James
05-21-2004, 04:20 PM
I found this at http://www.musicdish.com/mag/?id=9475
Here is the interview:
[Steven Digman] What (and/or) who inspired the beginning of your musical career?
[Marina Verenikina] Music has always been a huge part of my life, so you can say that music itself inspired me. But more specifically, it was the first time I played my own song in public. I was a part of a talent show at my college. There was a big crowd so I was really scared, but I got a standing ovation and won first prize. Several people wrote to me afterwards saying how much my song moved them. It was such an amazing experience that it became a deciding factor. It was also my songwriting partner, Nick Baker, who gave me the confidence to do this professionally and record a CD (it was Let Me Dream, my first CD that is long out of print).
[Steven Digman] Would you describe the inherent influences your Native Country Russia has had on your music?
[Marina Verenikina] I grew up listening to a lot of Russian classical music, a lot of which had been influenced by the Russian traditional songs. I list Tchaikovsky as one of my influences, and he himself was a huge fan of Russian motif. I also knew many Russian folk songs, which are amazingly beautiful. The melodies simply give me goose bumps.
[Steven Digman] How has your adoptive country (United States of America) changed or added to this musical influence?
[Marina Verenikina] Living in America opened my mind in so many ways, especially in music. I keep watching VH1 programs to catch up on music on which I've missed out, because almost all "Western" music was prohibited in the Soviet Union.
[Steven Digman] How would you describe your music?
[Marina Verenikina] It's very personal & intimate, yet universal. I owe it to my other big influence, the Beatles. I listened to a lot of Beatles music in my early teens and started imitating them in my own songwriting. Before I heard the Beatles, the little songs I wrote were more classical and folk sounding.
[Steven Digman] As a singer/songwriter, what do you consider to be the deeper art: writing the song or singing the song?
[Marina Verenikina] As a singer/songwriter, I would say writing ... But then there are those singers like Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks (or Elvis) who doesn't write a lot of the material she performs, but her vocal delivery is so mesmerizing, I really don't think she is less deep than the songwriters who wrote the song.
[Steven Digman] Would you briefly compare the music industry in Russia to that of United States?
[Marina Verenikina] I really don't know that much about Russian music industry. There are [fewer] labels and [fewer] artists in Russia. Most people are concerned with day-by-day survival, not their dreams of becoming a music star.
[Steven Digman] How has the Internet affected/effected your music?
[Marina Verenikina] I love the Internet. Having a website is great, having my music in online stores is great, [and] having my message board is fantastic. I am not too worried about people downloading my music for free. Obviously, I would much rather have someone buy a CD and support the artist. In the ‘80s, people used to make cassette copies, and what's going on today isn't that much different, in my opinion.
[Steven Digman] And finally, how do you hope the listening audience will describe your music?
[Marina Verenikina] Something that really moves them and something they can relate to ...
I just want to say thank you to all of my incredible fans/friends/komrades for reading this and for all of their support.
Here is the interview:
[Steven Digman] What (and/or) who inspired the beginning of your musical career?
[Marina Verenikina] Music has always been a huge part of my life, so you can say that music itself inspired me. But more specifically, it was the first time I played my own song in public. I was a part of a talent show at my college. There was a big crowd so I was really scared, but I got a standing ovation and won first prize. Several people wrote to me afterwards saying how much my song moved them. It was such an amazing experience that it became a deciding factor. It was also my songwriting partner, Nick Baker, who gave me the confidence to do this professionally and record a CD (it was Let Me Dream, my first CD that is long out of print).
[Steven Digman] Would you describe the inherent influences your Native Country Russia has had on your music?
[Marina Verenikina] I grew up listening to a lot of Russian classical music, a lot of which had been influenced by the Russian traditional songs. I list Tchaikovsky as one of my influences, and he himself was a huge fan of Russian motif. I also knew many Russian folk songs, which are amazingly beautiful. The melodies simply give me goose bumps.
[Steven Digman] How has your adoptive country (United States of America) changed or added to this musical influence?
[Marina Verenikina] Living in America opened my mind in so many ways, especially in music. I keep watching VH1 programs to catch up on music on which I've missed out, because almost all "Western" music was prohibited in the Soviet Union.
[Steven Digman] How would you describe your music?
[Marina Verenikina] It's very personal & intimate, yet universal. I owe it to my other big influence, the Beatles. I listened to a lot of Beatles music in my early teens and started imitating them in my own songwriting. Before I heard the Beatles, the little songs I wrote were more classical and folk sounding.
[Steven Digman] As a singer/songwriter, what do you consider to be the deeper art: writing the song or singing the song?
[Marina Verenikina] As a singer/songwriter, I would say writing ... But then there are those singers like Natalie Maines of the Dixie Chicks (or Elvis) who doesn't write a lot of the material she performs, but her vocal delivery is so mesmerizing, I really don't think she is less deep than the songwriters who wrote the song.
[Steven Digman] Would you briefly compare the music industry in Russia to that of United States?
[Marina Verenikina] I really don't know that much about Russian music industry. There are [fewer] labels and [fewer] artists in Russia. Most people are concerned with day-by-day survival, not their dreams of becoming a music star.
[Steven Digman] How has the Internet affected/effected your music?
[Marina Verenikina] I love the Internet. Having a website is great, having my music in online stores is great, [and] having my message board is fantastic. I am not too worried about people downloading my music for free. Obviously, I would much rather have someone buy a CD and support the artist. In the ‘80s, people used to make cassette copies, and what's going on today isn't that much different, in my opinion.
[Steven Digman] And finally, how do you hope the listening audience will describe your music?
[Marina Verenikina] Something that really moves them and something they can relate to ...
I just want to say thank you to all of my incredible fans/friends/komrades for reading this and for all of their support.