve succeeded!
Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie On Europe Tour
[note]Talk is ongoing live…[/note]
[heading]← 9 Days Back[/heading]
Shardul Pandey: Hi Marie! How are you ?
Marie Parie: I just did an amazing session with Mariah Carry’s brother in Law Reuben Cannon yesterday for my new song “Kinda Girl” and it was amazing. I’m so excited to bringing R&B pieces to Pop Dance music. I love it.
Shardul Pandey: That’s Great. Have you planned any special events for this tour ?
Marie Parie: This is exciting, I’ll keep it a mystery. Well, I’m going to Europe for Radio and TV interviews. I’m going to meet with amazing people in the industry. Many surprises to come and I’d like to keep the rest of the mystery and have my fans find out about the adventure. I’ll be in touch from France.
Shardul Pandey: Good. Wishing you success and I know you’ll do very well. Good luck to you.
Marie Parie: Thanks. I’ll be in touch from France.
Shardul Pandey: Ok.
Marie Parie: Hi Shardul. I’m in France. I was on the platform of a huge TV Show of Patrick Sebastien “les Annees bonheur” for two days Monday and Tuesday, and it was amazing, all about music and meeting amazing people such as Sylvie Vartan, and more.
French stars for years, that changed french history. Now, today all french TV is talking about Marie Parie who was on one of the most famous touristic avenues in Paris, who can’t buy her beauty products.
I was walking in champs Elysee avenue, the big touristic place, the most beautiful so busy street where all tourist and locals buy beauty products and more when they used to close at midnight and now they obligate stores to close so early as 9pm and stop business and one of the sudden, I stopped near Sephoara at 9 pm, to buy products like beauty stuff and they closed the door and throw everyone out, saying that no one can work after 9pm now. So I started being so agitated telling them to let people go to work. I want them to let people work, and I spoke in French and English saying that it’s not good for tourists who want to buy stuff, France has to change this, they can’t be paying people to stop others working, and fine stores for opening pass 9pm. Many students need to work at night for sure. It was so strange to do such a thing.
Shardul Pandey: To make such a change you do require intervening politically. That demands making that kind of public opinion dominant over the constitutional process there in France. It is up to you to make your decision that up to what extent you are prepared for doing so.
If you take any such decision, I may offer you the technology to make a breakthrough.
(To be continued…….)
Shardul Pandey Talks To Natesh Kirtan
[note]Ongoing live![/note]
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Natesh at SANGKRIT.net, what’s your story?
Natesh Kirtan: Thank you for the opportunity to share my story, Shardul!
I love to chant, especially in the kirtan form, but also other forms. I have been chanting in the kirtan tradition for over 30 years, having first connected with it in late 1979 in the Oakland Siddha Yoga ashram of Swami Muktananda. I became a devotee of Baba and his successors. After being on that path for over a decade, I had a very powerful dream of Ammachi (Mata Amritanandamayi) before I knew anything about her, even receiving a hug from her in the dream, and I a couple years later I finally met her and became her devotee. The name Natesh I received from her many years later. Having these extraordinary beings guiding and transforming my life for the past 34 years has been truly a blessing. I, along with my wife, Monnie, and others, have been leading weekly kirtan in Sedona, AZ, for over 9 years with a group I simply called the Kirtan Wallahs and I’m now finally in the process of creating a beautiful kirtan album, Bliss of Kirtan, with great support from producer and multi-instrumentalist, Ben Leinbach, and many wonderful musicians and singers.
The process of starting a chanting group in Sedona all unfolded initially from me sitting down with the intention to practice some classical guitar pieces in the Fall of 2003 and the next thing I knew I was ‘downloading’ a chant to one of the many Deities, like Rama or Krishna or Durga or Shiva. Then I would forget about playing any classical piece and just be blissfully chanting whatever new chant. After some months of this I really lost all interest in playing any classical pieces anyway because that didn’t compare to the bliss I experienced from chanting and decided it was time to ‘share the bliss’ and started the Kirtan Wallahs.
I’ve also composed over 180 chants since 2003, although I’ve ‘retired’ a bunch of them that I became less enchanted with. It was had to narrow down the field to what to put on this first album!
Shardul Pandey: Tell us about ‘Bliss of Kirtan’ album Project ? How long have you been working on this? How much have you done and when do you think it will be released?
Natesh Kirtan: In one sense I’ve been working on it for close to 10 years, as one of the chants on the album, He Ma Durga, I composed in Autumn, 2003. But in terms of deciding to do a studio album and moving forward with the project, that decision happened in May and with some Grace I’ll be able to release the album in mid to late November.
The Bliss of Kirtan album is first and foremost a kirtan album, with the intention to inspire people to chant along with the call and response format and to invoke ecstatic, even transcendent, states of bliss in the listener, through chanting along or even simply through listening. I’ve intentionally kept the tempos much mellower than I typically do in a live kirtan so that the music can also serve as a backdrop for yoga, meditation and general daily activity.
As I mentioned, Ben Leinbach is an awesome producer, and I have some very talented female singers on the album as well as many excellent musicians contributing on bansuri, sarod, esraj, santoor and cello as well as tabla on some tracks. Sample excerpts from the latest rough mixes for the 8 tracks on the album can be heard at this link.
I’ve been getting wonderful comments from people who have heard some of the album in its present state, using adjectives like profound, sweet, powerful, lovely, lush and blissful, to name a few. Some of the tracks are mantras (or shloks) like Gayatri and Tvameva Mata and others are to the different Deities like Ganesha, Shiva, Krishna and so on. It’s also running very close to the 79.8 minutes maximum recommended for a commercially produced CD.
All the recording is done so we’re in the editing and mixing stage and still have mastering, artwork, physical production and so on to go. We got it this far on short-term borrowed money to take advantage of an opening in Ben’s schedule so now we have to raise money to get it finished and pay back the short term loans. We’ve started a funding campaign on Indiegogo to help make it happen.
http://youtu.be/OPn3ZdenLow
After all these years of doing live kirtan and composing chants, I’m really excited about how beautiful this album is turning out for sharing the ‘Bliss of Kirtan’ with the world!
(To be continued…….)
Shardul Pandey Talks To Justin Elswick On His Upcoming Album “MORTAL LONGING”
[note]Talk is ongoing live…[/note]
Sleepthief is an American electronic music recording project formed by producer and composer Justin Elswick. Elswick began writing music for the album ten years prior to its release. The album was mixed, mastered, co-produced, and co-arranged by Israel Curtis. Sleepthief’s first album, The Dawnseeker, was released in 2006.
Continue reading Shardul Pandey Talks To Justin Elswick On His Upcoming Album “MORTAL LONGING”
Shardul Pandey Talks To Marie Parie – 2, Marie Parie On Her Online Store
[heading]← 21 days back[/heading]
Marie Parie: Hi Shardul! How are you? I have some news. One I’m going to Paris, and will be having radio interviews, and TV.
Also, I just created a store – http://mariepariemusic.com/store.html
Shardul Pandey: Hi! I am good. What about you ? Great with your success :-) What kind of store you have created ? Is it a simple online store of your music albums or it is your official web store with more stuff for your fans and followers ?
Marie Parie: I have an online store that has all MP gear, CD, and singles. I sell T shirts, Mugs, all sizes and for women, men and kids. The cool thing is that my fans have the choice to choose their own color, their own size and style. All products are high quality, and made in respect to the environment.
Shardul Pandey: Cool. You’re going to Paris, so this is an official tour ? Have you planned any special events ?
Marie Parie: This is exciting, I’ll keep it a mystery. Well, I’m going to Europe for Radio and TV interviews. I’m going to meet with amazing people in the industry. Many surprises to come and I’d like to keep the rest of the mystery and have my fans find out about the adventure.
Shardul Pandey: BTW Your new album “Alien Victory” is now available for purchase so from where we can buy it on Internet, I mean give me some links of your music on iTunes, Amazon etc ?
Marie Parie: Yes, everyone can purchase my Alien Victory album either digital copy or physical copy. It’s available on Itunes, amazon, spotify, and many other popular sites. My single “Dating” is also available and it will be interesting to find out who are the first Martians to have my album before anyone else. After my trip a lot will change so I’m excited to hear about my fans.
Shardul Pandey: Few weeks back you said that you are working on your second album, so how is it going ?
Marie Parie: Yes, I’m in the process of putting together a new album with different flavor. It will be a great surprise, and exciting new sound. A hint, it’s more melodic..
Shardul Pandey: Your fan following is increasing everyday and you are getting more and more popular on Internet, you own a domain and now you have your own store.
What do you think about creating your online private network. By saying private network I simply mean a Facebook/Twitter type network created specially for you and your fans. What do you say?
Marie Parie: Yes I do have my own domain, if not many one of them is www.mparie.com, in addition to www.mariepariemusic.com. I am looking forward to having my private network. In a way, it already exist on my website and FB mainly. I do have twitter as well for those who prefer Twitter. My “Fans belong to the Martian club, and I often refer to them as angel-aliens or Guarding Aliens as you can see on FB. We are all Aliens and belong to the MP Galaxy. We believe in Love, celebrate each other, and are all powerful and ready to conquer the world with music and love. Our secret is we love to party, Dance and have fun.
[heading]After 9 days[/heading]
Shardul Pandey Talks To Olga Korsak About Her Debut Album Release
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Olga at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.
Olga Korsak: Hi. My name is Olga Korsak. I was born in Riga, Latvia. I moved to Canada 5 years ago because I had a dream, I really wanted to sing!
I used to be a professional figure skater, I was multiple national Champion and winner of many international competitions around the world. At age 17 I suffered a serious back injury and was forced to leave the ice. I started to take intensive music courses to distract myself and with time I realized that all I want to do is music. There weren`t any serious opportunities for me in my Country so when I got a chance to move to Canada, I thought: “That`s your sign Olga, go!”
That`s how I ended up in Canada. It was very hard in the beginning because I came to Toronto completely alone, no English to help and 100$ in my pocket! I took endless lessons for my voice, piano , pronunciation. I worked so many different jobs to support my training and finally I am so close to make my dream happen!
I am in Latvia now, working on my first album of originals songs! I am so blessed to be supported with so many great people! I wanna bring smiles on people faces through my music, because the best reward for me is when I see people are moved and touched by my songs!
Unfortunately the album cost big money and with help of my friends and teachers we created a campaign to raise missing funds for my album. People can click the link, watch the video about my life story and how i got where I am right now, chose to pre-order the album or tickets to my concert and help me to collect missing amount of money to finish the album. All the money from pre-orders goes towards actual recording of the album. Check out our campaign: http://www.indiegogo.com/
Shardul Pandey: So currently you are recording your debut album of original songs, when do you think it will be released? Please briefly describe your sound and your debut album ? Tell us about the songs which you have already written and recorded ?
Olga Korsak: The album will be released on March 1st/2014. It will consist of 12 original songs, both music and lyrics are written by me. I am not writing about something I do not feel or not familiar with, all my songs are about some events which touched my life one or the other way. It is hard for me to talk about something what bothering me, about memories or hopes, about happiness or sadness, it is much easier to tell the story using the notes. I hope listeners will find themself in my songs, I do hope I can do some good using my creative work.
We don`t revile for now the name of the album, it will be opened to the public after the first song is released. Please follow the news on my facebook fan page https://www.facebook.com/korsak.singer
The style I am using for my music is pop, jazz, art pop, indie pop, baroque pop, soul.
We just started to work on the album, all songs are in a creative process. You can listen some live recordings of the songs on the youtube. I do not like telling what they are about, it is better when the listener discover himself/herself.
Shardul Pandey: OK, the name of your album will be opened to public after the first song is released. Any rough idea of your first song release date, it is a music video release ?
Olga Korsak: We are planning to release the first song and a music video at the same day, the date is chosen to be February 1st/2014. We will do our best to keep our promise and be on time. I am so excited about the music video we are shooting in October here in Riga, Latvia. More then 20 talented and most of them already well known people will be working on set. The song is almost ready and I am with excitement looking at the preparation process. I can not wait to work with a young and promising Director Lauris Beinerts. He is also from Latvia but currently working and living in London, Great Britain. So again do not forget to like my facebook fan page and be the First to watch the music video ;) https://www.facebook.com/korsak.singer
Shardul Pandey: And what you do for entertainment ? How long have you lived in Latvia and what keeps you there with music?
Olga Korsak: When I am not busy with my music I always use a chance to spend time with my friends or go closer to the nature, nothing re-charge human battery better than trees and lakes! I also like active time spending, in the summer it is running, swimming, biking, hiking but winter time snowboarding, snow ball fighting, dancing. I also read and enjoy good movies, I even taking acting courses and planning in the future to do some acting.
I was born in Latvia and spent 20 years of my life here. I left to Canada almost 5 years ago and now I can honestly say that Toronto became my home. I do miss Riga and it`s small streets, my parents and childhood friends but unfortunately Riga couldn`t give me opportunities to making art. I am so glad I got a chance to record my album here at home, I can spend time with my family and walk those familiar streets again.
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Olga Korsak: Dear Netizens, if you do have a dream , no meter small it is or big , do not give up. We have only one life to live and do not let anyone to live it for you! Thank you so much for reading about my project and I can not wait to perform for you! Please visit my Indiegogo campaign to watch the full story about my life and listening me sing. http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/olga-korsak-debut-album/x/4243604
Shardul Pandey Talks To Carly Krantz, A Southern Rock Singer
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Carly at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.
Carly Krantz: My name is Carly Krantz and I’m a southern rock singer from Atlanta, GA. I’ve been playing piano a writing music since I was a kid but I wasn’t always able to sing. It was something I decided I wanted to do in high school, so I joined choir and practiced 24/7 until I sounded even halfway decent. When I turned 21 I joined a band called Kenotia and we signed to Sumerian Records out of LA. We released our ep You’ve Dug Your Grave, Now Lie in It in October 2007 and had multiple songs on MTV’s The Hills. After Kenotia disbanded I started working with different producers and writers in Atlanta and really focused on my songwriting. After working with so many talented musicians I finally found my musical niche in country/southern rock music. I’m currently working on my first solo ep and I hope I have it recorded by the end of this year. You can keep up with my shenanigans at https://www.facebook.com/CarlyKrantz
Shardul Pandey: Would you like to briefly explain your sound, your First EP to people who have not yet heard your music ? How long have you been working on this project for ? Tell us about the songs which you have already recorded/written ?
Carly Krantz: My sound is southern rock/country influenced. I’ve always loved the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and even Kid Rock’s newer stuff because I feel like it’s a good solid mix of country and rock and that’s what I hope to capture with my ep. I’ve been writing with a very talented writer named Jeff Silver who lives in Atlanta and we have been working on this batch of songs for a good 6 months, but really I’ve been working towards this specific project for the past couple of years, experimenting and trying to find where my voice belongs.
The songs I have now are different from any songs I’ve written in the past not just because of content but even just the thought process behind them. Being in an indie rock band, you kind of have the liberty to just say what’s on your mind, but when you’re writing mainstream music and especially country music, you really have to put in a lot of thought as to what you’re saying and how you’re saying it. Sometimes Jeff and I will spend an hour on writing just one line, which is something I’ve never done before but you can definitely see the quality difference in the lyrics i’m writing now as opposed to lyrics I wrote 5 years ago. As far as lyrical content, the songs are loosely based on me but are more relatable to the general public and that’s something I’ve never done before. I used to write songs so specific to my situation that I think it may have been hard for people to relate to but the songs I have now can be enjoyed by anybody.
Shardul Pandey: You said that your most important goal is to finish writing songs in Nashville with top country songwriter. Do you have any ultimate goals ? Success can mean many different things so what does success mean to you ?
Carly Krantz: My ultimate goal is and always has been to be able to make a decent living off of music and to be able to tour most of the year. I’ve never specifically wanted to be a superstar, I’ve always just wanted to be able to do music full time. If I could look into my future a few years, what I’d really like to see is me touring 500 person venues and writing for other artists. I don’t need a label, if that comes along it’s a bonus. I just want music to be my career. Success can mean a lot of different things to different people, and I think someone is successful when they’re completely happy and satisfied with what they’ve achieved.
Shardul Pandey: So how our netizens can help you finish and record your EP with professional musicians and producers ?
Carly Krantz: I really struggled with the idea of a fundraising campaign for myself, it’s not something I decided overnight. I hate asking for help and I especially hate asking for money but when I got the invite to Nashville and Atlanta, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to travel, record and pay musicians unless I reached out for assistance. The main reason I gave in and created my campaign was because Indiegogo creates a reward system for both parties, so not only are people donating to me but I also get to give them things in return. People can see what my campaign is all about here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-carly-record-her-solo-ep
And yes, donations help me immensely but even just sharing the link on Facebook is a huge help!
The most important thing I want to leave people with is that this ep is something I’ve wanted to do my entire life, my music on my terms the way I want to do it. It’s something I’ve been working towards for the past 13 years and to get to finish this ep would be a dream come true. I truly appreciate every one’s help whether it was money, sharing my links or just a general appreciation for the music I’ve created, it means the world to me and it’s not something I’ll ever take for granted. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!!!
Shardul Pandey Talks To Don Duvall, Keyboard Player, Vocalist & Songwriter
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Don at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.
Don Duvall: I grew up in a little town (well it was then, not so little anymore) called Laurel, Maryland. My mother was a self taught piano player who played by ear and could also sing very well. She wanted me to be musical too when I was a child, so at the age of 5, I started taking piano lessons to learn to read music and play the piano the right way. I hated it! I rebelled constantly whenever I had to study for my lesson every week. I had a piano teacher named Mrs. Oaks who was of foreign dissent (she was oriental and I don’t remember where exactly she was from, but sometimes I had a hard time understanding her). I remember once at her home, where I took the piano lessons, I was sitting next to her on the piano bench as she talked to my mother who usually wasn’t present during the lesson. My attention span veered off into boredom and I started tinkling around with the ivories playing something that was very easy and quite off subject you might say. Mrs. Oakes turned around suddenly and grabbed her knitting needle and whacked me across the knuckles asserting with a loud voice “NO CHOPPY STICKS!” My mom was quite in shock, but actually when she wasn’t there at the lesson, Mrs. Oakes would use the needle constantly to keep me from bending my fingers as I played, using the correct fingering technique. It didn’t really hurt, but it keep me in line. She was quite a teacher, and taught me a lot.
I went on several years later to a music school in Waco, Texas. My family moved there in 1963. We didn’t live there too long because at the time, jobs were scarce and income was very low. My mom couldn’t make a living so we moved back to Maryland again in 1965. While I was in Texas I advanced my skills tremendously and I actually played with a concert band at the age of 11 at an outdoor amphitheatre in front of over 1000 people. I remember (though not very clearly) being very frightened as I played “The Blue Danube Waltz” on a grand piano from start to finish .I believe it was that day that changed my life forever. You see, I had never had anyone show appreciation for my skills out loud until that day, and the roar of the applause motivated me to a much greater satisfaction of playing the piano and music in general.
After we moved back to Maryland, my mom put me in the College Park Conservatory of Music near the University of Md. I studied there until I was14. I then stopped my studies and starting listening to the radio and learning songs by ear. I had always played from the books up until that point, and playing by ear was something that just came naturally to me. I soon became fascinated in other instruments and had my mom buy a Bass guitar. I started playing bass in a band in Junior High school and quickly realized I wasn’t any good at it and better get back to something I had experience on! So I bought a Combo Organ. It was then I understood that it was actually something that I was really good at and I could possibly make money doing something I loved if I stuck with it. So as I played at Pool Parties, Teen Club Dances and other social events I was toning my skills for later in life. However, I was no longer reading music and relied totally upon learning by ear. I played all through high school in several bands with my musical (and some not so musical) friends. Then, straight out of high school I went into the Music business Full Time in local groups in the DC/MD/VA area and spent the next 4 decades playing music, doing what I love best, sometimes on the road 25-30 weeks a year. I’ve played in several Las Vegas type show bands where I have done everything from being Dolly Pardon in a dress with big balloons on my chest, to being one of the Temptations in a Motown review. Singing lead vocals has always been something I enjoy, so I have always been in bands that were vocally strong with lots of harmonies. I still play today in bands but my main concentration today is dedicated to writing songs which has become a true passion for me.
Hope you liked my introduction. I attached a few early pictures. One of my Mom at the Piano and the other of me showing great displeasure at having to practice the piano!
Shardul Pandey: Tell our netizens something about Musical CD which you are planning to record with your best original tunes ?
Don Duvall: I have written songs that I’m proud of. I believe my tunes represent a solid foundation that results in a sale-able commodity. I have got to say that I have very high hopes for the songs that I am trying to put out there. They are the kind of tunes that appeal to many different listeners’ tastes. I have a record executive who is very excited about working with me and he has a full blown studio with studio musicians that are really top notch. A number of my songs can be heard on my website. Some of my tunes have been played on the radio here in North Carolina on a local station just from my home studio recording, and although they sounded great on the radio, I can imagine how good they could come across if they were recorded in a professional studio with the help of session musicians with a top flight engineer and producer. I have that waiting for me in NY when I can get funding together to make it happen.
Shardul Pandey: You have been a good musician since childhood and over the last 4 decades you’ve put a lot of time in composing songs so how do you see your journey has been? Tell us about your experiences as an artist ?
Don Duvall: My musical journey has been very fulfilling. When I was young, once I found out what it is like to play with very good musicians and know the satisfaction of learning songs as a group that sound “official” as I like to call cover songs that sound enough like the original song to receive applause and get paid at the same time, I couldn’t wait to be able to do it for a living. I realized that dream of being a full time musician at age 20. After playing locally in some of the areas nightclubs for a few months, I joined a band that had a very busy booking agency behind them that kept the group working all the time. I sometimes felt like the road was my home as we would sometimes be out of town 4-8 weeks at a time and 25-30 weeks a year. The only drawback was it was hard on my wife who stayed at home mostly with our newborn son in the early years. I regret that I missed a lot of his childhood being gone all those years, and there were times I was extremely homesick. But we all survived and today we are still a happy family. My son and I still enjoy a wonderful relationship and my wife and I have been married for 41 yrs. I have to say although it was tough, I’m not sure I would change a thing about the way my musical career unfolded. I’m not sure my wife would say the same thing! But I believe in our case absence Does make the heart grow fonder. I have written a ton of songs since I started writing in the late 60’s. Many I didn’t even keep in my memory. In the early days, recording equipment was very primitive to us traveling musicians who had very little time at home to own their own portable studio. The best tool I used to have was a small cassette recorder. I couldn’t tell you how many songs I composed on the one I had, all noisy and mono. You couldn’t go back and rewrite when you wanted to edit anything, because the buttons were play and record. No tracks to erase and insert. So it was always “start over again”! I don’t know how many tunes I would have kept out of the assortment of tunes I created, but I wish I would have kept a few of the best for later. I mainly wrote my songs for my own enjoyment, and rarely even shared them with my co-musicians. But occasionally I would let one be heard that I thought was really good. The first tune I wrote that exposed to my band was when I was in a group back in 1970 called “Ramp”(Kind of an odd name for a band but when found an old yellow highway sign laying on the side of the road that was behind replaced and the drummer brought it home. It said RAMP and underneath it had a line and it said “Exit 40 mph”. Well, we got some yellow paint and blanked out the exit and changed it to “TOP” So the sign, which was much larger than you might think, said RAMP/top 40….I always thought it was clever and we saved money from having to make a real sign!) Anyway, the song was Leaving Me Behind. I still have it on a cassette from Radio Shack. The band went into the Fine Arts building at the University of Maryland and a friend of the sax player was the audio visual tech there. We made a 10 song cassette of cover songs, but included my original song on it. Since the early days most of the bands I played in were Nightclub bands that played all top 40 radio music and they really weren’t venues to play your originals in. They usually called for recognizable music that people danced to. So although we threw a few in every now and then, I was never in a self promotion band that was trying to sell originals and get on the radio. It was more like a 9-5 job that was fulfilling, and doing what I loved to do. I used to say to my friends and when people asked what I did for a living, I told them “You work for a living. I PLAY for my living”. One of the more rewarding originals I recorded in my home studio in the 90’s was a song called “Homeless”. It was about the homeless situation and how it has escalated in the past few decades. The group I worked in at the time learned the song and we were invited to play for a huge homeless benefit in Washington, DC with my song as the theme for the gathering. Over 1200 people were cheering for my song when it ended. Quite rewarding and for a good cause too. I actually had the tune captured from my YouTube site and was on the cover page of a website called US News and World Report. My only regret is I never went into a studio and re recorded it so it sounded more like a professional recording. I could always picture the tune being picked up by a major artist and recording it in the same fashion as “We Are The World” with many different national and international artists singing lines. It’s actually still on You Tube. It sounds a bit dated by today’s standards now. But still translates well I think.
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Lately, I have been doing more writing than ever and I am starting to submit my tunes whenever I see an opportunity arise. I’ve a member of several websites that promote music and have a collaborator that sometimes writes lyrics and then I do the music. I really don’t think my journey is close to climaxing or being over as I am more inspired now than ever to get my songs out there. Hopefully I will be recording a new CD in the next few months of 12 of my best tunes to date done in a professional studio. I hope that then the journey will actually be just beginning!
Shardul Pandey: So do you own a domain name? Likewise Internet is distributed in to domain names. You must have one like DonDuvall.com as that would indeed be accommodating your fan-following independently to make some value for you. Weblog with integrated social networks to regularly keep on blogging about little things of life works wonderfully in show business. What do you think ?
Don Duvall: Yes I do have a Domain Name. www.DonDuvall.com should be active by week’s end. I also occasionally run an internet talk show on Blogtalkradio.com where I talk about the music business with call in guests and some other entertainers who send me their mp3 originals to play for my listeners to hear so they can get some exposure. I have activated a new artists page on Facebook at Facebook.com/D
I have a number of You Tube videos out there in cyber space. Here is a short one with me singing a tune recorded by The Eagles :
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Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Don Duvall: I’d like to say to all the netizens out there that I am someone who has lived a very full life although I have always been striving to find that ultimate utopia that exists somewhere. I’m not sure if I will find it, but I will never give up. I have been on the edge a few times in my life of not knowing what was coming next. Especially in the last year as my wife and I both lost our jobs within a two week period. We were absolutely not prepared and devastated. We just about sold everything we had, her car was repossessed, and I had to get rid of some of my musical gear that I didn’t want to get rid of just so we could buy groceries. We then moved out of state to live with relatives for a few months until we could find work. We finally did get jobs after a very hard struggle with one job application after another, and we once again have gotten a nice place to call home, but it will be a long time until we fully recover. HOWEVER the older I get the more determined I am to succeed. I have been through a lot in my lifetime, had many successes and about the same amount of disappointments or more, but you never succeed at anything until you give it a try. Nothing ventured nothing gained as they say. I am hoping people who find out about me will hopefully enjoy my musical journeys and share it with others. I live my life with a philosophy that many others should adapt. Expect nothing in life, and anything you get will be a bonus. That way it is harder to be upset when something doesn’t exactly go as planned. But never give up on your dreams. My music project is a dream I have been trying to capture but never knew quite how to do it because of limited funds, and a lack of knowing what to do to get it off the ground. I know have gotten at least part of the problem solved by getting a good solid foundation under me with my searching for someone to take interest in helping me record and produce my songs. The other part of the problem hopefully is only a short time away. My music project is on indiegogo.com and can be viewed here.
You can help me with my project for contributions as low as $1.00 US Please give it a look and expect great things if this project gets off the ground. I am keeping my fingers crossed and as always hoping for the best. As Commander Peter Quincy Taggert (Tim Allen)in the movie Galaxy Quest said “Never Give Up, Never Surrender”. That’s my motto too.
Shardul Pandey Talks To Aubrey Erin About Her First EP ’48 Hours’
Shardul Pandey: I welcome you Aubrey at SANGKRIT.net, please tell our netizens about yourself.
Aubrey Erin: Well, I’m 21 from South Texas. I started singing when I was in 4th grade in choir, but never really desired to be a singer. I mostly wanted to be an Olympic Gymnast, but when I got older I realized I didn’t want to do that anymore. I was terrified of singing in front of people until my junior year of high school when I did my school’s talent show. After that, I went on to college at Baylor University where I thought I was going to study medicine and become a doctor, but after a semester I figured out that singing is what I want to do with my life. I picked up the guitar, started writing my songs, which I might add were AWFUL at first, and started making music. My junior year in college I really got going on it, I put out my first song on YouTube, and now when I look back at it, it makes me giggle a little bit. After that, I interned at ASCAP in Los Angeles and played a couple open mics out there and was on a radio show. Fast forward to now, I am living in Austin, TX working on my music. I’m currently raising funds to make an EP, and hopefully move on to Nashville soon.
Shardul Pandey: So would you like to briefly explain your sound, your first EP – 48 Hours to people who have not yet heard your music ?
Aubrey Erin: My first EP 48 Hours is something I’m really excited about. Simply put, it’s country music. Although, it’s not the honky tonk style of country. It definitely leans more on the side of country-pop, but not so bubblegum sounding.(If that makes sense) The title song, 48 Hours, is one I’m really proud of, and it has a happy sound to an unhappy story. So it’ll kind of throw you off. Another song on it is one I wrote for my sister’s wedding. It’s a love song ballad, and one of the best things I’ve gotten to perform. The other songs, well, you’ll just have to wait and see!
Shardul Pandey: How do you see yourself progress in this field? What keeps you unique ? What is your foremost experience as an artist ?
Aubrey Erin: I see myself progressing quickly. I keep putting myself out there and making music. It just takes 1 person to hear my sound, and like it enough to give me a real shot. I think with this EP I will really be able to put my foot in the industry. What keeps me unique is that I am influenced by a lot more than just country music, and I think that’s evident through my music. I listen to a lot of other genres and sometimes I incorporate that writing style and mix it with country music. There have been a lot of experiences that are crazy to me, but I think the one that sticks out the most was last summer when one of my songs got up to the Top 25 on the UK music chart Beat 100. It was so cool to me that people liked my music enough to vote for it out of the thousands of songs on there.
Shardul Pandey: What advice would you give to newbie musicians? Who were your biggest musical influences ?
Aubrey Erin: My advice for newbie musicians would be, get used to hearing “No”, a lot. It doesn’t mean that your music isn’t good, or that no one likes you. It means that at that point in time, you weren’t exactly what they were looking for. Keep going, keep making music, as long as you’re doing it because you love it, not because you want to be famous.
My biggest musical influences are tough to choose, but I’d say my top two were LeAnn Rimes and Pat Green. Also, in the non-country genres, there’s a band called Cartel who I really admire.
Shardul Pandey: Is there any other musical projects you currently working on, any upcoming music videos ? International Tours on your skyline ? Etc
Aubrey Erin: Currently I’m focusing on getting things together for my EP. Although, I am putting together a band, so it won’t just be me and my guitar anymore! I’m excited, because my music will have a fuller sound, and be something you would want to hear on the radio driving down the road! Unfortunately, I’m not doing any touring at the moment, but there have been whispers of maybe going and playing some shows across the US in the spring. Fingers crossed.
Shardul Pandey: What is your ultimate message for netizens ?
Aubrey Erin: My ultimate message for netizens is going to sound so cliché, but it holds true. If you have something you love to do, set goals, make plans to meet them, and then don’t stop until you do. We have a whole lifetime to do what we want, there’s no reason to give up.