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A few years back when I relocated to the US from UK, Kathy Llamas of PhilRadio International not only launched my internet radio program, she also introduced me to a journalist named Jim Stoeber who was Mr. Versatile himself. He founded Tegancat.com a songwriting/recording studio and record label located in Winnipeg, Canada. This label is the home of artists Grace Murillo, Janice Baris and others. Along with these artists is a world wide network of songwriters, musicians, vocalists and others that contribute to the projects that are worked on here. Tegancat Music is dedicated to bring out original music that while having strong commercial appeal is also very musically valid embracing aspects heard in many styles from pop to R&B to dance to hip hop to reggae to jazz to rock, and on. Jim introduced me to Dahlia's talent and it is my pleasure to introduce her to you. (INTERVIEWER AMAPOLA, USING HER NICKNAME AMY) AMY: How would you describe your album “Close To Home”? DAHLIA WAKEFIELD: I would say it’s a collection of some of my favorite songs that I’ve written over the years, culled from my own life experiences. My lyrics tend to be introspective, like they were taken from my diary, but due to much positive feedback, I feel it appeals to a wide range of people and age groups, so people do relate to my music. Musically, it’s a little eclectic – it includes my combined interests in adult contemporary, Top 40, pop, and country with a rock edge. It was a trio effort – Greg Johnston, Lyle Molzan and myself were the producers and musicians on the album. Also, not only were these songs recorded and produced in Edmonton just a few blocks away from where I live, they are truly songs from the heart that really hit ‘close to home’; hence the title. AMY: Have your priorities in life changed after you finished your album? DAHLIA: Not really. Although music will always be my passion, and performing and promoting it will still be very important to me, my priority will always be putting my family first. Also, I guess that since I recorded the CD, I’m also aligning myself more with positive experiences and people who enrich my life with the hopes that I do the same for them. AMY: I understand you're a solo artist, and you write your own songs, do you often feel alone when you’re doing your craft? DAHLIA: I actually love (and crave) solitude when creating songs – that’s when I can concentrate and just feel the flow of the song the best. However, on the flip side, it’s always fun to try new experiences, to collaborate, and I have been doing so with many different people this year. Sometimes the old adage is true: ‘two heads are better than one.’ In fact, on my CD, I co-wrote “Let’s Talk About Love” with my childhood friend Tina Koski, and “I Believe” with my good friend Maryanne Schwartz where that song has received recognition in many songwriting contests. Right now I’m trying my hand at writing songs with various songwriters via the Internet, which has proven to be a really rewarding challenge. AMY: Tell me about your award winning song “Die For You”. DAHLIA: This song is one of my favorites. It’s about loving someone so much that you would sacrifice your life for that person if you had to. I wrote it for my husband in 2001 one afternoon while I was fooling around with the guitar. My husband had just come home from work when I came up with a simple chord progression. The words and music immediately flowed to me at the same time, amazingly enough, and it was finished in about 10 minutes – by the time my husband finished his shower. After he got out, I played the song for him. Tears filled his eyes; he was moved, and so was I. This song really evokes a lot of emotion in people and really sparked an awesome response at my CD release party. AMY: When you write your songs, do you shape them or let them happen? Are the music already worked out in your head before you write your songs? DAHLIA: Each song is different, taking on a different energy each time. Usually, I just let the song happen first from complete inspiration. Then I shape and fine-tune it based on the lyrics or mood of the song. Sometimes, like in the case of “Die For You”, both the melody and lyrics come at the same time, and it’s great when it does because it’s so much easier! However, these days, I’m trying new writing methods: Either I’ll start from a melody I’ve created or that someone else has created and write the lyrics after….or… people will email me lyrics and I write the music. Most of the time I try to write a lyric that complements the music and vice versa. So it’s different each time, and I am usually very happy with the end results. It’s funny though…sometimes a song just burns to be born that I have a tough time putting it away until it’s finished. But then again, I also have several lyric books and cassette tapes of snippets of my own inspired melodies that I should probably go through some day when I get a chance. J AMY: What were your musical influences as a child? DAHLIA: It was basically anything my mom & dad listened to – ABBA, Olivia Newton John, The Beatles, Kenny Rogers, Sheena Easton, The Beach Boys….and the list goes on. There was also a time in my teens when I listened to heavy metal :0 There was also a time in my late teens when I listened to and performed strictly country music. AMY: What are your influences now as you write and sing your songs? DAHLIA: While I love and listen to all types of music, overall, pop/rock is my favorite type of music – it’s the type of music that I like creating, although I can write a lot of different styles probably due to my schooling and my past influences. But right now, my favorite artists are Jann Arden, Amanda Marshall, Chantal Kreviazuk, Alanis Morissette, Sarah McLachlan and Avril Lavigne. I find it interesting that all these artists are successful female singer/songwriters….and they’re Canadian. AMY: Now that we're in the middle of a huge female singer-songwriter movement, do you feel you’re one of the torchbearers? DAHLIA: I’d like to think that one day I could be. I just basically do what I do, and do what I love to do – write songs and perform them. That in itself makes me happy, but it makes me happier knowing that my music can give people a measure of comfort and entertainment value. AMY: Are you a calm person? Where do you go to feel at peace? DAHLIA: At times I can be calm. J Usually I have so many irons on the fire that I tend to become somewhat scattered and frazzled as my husband will attest. There are times when I start a song, I just have to finish it, even if it means having little sleep. However, everyone needs a little R&R every now and then – so I try to get away to the mountains in beautiful Jasper, Alberta. If I can’t get away, I just go for a really long walk along the river. I think I have a need to be in nature – it really inspires and soothes me. AMY: What is your next project? DAHLIA: I’ll be performing at the Saskatoon Folk Festival in the Philippines Pavilion on August 19, 20 & 21st. It’ll be nice to get back to my roots in Saskatchewan. Then right after that, on August 22 & 23rd, I’ll be recording three new songs with our mutual friend Jim Stoeber who is a really gracious, ambitious, and talented music producer from Winnipeg – in fact, his band, Tru22, just came out with a new CD called “Soulm8”. We have been collaborating online since May. He’s really challenged me to flex my songwriting muscles, but during the whole process, I’ve learned some very valuable lessons, even learned how to make mp3 demos to email back and forth. I’m very excited to be able to finally meet him and record my final vocals with the music we’ve been working so hard on. We’re working towards getting a major label deal. But if that doesn’t happen, we’ll release the new CD ourselves. AMY: Where do you see yourself five years from now? DAHLIA: I really don’t know what the future holds, but I hope another CD or two will have been released. I’d like to have placed a few songs with other artists and to have obtained a publishing or recording deal. A Juno or Grammy award (or both) would be nice, too, one day… J …that would be the icing on the cake. All I know is that a lot of hard work is ahead of me. AMY: Were you in any kind of pressure when you entered the songwriting composition that won you your award? DAHLIA: No, I wasn’t under any kind of pressure really. I just
threw my hat in the ring and hoped for the best. And luckily, it turned
out in my favor J DAHLIA: Maybe a little bit, but I try not to get caught up in it. It’s sad that sometimes image speaks louder than great songs, but most of the time, I think and hope people see through that to find the real essence of the artist. AMY: What advice can you give people who wish to write songs? DAHLIA: Always have paper and a pen handy - you never know when lyrical inspiration will strike. I have some by my bed, in my purse, in my car, in the bathroom, on my coffee table, etc. I usually have a hand-held tape recorder handy as well for melodies. Don’t laugh, but I also have a mini tape recorder on my key chain! J Also, learn about the craft of songwriting – the forms, the techniques. Study hit songs. Keep writing every day. Subscribe to songwriter e-zines. Get critiques. Enter songwriting contests. Collaborate with other people. Join a local songwriting organization. These are just some tips…I hope they help a budding songwriter! AMY: Tell our readers where they can find more information about you and your future projects: DAHLIA: You can visit http://www.iamgoddess.com/dahlia_w.html for a quick little sneak peek about me, “Google” my name for some archived info on me, and you’re more than welcome to log on to my website at www.dahliawakefield.com!! I hope to hear from you!! J |
