The Rising Phoenix

Tell us about yourself and your music

I was born and raised in New Orleans LA. Music has always been an important part of my life. When I was 5 years old, my mom got me a violin and I started taking lessons. I loved playing it so much that I wanted to play in front of my class in school all the time. 6 years later I kind of got bored with the violin and wanted to move on to the piano. then 2 years later I fell in love with rock and roll and started to play guitar. I eventually started playing bass when I came across a punk band that needed a bass player. I then started playing shows and fell in love with the whole punk/goth rock scene. Due to forces of nature in 2005, I moved to Atlanta GA and became part of the music scene. At the time I was struggling in college trying out all these different majors and none of them was working out for me. I then decided to pursue a career in music production and audio engineering at the Atlanta Institute of Music. It made me fall in love with music once again in a whole deeper level. Now, I work in a commercial studio as an engineer/ producer working with all types of the artist of different genres as well as playing guitar for my band Vicki’s Dream.

Talk to us more about your latest release

My latest release is on the way. My band Vicki’s Dream is in the process of recording our ep which is being mixed by Matt Mcjunkins who is a band member of the band’s A Perfect Circle, Puscifer, and The Beta Machine. they will be released under a record label I engineer for called Reign Forever Music Group. I’m super excited to be working with someone who’s music has inspired a lot of my own writings.

What inspired you to write this release?

My inspirations come from all over. A lot of it is from bands I listen to, to an artist I even work within the studio. I also get inspired by random sounds that I hear around me like sounds of nature or sounds of construction etc. Sometimes things just pop into my head and I write them down, record them on my phone. If I’m not near an instrument or my studio, I would record sounds with my mouth then go back later when I have the chance to actually record the idea down.

Describe the writing and recording process

sometimes I write with friends, my band or just by myself. When its a group effort, we all just vibe together in my studio and start recording. Its such an advantage to have my own place I can go anytime I want to create. it helps keep me productive and rules out spending money in a studio. However, all my money goes to buying expensive studio gear lol. Anyway, we would lay down song ideas to a click track, then I will go back and program the drums and start growing the song from there. Then our drummer would take that and write his drum beats to it.

 

Any plans to hit the road?

Once my band finishes our album, we hope to hit the road. Hopefully, get into SXSW music festival in Austin Texas.

As an indie artist, how do you brand yourself and your music to stand out from the rest of the artists out there?

I always try to do something random in my songs, as basic as some of them are, I try to add something that’s odd or a random change or something just to keep people’s attention on it. Sometimes, if the song is long enough, I add a variety of different changes to give different emotions or feelings to parts of the song. I try to keep my lyrics real, blunt and harsh about whatever it is I’m working on. If it’s angry, I want to make sure the listener feels the anger, if it’s sad, I want to make sure they feel the hurt.

Who have you been listening to lately?

lately, I have been Listening to nine-inch nails album The Fragil. It’s such an intricate album. I have also been listing to A lot of Puscifer and Tool. Most of the time though, I just listen to Apple Music with my song library on shuffle just because my taste in music is all over the place that it’s sometimes hard to choose what to listen to lol.

Who are your biggest influences?

my biggest influences would be Nirvana, A Perfect Circle, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Puscifer, Tool, Misfits, NOFX, Sonic Youth, and (are you ready for this?)  Classical Music, Indian tribal beats, and second-line jazz. Got to stay true to my roots/culture

Tell us about your passions

My passion, besides music, is meditation. It actually helps me to create, especially when I’m producing or mixing music for someone. I try to focus on the energy of the artists’ songs and recreate it with the mix.

I also love ghost hunting and urban exploring or visiting historical locations.

What else is happening next in your world?

I’m on this journey of finding my inner peace. I had some pretty bad emotional exhausting experiences in my life and I started to realize how much the negativity was consuming me. Music is my only escape which is why I’m so addicted to being in the studio or at band practice with my band all the time. I had to block out relationships from my life because a lot of my negativity derived from allowing the wrong girl to be in my life. I can’t heal my wounds if they are being disrupted with another significant other. Besides, why would anyone want something broken? I need to fix it myself before I can give it away to someone new.

 

 

Thanks for an awesome interview, The Brince

 

 

Connect with The Brince

Website: http://thebrincemusic.comFacebook: http://facebook.com/vickisdreamInstagram: http://instagram.com/thebrince_musicSoundcloud: http://Soundcloud.com/thebrince

Genres: Experimental

Source: ArtistPR Indie Artist Interview