Nymphya – Her unique, alchemical Art / Alt-Pop music is a collage of eclectic beats, soaring vocals, haunting soundscapes, and captivating samples mixed with acoustic and electric instruments
Interview conducted on July 28, 2020
by Daniel Locke
Professional opera singer Valentina O is the eclectic and multifaceted songwriter, vocalist, arranger, and producer behind Nymphya. Valentina has appeared throughout the United States as an opera singer, actor, and performer, as well as on numerous soundtracks for television, film and commercials (Time/Life Warner, IMAX, and Garfield), and on multiple CD projects for recording artists, including backing up John Cale (The Velvet Underground) on the Tonight Show and appearing on MTV with her group Screaming Divas.
What is Ethereal Baroque Pop?
Let’s start with Baroque Pop. It’s a genre that emerged in the 60s when pop and rock artists started incorporating orchestral instrumentations into their arrangements. It can sometimes have a melancholic flair to it, and always has a hint of drama. It takes the Pop or Rock song format and elevates it with timbres that are unexpected…a French Horn, or a Harpsichord, for example. Artists such as Kate Bush, The BeeGees, Scott Walker, and more recently, Lana del Rey, are considered Baroque Pop artists.
Interestingly, for me, I didn’t set out to make any particular genre of album for my first release, Dream Dance, but I discovered by the time I was finished with it that it was, indeed, Baroque Pop. (Or perhaps even a new-ish genre called Folktronica).
But the interesting part is that I listened to the entire Bee Gees catalog from the time I was 13 years old to 18 years old, and then I became obsessed with Kate Bush and listened to her entire catalog. (And still do). And now here we are years later, when in 2017, I released my very first original album, and it turns out to be the same genre as those two very formative artists that I spent hours and hours listening to.
Baroque-Pop is also sometimes called Art-Pop or Alt-Pop, which is pop music that has an artistic or alternative sensibility… And the terms can be used interchangeably. I sometimes like to create music that doesn’t fit into a typical song format; that it’s just music, which is also an Art-pop sensibility. So, there are some instances where my music is also described as Cinematic Art Pop.
However, I feel that adding the word “Ethereal” helps to describe my music with a little bit more specificity, as my lyrics tend to have a mystical / metaphysical nature, and the arrangements of the instrumentations, as well as the tonal color of my vocals, remind listeners of the Ethereal. I have also been told that my music tends to take the listener on an immersive experience, and that experience has a quality of being Ethereal. Which is just fine with me! Some of my favorite music is that which takes me on an Ethereal journey.
What is your upbringing?
I was raised in an upper middle class suburban American household in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. However, my dad, Julian, was a true original; a brilliant, iconoclastic, anti-establishment, beatnik motorhead who wasn’t quite willing to go all the way into that Bohemian world, and so hedged his bets with comfort and family. My mom, Irina, was a World War II German immigrant who valued food and aesthetics and traditional female roles, while also having her own at home business. So, both of my parents embraced dichotomies, perhaps without even knowing it. I was the youngest of three children, and all of us were taught to be independent, skeptical, and self-reliant. But I was always the weird, eccentric one, teased by my older brother and sister, defended by my father, and lived through vicariously by my mother. My family and extended family were populated mostly with scientists, engineers, and teachers, but I always wanted to be a musician. From the time I was six years old, I envisioned myself singing on television and being a recording artist. I used to play with my Dad’s old tape recorders, layering vocal harmony parts with myself, dreaming of the day that I would be able to do that in a real recording studio. I would also interview and record myself on my own talk show.
How did you discover music?
My mom and dad listened to music during their cocktail hour on Friday nights when they got home from their weekly grocery shopping trips. So that was really the first music I was exposed to: Johnny Cash, Glen Campbell, Merle Haggard. Although, when my dad was at work during the week and my mom did house work, she would listen to adult contemporary music like Vikki Carr, or Andy Williams. From early on, I never could relate to that kind of music, but I definitely thought that Johnny Cash was cool. My mom occasionally would put Opera on as well, which I thought was just… weird.
So, when I was very young, I considered myself a country music fan. (Which would explain why my very first song was a country song). But then, I had the first of many watershed events that every musician has, where you get introduced to a sound that turns your world upside down…
I was listening to my little Bakelite radio next to my bedside late at night. Somehow, I had a station on that was not a country station, and I started hearing the sound of rainfall, and this loping bass line that was very mysterious… Then in came these electric piano lines that also sounded like falling raindrops. I was so intrigued… What IS this? Country music or Vikki Carr never sounded like this. And then Jim Morrison’s achingly sexy voice started: “Riders on the storm…” I was hooked, riveted, titillated. And, I never looked back. Music was IT for me. And not just any kind of music…. THIS kind of music.
How did you start to write music/poems?
When I was six, our family moved into a 1930s stucco A frame house in Dayton, Ohio with a great attic; the kind of attic with a real stairway that led up to a high, peaked roof room the size of the whole house. One hot summer day, I went up there and found a beautiful, black Hohner accordion with pearl inlays. I dragged it down to my room and started fooling around with it, and ended up writing my very first song, a country song called “Goodbye Darlin'”. It was very simple, but I felt very accomplished having written my very own song. Of course, I didn’t play it for anyone but myself, but I still remember it to this day.
After that, like any self-respecting, middle class pre-teen girl, I started writing poetry, and song lyrics.
When I picked up the guitar at 13, I began playing and singing in earnest. One of my greatest triumphs in junior high school was being asked to sing back-ups with a junior high school rock band that was playing at a school assembly. From then on, I was more determined than ever to be a musician, and learned how music worked, structurally, from my guitar teacher, which really helped prepare me for when I went to music school later on.
How did you start to perform Opera? Who was your teacher?
When I was in undergrad at Temple University (for my first degree in Mechanical Engineering), I played and sang in varying rock bands. All throughout my time there, I kept telling everyone who would listen that I never wanted to be an engineer and that I wanted to be a musician. I had gotten an academic scholarship to Temple and just picked engineering because my Dad told me it would teach me how to think. But I just couldn’t figure out how to go about breaking into the recording industry.
By the time I graduated, I was starting to notice some vocal strain from belting rock in loud bars, and I saw an article in the paper about a classical voice teacher named Julianne Baird (who is a gorgeous, early music soprano). I contacted her and started studying with her, and a whole new world of classical music opened up to me.
It felt so rich and beautiful and pristine, that I ended up immersing myself in the classical and Operatic music world. Since I couldn’t figure out how to break into the recording industry, the path of auditioning for specific roles for specific productions had a linearity that made sense to me. I left my engineering job after 1 year and fled from Pennsylvania to San Francisco to go back to undergrad and study music and vocal performance.
It was in San Francisco that I started recording radio jingles and television and film soundtracks, and eventually sang with the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera, before singing with New York City Opera.
What was your first performance like?
While I was still in music school, I performed with a lot of Bay Area arts organizations, and one of my very first gigs ever was with a company called Underworld Opera, (now known as Oakland Metro Opera), where we created a hybrid rock opera called Dick Dines Out. It was my first time wearing a headset microphone and doing a fully choreographed, through-composed piece. I had found nirvana! And to this day, I still have a very special place in my artist’s heart for hybrid/avant-garde theatrical/ musical experiences. I am considering creating one based on my Nymphya music.
My Opera debut in the big houses is definitely in the top 5 of my most exciting experiences as a performer. The magnitude of artistry that goes into those productions is humbling and awe-inspiring. And I will never forget the day I walked into my first music rehearsal for The Ballad of Baby Doe at San Francisco Opera. I was to be rehearsing the final trio, a scene I had with the two stars: soprano Ruth Ann Swenson and bass Jim Morris. Now mind you, I had watched each of these singers from the audience multiple times and was a huge fan of them both. So, to be now in the same rehearsal room with them was mind blowing. And nerve-wracking.
We began working through the scene with the conductor, and getting closer to when I had to sing my bit… I was so extremely nervous…
I sang my lines, and the most amazing thing happened. My Opera idol, Ruth Ann, turned to me and whispered “That was perfect!” And smiled at me. All of a sudden, I felt that I had been inducted into the club.
Yet, each time I was rolled out onto the huge San Francisco Opera stage on the platform for my performance of this scene, my heart was pounding out of my chest. But I would just take multiple deep breaths and go for it, because at that point, that’s all you can do.
In the end, there is something deeply transformational about conquering moments like that.
If someone had to listen to Opera for the first time, what should they listen to?
I have thought about this so much… what is the best way to introduce someone to this extraordinarily compelling, yet also somewhat ludicrous, art form? And I always end up landing back on the tried and true.
My personal favorite for new listeners is the Habanera aria from Carmen by Bizet. (And not because I am a mezzo soprano). It’s because it has a lovely slow-groove bassline that listeners can relate to, and an immediate melodic hook that seduces you… Which is exactly what Carmen, herself, is supposed to do, by the way.
If you find that you like this aria, then I would continue on with the rest of the Opera, which is truly an absolute masterpiece.
If you find that you liked the entire Opera of Carmen, then I would recommend next trying La Boheme by Puccini.
And then I would recommend Verdi Operas, such as Rigoletto or Aida.
What was the title of your first original song?
Aside from the classic “Goodbye Darlin'”, which has not been recorded, another of my first songs is called “Sarah Jackson”, which was the name of someone I saw on a gravestone in a cemetery in Pennsylvania. (I’m one of those people who likes walking around cemeteries). I wrote this song when I was 15, maybe? It’s in an open D guitar tuning inspired by “Daylight Again” by Crosby, Stills and Nash, and it’s about mortality and the non-linearity of time, which is something I’ve been pondering my entire life, with a lyric: “81 years from death it was time that she was born”.
Did you record it?
We had a 4-track cassette recording of this song that I made with my high school collaborator at that time, (who is now video game music composer, Jack Wall). But I don’t know if it still exists…there might be some cassette mixdowns floating around somewhere…
You were a backup singer for John Cale (The Velvet Underground) on the Tonight Show. Tell me about that day?
That was a somewhat surreal day. And it ties in so nicely with what we just talked about because it involves my friend Jack Wall, who was at that time in the late 90s working with John Cale in the studio on his recordings. Jack contacted me and asked if I and two other singers could come to LA from San Francisco to back up John Cale for The Tonight Show because there was some issue with Cale’s current backup singers. So, I grabbed two of my fellow singers in my group, Screaming Divas, (the late, great, Lilli Oldfield, and Pamela Nissley), and we flew to LA.
What was so interesting is the song that he needed us to back him up on was “Dancing Undercover” from his “Walking on Locusts” CD. The backups for this particular song were very straightforward, and since we were 3/5 of a working acapella group, we were used to singing together, figuring out harmonies, and doing very complex things vocally, which made learning the parts for this particular assignment quite easy for us.
We showed up at the music rehearsal the day before The Tonight Show, met John and the band, and started rehearsing the tune. We nailed it the first time through, and John was genuinely surprised and delighted. In fact, he really didn’t have any notes to say at all except for something like “Wow, that was great. You women are amazingly quick.” (Of course, we loved hearing that.) But just because, we ran through the song two more times and that was it. We were to meet the next day at the NBC Burbank studios for a 10:30 AM taping.
Being on the iconic Tonight Show was another peak life performance experience. I remember feeling like this was where I belonged and wanted to be forever; surrounded by such a skilled production crew and musicians in such a highly visible setting. We ran through the song onstage for the director to get all of the camera angles, and then retreated to our dressing room to await showtime. Jay Leno came in and introduced himself to each one of us, shaking each of our hands and welcoming us as a truly gracious host. I was so impressed with his warmth and presence with each one of us as individuals, realizing that he does this with all of his guests, day in and out… It was clear to me that he is a genuine people person.
The performance went off without a hitch, and after the show, John told us that he was going to look into us joining him for his concert tour, because he was so delighted with what we had done. (Ultimately, that never came to pass due to budgetary issues.)
The most surreal part of this whole experience was, though, we then flew home that afternoon, and that evening I sat on my couch and watched myself singing on The Tonight Show.
What was Screaming Divas? Do you think that acapella can make a comeback?
Screaming Divas… I have such love for the 5 women that I shared this group with. The group’s genesis was from an acapella group called Sirens that was put together by another woman. It turned out that she was a bit of a control freak, and we ended up mutinying, and striking out on our own. I had no idea if I could arrange for acapella vocals but I took my 4-track and dove right in, becoming sort of the de facto main arranger for the group. Our hallmark was doing unexpected acapella arrangements, more like what is known as a vocal band, with vocal percussion and instrumental imitations. We were doing this in the 90s, decades before the huge success of Glee and Pentatonix, but unfortunately, being an all-female band, we lacked the low end of the male voice that could really drive the bass sound. Even though we were limited by that, it didn’t stop us from doing acapella arrangements of songs like Pink Floyd’s “Money”, Jimi Hendrix’ “All Along the Watchtower”, or instrumental numbers like “Sing Sing Sing” or “Bolero”. We had a good run for 7 years, performing for Hillary Clinton, and opening for Dana Carvey, George Benson, and eventually Todd Rundgren at the Fillmore Auditorium. When our high soprano decided to move to LA, that was the beginning of the end of the group. The camaraderie and intimacy that we shared on the road, on stage, in rehearsal and in the dressing rooms… it’s a gift I will never forget and will cherish always.
To answer your second question, it seems to me that acapella did make a huge comeback with Glee and Pentatonix, which really surprised me, to tell you the truth.
What made you create “Naked Kate”?
Well, when I released my first album, “Dream Dance” in 2017, a lot of people told me it reminded them of Kate Bush. And as people started buying that album, I discovered from their emails and comments on social media that they also loved Kate Bush.
What was funny is that a couple months before I got the inspiration to do my “Naked Kate” album, I had stumbled across the opportunity to buy a signed copy of Kate Bush’s recent book of lyrics “How to Be Invisible”. There was only 1 copy left on eBay, and it came down to a bidding war between someone in the UK and me. The bidding was formidable… I could tell we both really wanted this book.
So, I was delighted and excited to wake up the morning of the final bid to see that I had won it!
When the book arrived from the UK, I placed it in my studio as a talisman of sorts to inspire and feed me for working on my next original album. I held my hands over her signature to absorb the energy.
Fast forward a couple months later after that, and one of my fans had commented on social media to please don’t wait so long for the next album. That triggered me; I started contemplating how I could release an album sooner rather than later. I then woke up a few days later on the morning of March 25 with a fully formed vision, and a clear inner voice saying to me: “Why don’t you record a stripped down, all acoustic cover album of Kate Bush material and call it “Naked Kate”? And in the next moment, the cover art was also revealed to me.
It was a few months after that that I remembered my talisman from late January, and realized that it had worked its magic so well, that much to my surprise, I ended up recording an entire Kate Bush cover album!
Once I got deeply involved in listening through her complete catalog for the curation process, I realized another big reason why I made this album. Multiple times I would have people over for a social event, and would attempt to put on some Kate Bush as a subtle way of introducing them to her. But because of her wonderful audacity, eventually they would often say “What is this? Can you please play something else?”
I realized it would be a great thing to be able to put on my “Naked Kate” album during a dinner party, for example, and have their ear attracted to not only what we made of it, but also to the pure music, her brilliant lyrics and melodies; to be able to really listen to her songwriting. After all, when she’s asked to describe herself, that’s often the first word she uses: “songwriter”. So, this album is really about exposing the beauty of her songs in such a way that you can really hear them. And I get comments from my listeners about that all of the time. . . how much they love how you can really hear the lyrics and the melodies and just sink right into each song.
What is your favorite track on the album?
Oh, boy, that is really difficult to answer.
Because in all honesty, “Naked Kate” turned out to be one of those magical studio experiences where every track captured multiple moments of inspiration. Let me just stop right here for a moment to acknowledge something really key to how this album turned out: my collaborators. I brought New Orleans singer/songwriter/guitarist Alex McMurray to California for a long weekend to track his guitar with mine as well as to contribute his fantastic, gritty vocals. He was the first person I thought of that I wanted to collaborate with me on this record, so I was extremely excited that he accepted. We spent a couple months prior emailing and meeting a few times in Zoom to go over arrangement ideas and the material. Kate Bush music is not basic, and yet Alex arrived completely prepared. So, when we went into Jamie Bridges’ excellent studio “Room With a View”, we were ready to go. I worked them both hard for those 3 days to make sure that we got all the basic tracks down for the 15 songs on the album before Alex needed to return home…12 hour days in some cases, and we did it. They both were a dream to work with: committed, calm, caring, fun, and professional.
We spent the last evening before Alex had to fly out reminiscing and philosophizing over Scotch into the wee hours of the morning; and I was so touched that this project had caused them both to fall in love with Kate’s music, too.
However, I remember waking up the next morning and realizing: “Holy crap! Now I have to complete this! The work has just begun!” And I then spent the next three months in Jamie’s studio, completing the album with the additional guitar tracks, bass tracks, percussion tracks, and vocal tracks, playing each part and finalizing the arrangements. There were times, of course, that I ran into roadblocks, like “How am I going to make this one work?” And so, I had to woodshed again with the original material, listening, digging for inspiration of what to include in the stripped-down arrangements to bring the song alive in this new setting, but with just its essential elements. And of course, vocally, each piece was its own challenge. Coloring my voice to meet the demands of each song, keeping it my own, yet also doing Kate’s melodic shapes and lyrical intent justice. I look back on it now and its almost dreamlike…. What a deep joy that work was…
Now, after all that said, if I had to pick, among my favorite tracks are “Joanni”, “Don’t Give Up”, “Hounds of Love” and “Suspended in Gaffa”.
How did you get your pink Telecaster? In addition, does it have a name?
There’s a story to everything isn’t there? And, I love so much that you are asking about my Paisley tele!
I bought my first pink Paisley Telecaster in the 80s when I was playing in an 80s cover band. It was a Japanese reissue, but was still really cool. On July 3 of 1996, the Omphale houseboat that I lived in in Sausalito (and where Alan Watts used to live) burned down to the pilings, along with nearly every bit of its contents. I lost everything I owned except for the clothes I had on my back… we had to flee the flames in order to survive. My beloved cat Miss Peanut did not survive. It remains to this day one of the most traumatic events of my life.
The next day we met with the fire marshal to poke through the ashes to see what we could salvage. Surprisingly, he recovered my Shure Beta 58 microphone (which I used for 20 years after that until it gave up its ghost), and two and a half guitars… The half being my beloved pink Paisley Telecaster, which was beyond repair.
In 2003, my fiancé, the late Keith Keller, who was a guitarist, producer and owner of Chez Flames Studio in New Orleans, surprised me by giving me a gift of a Japanese reissue of a pink Paisley Telecaster that he had found. I was stunned, deeply touched and delighted. I treasure it. And especially now, since Keith passed suddenly in 2006, (the first most traumatic experience of my life) … My pink Paisley Telecaster is very, very special to me. So special that I guess it transcends a name.
How do you stay healthy while touring?
By not touring. I’ve been focusing solely on distributing my music online, although was actually just starting to plan to do some live shows; I had a festival gig booked for the Fall of 2020 that I was starting to prepare for, and then the Coronavirus hit.
It’s an interesting dichotomy that I struggle with often: live shows vs. studio recordings and online presence. The music industry has undergone a complete transformation from when I was a little girl listening to my Bakelite radio and dreaming of being a Rockstar. In this new world of the music industry, an indie artist such as myself can work my own distribution to get my music out to my fans, and not owe all of the expenses back to the record company and end up empty-handed. Setting up a tour and hoping it will be profitable and will spread your music doesn’t have to be part of the equation anymore. There is an upside and a downside to that, for sure… Live music venues were already struggling and now due to the pandemic, it feels like they are on their last legs, which is very, very concerning to me. In the meantime, I am beyond grateful for the reach of the Internet in order to distribute and sell my music all over the world.
What are your feelings about streaming music? Digital vs. vinyl?
Yeah, another dichotomy! I use streaming music and I absolutely love it…. I love that I can search for something on Spotify, put it on my phone and have it with me wherever I am. I love that the algorithm causes me to discover new artists that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to find.
And yet, as an artist myself, the streaming services leave a lot to be desired in terms of compensation, as you know. Yet, they are great discovery tools for Indie artists to be found. Ultimately, I have found that there are two types of people: people who still like to buy CDs and vinyl and people who don’t and want to stream everything or buy digital downloads. I am the 1st type, yet I also find for me that it matters what the music is as to whether I will buy the CD or the vinyl. I actually just bought a vinyl record today: The Allman Brothers Band Live at the Fillmore East. I bought the entire Kate Bush catalog on vinyl when the remasters came out last year. The recordings I buy on vinyl are the types of albums that I want to sit and listen to from start to finish. Not every recording is like that, and so can work well for streaming or for a CD that you can play in your car.
I do want to release both of my recordings to date on vinyl because they’re both the type of records that you want to just sit and listen to. So, that’s something I will be working on in the future.
I see you are into the Pretenders. Have you heard Chrissie’s jazz music yet?
Oh my god!! I have NOT!! Let me take a moment right now and listen…
OK, so, I just went to sample a few songs from it. “How Glad I Am” and “Caroline, No” … spectacular.
Let me start by thanking you for turning me on to this. Wow. (Another story unfolding right in front of my eyes…. I will always remember this conversation as being the one that turned me on to “Valve Bone Woe”.)
Did you know there are only two female musicians whose autographed talismans I have in my studio? One of them, as you now know, is Kate Bush, and the other is Chrissie Hynde. Her autographed album “Stockholm” hangs directly over my studio monitor. It’s almost like she and Kate are the yin and yang of my musical personality. The soft, soprano side of me and the hard-assed rocker, alto side of me. Chrissie for me was an early role model of a fierce, independent woman holding her own in the rock world. And that voice of hers is perfection…. Still is. Strong clear, expressive, distinctive, no bull.
What are your feelings about the social uprising going on in the United States?
Well, I definitely fall more into the artsy-fartsy category than the social activist one. So, I admire and appreciate the people who care enough to put their personal safety out on the line for the sake of an ideal and for societal change. The way I see it, we each have a role to play, and my role falls more in the realm of consciousness, and touching people’s spirits through art and music, causing insight and hopefully transformation, soul by soul, if I can.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? And what is the meaning that song brings to you?
“How Glad I Am”, actually… Because I just discovered Chrissie’s superb rendering of it. As I was listening to it, I was marveling at how effortlessly she moves through the vocal registers, and how after decades of singing rock and roll and doing some hard-living, herself, her voice is completely intact. She is such a skilled vocalist to understand the importance of singing on the fine edges of the voice, which is how you achieve dynamic control. Let me tell you, as a vocalist, using these tiny little pieces of tissue half an inch in length to project your instrument into the wall of sound that can be the stage noise, is daunting. And the impulse to push is always there, whether you’re singing Opera, unamplified, on a huge stage over an orchestra of 40 instruments, or whether you’re singing into a microphone next to a crashing drum kit and wailing guitar amps. So, to hear her skill after all these years of navigating those waters, and how pristine her instrument is, virtually unchanged from when she was in her 20s, is astonishing. So, for me, I wasn’t particularly thinking about the meaning of the song itself, more about how impactful great skill can be in bringing music alive. And that inspires me more than anything: what can I do to bring music alive?
How do you feel the Covid-19 virus is going to affect the music business in the future?
I’m not an industry analyst, but it seems to me that currently, at least, it is a wake-up call for a lot of independent artists to start moving their music business into the online space and not have to rely so much on live shows. As you have seen, there’s been an explosion of online concerts with online tip jars… so many of my musician friends I know personally have lost all of their gigs. My friends in the Opera world, too, are struggling with the Opera companies shutting down, and their unemployment running out. 9 months ago, Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins said what he advises musicians is to put their whole focus into using the Internet to reach people. Perhaps the live presenters will start cashing in on this idea themselves and coordinate large online experiences for ticket prices. Although there still is nothing that replaces the visceral experience of sharing live music with the musicians themselves and the other people in the immediate space around you. So, whether that will translate into creating social distanced-style venues, or more drive in concerts in cars…. It remains to be seen.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine? Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies (how is your garden coming along)?
Daniel, wow, you’ve really done your research. I’m so impressed!
You know, I was commenting to someone when this began how enormously grateful, I felt (and still do feel) that my life on a day-to-day basis hasn’t really changed too much. Especially in the face of so many people who are suffering right now, all over the world. It’s absolutely devastating to read and watch how many lives and livelihoods are being destroyed by this pandemic.
The reason my life hasn’t changed much is because of the Internet and the connectivity that we have. I can remain at home and continue to work on my music, uninterrupted, and all of my ventures, as well as interact with my fans online. I look around at my garden in all of its beauty and splendor that inspires me so much, and I don’t mind at all being “stuck” here. I am not suffering from depression or feelings of cabin fever, and while I do check into the news occasionally to stay up to date on what is happening, I generally avoid it and the negativity, as that just derails your focus.
I’ve always had as a very high value to create my living space as a sanctuary, unknowingly following William Morris’ admonition (that I just discovered while reading a book about the Pre-Raphaelist painters): “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
And I’m no good to myself or others if I allow myself to be brought under by fear or negativity.
So, during quarantine, my lifestyle basically just got accentuated, in a way. Because even prior to quarantine, I always started every day with my cup of tea and contemplation under either my willow tree or walnut tree. Now, given a little bit more free time since I’m not running around going anywhere, my periods of contemplation are longer, allowing me time to read more, and to start writing the lyrics for the third and fourth songs on my next album, or to continue writing notes on a metaphysical book that I’ve been working on. I have had more time to paint, and I’ve learned a few new techniques that I’m excited about.
I used to go to the gym three days a week and now I’m doing that via Zoom. I’ve been studying acting for film and television in San Francisco for the past few years and now I’m doing that via Zoom. I work with my vocal maestra via Skype. I meet with my close group of friends every Saturday via Zoom. I only venture out for the necessities, such as groceries, or the post office to mail off signed CDs. Occasionally, when there is music outside, I will go and listen. Recently there was a band playing on a float in the middle of the river, and we were all able to sit on the riverbank, socially distanced safely, and still enjoy the music. I also will venture out for hikes, or trips to the beach. But that’s about it. And I’m finding something I really am enjoying about the simplicity of this lifestyle.
Many people are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. What are you planning to do?
Yeah, I have put a lot of thought into that, and it is on my ridiculously long list of all the tasks I need to do to create a setup in order for me to do occasional live shows via streaming. It basically requires the same thing, musically, that setting up to do a live show in person would require. Since I’ve been a solo recording artist, creating and producing the majority of the music myself, and layering it, I need to start incorporating other musicians and rehearsing with them. And then there are the tech considerations. I guess I’m a little bit of a control freak, too; I’m just not willing to slap something together just for the sake of streaming live and not have it be the highest quality possible.
Do you think it will be possible to make a living doing concerts this way?
Yes, I do think artists can make a living in this way. I wish I could remember the name of the artist, but someone came across my radar lately via my network of online musicians who is making an excellent living just doing live shows from her Facebook page.
Just as I really kind of enjoy the simplicity of not having to drive to San Francisco for my voice coaching, there is something highly attractive about not having to leave your home and still do live performances, right? And the same goes for the fans. How nice to not have to deal with driving, parking, crowds…. Yet, at the same time there’s something viscerally exciting about dealing with all of that in order to be able to experience a show that you miss out on with the virtual experience. So, it’s a mixed bag.
Live Nation is starting to do the first ever U.S. drive-in concert series — LIVE FROM THE DRIVE-IN — This will bring fans a live music tailgating experience unlike any other, kicking off July 10-12 in Indianapolis, IN, Nashville, TN, and St. Louis, MO. Brad Paisley will headline performances in all three cities, marking the start of a much anticipated return to in person live events. Darius Rucker and Jon Pardi will also headline the series. Is this something you would be willing to do?
Absolutely. When I first heard about this idea I was very excited about it, because I always loved drive-in movies as a kid, and it seems to me it would be fun and thrilling yet comfortable to experience a concert in this way from the audience’s perspective.
From the performer’s perspective, it’s really hard to know what it would be like to be up there singing to a bunch of cars. In some ways, it might be liberating, because you’re not seeing all of the faces and everyone’s gaze upon you, so if you suffer from stage fright, this setup could mitigate that. On the other hand, not receiving the love back via the collective audience reaction could be quite disconnecting and disorienting.
For smaller bands who do not play large crowds, this is not really an issue. How do you see bands going back to smaller venues and doing things like play for the door, with no guarantees?
Small live music venues were already struggling, and this shutdown has only made it worse, obviously. I read an article on NPR that reported that 90% of independent music venues will be going out of business if they can’t get an infusion of funding.
This makes it even more difficult for the artists, because if the venues themselves are struggling, they are going to be even less in a position to offer anything to the bands. This is why it seems to me that Corgan’s advice of focusing your efforts as an Indie musician on the online world is excellent. Again, I am feeling grateful that I started focusing in this way a few years ago.
But the thought of no live music, except for the 1% megastars, or the amateur players who gig for free, is extremely painful to consider. It’s like the disappearance of the middle class in a society… It’s not a healthy trend. So, we can only hope that the venues will get some government support to make it through this storm, and that we can rebuild a live culture.
In addition, at the present time for a band to go on tour from one state to another they may need to self-quarantine for 14 days. How is that going to work?
Clearly, it’s not going to work. I think touring during this period is simply out of the question.
With social distancing being the norm, do you feel that it may be the end of music fest for the next couple of years?
Yes, I do. Projections from the big live presenters are for shows to resume in 2022, and even if the presenters themselves want to get back to business, how do the patrons feel about it? I know in the circles of people that I’ve polled about going out and about, the majority of them shake their head and say they’re not ready. And it’s so hard to sift through all the conflicting news. There is a lot of fear-mongering, as well as solid data floating around. I believe in the end it will be a personal decision on when people will be ready.
What about Holographic concerts in our living room?
Oh, YES!! I LOVE that idea!
How do you see yourself in the next five years?
Well, I look back to five years ago from where I stand now, and I was halfway through writing and recording my first album, “Dream Dance”, and still writing and acting in theatrical productions. The impact that releasing that album in 2017 had on my life was nothing short of tremendous. My trajectory and self-identity became solidified, as I transitioned from an Opera and theater performer to original recording artist, which in all actuality was what I always wanted to be in the first place. I see all of these colorful and wild and woolly experiences along the way as just what led me to be here and be able to make the type of music that I make.
So, five years from now, I will have continued to grow my global online audience through my label’s marketing efforts, I will have released my third album, Through the Looking Glass (which I am writing and recording as we speak), as well as released my EP of remixes, which I am also working on as we speak. I’m planning on the EP coming out in the next year, and for it to include some officially unreleased tracks, as well as remixes of other material. Right now, one of the remixes I’m working on is a driving, electronic version of my acoustic recording of House of the Rising Sun, and I am so extremely excited about it, I can’t tell you! I’m thinking of focusing on that as a single release on Spotify, and I already have the storyboard for the music video laid out in my head.
I also can see myself doing live sets at festivals both here and in the UK… But never the grind of a long tour. Because, similar to Kate Bush, I’ve always been mostly inspired by the alchemy of creating recorded music. I also can see myself doing a fully staged, multimedia, theatrical show with a story and through line featuring just my Nymphya music.
Anything you would like to say in closing?
Daniel, your insightful questions and research have honestly made my time spent doing this interview so fulfilling. Thank you. You really took me on a journey into my past, all the way up through to the present, and into the future! I very recently lost my Dad, who was the first love of my life, and when you lose someone so special, it really puts how you spend your precious time on this Earth into perspective.
I wake up every day and amongst my first three thoughts is something about my music. And, nearly every single day, without fail, I am interacting with people from all over the world, via social media or email, who are funny and colorful and interesting, and who are excited about what I’m up to or what is about to come, musically.
Knowing that in some small way, an inspiration that I get which then becomes a lyric, or a melodic phrase, or a musical hook, that then touches another human being across the planet, and brings us closer together…brings us closer to understanding one another… or to understanding ourselves… and perhaps causes a shift… that really is the point of it all, isn’t it?
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