Tara Kye

Tell us about yourself and your music

“Each song is fresh, inspired by a heartbeat, a soul, and a life of its’ own. A story to be lived. Close your eyes and let your mind go. Where do you travel to? What memories are brought forward?

Fortunately, Tara has many life lessons to draw upon to write and a great friend, John Dean, who writes with her, they just split the credits 50/50 it’s easier that way then they can relax into the creative knowing have taken care of one another. Writing together for 25 years. He is the musician and talent while Tara the one with the crazy ideas who refuses to live life in a box preferring to breakdown boundaries with a machete than live the status quo.

John Dean and tara first met 25 years ago at a piano store where her parents had purchased a digital piano for her wedding present. At the age of 24, recently graduated from university and engaged to be married she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma stage 2B, moving quickly into stage 3. She had lost weight from 120lbs down to 90lbs at 5’4 ½ “. Life had been irreversibly altered. Everything went black, She cried till soul bled, dream wedding and wedding dress – canceled. As she stated, “I lost my hair on my wedding night, thankfully, I had brought a wig with me to exit the hotel in the morning….25 years later, John Dean bought an 1878 Steinway Grand Piano and said we should write a song about how we first met and try to raise some money for Cancer research….

Molten Metal was born. A celebration of life, triumphantly conquering all odds. Complete double meaning.

“Molten Metal fills my Veins” – Molten metal referring to chemotherapy agents which were metals such as cis-platine but also referring to the way that the metal from your Harley becomes part of your soul.

“Cold as Flint my will of Steel” – chemotherapy was ice cold entering your veins especially when they missed and referring to the undauntable will of your soul to survive anything just like steel withstands most elements.

“A bolt of lightning I will ride” – Harley Davidson and the “trip” you take on chemotherapy.

“Feel the thunder breaking free” – feel cancer sliding off your back to be left behind permanently and the feeling you get as you accelerate through the gears with the speed pushing you into the seat.

That was the start, then John Dean and I collaboratively wrote 17 songs together in total as of today’s date including the dog song “Do the Wag”, “Where is that Man”, “Rise”, “Let’s Go! Let’s Go! Let’s Go”, “You only live once let’s getaway”.

John Dean is more like a brother to me than just a friend and, he enjoyed being amused by my “Shera” roar with his friends, it is this spirit of camaraderie which frees us up to maximize our songwriting potential. John has no problems mercilessly teasing me or laughing at my trials and tribulations in life.

Our songs reflect life experiences… the bittersweet healing of divorce “Freedom Rocks”, being in love with the wrong man – “Tortured Love”, dreaming of love – “It’s About Romance”. The joy of riding my Harley Davidson with my friends – “Chasing Rainbows”, “Let’s Go! Let’s Go! Let’s Go”, “Ride of Your Life”, family vacation and pain of losing a loved one – “You only live once Let’s Get Away”, Courage, hope “Rise”, loneliness and confusion “Bitterly Cold”, empowerment – “Shera”, Doggies! “Do the Wag”, to dance “Ride of your Life Remix”, looking for a new man – “Where is that Man”, an ode to Los Vegas of an era past fused with the present – “Beautiful Gangstas”

Gratefully, I was raised in a family who loved to party, laugh, love, and live. Memories of campfires, singing with Grandpa playing the banjo or guitar. My father, probably challenged me the most though, we were sailing through a remote beautiful coast, we were the only boat in a cove of rocks, so he suggested that I should go sit on the rock and just play anything that came to my mind. So, I did, I learned how to improvise, create, and enjoy! That one crazy memory liberated me to create…”

Though she was featured in recently released Lifoti’s September 2019 issue 09

http://www.lifoti.com/2019/09/heart-touching-journey-of-songstress.html

I wrote this article and was grateful that my submission was published.

Tara Kye Maines

www.tarakyemusic.com

tarakyemaines@gmail.com

socials: FB, IG @TaraKye and Twitter @TaraKye2017

+1-604-996-7678”

Talk to us more about your latest release

Put Your Phone Down is a sassy cute clip to encourage people to stop living life through the phone and live life in person. The song mainly revolves around online dating apps and how you cannot ever really know if you connect without meeting in person. But the underlying meaning is to get off your phone, go out meet people, have real conversations, and make real connections. Of course, I like the fun message or put your phone down so maybe if you are driving and you hear this song, you will remember to put your phone down. Riding a motorcycle myself I wanted to write a cute fun song that would encourage people to spend less time on the phone especially while driving.

What inspired you to write this release?

Divorced, lonely, and I ride motorcycles. My friend Lorraine Peet in the Langley HOG had wanted to do a ride in support of putting your phone down because her friend had lost a loved one killed by a distracted driver. I started with that muse, then went down the road of watching people downtown walking around faces in their phones, and then it became more personal with my personal view of dating online and the mishaps that I have experienced. I haven’t met anybody yet, so the stories in the song are pure fiction and meant just to be fun, but also to plant an earworm to make people put your phone down. if the song had sounded preachy my message to get off the phone would likely have been lost.

Describe the writing and recording process

Writing with my best friend John Dean for over 25 years now. John Dean is the musical talent and the “cool” one. I am the nerd who thinks outside the box has crazy song ideas, insane arrangement proposals like in our song “Let’s Go! Let’s Go! Let’s Go!” I asked John to write a piano solo that sounded like wheels on a motorcycle turning, then shifting a gear down to get more speed, like a dance of the saber tooth tiger piano… John is a great critic of my lyrics and we truthfully really enjoy writing songs together. I met John 26 years ago, when I was doing chemotherapy, I had always wanted to learn the piano, unfortunately, vein pain from collapsing veins, lymphedema, have prevented dexterity in my fingers so I hack at the piano well enough to learn my vocal and saxophone parts.

Any plans to release a video?

https://open.spotify.com/artist/0bMLqIG3HdIaGHCKm7n6sj

Any plans to hit the road?

with COVID-19 all plans have been suspended…  but I am considering doing zoom concerts.

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

80s music was about fun, today, we seem so stressed we often miss the fun. Each song is its own unique experience and has its heartbeat the rhythm of the life of the song. I never know how a song will finish when we begin the writing process. Our songs are fresh, positive, and meaningful. Keeping it real is important to us. Reaching people, changing their moods, minds, or lives by the power of a song, that is always my goal. We write music for the love of the music and storytelling, hopefully, people want to listen to a story and escape for a moment into a different life created by the heartbeat rhythm of the song.

Who have you been listening to lately?

Within Temptation, Epica, Nightwish, Halestorm, Evanescence, Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Celine Dion, Keesha, Big Freddie, Desiree Dawson, Dua Lipa, Social House, Lenna Stella, MAX, Quinn XCII, Post Malone, Ozzy Osbourne, Bea Miller, Meghan Trainor, Katy Perry, Cher Lloyd, Camilla Cabello, Neil Horan, Bebe Rexha, Eva Cassidy, Pink, Avril Lavigne, Rachel Platten, Raylee, Louise, Sara Ludvigsoon, Lady Gaga, Vanessa Mae, Donna Summer, Lady Antebellum, Abba

Who are your biggest influences?

Olivia Newton-John, Lady Gaga, Hole, Linda Rondstadt, Madonna, Eurythmics, Sheena Easton, Joan Jett, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, Rolling Stones, the Beatles, Meatloaf, Journey, Styx, Supertramp, Abba, Fleetwood Mac, Heart, J Giles Band, The Cars, Donna Summers, Elton John, and Billy Joel

Tell us about your passions

Passionate about music, my dogs, my Harley Davidson, creating sustainable agriculture futures for my farming clients, downhill skiing, gardening, cooking, fashion, water skiing, swimming, and living life!

What else is happening next in your world?

More songs are on the horizon, more music styles to play with, more experiences to share! But if we are talking about right now, it will be working to get noticed in both agriculture and music. Musically, releasing new songs, hope to do concerts and tours in the winter which might happen if Covid-19 passes hopefully, and to continue to tour in my off-season from agriculture. As a biochemist and geneticist, my agriculture career is to create sustainable farming practices to prevent disease and crop loss while minimizing input costs and reusing wasted plant materials as fertilizers so the crops can get the optimal nutrition they need without sacrificing to be affordable. Personally, to empower people that they can make choices, believing in themselves and working towards their goals will enable them to succeed.

 

 

Thanks for an awesome interview, Tara Kye

 

 

Connect with Tara Kye

Website: https://tarakyemusic.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tarakyeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/tarakye/Twitter: https://twitter.com/tarakyeYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxvHmGPZ8WKPZjshtsWZL4gReverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/tarakye

Genres: Pop

Source: ArtistPR Indie Artist Interview