Q:
Where are you from?
A:
I was born and raised in Miami, Florida, but I spent quite awhile in New England and still think of myself as a "New Englandah," even though I now live in California. There's something about New England that just gets in your blood, you know?
Q:
When and why did you start making music?
A:
I started playing piano when I was four and a half years old. First my parents taught me, and then I began lessons when I was five. That's also when I wrote my first piano piece. I loved making music right from the first time I touched a piano, but I took the piano lessons mostly because my big brother was getting them and I was jealous. Hey, I was five.
Q:
So you were one of those kiddie piano prodigies.
A:
Yeah, I did the contests, the recitals, the whole thing. I was expected to become a symphony conductor, and wound up going to a conservatory and getting a composition degree. Now I'm a singer-songwriter, and I love it! Funny how life turns out, huh?
Q:
Do you find your classical background getting into your pop music?
A:
Oh, yes. Most of the classical people who cross over seem to go for show music and jazz, perhaps cabaret, but I never did; I always liked pop music, and I can't help incorporating my classical playing style into my songs. That's what "sympho-alternative" is all about: a meeting of symphonic traditions with alt-rock. It's very evident in songs like "Over 'Til It's Over."
Q:
But not "Mr. Happy."
A:
(Laughs). No, not that one. Sometimes you just have to rock and roll, and forget about Brahms.
Q:
Your album, "Storms Encountered," seems to be all over the place. One minute it's rocking, the next it sounds like Euro-dance, then there's a sensitive ballad. There's even a rather new-agey song on there. What's up with that?
A:
I like lots of things, and I see no reason to be confined in some small stylistic box. Don't you get bored listening to CDs where all the songs are the same? I think having some variety is a good thing! Lots of successful artists are doing it these days. I figure there's something on there for everybody, and I think I'm right, because people keep telling me they loved one or two particular songs, and they're always different songs! The fifteen-year-olds don't pick the same ones the fifty-year-olds do, but they both like the album.
Q:
So, who are your influences? They don't seem obvious from listening to the CD.
A:
My favorite classical composers would be Brahms, Mahler, Debussy, Rachmaninoff and Haydn. In the pop world, I'd pick Rickie Lee Jones, Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell, Steely Dan, James Taylor, early Chicago and The Beatles, of course. Rickie Lee, especially, has made me think in different ways, even though my own writing doesn't sound anything like hers.
Q:
There's nobody very recent on that list.
A:
Oh, I do like some more-recent artists, like Counting Crows, Toni Braxton, Alanis, Smashmouth, Sarah McLachlan and Cheryl Crow, and they have influenced me. But, I have to admit, many of the acts out there right now are pretty unmusical. Seems like everything's about a beat and some angry, shouted rhymes. I still believe in melody, harmony and thoughtful lyrics. Guess my classical roots are showing, but people do tell me my music still sounds pretty modern. And they always say it's unique, which, I think, counts for more than any particular style.
Q:
Is it true you played and sang everything on the CD yourself?
A:
Yes. The entire album is a one-man effort, right down to the mixing. It was a lot of work, but it was a blast doing it. I learned so much along the way.
Q:
Anything else coming up for you soon?
A:
I'm thinking about an instrumental album, and I'm always writing new songs. For now, though, I really want to get out and play to support "Storms." My live show is a lot of fun. I play alone, but I use tracks I recorded for the album, so it sounds like a full band. Also, I switch from instrument to instrument, depending on the song. It's never dull, and it doesn't sound like anyone else, that's for sure. See you on the road!
