Artist Interview – Aryn Michelle

Aryn Michelle is an alternative pop/rock singer from Dallas, Texas and is our latest StarNow competition winner. Aryn’s talent and fanbase has recently allowed her to raise $50,000 to fund an album recording and release. Despite her incredibly hectic schedule with the ensuing promotion we were delighted when she agreed to complete a feature interview for Song Revelation. Read on to discover what Aryn’s been working on for the last 12 months, what advice she would give to upcoming singers and what it’s like to live in Dallas, Texas.

 

 

Q: If you could use a tagline of less than 20 words to describe your music and who you are what would it be?

Aryn Michelle, an alternative pop/rock songstress, seeks to capture the writing souls of contemporary and classic artists like Ben Folds, Elton John, Carole King. Her music is driven by piano and a variety of influences.

 

Q: What is your musical background?

My parents are both musically talented and actually met in high school choir. I grew up singing in church, sung in the choir in school, dabbled in musical theater and began writing my own music at age 15. I went on to study classical voice at Southwestern University and then got a certificate in songwriting from the Berklee College of Music.

 

Q: How have the last 12 months been for you?

Awesome! I released a new, fan funded album entitled “Last One Standing,” as well as three music videos for songs from the album. I’ve also been doing a little gigging with my band and ran a college and AAA radio campaign to promote the album. At the end of the year I started a new YouTube channel called New Tune Tuesday where I release a brand new song every week.

 

Q: Who inspires you musically?

I’m most inspired by songwriters who really take care with the music and lyrics that they craft. I think singability and mass appeal are important, but I think

using your art to make people think and feel something greater than they have before is even more important. So, I’m inspired by musicians like Sondre Lerche, Polly Paulusma, and Ben Folds.

 

Q: Which modern day artists do you look up to?

As I already said, I really respect Ben Folds because you can tell through the scope of his career that he has tried to be honest about who he is and what he creates. So much of music today is too commercial and not original enough for my taste. Other modern artists I look up to…I guess I’ll give some shout outs to some friends who are amazing writers who need to be more known like Maddy Zani, Dylan Galvin, Ashley Gatta, Michael Jade, and Katie Thompson.

 

Q: Is there anyone you would like to collaborate or gig with?

I love to collaborate and co-write. I’ve co-written country songs, and ballads and folk pieces with other writers. The best part about collaborating is the creation of a “songwriter” that is really the culmination of two or more people’s writing and life experiences. I can’t think of anyone specifically that I’d like to work with right now that I’m not already working with, but if Ben Folds needs an opener tell him to call me!

 

 

Q: What songs are on your ipod at the moment?

Arcade Fire’s album “The Suburbs” They won a Grammy for this album and I think its well deserved. I’ve been following them since “Funeral.” I’ve also been listening to Sia, Oh Land, and Lykke Li’s latest albums.

 

Q: What is your creative process for creating a track?

Well, it’s a back and forth, inching along, trial and error process for me. I usually start with an idea, or what a teacher of mine used to call a “song seed.” Its usually a bit of lyric with a melody that goes along with it. I start building the song from that little kernel of inspiration, one line and one chord at a time. If I’m making a demo track, it totally depends on what the vibe of the song is going to be. Often times I’ll record a scratch vocal and a piano accompaniment, and then go back in and fill in bass, drums, extras and then re-record the lead vocal.

 

Q: What’s more important, melody or lyrics?

BOTH, but if you make me choose, I say lyrics. If you ask “big music biz” then I’m pretty sure they’d say melody. Not even melody really, probably “beat.”

 

 

Q: Where are you based?

Dallas, Texas (technically a little suburb called Coppell)

 

Q: What’s it like being where you’re from?

I love being from and living in Texas. Its hot and the people are friendly and the live music scene is always growing and changing. I like not living in Austin, New York, Nashville or L.A. because you get that “big fish in a little pond” sort of feeling, even if I’m not really that big of a fish yet!

 

Q: What are you currently working on?

I just launched a new YouTube channel called New Tune Tuesday, where I release a brand new written song every week on Tuesday. I’ve been doing videos of new songs for 10 weeks now and I’m really excited about how its going. Its great to get instant feedback from my fans about the new music I’m writing. I’ve also been doing some co-writing with a friend, Ashley Gatta, and we might be launching a little side duo project sometime.

 

Q: What’s been the highlight of your career to date?

The last album I released “Last One Standing” was 100% funded by my fans. Over two years I was able to raise $50,000 to record the album via the international crowd-funding website SellaBand.com. I think completing the fundraising for the 50K was an overwhelming and unbelievable moment. To know that they many people truly believed in me and my music was such an honor.

 

 

Q: What are you hoping to achieve in over the next 12 months?

I’ve got a lot of little projects cooking right now. I’m still promoting “Last One Standing” but I’m also starting to look to the future at new projects. I’m doing some co-writing with a songwriter friend and we may be launching a folk, duo project. I’m also hoping to make a sort of funk influenced album with a friend from Berklee. I’m working on a musical with another friend and also am going to start occasionally jamming with a band called The Dirty Church Boys. So, I’ve got a lot of irons in the fire at the moment!

 

Q: Do you have any gigs or shows that you’d like to tell us about?

My band is playing a showcase at Red Gorilla (which is a festival in downtown Austin that runs concurrently with SXSW) We’ll be playing at 7PM at Darwin’s Pub on Weds March 14^th.

 

Q: What do you do to relax? 

I enjoy sci-fi novels and movies (geeky, I know!) I’m totally into Dr. Who at the moment. I also like to take walks around my neighborhood, I really enjoy the peace of being outside.

 

Q: Where would your favourite holiday (vacation) be and why?

I love the beach. I can find so much joy just standing on the shore and listening to the waves. I am landlocked where I live right now, so I don’t get to go the beach often. Also, I love any vacation that I can take with my family. I really love being around my family and I feel so blessed for all the moments I get to spend with them.

 

Q: If you could give a little piece of advice for new or aspiring musicians what would it be?

The more you know, the better. Take the time to take some music classes and know more about your craft. If you don’t play an instrument, learn an instrument. If you play and instrument, learn it better. Learn how to use basic recording software. Make your own demos. Learn how to do things yourself before shelling out tons of money.

 

 

Q: Is there anything else you’d like to let our readers know about?

Anyone that wants to stay in touch with me can sign up for my newsletter on the front page of my website: arynmichelle.com. I also welcome people to write reviews of the new album and post them on ITunes or CdBaby. I’m all about direct fan interaction and support, that’s the most important thing for me. I don’t really care about being super famous or having a record deal; I want to make music my fans love and make meaningful relationships with them.

 

Editor’s Note: Aryn Michelle effectively shapes intelligent songwriting with deep emotion to produce a heart-warming yet commercial sound.

 

If you’d like to check out more of her music portfolio or get in touch, just follow the links below:

 

twitter link: twitter.com/aryn_michelle

facebook link: facebook.com/arynmichelleband

web page link: arynmichelle.com

soundcloud link: soundcloud.com/arynmichelle

reverbnation link: reverbnation.com/arynmichelle