about me
With the exception of gangsta rap and the twangiest country, I like just about every type of music out there. To ask me what my favorite song is, is like asking an over-eater to choose one dessert from the cart. Music is such a huge part of my life that it’s hard to separate myself from it. So I thought instead of the normal “about me” info that you’d expect, I would have a few Q&A’s. I asked my friend, Donna, to come up with the questions since she was in the music industry for over 20 years as a local celebrity and radio personality. She’s hosted her share of interviews with everyone from Peter Frampton to Steven Tyler, so I figured she’d be the perfect person to come up with some good ones.
What kind of warm up do you do for a performance? What kind of prep does it take?
Generally, I turn up the radio on the way to the performance and sing away. I usually don’t do a run of scales or anything so formal, but I have fun singing for about 20 minutes or so before each gig.
Do you have any performance superstitions?
I run the mantra, “I focus on the doing, and not on the result” a few times before going on. It just helps me stay focused on the act of singing, and not worry any of the other peripheral stuff that goes on. Oh, and I wear the same socks for every gig. (*Note: OMG. I have had this post up for only a few days, and I’ve already had people ask why I wear the same socks for every gig. First, I guess humor is lost on some. Second, I never wear socks on a gig, ever. I usually wear the most uncomfortable heels I can find…)
What inspires you when you write music?
Any number of things. But it’s usually something that stirs up a lot of emotion for me. I don’t think I’m one of those everyday storyteller kind of writers, who can write a song about getting food at the drive-thru… not that there’s anything wrong with that type of song. I wish I could write that easily! My songs tend to have a bigger subject matter than that. So my songs are usually about love (easiest to write about, I guess) in all its forms, or self-growth, or something more universal.
How did you get started in music?
If the question is how did I get started singing, then the answer is community theater. I sang before that (in the shower, at home, even in my church choir) but I never really knew I could sing until I was cast in a lead role in a play. And then something clicked, and I thought, “Oh that’s what it feels like! Now I get it!”
What is the first thing you do when you get up in the morning?
I walk about a mile every morning, and say my prayer of thankfulness for whatever is on my heart at the time.
If you could be any character in a movie, who would it be?
Fanny Brice in Funny Girl
If they made a movie about you, who would you want to play you?
Charlize Theron. Or Robin Williams. Either one.
What is the most embarrassing thing that happened to you in high school?
Hmmm… this could actually warrant a top ten list. But I’ll narrow it down to one. I was quarterbacking our powder puff football game and ran to the sidelines to change jerseys. When I pulled mine off, my bottom shirt came up, too. We won anyway.
Do you have formal musical training?
Ha! No. But I have some great musician friends who teach me often, both by example and by explanation, and I’m grateful for it.
Is there a type of music that you just don’t care for?
I appreciate all types of music, I really do. But there are certain genres in general that I typically don’t listen to, either because they bother my ears or my brain. Really classic, old twangy country I can listen to for about half a song. But even so, I appreciate the humor and the honesty of that type of song. And I don’t listen to negative gansta-style rap because I don’t like to absorb any more negativity than I have to. And I just flat out don’t like polkas. I have no reason why.
What was your very first performance like?
My grandmother’s living room when I was four. I was wrangled into the room to see all of “the girls” in my great-grandmother’s bridge club. Sometime between snatching a few Jordan almonds off the table, I was hoisted onto the marble coffee table as my grandmother put the needle down on Peter, Paul and Mary’s Album 1700… and (I’m told) I launched into an emotional rendition of “Leaving on a Jet Plane.”
What inspires you in life?
Kind people.
What is your motto?
I try like heck for it to be, “I don’t worry about anything I can’t control.” But sometimes it comes out, “I can control everything, can’t I?”
What do you like most about music?
It’s universal. It’s like a smile. You don’t have to know what the singer is saying (thank goodness, huh, Bob Dylan?) to appreciate the song.
What do you like least about it?
Currently, that what we’re hearing on the radio is so very over-produced, with voice and pitch correcting, digital compression, and every other trick in the book that can make just about anyone sound good. When you see some of those artists live, you wonder what happened to their voice. Nothing. It’s just how they really sound without a good producer and voice-altering software.
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Cool Vibes.
Positive Message.
Who says positive music has to sound like a Barney special? This is grown-up, bad-to-the-bone but good-to-the-heart stuff.
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Full Circle hits the shelves!Full Circle is a meaningful collection of original tunes in a neo-soul style. Digital downloads of individual songs or the whole album are available on this website, iTunes, and Amazon.com. Physical CDs are available through CDBaby and Barnes & Noble.
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The Oasis Smooth
Jazz AwardsWhitney has been is scheduled to perform at the 2011 Oasis Smooth Jazz Awards in San Diego from March 10-13. Eight of her eleven songs are receiving airplay both in the U.S. and abroad.
