RECORDING March 2023 - 69

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got cut]. And then I learned about the music business
after that.
Yeah, it was a wonderful opportunity, but it came
from a lot of playing-I would say-bad songs
first before I got to that moment.
Ten thousand hours, you know? Nothing you're telling
me is surprising. You invested in yourself; you spent
the 10,000 hours; you paid your dues and you got the
prize. Yay you!
Your song was getting cut, and what did it feel like
the first time you heard it?
Overwhelming. I was so excited. You set out to do
something and you manifest it, and then it happens.
I think there were moments where it was like
everyone in the city is trying to write a song or be
an actress or do something creative; why me?
There were a lot of times when I wanted to give up,
so having that moment where it's like this is finally
happening, it was wonderful, amazing. I called my
parents, I was excited, " I told you I was gonna do
it. " But it was really awesome seeing it the first
time... I got the CD, and I was like, I want to go and
buy it. I got an advance copy, but I wanted to go
into where they sell CDs at the record store. I went
into a Tower Records, and I think I must have
bought like 10 of them or something. It was just
amazing, opening it up and seeing my name. And,
yeah, it was pretty awesome.
Was that level of competency or talent that you
achieved in songwriting at that moment, was it like
everything after that song was equally as good, or did
you still write some stinkers and have to throw them
away?
Oh yeah. You know, it's all subjective, right? We
never know what people are gonna love or what
they are going to gravitate towards. I think what I
learned is trying to write songs for people was not
as successful as much as writing songs for me. The
songs that I got placed were the ones that were
authentic, that were true, that were actually my
own story. The ones that I was embarrassed to play
for people, because I felt like this was way too personal.
Those are the ones that people gravitated
towards. Especially during that time being on the
J.Lo album, I felt like I've got to get with... You
know, after this it has to be all A-list superstars.
And you know, this business is very up and down.
It's a rollercoaster, so I think, yeah, to answer your
question, there were still some bad ones, but then
there's this rhythm, this groove that you get into
where it's like, " No, I don't think this one's it. Let
me scratch it and go on to the next one. " I always
tell people sometimes we can stifle the creativity by
working on the same thing over and over and over.
If you love something, sometimes you've just got to
RECORDING March 2023 69
wait for it to happen. You have to say, " Ok, I don't
know if this is the one. I love this, but I'm gonna
come back to it, " because I have endless ideas,
right? So, I would just start something else or move
on to something else. But, yeah, there were some
that weren't that great.
Did people start to seek you out because you were
starting to have success, so it was no longer you
reaching out, not begging, but reaching out trying to
make stuff happen? Did it start coming to you
instead?
Sure. I think it's a competitive business, but I definitely
had a lot of interest. I signed with Universal.
I had a lot of really great moments. I had a publisher
who really believed in me. His name was
Andrew Furman, and he kind of took me under
his wing. Actually, I was signed by a woman
named Angelique Miles, and she left the company
as soon as I got there, and it was really tough for
me, because I felt like I didn't have a champion.
And then 9/11 happened and there was a songwriter
who had been the darling and she was doing
really well... There were a few that had come in
before me and had a bunch of big cuts, but
nobody wanted to fly. And Andrew came to me-
we had just met-and he said, " Do you want to go
to Sweden? " And I was like, " Yeah. I'll get on a
plane to go to Sweden. " This was maybe literally
weeks after 9/11. There was nobody on the plane.
My family thought I was crazy, but I thought this
has to be the safest time to fly. And that's what led
to all the Britney cuts.
Don't miss Part 2 of this interview next month!
MICS & MIKING
RECORDING THE DRUMS-FROM TUNING TO MIKING, A
COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT SETTING UP AND RECORDING A DRUM KIT
As any engineer will tell you, the first step to getting a good
recorded drum sound is to start with a good live drum sound-
if the sound of the... [full article online]
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MICS & MIKING
A BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MIKING DRUMS: KIT SETUP,
WORKING WITH THE DRUM ROOM, MIC CHOICE, AND MORE!
One look at a professional multitrack track list should make the
complexity and importance of capturing a good drum kit sound
obvious. Even the most... [full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/beginners-guide-to-miking-drums
MICS & MIKING
EVERYTHING YOUR MIC CLOSET NEEDS,
AND THEN SOME...
What's the biggest difference between a beginner's home studio and a
professional, " Downtown " studio? While a beginner's equipment may all
work, there's a lot more to it than that. In a startup... [full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/well-balanced-mic-closet
ACOUSTICS & MONITORING
AN ACOUSTICS PRIMER
GET STARTED WITH THE FUNDAMENTALS OF SOUND AND ACOUSTICS...
The latest and greatest gear may get all the attention, but if the
acoustics of your studio aren't suitable, all the toys in the world
won't make for great-sounding recordings. Let's examine the basics
of acoustics, look at issues that can affect... [full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/an-acoustics-primer
ACOUSTICS & MONITORING
MONITORS & MONITORING-WHAT'S RIGHT FOR
YOUR STUDIO: A HARD LOOK AT THE ART AND SCIENCE
OF HEARING YOUR MUSIC RIGHT
In studios of all types and sizes, every decision made-levels, EQ...
[full article online]
recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/monitors-monitoring
http://recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/recording-the-drums http://recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/beginners-guide-to-miking-drums http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/beginners-guide-to-miking-drums http://www.recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/well-balanced-mic-closet http://recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/an-acoustics-primer http://recordingmag.com/sponsored-articles/monitors-monitoring
RECORDING March 2023

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