Nick
01-23-2004, 07:20 PM
hey guys! this article just came out yesterday. we don't have it on marinav.com but decided to post it here instead!
Article courtesy the Orange County Register, www.ocregister.com (http://www.ocregister.com)
Originally from Russia, Marina V is a singer/songwriter who is performing at Borders in The Block at Orange on Saturday, January 24.
Russian-born Marina V plays on the dark keys
Singer-songwriter from Moscow performs
at Borders in The Block on Saturday night.
By Tom Graves
Orange City News
Growing up in Moscow, Marina V learned to love western pop like The Beatles, despite the fact that her only access was bootleg tapes that
had been copied endlessly and had as much hiss as music.
"My parents never listened to music," said Marina, 25. "When I went to my grandfather's, he would play me symphonies and arias. I had to beg to get a mono cassette player."
Once hooked, Marina started writing on her own but was discouraged by her piano instructor, who called her own compositions "nonsense."
Marina came to America with a scholarship when she was 15. That's when she first heard what CDs sounded like, especially those of women artists
such as Jewel, Sara McLachlan and Tori Amos. After going home, she knew America was where she wanted to be. Marina came back to go to Illinois College, where she met her songwriting partner Nick Baker.
"He insisted that I do this professionally," she said. "I didn't have the confidence to do it full-time."
Now with three CDs under her belt and a fresh management contract from the renowned music kingpin David Krebs, Marina V's prospects at a music career are flourishing.
Marina's latest CD, the self-produced "Something of My Own" was a giant leap forward for her. Her singing has grown in range and expressiveness,
bringing comparisons to pop chanteuses like Amos, Kate Bush and Jewel.
Her songs about longing, lost love and disillusionment often play on the dark keys of the piano, but she breaks it up with a bit of fun here and there.
Close listening reveals winking references to the keyboard work of Paul McCartney, another one of her favorites. The title song on the new CD has a loping piano riff for a hook, and lyrics
about looking beyond accepted images:
I suffocate in lies,
Feeling how I was always taught
I'm living in someone else's life
Searching for truth to call my own
Marina wrote the song in Russian first, with a completely different theme and title, "Melting Snow," about a departed love one.
"In Russia, snow is a big part of your life," Marina said. "When the snow melts in spring it's like a whole new beginning."
On the new album, she sings both versions, one in English, the other in Russian.
Without a recording contract, Marina markets CDs on her Web site at www.MarinaV.com (http://www.MarinaV.com) or at shows. She's been making the Borders circuit for
more than a year, supplemented by club gigs at places like the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, the Key Club in Hollywood and the Bitter End in New York City.
At 8 p.m. on Saturday, Marina will perform at Borders in The Block at Orange, her third appearance there.
"One of my overzealous fans works there," Marina said. "She keeps saying,'Oh, you have to come back.'"
She knows she's paying her dues to gain an audience, but so far it's working to her benefit.
Keyboard Magazine called her "one of the most promising singer/songwriters of the year" and she recently earned the ASCAP popular award for 2003-2004.
Her parents had mixed feelings about leaving the home country for America.
"My dad is a very rigid guy," Marina said. "He thinks that I'm being ruined by the capitalist society. But now that I signed with David Krebs, they both immediately started supporting me a lot."
In the meantime, she and Baker have kept busy writing. If she does get signed, Marina will have a bigger problem deciding what songs to leave off her label debut than what to include.
"We have enough songs for three albums now," she said.
She showcases many of her unrecorded works in concert.
"It's funny what I get requests for now," she said. "People want to know what album a song is on and I have to tell them that we haven't recorded it yet."
Marina V Show
In concert: 8 p.m. Saturday at Borders Books, Music and Café in The Block at Orange.
Cost: Free
Line-up: Marina sings and plays keyboards. Her songwriting partner Nick Baker plays guitar.
Online: www.MarinaV.com (http://www.MarinaV.com)
[ January 23, 2004, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: Nick ]
Article courtesy the Orange County Register, www.ocregister.com (http://www.ocregister.com)
Originally from Russia, Marina V is a singer/songwriter who is performing at Borders in The Block at Orange on Saturday, January 24.
Russian-born Marina V plays on the dark keys
Singer-songwriter from Moscow performs
at Borders in The Block on Saturday night.
By Tom Graves
Orange City News
Growing up in Moscow, Marina V learned to love western pop like The Beatles, despite the fact that her only access was bootleg tapes that
had been copied endlessly and had as much hiss as music.
"My parents never listened to music," said Marina, 25. "When I went to my grandfather's, he would play me symphonies and arias. I had to beg to get a mono cassette player."
Once hooked, Marina started writing on her own but was discouraged by her piano instructor, who called her own compositions "nonsense."
Marina came to America with a scholarship when she was 15. That's when she first heard what CDs sounded like, especially those of women artists
such as Jewel, Sara McLachlan and Tori Amos. After going home, she knew America was where she wanted to be. Marina came back to go to Illinois College, where she met her songwriting partner Nick Baker.
"He insisted that I do this professionally," she said. "I didn't have the confidence to do it full-time."
Now with three CDs under her belt and a fresh management contract from the renowned music kingpin David Krebs, Marina V's prospects at a music career are flourishing.
Marina's latest CD, the self-produced "Something of My Own" was a giant leap forward for her. Her singing has grown in range and expressiveness,
bringing comparisons to pop chanteuses like Amos, Kate Bush and Jewel.
Her songs about longing, lost love and disillusionment often play on the dark keys of the piano, but she breaks it up with a bit of fun here and there.
Close listening reveals winking references to the keyboard work of Paul McCartney, another one of her favorites. The title song on the new CD has a loping piano riff for a hook, and lyrics
about looking beyond accepted images:
I suffocate in lies,
Feeling how I was always taught
I'm living in someone else's life
Searching for truth to call my own
Marina wrote the song in Russian first, with a completely different theme and title, "Melting Snow," about a departed love one.
"In Russia, snow is a big part of your life," Marina said. "When the snow melts in spring it's like a whole new beginning."
On the new album, she sings both versions, one in English, the other in Russian.
Without a recording contract, Marina markets CDs on her Web site at www.MarinaV.com (http://www.MarinaV.com) or at shows. She's been making the Borders circuit for
more than a year, supplemented by club gigs at places like the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles, the Key Club in Hollywood and the Bitter End in New York City.
At 8 p.m. on Saturday, Marina will perform at Borders in The Block at Orange, her third appearance there.
"One of my overzealous fans works there," Marina said. "She keeps saying,'Oh, you have to come back.'"
She knows she's paying her dues to gain an audience, but so far it's working to her benefit.
Keyboard Magazine called her "one of the most promising singer/songwriters of the year" and she recently earned the ASCAP popular award for 2003-2004.
Her parents had mixed feelings about leaving the home country for America.
"My dad is a very rigid guy," Marina said. "He thinks that I'm being ruined by the capitalist society. But now that I signed with David Krebs, they both immediately started supporting me a lot."
In the meantime, she and Baker have kept busy writing. If she does get signed, Marina will have a bigger problem deciding what songs to leave off her label debut than what to include.
"We have enough songs for three albums now," she said.
She showcases many of her unrecorded works in concert.
"It's funny what I get requests for now," she said. "People want to know what album a song is on and I have to tell them that we haven't recorded it yet."
Marina V Show
In concert: 8 p.m. Saturday at Borders Books, Music and Café in The Block at Orange.
Cost: Free
Line-up: Marina sings and plays keyboards. Her songwriting partner Nick Baker plays guitar.
Online: www.MarinaV.com (http://www.MarinaV.com)
[ January 23, 2004, 06:27 PM: Message edited by: Nick ]