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An
interview with Melissa Mullins |
An interview with Ty Oliver |
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1. Describe the early years of your musical roots and how your talent was nurtured. Ever since I can remember, I've wanted to sing and have been enthralled with music. My dad was always listening to music and my mom was a musician/songwriter/singer. It was in the genes, but I just always knew it, it was what I was made for. Moving to Austin at age 15 was an epic event, though. The booming music scene and being surrounded by people doing what I wanted to was very influential. I had already been writing/journaling and then at 16, picked up the guitar and decided that was my instrument. We had always had a piano around, and I had taken lessons before, but it never clicked. The guitar really got me going, though, and my writing developed more. 2. Where there any events, people or catalyst(s) that were musically influential? My parents/family were always very supportive of me in the direction of music. But they also reminded me that if I was going to get anywhere, I had to do it myself. So I paid for some guitar lessons and community college and had to motivate myself for it, which I am deeply grateful for because it feels like I earned it/sweated for it. 3. What does your live set up consist of? Me, the mic, and the guitar. As as solo performer, I'm mostly playing my Takamine acoustic. Lately though, I've been playing my 1964 Gibson Melody Maker through a Fender Blues Deluxe amp (not sure of the year). 4. What is the feel of your new CD entitled, “Solo-Style”? Its every essence of 'solo'. Completely acoustic and intimate, and all recorded by myself at home. Acoustic guitar, voice, and some keyboards. It was an experiment in discipline and practice in recording/engineering. I'm happy that I followed through and finished it, and released it. Quite the learning experience. 5. You recorded and produced “Solo-Style” in your home studio. What recording equipment did you use? I used the program Cubase on my computer, along with the M-Audio MobilePre for mics/instruments. 6. How did you record the acoustic guitar parts? What mics did you use and where were they placed around the guitar? I plugged the guitar straight into the MobilePre, and then made a second track and recorded with an AKG instrument mic. 7. Describe the room that you recorded in and how it was conducive to recording the acoustic guitar parts. The room is small, quiet, and cozy. Pretty basic, sparse and a little cluttered with cables and instruments. 8. You have released two videos. How did the opportunity to shoot the videos My boyfriend, Marcin, is the owner/director of Manmade Media. He loves filming and he chose the songs that he had definite ideas for shooting. 'Sunshine' was filmed in Driftwood, Texas (just outside of Austin). We had a great time filming, and then he spent numerous hours editing. It was a great learning experience for both of us. 9. Your current video release “Music Master” was produced by Manmade Media.The 3D effects and animation are awesome. Who was involved in the making of this video and where was it shot? Marcin and I shot the video in Austin. The outdoors scenes are in the Bouldin Creek area of Austin, and then the rest of it was shot on blue screen at his house. He really liked the song and had the idea/vision for it, and he drew out scenes for it. Then I got some costumes together and we dove in. The shooting took two days, and then he did all the processing, compositing, editing, etc. This video helped him explore 3D and become more familiar with the programs that he used (Premiere, Combustion...a few others that I don't remember...) 10. Briefly explain your roll as Co-Hostess of Writers Who Rock. Christine Young and myself began with the idea that we wanted a place to play where we could build a supportive music community. Her and I share an online calendar for booking performers, and we both review/listen to new people and decide where to place them in the schedule. We alternate weekly which of us plays, so if one of us is out of town, the other can play and host the event. The event is now 16 months old, and we have showcased over 100 different performers. 11. How long have you been a performing member of Indiegrrl and where have you toured with Indiegrrl? I have been a performing member since October 2005. I hosted one event in Austin in November, though I have not yet toured with Indiegrrl...2006? 12. How has being an elite member of Gogirlsmusic.com benefited your musiccareer? Madalyn Sklar is amazing and such an inspiration! Her full throttle activism reminds me that if we are passionate about something, the energy reserves are always full and thriving. The volume of opportunity that comes through is immense. I have been connected with more opportunities from Gogirlsmusic.com, and in such a short amount of time, than I have in the last ten years living in Austin. And even the opportunities that I have not been able to take advantage of, just knowing its out there, and there is someone who believes in what you're doing is encouraging. 13. Would you say that being a member of Songsalive is important for a aspiring songwriter and why? Songsalive has many wonderful opportunities to network with industry people, as well as musicians. There are now 14 chapters across the world. And as a member, you can apply to showcase at any of them, and/or network with those people about tours, places to play, workshops to go to. Tons of learning resources available and a supportive community to build your career. I've enjoyed being the Austin Chapter Coordinator (since June 2005), which has helped immensely with gaining experience and opportunity to connect with new people. 14. Do you have your own record label and publishing company? Not at the moment, but that is in the plan for the next two years. 15. Are there people who have helped your career that you would like to mention here? My family, friends, my boyfriend Marcin, Gogirlsmusic.com, Songsalive, The Universe. 16. What are your plans for 2006? A new record release, tour the east coast, the Colorado/mountain range, and wherever else the road takes me....play/attend some festivals, experience a whole lot of new worlds, meet a lot of new, fun people. I'd like to put a band together as well, mostly for Texas shows, but if they are committed and willing to tour....well fantastic! I'd like to have a whole new batch of songs(that I'm totally happy with) by the end of 2006. For more info on Melissa Mullins: http://www.melissamullins.com Solo-Style - music to soothe the soul and rock your roll... myspace.com/mjmullins MySolo-StyleSpace Melissa Mullins is listed in the female acoustic category of the database. |
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1. Describe the early years of your musical roots and how your talent was nurtured. Ah, the early years, let's go back to the summer of 92...I started out wanting to play drums, and grabbed a bass my friend was selling, just to have some kind of musical instrument. I got a drumset in the fall, and started jamming with friends after school. They would leave thier guitars and amps at my house, and at night when I couldn't play drums, I'd fool around on their equipment for fun. About two years later, I traded my drums in for a guitar set-up. I switched back and forth sveral times before focusing on guitar exclusively in 2000. 2. Where there any events, people or catalyst(s) that were musically influential? Yeah, for sure. The first was meeting my longtime best friend Matt Sotelo (guitarist for Decrepit Birth). The first time I saw him play, I was like "Dude, I gotta get this guy in my band" He just stood out among anyone else that played. We became frinds in 92' and he has been a giant help in where I am musically today, from gear and tone, to turning me onto guitar It's soulful, heartfelt, melodic, Satraini influenced Rock. I really wanted to focus on feeling, and emotion, as well as writing songs that would appeal to more than just guitar heads, and shred fans you know? I feel like alot of the Instrumental stuff out there now with the new crop of players online, is very one dimensional. It's overflowing with shred and technique, and that's jaw dropping and inspirational, but I think it goes over the average listener's head a bit. For myself, I hear sweep after sweep, and I'm bored. So, I focused on really writing good melodic songs, that were also expressive, and had some good guitar chops in there to top it off. 4. How involved were you in the recording and production of your debut CD? I was very involved, as in being there and letting my producer Matt Sotelo know exactly what I wanted, and such. I'm no engineer, so Matt did all of the button pushing and actual recording. I did 6. What guitars & amps did you use in the recording of your new CD? 7. How did you record the rhythm section? The drums were played by two different people, for tracks 1, 4, 7, and 9 a friend of mine named Jake McCuen. For the remaining tracks, my it was my friend Matt. He also played all the Bass parts, except for track 5, which I did myself. The drums were a combination of electric and acoustic. It was a basic acoustic kit, with a triggered Bass drum, and electronic toms. The snare, and cymbals were the real deal. I really like a big fat kick and tom sound, so we went with the electric stuff to get it. Multi layered tracks for the Rythm guitars. The distorted parts were always at least left and right tracks for the fullest sound. The clean guitars were several tracks, with some acoustic layering in there to give it a really rich sound. 9. How is the CD being received in North America? So far the response has been very very positive overall. People hear it, and always seem to really like what they hear. 10. Has the CD been getting any European interest? It's received interest all over the world really. With the internet, it's easy for you to get your music heard by people everywhere. 12. Are you currently under management and if so with who? No, no management at this time. I've been considering looking into it recently though, as I think it would really help. 13. Have you had the opportunity to share the stage with players who you admire? No, not yet. I'm still young though! 14. What does your live set up consist of? Same as the studio, you can see every piece of gear I use at www.tyolivermusic.com in the "Equipment" section. I think that may change the next time I head into the studio though, as I'd like to experiment some more with tones and such. 15. Are there any people who have helped your career who you would like to mention? Oh definitely, there have been countless people I've met online that have been very helpful. Most recently, Ray Gayo from myspace Guitar Heroes group, Sean Pruitt, my girlfriend Jennifer Vaught, and of couorse Matt Sotelo has been there helping out since day one, thanks you guys!! There are many, many others, but that list would be way to long to 16. What scales would you recommend to a guitarist new to playing leads? 17. Will you be releasing a guitar instructional DVD in the future? No plans now, but maybe some day. I think I'd rather do a sort of performance based DVD, like Vai's "Alien Love Secrets" home video. I think I'd have more fun, and it would be far more entertaining to watch. 18. What are your plans for 2006? Continue promoting "Healed Through Time" and start gearing up for the next release, as in writing some new songs. I've already got a few in the works. I have the title of the next CD in mind, so I'm already looking towards that goal. I'd like to release the next CD through a label, to help with that extra promotional push. Thanks a ton to Monica and Indieguitarists.com for the oppurtunity to be featured on the site. The support is very much appreciated!! And thanks to those who take the time to read this interview, you rule!!! For more info on on Ty Oliver visit www.tyolivermusic.com Ty Oliver is listed in the male rock category of the database. © 2005 Yonge Music
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