Alyssa Barker Visits Section 36!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Alyssa Barker is a talented violinist, and I was so glad she was willing to visit with us and discuss her music, her future goals, and more. I’m sure you’ll love everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when Alyssa Barker visits Section 36!

When did you realize that violin would take a huge part in your life?
I first realized violin would be a huge part of my life when I was in high school. Granted, I enjoyed playing violin years before high school, but when I had the chance to work with Mark Wood at his Rock Orchestra Camp in the summer of 2016, it was then that I became in love with what I wanted to do. At that camp, not only did I learn a lot about the versatility strings instruments have in different genres, but I also met the head of the String Department at Berklee, Doctor David Wallace. This was the point for me where I became the most passionate about my violin studies.

You’re currently attending Berklee College of Music. What’s the most important thing that is doing for your career?
Being at Berklee is something that is essential for my career

as a musician. I am learning how to play my violin in ways I would have never expected to before starting college. Since I have been at Berklee, I have learned more Classical Music, Bluegrass, Jazz, Rock, Country, etc. Additionally, to performance, I have recently developed a passion for composing, and playing in recording orchestras. All of these things I am learning to do and that I have had the chance of being a part of at Berklee has given me tools and connections to take out with me in the real world when I graduate.

I really enjoy the informal performance videos on your YouTube channel. What do you enjoy about creating and posting those?

I initially started continually posting videos because I wanted something extra to do when the pandemic started back in March. Not only does it help keep me busy, but learning new songs and putting them together for the world to see makes me feel like I am performing to some degree. In such a crazy world where concert venues and halls are closed for a long time, this is one thing that helps me feel like living in a normal world still exists.

Who/what would you consider to be your biggest musical influences?
I’ve never answered a question so easily! The violinist who has inspired me the most is, Itzhak Perlman. He is one of the best musicians I have ever heard play in entire life. Itzhak has such a sweet soul, and he has such an amazing story with having had Polio at a young age and gaining the strength to play violin. Not only has he overcome those obstacles, but battling with his disability his entire life, he gives back to the community and has such a passion for teaching children
music. Other musicians I look up to are of course my teachers at Berklee. I wouldn’t be who I am today without their instruction.

What do you miss most about playing in front of a live audience?
I miss absolutely everything about it, and to be quite honest, I

don’t think I have very many words to express how much I miss it. On one of my nightly walks in Boston, I walked past the Symphony Hall and broke down in tears because I have so many amazing memories. Not being able to go into a music venue of any kind to hear or play music for a year kills me. Seeing the crowd, being with other musicians, and even the stress of getting ready for shows that I’ve dreaded so much in the past are ironically all things that I crave so much these days. I’m just dying to get back into this scene and do what I love and know how to do best – playing music from my heart, and to make a difference in another person’s life.

What are your immediate career goals?

When I graduate from Berklee, I am hoping to study to get my Masters in Composition, and eventually maybe my Doctorate. I will continue to work on my social media content to gain exposure to the outside world. However, ultimately, I hope to play music in many different groups of different genres, involve myself in playing on film scores, and would love to get commissioned to compose music for people. Later down the line, I see myself potentially having a violin studio to teach students everything I have learned throughout my years.

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I hope she’s able to achieve those goals!

As always, I want to thank Alyssa for visiting, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I know you’ll all want to follow along with Alyssa to see what she's up to. The best way is to follow her online on Instagram and Facebook. They’re great ways to make sure you don't miss a thing!

You can also visit her Section 36 Music page. There you'll find more links and pictures. It's a great way to enjoy everything Alyssa has to offer all in one place.

Thanks again Alyssa, and good luck reaching your goals!

"Takes Time" by Raquel de Souza (Release Date January 12, 2021)

“Takes Time" is the latest single from the talented singer Raquel de Souza!

And it is absolutely amazing! It's a simply beautiful song, combining her voice with the melody to create a masterpiece you won't want to end. I know I've listened to it again and again. I imagine you will too.

You can find “Takes Time" just about everywhere you usually get your music like Apple and Spotify. So, there's no reason you won't be able to find it.…which I highly suggest you do.

Immediately!

Elyse Chapski Visits Section 36!

Photo by Gabrielle Brainard

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Elyse Chapski is an amazing singer, and I was so glad she was willing to visit with us and discuss her latest single, her other music, and more. I’m sure you’ll love everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when Elyse Chapski visits Section 36!

I really enjoyed your recent single “back to u”. What can you tell me about it?

Thank you! That song will always be very special to me because it’s the first song I wrote entirely on my own. It was written and recorded in the Summer of 2019. I wrote it from the perspective of a girl who knows that the guy she loves is bad for her but she keeps going back to him. I actually wrote this song in a span of like 20 minutes. I find that I write my best music in a small time frame like that. The idea of this song was to be easy and fun. As artists we sometimes want to write music with all this complex language and ideology but sometimes the best songs are simple like this one. 

You’re currently attending Berklee College of Music. What’s the most important thing that is doing for your career?

 Berklee has allowed me to meet so many amazing artists which I’m so thankful for. Specifically, it’s allowed me to meet my producer. Our careers as artists are always evolving but I’d say that’s the most important thing for me right now. I met him through some connections at Berklee and we’re in the process of creating my first EP which will hopefully be released in early 2021. I can’t even explain how excited I am about that.

At Berklee, you’re a member of the phenomenal a cappella group Treble Threat. What is that experience like? 

Absolutely! Treble Threat is incredible. The women in this group are so genuine. They are all so talented. It’s so much fun  even though we’re remote right now. The girls really have been so organized and made it as much fun for us as possible. I wish I could tell you more about our future plans but you’ll find out soon! 

Who/what would you consider to be your biggest musical influence? 

Definitely Ariana Grande. I’ve been a fan of hers since I was a

Photo by
Gabrielle Brainard

 little girl and she continues to be my biggest musical influence. I am literally obsessed with her music. She’s where I get a lot of my stylistic choices.

Other than COVID, what would you say is your biggest career challenge? 

I think that social media is my biggest career challenge. I am not savvy with social media like some artists. I feel like that’s something I definitely need to work on - posting content more frequently!

What are your immediate career goals? 

To be signed with a label. That is the ultimate dream. I really hope that this will happen for me but all I can do is put in the work to get there! Music is all I want to do with my life and I hope that this can be a reality for me. 

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I definitely hope she reaches that goal!

As always, I want to thank Elyse for visiting, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I know you’ll all want to follow along with Elyse to see what she's up to. The best way is to follow her online on Instagram. It's a great ways to make sure you don't miss a thing!

You can also visit her Section 36 Music page. There you'll find more links and pictures. It's a great way to enjoy everything Elyse has to offer all in one place.

Thanks again Else, and good luck reaching your goals!

Sophie Chernin, of Madam West, Visits Section 36!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Sophie Chernin is the bandleader for the psychedelic band “Madam West”. I was thrilled that she was willing to talk with us about that, her music, and more!

So, let's see what happens when Sophie Chernin visits Section 36!

You're the bandleader for the group Madam West. How did that group come together?

It was a very typical "East Coast meets West Coast in the big city" kind of deal. Our piano player (Todd) and drummer (Mike) moved to NYC from Arizona after being part of the same music program. Will (guitar) and I met our freshman year at NYU and played in a couple small groups together, and Jory (bass) is a childhood friend's crazy talented younger brother we bodysnatched once he graduated from music school. All of us have very different tastes, and we used to play these odd variety show type sets where every song was very different stylistically. Our rock-jazz-psychedelic tastes all eventually coalesced into the strange soup you hear now.

I’m a big fan of the group’s recent single “In Color”. What can you tell me about it?

Will, who writes a lot of our hooks, wrote the core melody. But

the band, which writes collaboratively, tends to gravitate toward challenging rhythms and unexpected harmonies. So, Will starts second-guessing himself on the bus ride over to the practice space, and comes up with the big rhythmic switch-up you start hearing toward the middle of the song. I improvised some lyrics over it based on a dream I had where I was transported to an Oz-like parallel universe. The fantasy element has come to be even more meaningful to me now that every day feels the same. Dreams, I think, are a way better escape than the Internet these days.

Who/what would you consider to be your biggest musical influences?

We're kind of all over the map, but Will and I are Joni Mitchell fans (our first band was a folk duo). Todd and I came together over our shared love of Elliott Smith, and Mike digs classic soul (Tower of Power), disco and Radiohead. Jory brings a mathy, metal vibe (Battles, Meshuggah). Thundercat and Esperanza Spalding for prog-jazz-neosoul references. And I learned to sing listening to Sheryl Crow, Aimee Mann and Liz Phair. Like I said, all over the map!

I also enjoyed the video for your single “Strongest Son”. What was it like to put that together?

Ironically, it was based on a hypothetical apocalyptic scenario where we're all locked inside an apartment while the world implodes (this was last year). Little did we know what 2020 had in store for us! But yeah, we had a lot of fun getting dressed up, hanging out in the bathtub and projecting old atomic test footage on zero budget. Our friend Ian Wexler directed and shot it, and came up with all our weird little scenes and the shower curtain reveal.

Other than COVID, what would you say is your biggest career challenge?

It's always tough to balance writing and performing with all of the other businessy stuff, especially with the million social media platforms you have to keep up with. It's been awhile since our last release, so I was rusty when it came to outreach and promotion. But so far people seem to be digging it!

What are your immediate career goals?

Musically, I'm working on a duo EP with Todd (we got married

this year[2020]). It's convenient to write with someone you live with in quarantine! I've also gotten involved pretty heavily in local mutual aid and environmental activism work, supporting food security, better public transit and more greenspace in NYC. So, it would be cool to keep playing music while I attempt to help stop the world from imploding, the way I so often write about.

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As always, I want to thank Sophie for visiting, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I know you’ll all want to follow along with Madam West to see what they're up to. The best way is to follow them online on Instagram , and visit their website. They're great ways to make sure you don't miss a thing!

You can also visit their Section 36 Music page. There you'll find more links, pictures, and samples of their music. It's a great way to enjoy everything Madam West has to offer all in one place.

Thanks again Sophie, and good luck reaching your goals!

“Ghost of Sound” by Meghan Pulles (Dec 18, 2020 Release)

"Ghost of Sound" is the latest single from the talented Meghan Pulles! 

And you'll want to listen to it right away! What is the song all about? Well here's what Meghan had to say about it herself…

"This song is a total transportation for me artistically, and I am soooo excited for you to hear it (literally). Defy Recordings sprinkled his magic on my music again, and this is one of the most vulnerable ones I've ever put out.

This song talks about the childhood ghosts that pop up again in our adulthood, and for me that was the fear of losing my hearing when I was a kid. These ghosts or triggers from our childhood attempt to really put us in a state of fear, but in the end we must feel empowered because we got through them.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

I wrote this song before I knew I had to have ear surgery which is pretty spooky, but it was almost foretelling of what was to happen, and the fear behind it of how different my life would be if I were to lose this power.” 

You can definitely feel that when you listen to the song. The beautiful vocals bring a calm over you as Meghan exposes you to her vulnerabilities. A complete musical experience.

 
You can find “Ghost of Sound" just about everywhere you usually get your music like Spotify or Apple! So, there's no reason why you won't be able track it down…which I highly suggest you do.
 
Immediately.

Mary Jo Visits Section 36!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! Mary Jo is a talented singer, and I was so glad she wanted to visit with us and discuss her latest single, her other music music, and more. I’m sure you’ll love everything she has to say.

So, let's see what happens when Mary Jo visits Section 36!

I really enjoyed your recent holiday single “Lonely Christmas” What can you tell me about it? 
I began writing Lonely Christmas my Sophomore year of high school. At the time, I was dating someone for 5 months, and we eventually split right before Christmas. The year before, the same thing happened to me. Of course, these weren’t very serious relationships, but they were worthy enough to write about! I wrote the hook, but I couldn’t get the verses right. Unfortunately, I let go of it. This year, I wanted to release my own Christmas song for the holidays, and I knew that Lonely Christmas could relate to a lot of people this year. Not just those out of relationships, but those who can’t travel due to

Covid 19. So I created a track, recorded the hook, and finally finished writing the verses after 3 years! “Lonely Christmas” is meant to uplift your spirits after watching a sappy Hallmark Christmas movie, knowing that you can’t relate. 

The video for another recent single “Nightmare from a Lullaby” was fantastic. What was it like to put that together? 
“Nightmare From a Lullaby” was written about my experiences with sleep paralysis, so I knew the video had to reflect that. When the videographer, Moya Omololu, and I discussed what we wanted, we both agreed it had to fall under the horror category. Now, I do not enjoy horror thrills whatsoever, but that feeling sprouted from my fear of going to bed at night. I said I wanted the video to be “so metaphorical that it barely makes any sense”. Because sleep paralysis, in fact, does not make any sense. Being on set and working with so many talented people was a thrill for sure. The bedroom scenes were shot around 2 or 3 in the morning. The scene around the creepy white schoolhouse was filmed while it was pouring down rain. And my favorite scene, when I fall into the hole filled with water, was filmed in the rain as well. Needless to say, I was relieved when I finally got to change out of that dress...

Who/what would you consider to be your biggest musical influences? 
A lot of people say my range of musical influence is super random. But my top inspirations have to be Beyonce, Demi Lovato, Tori Kelly, Whitney Houston, Prince, and Gerard Way. There are so many more, but these specific people have definitely impacted my way of writing, performing, and creating an image for myself. 

You’re currently a student at Berklee College of Music. What's the biggest thing you see that doing for your career? 

Berklee College of Music has always been my dream school. What I see it doing for my career definitely has a lot to do with who I build myself to be. Not just as an artist, but a businesswoman, an entrepreneur, and a writer. With this, I’m also looking forward to making connections to other musicians, students and professors. In one semester, I’ve already learned so much, and I met the coolest, most talented people who share the same passion as me. Sometimes watching others do their work can impact the way that we do our own. 

Other than COVID, what would you say is your biggest career challenge? 
My biggest career challenge has to be the battle between me and my own thoughts. I am definitely a dreamer. I dream big, or else I lose hope. When I look at houses, I look at mansions. When I look through venues, I look at Madison Square Garden. However, dreaming this large comes with a cost. I tend to doubt myself very easily when I wake up to the reality of where I am now, and how much I have to do to reach these dreams. It can get super frustrating. It’s a reoccurring thought that makes my heart drop every time it comes up. Though it is a challenge to look past these doubts, I still use them as fuel to work even harder than before. In the end, it’ll all be worth it. 

What are your immediate career goals? 
My immediate career goal is to make an impact on other people’s lives before my own through my music. I started writing because I was feeling these strong emotions that I needed to get out of my system. I blasted my favorite songs to help me out of my depression, or even just to add to my happiness. Music was a therapy for me. I want others to use it that way as well. Whether that’s through my lyrics, melody, or my actions, I want to help others. It’s an immediate goal, because that’s something anyone could do today or tomorrow. Since COVID keeps me from setting up fundraisers and performing for causes, I can release music that relates to people. The best compliment is when somebody tells me that I’ve inspired them. 

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As always, I want to thank Mary for visiting, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I know you’ll all want to follow along with Mary to see what she's up to. The best way is to follow her online on Instagram , and visit her website. They're great ways to make sure you don't miss a thing!

You can also visit her Section 36 Music page. There you'll find more links, pictures, and samples of her music. It's a great way to enjoy everything Mary has to offer all in one place.

Thanks again Mary Jo, and good luck reaching your goals!

2020 Year in Review

Of all the blogs in the Section 36 Suite, the Music blog is the one whose 2020 I'm most excited about.

I started the blog a couple years ago as a way to bring a bit more attention to the amazing Miss America titleholders who had visited with Section 36, and also were talented musicians. It stagnated that way for a bit until I started conducting separate interviews here on Section 36 Music about music specifically. Suddenly, a blog purpose was accidentally discovered. To help bring more exposure to the talented local female singers and musicians populating Red Sox nation...and maybe a bit beyond. With that undertaking, I was able to conduct nine such interviews over the last half of 2019. In 2020, that exploded! I was able to feature and interview an incredible 48 women! Just about every week I was able to feature a deserving artist. It has been such a thrill to be able to interview them and try to get as many people as possible to hear their music. I was even able to create some Spotify playlists to help more people find these artists. I'm definitely excited about a 2021 full of more interview opportunities.

Of course, the interviews are in addition to the other posts Section 36 Music had been sharing...things from single release announcements to show schedules. Even guest blogs! It's all part of sharing these talented women with more ears and eyes. In addition to the posts on the blog, it's been fun posting about all of these singers/songwriters/musicians on Section 36 Music social media.

Do you know where Section 36 Music exists on social media? Well, let me tell you about it.

Instagram has been the main social media focus for the blog. It’s been great connecting with fans and visitors through that site. It’s been a little slow to get the following, but it has steadily increased throughout the year. It posts any pictures that my Section 36 visitors have submitted. It’s another way to celebrate visitors and share these women with the world. Hopefully that follower count will continue to grow!

Twitter is still the old standby. As you’d expect, it tweets out music related posts made by the other blogs, or any posts on the Music blog itself. It also passes along info from music-related visitors. It's follower count keeps growing every day!

Facebook provides fun opportunities. It's really a nice combination of twitter and instagram. I can post links there for Section 36 posts. i can post pictures. I can share posts made by others. It's a little bit of everything, and I'm glad so many people have decided they like that too.

I love having all these ways to talk about these incredible women. I've been so flattered by the number of people who have reached out saying they saw the blog and enjoyed the content. That means it's working! I can't wait to see how much more it grows is 2021.

I hope you'll join me!