i can't believe it's been almost a year since i posted. busy year. i produced a lot of my own album. i moved to new york. doesn't sound like a lot, but i feel like i can move on now.
living in new york is frickin fantabulous. i love it love it love it, even all the shitty parts of it. although the windy cold right now is not my friend. but my time in chicago definitely prepared me well, the long down jacket, good walking boots. i was walking on madison ave yesterday, and saw all the ladies in their furs. i would never buy or wear a fur, but i bet it's warm under those poor lifeless pelts.
the album is done and i can breathe a sigh of relief. i can also start working on all the little song ideas that i've taped on my little digital recorder. making this album was not easy. i struggled a lot, at dealing with relationships with the other people working on the album, at my own understanding of what i wanted it to sound like, at accepting the results and knowing that it is a learning process. i'm satisfied with the final product, but i'm always thinking, "the next one will be better." i have a feeling i'm gonna say that after every album. such is the pursuit of your own creation.
i played a show last nite at this little cafe in the village. it was a 9:30pm show on a school nite and it was freezing, so i just knew that no one would show up. but i'm trying to get myself back on the show wagon, back into show mode, and meena was coming with me to play cello and sing backup, which always makes it fun. we show up, dead crowd - just the other performers and their friends. i love my friends, but if i were them i wouldn't show up either. before my set starts though, my friend pete from boulder CO walks in. supplies! he's in town for work and decided to surprise me. which was a brilliant coincidence, because just that day i had received an email from a publication in denver who wanted to review my album and interview me. and i was thinking to myself that i should get in touch with pete to plan my show out there. mysteries of the universe.
a couple of other women walked in before my set with no jackets. no jackets!! it was in the 20s last nite with a nasty windchill. they were on vacation from LA and happened to be staying across the street. one of the women is a filmmaker, and she and i had a great talk about following our passions. she will be a great contact to have. you just never know who's listening!
i'm off to rehearse - so many talented musicians in new york. toodles!
PA: Hi Cynthia and thank you for allowing us
to do this interview.
Cynthia: My pleasure. Thank you for listening to
my music!
PA: I understand that you had your first
award winning performance for your rendition of "Are
you sleeping" in mandaring Chinese at the age of
only 6. Around what time or at what age did
you begin your adventure in the world of music?
Cynthia: Well, I've been singing since i could
talk, and as a kid, my world revolved around
performing - piano lessons, ballet, gymnastics, the
school talent show. my dream was to be madonna. i
loved watching music videos and learning the
choreography, especially Janet Jackson videos. in
college, i continued singing, dancing, and acting,
but i never considered a career in performance. it
just didn't seem realistic. i only began pursuing
music seriously at age 25, after i had quit a job in
software and was acting full-time.
PA: What artists have influenced or still
influence your music today?
Cynthia: The indigo girls were my first
inspiration - great harmonies, songs that were
lyrically and melodically interesting but easy
enough that i could play them! i basically taught
myself guitar by learning lots of indigo girls'
songs. you can write tons of great songs with simple
chords. patty griffin is my favorite example of
that, i love her music and aspire to it. I learned
to improvise and let my voice do what it wants by
listening to all the legendary jazz vocalists,
especially Ella Fitzgerald and Nat King Cole. I love
jazz standards, and that classic writing (Cole
Porter, Harold Arlen) has a major influence on my
writing. The most important album of my music
life is joni Mitchell's blue. hearing it completely
freed my mind of musical conventions. all of a
sudden, i was allowed to use my upper register.
there was no glory in pop belting. the lyrics could
be like poetry, give you extremes of emotion, all
true, all personal. i listened to it on repeat for
days.
PA: Do you play any instruments besides the
guitar?
Cynthia: I studied classical piano from
age 6-16 but i never liked practicing. during my
jazz phase, i picked up some jazz piano, just by
hanging around with old jazz guys. only recently
have i returned to piano to write songs - it's
exciting. feels like a brand new instrument.
PA: What main
obstacles or roadblocks have you possibly
encountered so far as an asian american female
artist trying to make a name for herself and her
music in America?
Cynthia: You know, I'd have to say that being
an asian american female has helped me gain more
attention in the music scene. there are just so few
of us, and i think the American public wants more
representation. the only real roadblock is a lack of
role models and mentors. but that's the way it is,
and i don't mind being one of the first to forge the
road.
PA: When or/and where do you find yourself
writing the most inspiring songs?
Cynthia: That's easy. when I'm in a moving
vehicle. planes, trains, car, bus, subway. i observe
people, i have time to reflect on memories. I also
write a lot of songs from my dreams - i literally
wake up with a song in my head and i record it
immediately.
PA: You seem to be heavily inspired by jazz,
blues and folk music and you have mentioned in an
article that you were still trying to find a fit for
your music. Have you possibly found it or is it
still an ongoing search at this time?
Cynthia: My hope is that i can always give
myself the freedom to write any style of music i
want. the best definition of what I'm currently
writing is pop structure with jazz chords and folky,
confessional lyrics. in a record store, you'd find
me under pop. i think I'll always be searching, or
it won't be any fun for me anymore.
PA: Our first full length album will be
released in 2006. Do you have an exact date?
Cynthia: Nope. it's a mystery to me too! but
hopefully sooner than later, I'm ready for it to be
done!
PA: What was the happiest day of your life?
What about the worst?
Cynthia: Oh man, that's tough. well, like i
said, i was literally jumping for joy the day i quit
my job. I've had many happy days eating and laughing
with family and friends, and when i get home from
touring, i just want to relax with my boyfriend and
my cat, and get in the kitchen. cooking is my
therapy. This is going to sound nerdy, but one of my
worst days was the day i lost a math competition
that i supposed to win, and i completely lost
confidence in myself. my teacher, my family, and my
school had high expectations for me, and i went into
it a little cocky. i was really devastated when i
let myself down. my first taste of hubris.
PA: How did you meet Vienna Teng?
Cynthia: A friend invited Vienna to
play a house concert in DC, and i opened the show.
she was very friendly, and i was really impressed by
how grounded and relaxed she was in her performance.
we played another show in Philly together last
October.
PA: Can you shed some light to our readers as
to what a "Doppelganger" is?
Cynthia: It comes from German for
"double-walker," and is used to mean evil twin. i
wrote the song because i came across the word,
looked up the definition, and was intrigued by its
meaning. cool word, right?
PA: Have you ever visited France or Europe?
Cynthia: Yes, I love France! one summer
during college, i lived in Paris and taught theater
at the american school of Paris. i lived in a 7th
floor walk-up chambre de bonne in the 17th. it was a
miserable little room, but i didn't care, i was so
excited to live in Paris. i love food, especially
cheese, and there's nothing like cheese in France.
didn't like the dog poop on the sidewalks too much
though.
I've been lucky to visit different parts of France
and Europe, but i haven't toured there yet with my
music - but i plan to get there soon!
PA: Merci for the interview and good
continuation in your career Cynthia.
my guilty pleasure. i love avril lavigne. hehe. one day all my punk songs will spill.
i really like this smell that is hard to name. i think it's a
combination of car freshener and coffee. or maybe it's just a
coffee-scented car freshener. but yesterday, i was in an
elevator, and the guy in the elevator with me smelled like that!
was he just smelling of his car? or maybe it's a real
scent? you know what i'm talking about?
