50K MUSIC - independent.music.dedicated - www.50kmusic.com

Always Move Forward

50K MM: For all those who don't know you yet (if there is anyone at all) please tell us something about Aryn Michelle. Where do you come from, what are your roots? Aryn: I was raised and have lived most of my life in Texas in the United States. I started writing music and teaching myself to play the piano when I was about fifteen years old. I inherited my love of music from my family, all of whom are very musical, and my first experiences with music were singing in church and public school. I went to two different colleges, Southwestern University and the Berklee College of Music to study vocal performance, songwriting and music technology. Over the years I have dabbled in alot of styles of music including singer/songwriter, folk, pop, rock and jazz; but I've finally settled on "alternative pop" or "fringe pop" as my genre definition of choice! I know work as a musician full time writing, performing, and running a small demo making studio. 50K MM: After almost two years on SellaBand you finally reached the goal of 50k. What happened on this March 2nd 2010? Aryn: It was a very tense time when Sellaband changed hands through the bankruptcy to new ownership, but amongst that turmoil, I made a decision to stand strong and assured my believers that I would finish funding my project. I anticipated that the bankruptcy and the new T&Cs might slow down my progress, but actually quite the opposite thing took place. Because several other notable artists made the decision to leave SellaBand, made believers began to rally support for my project because I had announced in a strong and public way that I intended to stay. So many people showed their strong support in the last few days of fundraising; it was overwhelming and amazing! My biggest believer, mdwh, also gave me some very strong "nudges" in the right direction at key milestones, which was a tremendous help! 50K MM: You're a member of Dream Team and The Pack. Do you think this memberships helped you to succeed in reaching your goal? Aryn: Absolutely! I could never thank Phil and Wolfman enough for starting this groups and inviting me to become involved. Both groups are filled with an amazing collection of artists and believers who sincerely believe in their goals and help each other to make things happen. Because of my involvement in the groups I have taken on collaboration projects with other artists, and had opportunities with increased exposure through websites, Facebook, Twitter, collaborative videos, etc. I would encourage any artists on SellaBand to find a group of people who have similar goals, believers and artists alike, and work on projects together. Working together and helping each other can do nothing but good for the community. 50K MM: How have SellaBand and the time there changed your life? Aryn: I was thinking about this alot the other day. When I joined SellaBand I had been writing my own music for many years, but hadn't really begun to take the big "next steps." Because of my involvement in Sellaband, I felt more compelled to seek out high profile performance opportunities, invested the time and money to get better sound equipment, get professional photos taken, and eventually to record my first professional indie album. Since I have joined SellaBand I launched my own website, now have music available for sale on ITunes, and have taken the time to get training in music technology so that now I can record and mix my own demos. Without sounding too cheesy or over-dramatic, I really think joining Sellaband changed my life as an artist, because it gave me a "big goal." It gave me the motivation to become a better artist and a reason to take a chance to take the big "next step." Also, I can't forget to mention how the members of the community have profoundly changed my life. Getting to know so many people from all over the world who have shown me such great love and support has really transformed my vision of what a successful musician should be. 50K MM: In May 2009 you released your album "Lockless Heart". So the SellaBand album is not your first album project. What kind of album can we expect? Aryn: One of the big reasons that I made "Lockless Heart" was to give the SellaBand community a taste of what I could do in a professional studio environment. This project was completely self funded and promoted, so the Sellaband album will be a much grander "expression" of what I know that I can do. I think believers should expect an album with great focus on originality of lyric, and a sonic texture that blends in singer/songwriter sentimentality, ambient moodiness of trip hop, over a firm foundation of positive pop/rock. Several of the newest demos that I released towards the end of my fundraising (Desperate Times, Nomad, The Last One Standing...) are strong contenders to make the project, but I am sure there will also be several never-before-heard tracks on the album as well. 50K MM: What are your further plans for the album production? Aryn: Right now I have drawn up a tentative budget and will talk to Sellaband HQ soon about getting approval for that budget. After that I will be finalizing my studio/producer choice and then setting up pre-production sessions. (These will be sessions to work through preliminary song arrangements and possible work out some rough demos) I'm also currently contacting players that I am interested in working with for recording the album and doing the follow-up tour. 50K MM: Have you chosen a producer yet? Can you unveil who it is? Aryn: I can tell you that I am 99% sure about my producer choice at this time, but I can't unveil who it is until I get the budget approval from HQ. So at the moment, I will have to hold you in suspense on that one! 50K MM: How can we support you during the time of album production? Aryn: I think people can help by just showing there support through my online presence. Following me on twitter and Facebook, rating and commenting on my YouTune videos, leaving comments on my website, etc. Also, please let everyone know that if they would like detailed information about how to be involved, I can subscribe them to my monthly e-mail newsletter. Anyone who'd like to receive the newsletter can send me an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let me know they'd like to be added. Lastly, tell your family and friends about my music! Lockless Heart will continue to be available on CdBaby and ITunes, and I always welcome helpful comments, tips and suggestions for gigs sent to my email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Also I want to mention that I plan on doing video blogs about our time in studio during pre-production and tracking, so be on the lookout for those to start popping up on SAB and on my YouTube channel within the next couple of months. 50K MM: And last question: Please tell us one thing about you and your music everybody should know. Aryn: The one thing you should know about myself and my music is that I am never satisfied with something until it is better than the last thing I produced. My goal is to always continue to move forward in a positive direction! www.arynmichelle.com

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