So far, this has been a very interesting interview series, and it just keeps getting better! Welcome V.K. Lynne to our series with the artists involved with the Artists in the Plus Online Music Festival!
Her songs have appeared in feature films ‘All Alone’ and ‘Forever No More’, which are currently doing well on the film festival circuit, as well as the award-winning web series, ‘Trading on 15’, which she also wrote and directed.
MTM: Let’s start at the beginning. Tell us a little about yourself. how and when did you start making music?
VK: I’ve been singing since I could make noise…Writing came first in short stories, then poems, then songs. I started learning guitar when I was 16 on my boyfriend’s beat-up electric, and it’s all been rock and roll since;).
MTM: Why do you do it, now?
VK: The same reason I did it then…Because I have to. If you’re really a musician, it’s inside you, it’s like breathing. There’s no way to stop.
MTM: What were some of your early influences and what inspires you today?
VK: I was gestated on the Beatles and Patsy Cline, and I’ve been accused of the latter in some of my phrasing. Fast-forward through a raging hair metal stage to the last 5 years, when Nightwish & Beth Hart have radically informed my songwriting and my outlook.
MTM: What was the last song you listened to (disc in the car or what-not)?
VK: Ha! Right before I sat down with these questions, I listened to The Idol by W.A.S.P.
MTM: How did you connect with Artists in the Plus and what attracted you to working with them?
VK: A Facebook friend and guardian angel, told me oh-so-eloquently that I needed to “get my butt over to the plus”. He said it enough times that finally I did, where I met John and David and James and some amazing people. I jumped in for a hangout, and I was instantly seduced by the convenience of singing from my house for a global audience. It beats the Hollywood scene any day!;)
MTM: Last year’s festival was a huge success and changed a lot of things about music on the net. Were you a part of that?
VK: I was! It’s actually a funny story…I Jumped in the shower to get ready for the show, thinking I had plenty of time. What I hadn’t factored in was EST vs. PST…and so just as I hopped out, I logged on to see “Next up, VK Lynne!” I literally braided my wet hair, plugged in my guitar, put on a shirt and sang without pants within a split second of drying off. It was an adventure!
MTM: What would you like to see as a result of the festival, this year?
VK: I’d like for some of my music friends to be emboldened to give this medium a try. I know a lot of folks who are still skeptical of and even scared by online performing…But it’s here to stay, so in order to stay viable, I believe, as an artist, you have to get on board with it.
MTM: Have you been using services like Hangouts On Air, U-Stream, Street-Jelly, or others to perform live via video on line? What kind of reaction are you getting?
VK: I have been doing some Hangouts and I’ve definitely made use of StageIt. I think it’s great- especially if you have fans overseas, which I do, it’s a way to FINALLY play for them. It’s been a heartbreak for me that I can’t sing live for some really awesome people who’ve supported me over the years, simply because they live in Europe or Africa or Asia…but now, as long as we can handle the time differences, I can not only play for them, but we can chat and be in the same virtual place at the same time…and it really has created some magical occasions.
MTM: Village Studios in LA will be hosting the festival, this year and there will be a studio stage in North Carolina and another in Norway. Will you be travelling or performing remote from your own studio?
VK: Fortunately, I live here in Hollywood, so I’ll be at Valley Studios with the LA gang. It should be a great weekend!!!
MTM: If you could ask one performer to join you on a record, who would it be?
VK: That’s hard to say, because I love so many different artists, but I think I’d have to go with Trent Reznor or Macklemore.
MTM: What one thing would you change about this world, if you could?
VK: The sense that we are all separate and autonomous. I’d like for us all to understand our relation to, responsibility for, and accountability to each other. It seems the closer we try to become, the further apart we grow.
MTM: Where can we find you and your music?
VK: I am always accessible via Twitter and Facebook- they are the modern day version of cocktail party of yesteryear made virtual, and darlin’, I have got a martini in hand! My music is on iTunes- here’s links to the whole mess:
https://www.facebook.com/
https://itunes.apple.com/us/
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