Hey guys this week we are joined by Miranda English, a young female artist from the greater Vancouver area. There is no question however that she is going to have a very promising career. I'm going to go as far and even say she could very well be the next Avril Lavinge. Miranda a pop/punk singer as a similar sound. with that lets see what she has to say.
ITS- Who or what has been your biggest inspiration to pursue a career in music?
Miranda- "The person that has mostly influenced me and really left a mark in my skin would have to be my friends and family. Ever since I was around 6 years old music was one of my favourite things and being around the support of pushing and caring parents they would always help me with anything involved. As I started to grow up I noticed that I wasn't really liked in school, so I would turn to music. It's always been there for me when people haven't, and now that I have a career in it, music has been the best thing that has ever happened to me."
ITS- Still being so young what do you feel are your biggest challenges in life right now?
Miranda- "Probably dealing with a few of the "haters". Being so young in this particular music scene I go through a lot more hate than you would expect. But I usually am fine and can just brush it off. This one girl that used to come out and see me play said "This music scene is just like high school but with older people and no classrooms" and I completely agree."
ITS- So back in May you did a cover of Avril Lavigne's song Here's To Never Growing Up, does that song have any significant meaning to you? Or was it just a song you wanted to sing?
Miranda- "At first when I chose the song I just picked it because it was catchy and had some fun lyrics to it, and of course it was new. But after singing and practicing the song for awhile it finally sunk in that even though I'm as young as I am, and I treat my age as if it's so bad (as some of my musician friends know) I don't really enjoy my age. But this song opened my eyes kind of and made me realize that I'll never be this age again, and maybe I should really be enjoying it instead of thinking it as such a negative aspect."
ITS- What has been the biggest highlight of your young career so far?
Miranda- "Probably touring this summer. As weird as it is I have rarely any music realesed but I get treated as if I have a thousand albums out. I've opened for an amazing amount of signed/popular artists and become bestfriends with people I used to idolize. I guess that having people have faith in me and put me on the bill as a signed artist means a lot. Little things like that mean a lot to me, and a lot of people know I'm just starting out so it's really crazy to even think I have fans, especially fans in on the other side of the world (France)"
ITS- If you could setup your dream lineup for a show you were headlining who would you have open for you.
Miranda- "Oh boy, this ones tough haha. There's this band that I absolutely LOVE from Ontario called Crystalyne. So they would have to be on there aswell as my all time favourite band right now which is paramore. And the guys in Fighting For Ithaca have been here since the start of my career, and I look up to a few of them so I definitely need them in the lineup as well."
ITS- Final question. As we are winding down 2013, have you given any thought to what you want to do in 2014?
Miranda- "A few goals I have for 2014 would be to tour the rest of Canada with my full band that is finally coming together which I am so excited about! And to go down to the states because I already have a fan base down there! This year is going to be very exciting for my career."
Well thank you very much Miranda for taking the time to do this with us. Best of luck to you in your career. If you would like to follow Miranda in her career follow her on social media.
Facebook- Miranda English
Twitter- @MirandaEnglish
Instagram- @MirandaEnglish
Youtube- Miranda English
Now for a little taste of what Miranda has to offer here is her cover of Here's To Never Growing Up.
This week in Inside The Scene we are joined from Toronto by Chief Awuah. Now I know you may be saying, this blog is supposed to showcase local talent from Vancouver, the thing is Chief got his start in music in Vancity. Back in 2008 Chief formed a group called Aristotle's Lyceum with Harold Hejazi and Deskreet releasing "Act 1: Meet His Students". This would be a stepping stone in his career, however going through ups and downs, Chief now is setting his sights on leaving his mark musically. Now with that said lets get to the interview with Chief.
ITS -Chief I just want to start by saying thank you for sitting down and taking the time to do this interview. Chief -" First and foremost, I'd like to thank you, Rob Luc and Inside the Scene Vancouver for this interview. Both honoured and humbled to have the privilege to be interviewed, for the first time, about my music. Much appreciated King. Thank you."
ITS -Give us a little insight to who Chief Awuah is.
Chief - "As far as the artist, Chief, is concerned, well, I'm a work in progress. I've gone through your far share of transitions, specifically speaking, transitioning from "Tha Sophist" to "Chief". Tha Sophist was developed in Vancouver, my first initial stomping grounds. It there that I collaborated with my former team, Aristotle's Lyceum. We managed to piece together our first and only project known as, "Act 1: Meet His Students". It didn't really generate any sort of buzz, but at the time it did receive a warm reception from one blog, illRoots. I'm not certain if its available for download anywhere, but if it is, peep game, please. (Haha) After leaving Vancouver, I worked on a solo project, I had tentatively titled, "Hello World" but due to my disdain for the sound quality I didn't release it. But I'm working on a few projects at the moment, that I'll hopefully release soon."
ITS-Now, I know you live in Toronto but you started your career in Vancouver with Aristotle's Lyceum. Tell us what's different in comparison to the music scene of both cities.
Chief - "If you haven't heard this name for Toronto, I'll school you. Toronto, or as the locals including myself would call it, the "screw face" capital (Haha), is slightly different from that of Vancouver, in the sense that people are beginning to support their artists more here as opposed to the pre-Drake phenomena. Vancouver, I've always found to be highly supportive and eclectic in the music that is produced there. I won't lie, if I did have a chance to really build on my fanbase in Vancouver, perhaps things would be different, nonetheless, I'll deal with the cards I've been dealt. Toronto's music scene has honestly exploded with talent, PARTYNEXTDOOR, The Weeknd, Tory Lanez, Luu Breeze, just to name a few Hip-Hop/R&B influenced artists, as far as alternative is concerned, Stuck On Planet Earth, Metric, Team!Badguy, (some local artists you should check out); the level of support that the city is beginning to show these artists has really opened my eyes to the potential that the North has. I got to say, we're definitely setting a lane for yourself. Shout out all those artists/groups I mentioned, the ones I do know, and don't know, personally. (Haha)"
ITS-Who has been the biggest inspiration in your life to pursue a career in music?
Chief - "Hm."
"If we're talking from a musical standpoint, as of now it has to be Jay-Z & Ab-Soul. Both these artists, respectively, have a way with words and wordplay that I can only aspire to reach. Jay-Z's "Reasonable Doubt", hands down has to be one of my favourite albums of all time. That right there, truly debuts the hunger and grit that made me love Jay. "Dead Presidents", "D'Evils", "Friend or Foe", "Bring It On", and the impeccable "22 Twos"... Wooo. (Haha) Jay is the man for those, in my eyes. Now, Ab-Soul, he's a different beast. Lines like:"
"Now we smoking by the O, like the letters P & N, they have to start watching CNN for you to see an end" ~ End is Near
"I'm in a whole 'nother realm, go to hell, last n***a tried to scratch the surface broke a nail, last n***a tried to cross the line got crucified, we overseas, back to back, never wore chanel" ~ Pineal Gland
"Genius-Idiot best description of myself" ~ Pineal Gland
"That definitely encapsulates what he believes he is, but in contrast, I think the man is just a genius, flat out. His album Control System, really stimulated the way I'm taking the direction of music. I've become even more meticulous with my choice of words, and how I want them delivered and the image I'm attempting to depict. I give credit to Ab, now more than ever, for really fuelling the fire I needed to get my fingers typing lyrics. I should say Kendrick, BUT... that's a conversation for another time. (Haha)"
"Biggest personal inspiration has to be my teammate, Blake Powell. He goes under the name, BLVD Blake. He recently just produced 5 tracks on a currently charted EP by D-WHY, "Young, Loved, Hated & Broke". Its doing very well, so give that a peep and support both D-WHY and Blake. But, yeah, he's my biggest inspiration man. I feel as though that man, always reaches new levels of creativity that I strive to reach, and when I do, he's on Level 8 when I'm on Level 4. (Haha)... Still, that's inspiring enough to me want to reach there. He's a beast of a producer and at his best when challenged. I challenge him to do things differently, and he always goes above and beyond. He challenges me to work on my marketing skills, and, well, I'm still working on that... Haha, but nonetheless, there's a level of respect that I have for him and his work ethic that I can't compare to anyone else. I'm a witness, and a listener, to greatness that is on the verge of being noticed. Remember that. So Shout out to Blake man. You know what it is King. Love."
ITS-What projects are you working on right now? And can we expect some new music very soon?
Chief - "At the present moment, I'm working on two projects. My solo effort titled, Meditation 1: Memories of December and a collaborative project, with my current band Since88 known as "Academic Probation". The way things are looking, Academic Probation will see some light sooner than Meditation 1. I'm aiming to have both projects done and release in 2014; Spring 2014."
"As far as new music, the first single off of Meditation 1 has been released, "The Prelude". Check that out. The first single off of the Since88 project will hopefully have some life within the month, as we're recording this single for a commercial for a clothing line that Since88 is affiliated with. I'm working on my second single off Meditation 1. I'm hoping to have that released some time before the Spring. No titles will be disclosed... Haha, but all I can say is, it'll be considered better late than never. So as Lil' Wayne says, "Keep your mouth closed and let your eyes listen." All in due time."
ITS-I always like getting the opinion of hip-hop artists, so who in your mind is the most influential hip-hop artist today? And how about 10 years ago?
Chief - "Today, it has to be Kendrick Lamar. His verse on "Control" has really set a competitive wave in motion in Hip-Hop, and I think its exactly what the game needs. I'm not against the whole friendly camaraderie, but for a while Hip-Hop really lost its intrigue. Post-Control, you can see that every rapper is honestly, RAPPING. It's set the music in a direction where lyrics matter, and everyone is gunning for each other's necks on verse, to essentially take the fans of the artist they're featured with. I like that. I'm a competitive person, and I remember telling my man Lane, (Shout out Lane) "Man, I really f***s with your music and that real. But just know, if you feature me on a track where the intention is to go bar for bar, I'm not taking an L to you, I'm letting you know, I'm coming for you." So, it's what I believe the game needs, and what makes Kendrick the man at this moment. He's not sparing any bars on any track, featured or not... He's a force."
"10 years ago? I was in grade 9. Uhm... Its between Jay-Z and Kanye. Jay-Z was on the verge of retiring and had all the momentum I believe at that time. Kanye had dropped The College Dropout, and set in motion "Honest rapping". The thing with hip-hop is, some subject matter tends to get over-exaggerated, to the point that it isn't really convincing unless the artist has tangible proof. Now, what Kanye did was different from that of the Hip-Hop that was bouncing around then, he wasn't taking "Gangsta" or relaying the "Thug Life" message, he was talking about his issues and issues of the typical Afro-American/Canadian. That's what set Kanye apart from the rest, easily. In a time where jeans were sagging, he wore his at his waist line. In a time were Platinum and cristal was in every rappers line, he brought our attention to his beliefs and desires to achieve those seemingly intangible things. "
"But that's just my view."
ITS-If there was one artist you could work with mainstream or underground who would it be and why?
ITS-Final question, 6 years ago NAS stated "Hip-Hop is Dead", what state do you feel Hip-Hop is in now?
Chief - "Its not dead, it lives in the West. I have to say Top Dawg ENT has the game in their grips. Kendrick, Ab-Soul, ScHoolboy Q & Jay Rock, that unit is what has peoples ears perk up every time a song comes out from them. Don't get me wrong, the radio would say YMCMB is the best, but I shake my head to that notion. Maybe 2 years ago, yeah, but now, the West Coast is, literally, the best coast. Hip-Hop has found life, through Kendrick, and I'm sure it'll transition to another coast soon, but until then, my eyes are on California man. I think your eyes should be too."
Well once again Chief I just want to say thank you for doing this once again and I'm sure the fans are extremely excited for what you have coming out. I know I am.
If you want to Contact Chief on Social Media you can check him out at
Twitter, Instagram and Soundcloud under @since88_ck
and you can find him on Facebook under Chief.
And now for a little sample of what you can expect from Chief here is The Prelude from Meditation 1.
This week we are joined by Gabriela Geneva, a local girl who originates from Bulgaria and now lives in the Tri-Cities area, who is currently one of the vocalists of Greentree. A band who consists of 6 members and has a big following across Lower Mainland, even as far as Western Canada. While the Band as recently announced that as of 2014 that they will be going on hiatus,(we will get to that in the interview) however they will still be pursuing careers in music. With that being said lets go deep into the mind of the lovely and talented Gabriela Geneva, or as we have come to know and love her as Gabby.
ITS - So tell us Gabby what artists or bands inspired you to get into music? And why?
Gabby - "Actually, it wasn't either one of those! I'm a lover of all things Disney and as a child I used to want to sing and act as one of the Disney princesses on Broadway - I still do, let's be serious. That was always a dream of mine, but having music as my career was never really something I saw as realistic or possible until GreenTree took me in and introduced me to the local music scene."
ITS - So recently your band Greentree announced that as of 2014 you guys are going on Hiatus. What does that mean for Your future in music?
Gabby - "It means a lot of scary and equally exciting things. I'm basically taking all the weight and pressure that was shared between six people onto myself alone which is terrifying, but I get to call all the shots, which is incredibly liberating and exciting. That doesn't go to say that I had no say in my band, but a band is like a marriage; a lot of compromises are made by everyone in it. This next chapter just means I get to create something that's exactly what I want, no compromises."
ITS - At this stage of your career what are your long term goals?
Gabby - "My goal is to actually make this my career. No part-time jobs, no safety nets, no "back up plans". I want my music to sustain me and take over everything else that society thinks I should be doing instead."
ITS - So a lot of bands and artists have nicknames for their fan bases, for example you have the Ithacans, Planters, Townies, Chasers, and even lady gaga has her little monsters. Do you have a nickname in mind for your fan base?
Gabby - "Wow. I love that question. I wish I had an answer! Haha. Honestly, I want my "fans", or whoever supports and enjoys what I do, to be a part of my journey as much as possible, so I think I would let them choose a name for themselves. I want this to be a give and take between me and them, so we'd probably have a Twitter debate over it or something!"
ITS - Now you recently did a cover of Rhianna's song "What Now" what was the significance of that song to you?
Gabby - "When I first decided to do it, it wasn't because it held a particular meaning for me, but sometime during the recording process I realized how appropriate it is for what's been happening with my band and with my career, etc. It's been a crazy roller coaster of emotions and I think even just the title sums everything up perfectly. What now? Where the heck do we go from now, where do I go from now, what happens after all this? So I thought it was really interesting how the song slowly grew in meaning."
ITS - What can the fans expect from you in 2014?
Gabby - "My own music! The opportunity to share it with the home grown lovelies and outside. I hope they're just as excited as I am for it! We'll see what happens."
ITS - Now I'm sure the fans want to know. Is there a possibility of Greentree reuniting in the future?
Gabby - "I mean it's definitely not out of the question. As we were making our decision we all agreed that we definitely did not want this to be an outright end to everything we've built. That's why we chose a hiatus over a break up, even though to some people that may be the same thing. To us, a hiatus means we'll always have this band to come back to no matter what. Whether that happens or not, only time will tell."
ITS - Final question. What advice do you have for the other young women that want to pursue a career as a solo female musician?
Gabby - "Oh dear. I'm in no position to be giving advice since I've only just began walking down this path, but I think there are many things to be learned from going at it alone. There's only so much you can learn about yourself and other people by being in a team or a band. Some things you can only discover on your own, and I think that's the most exciting thing about it. All your mistakes and your successes are your own, and I think both are beautiful things that should be embraced not feared."
Thank you so much for sitting down and taking the time to talk to us and let the fans know a little bit more of what Gabby is about. If you want to follow Gabby on what I'm sure is going to be an amazing career you can find her on...
Well here
it is, the long awaited first interview for Inside The Scene, and we are joined
by none other than Curtis Steeksma of Fighting For Ithaca. FFI consists of 5
awesome guys who have a chance to do what they love professionally being signed
with 604 Records, based in Vancouver. FFI consists of Curtis Steeksma (lead
vocals), Jonny Steeksma (guitar), Adamm Strange (guitar), Tommy Pheonix (Bass)
and last but not least Phil Maloney (Drums). Having FFI as my first interview
is kind of fitting, seeing as how they were the band that got me following the
local music scene, discovering many greats bands. One of FFI's achievements in
their young career was having their song Last Chance played on Vancouver's
Sonic 104.9 Radio station and being featured on their nightly Monday to Friday
segment called "The Sonic Spin-off" where 2 songs were pitted against
each other, and fans would vote on who they would like to win. The FFI
fans or "Ithacans" and they are more commonly called, placed their
votes and FFI beat out Justin Bieber with 96% of the votes, and then winning
the next 4 nights in a row after that, being retired to the Spin-off Hall of
fame. With that achievement they also hold the record for having the most
votes. Now enough of me ranting and raving about FFI, lets get to the
interview.
ITS - What
is the meaning behind your band name FFI?
Curtis -
"The name Fighting For Ithaca is a reference to The Odyssey in Greek
Mythology. I'll spare you the long-winded explanation but for us, it basically
means fighting to get where you belong."
ITS - Your
Last album To The Rescue was your first release with 604 records individually
what are your favorite songs off the album and why?
Curtis -
"We all have our own picks for what we love to play live or listen to on
our own but for the most part, I think we all equally enjoy every track. Out of
Time is probably a favorite to play live and I would guess that Seeing Stars is
a favorite to listen to."
ITS - What
has been your favorite moments in your career so far as a band and
individually?
Curtis -
"Touring. Touring. Touring. I can't say enough how amazing it was to get
out on the road. We're used to being supported in our hometown and we love that
but to go out on the road and see so many people that we've met via social
media, is just phenomenal.
One of
the best moments of the last few years was when we first started to notice just
how many people were singing along at shows. There is no feeling in the world
that compares to hearing your lyrics sung back at you and knowing that in some
way, you have impacted someone's life with them.
There
have been other more private moments in which fans have stated that we have had
a personal affect on how they view themselves and their life. I think this is
extremely rewarding. As somewhat public figures, I feel that we need to use our
influence to spread positivity so when we hear things like that, I know we're
doing something right."
ITS - If
there was one band or individual artist that you could choose to tour North
America with who would it be?
Curtis -
"Honestly, there are so many bands we would love to tour with. On the pop
side, it would be Hedley or All Time Low. On the heavier side, we would love to
tour with A Day To Remember."
ITS - So
your EP that you released Thanks For Waiting was a bit heavy what made you
decide to change to Pop-Rock for To The Rescue?
Curtis -
"We try not to put limitations on how we write. We're a versatile band
that
takes
pride in our ability to touch different genres of music. When we signed our
record deal, we knew we needed to write songs that were commercially viable and
could make it on Canadian radio. We had reached a point of national popularity
and we needed to crack radio in order to expand our fanbase to the next level.
I think we managed to do that, while staying true to our sound. The Canadian
"mainstream" market is a very exclusive club and the fact that this
small pop-punk band from Vancouver was able to somehow crack it, makes us very
proud.
The most
important thing to remember about Fighting For Ithaca is that we love all
styles of music and whether we write Do What You Wanna (our poppiest single to
date) or Draw The Line (Our heaviest song to date), we enjoy what we're doing
and we're proud of every song we put out."
ITS - So
what can the fans look forward to in 2014 from FFI?
Curtis -
"2014 will see a lot of changes from Fighting For Ithaca. We're going to
be taking a different approach to a lot of things, including writing and
touring. The songs we're crafting now are undoubtedly the catchiest and most
exciting stuff we've ever done so we're anxious to get it out to everyone.
We've
really matured as a band in the last few years. People don't realize this but
the songs on To the Rescue were written and recorded 2-3 years ago. A lot can
happen in that time.
We have
some surprises up our sleeves for the fans and we're looking forward to the
next few months to be able to share them."
ITS -
Final question. Do you have any advice for the up and coming artists or bands
that might want to get a record deal?
Curtis -
'Yes, absolutely.
The short
answer is a lot of hard work.
I think
there is this general misconception out there that FFI somehow got lucky and
landed a record deal by chance. I'm offended by people that have made this
assumption. We've been a band for 6 years and in that time we have toured,
played countless shows, learned how to become effective song writers,
identified a marketable sound and our target demographic, utilized and
developed our own unique skill sets, and ultimately, found a way to stand out
from the pack. We've sacrificed friends, relationships, money, and time. There
is no magic step-by-step to get noticed, it is a culmination of working hard
and making intelligent decisions over an extended period of time. There is
rarely a shortcut to success.
Getting a
record deal is often seen as the Holy Grail of the music industry. This is a
misconception and an attempt to create a definition for success. I've received
countless messages from other musicians saying "How did you do it? Can you
help me get one?". In most cases, these bands haven't even been together
for a year. It's like getting a record deal is the pinnacle of their plan for
success but this begs the question, what do you do AFTER you get a record deal?
Or perhaps more importantly, what can your record label do for you that you
aren't already doing for yourselves? With the industry in the state that it is
currently in, for a record label to even consider signing you, an artist needs
to be established and already independently performing the majority of the
services that a label can offer.
I don't
believe getting a record deal should be a young band's ultimate aspiration.
Having a record label to support you can be a wonderful thing but it ultimately
is what both you and the label do AFTER the fact that is the key to success.
You can't simply land a record deal and then rest on your laurels."
Well Thank
you for taking the time to talk to us Curtis, seems like 2014 is going to be a
big year for FFI, and the fans are going to have a lot to enjoy.
Curtis -
"Thanks to everyone for taking the time to read and we can't wait to show
you all what we've been up to!"
Catch FFI
This Friday night at Tom Lee Music Hall in Vancouver for their last show of
2014 "Holy Jingle Balls" with special guests.
Follow
Fighting For Ithaca on social media as a band and individually
Twitter -
Fighting For Ithaca - @FightingForIth
Curtis
Steeksma - @CurtisFFI
Jonny
Steeksma - @jonnyffi
Adam
Strange - @AdammFFI
Tommy
Pheonix - @TommyFFI
Phil
Maloney - PhiltyFFI
Facebook -
Fighting For Ithaca
Curtis
Ithaca Steeksma
Jonny FFI
Steeksma
Adamm
Thomas Strange
Tommy
Phoenix
Phil
Maloney
Instagram
Curtisffi
jonnyffi
adammffi
Philtyffi
and check
out their YouTube channel at Fighting For Ithaca
Watch the video here for Last Chance FFI`s first single off of To The Rescue
