There are songs you listen to... and then there are songs that take you somewhere. Rose Reiter’s music is frequently the latter. Experience the music and performance of Rose Reiter and you’ll find yourself transported to a very cool place. Strong songwriting, production and excellent vocals produce an artistic vision that “connects” in a substantial way - separating Rose’s music from the crowd.

Stylistically, it’s difficult to listen to Rose Reiter (pronounced “Writer”) without drawing comparisons to Sarah McLachlan or Paula Cole. But if comparisons are to be made - they may as well be to some of the best. Needless to say I was hyped when Rose said she’d like to talk about her music, songwriting, and especially some material from her second album - the soon-to-be-released “Real”.

- - - ROSE & HER MUSIC - - -
What brought you to where you are now? Talk about your musical path. Prior to your first album up through now.

     My path started when I was about 3 - and my father was surprised to see me playing the piano - I was playing a melody line on the piano (albeit with tiny little hands) and from that moment, my father enrolled me in piano lessons. He lost his job and had to sell the piano a few years later, so I went into theatre and dance instead... but my voice always remained. Every time there was a piano around, I’d play it... Even up until my university years - I’d skip countless classes just to get to a piano. So, between childhood and adulthood, music was a constant in my life... I have always been involved in it.
     I’d sang in multiple choirs, started doing vocal session work when I was about 15, and started seriously writing for pop at about the same time. Picked up the guitar at 15, and started to play it... I [also] love playing drums.
     I mostly played locally (although played in Japan and Spain) and really wanted to do it on my own.
     I learned a lot from doing my first album - again, I did it independently and through the grace and help of many of my music buddies at the time. I think it was a good first attempt, and am proud of the fact that we even completed it. I think I learned how important marketing was - but that’s another story.
     This time around, I’ve taken my time to develop the album, and really am working hard at positioning my music. As much as it’s my art and it’s my passion, it’s also my business - and I believe that the paradigm of the artist is changing with the power of the internet and the independent music network that is continuing to grow stronger every day.

You probably tire of the comparison, but for those unfamiliar, your music is comparable to that of both Sarah McLachlan and Paula Cole.

     I never tire of comparisons - how else can people relate my music to what else they’ve heard? And it’s a compliment to be compared to Sarah and Paula.
     Sarah was a huge confidence boost for me, as when she was becoming popular, I was writing her style of music, alone in piano rooms - and she gave me the confidence that I could pursue this style of music without having to be ashamed of myself. I actually hope to place some of my material with Sarah - seeing how many of my songs fit her style - and I can’t produce all of them anyways right now - so I’m really hoping she’ll consider using some of my material.. I write SO much that it’s crazy - and many of my ballads would definitely suit her too.
     Paula Cole is a true goddess - she is what I call my “sister voice” - because her voice and mine are so similar.. Her writing style is also as varied.. I’m actually thinking of approaching her to help me produce future material - so if anyone you know knows either of these lovely talented artists - please have them call me. Pretty please.

We have a lot to discuss including your previous album, the music business, your influences and other topics, but lets start off and familiarize everyone with your sound and some of the music on your upcoming album “Real” which is nearing completion.

     I am planning (with the correct sacrifices made to the gods willing) to have it ready for a June release date... It’s tough, because we’re SO close - we only have a few more songs to complete, but we have been running into real technical issues here at our studio (we need better gear!).

Can you characterize “Real” for us?

     We wanted this to feature a dynamic range of material, as well as place the material in somewhat of a story... I think that part of it will be very subtle, although initially, my dream was to put together more of a concept album, but I can’t say now how that will work out, as we’ve taken off songs and put new ones on that weren’t initially part of the project. The production philosophy on this album was to simply stay out of the way of the voice... Every instrumental and arrangement choice has been made to try and support my vocal characteristics.. Rather than featuring instrumentation (aka, let’s say, an electric guitar) that would compete too closely with my voice. In fact, come to think of it... You know, we didn’t use an electric guitar (yet) on this album... Hmm... We kept it as acoustic as we could... NOW, with that said, we couldn’t afford to fly to Vancouver and hire drummers for every song, so we did have to rely on Gerry’s drum programming for some of the songs... (Ed note: more on Gerry later)

The song “Phantoms” (HiFi - LoFi) is probably the first many on Unsignedbandweb heard from you - and is probably still my favorite song from you. I got chills the first time I listened to this tune. I feel “Phantoms” captures something very special and showcases your voice, songwriting and overall talent. Comments?

     I sat down at the piano one day, inside this dark room, and the verse of this song just came straight out in a couple of minutes... (Sometimes I wonder if I am channeling some other musician?) Gerry loved what I had, and he came up with the chorus... this was our first official co-written song.
      “Phantoms” is a song that touches me deeply, because it reminds me that there are times in our lives where we feel we just cannot move on, where we can’t see anything but the blood, sweat and tears of our day - and then, something - something inside of us keeps us going. On a personal level, I feel that some phantoms of my past still haunt me, and yet I choose to carry on. I think this song reminds me that I do have the strength to move ahead, no matter what happens. One of my friends had listened to this song over and over and over again, throughout her battle with cancer, and she told me that this song really helped her fight and stay alive... I am happy that this song has that type of affect on people.... I hope it helps many. Especially those who don’t think they have anything to live for.

“Hanging On” (HiFi - LoFi) is an artistic pop song with an organic sound and deep underlying groove. The song has a nice ebb and flow. The funky percussion is interesting.

     Yes - it’s meant to come after the song “Phantoms” (on the album placement) - ever had a time in your life where you didn’t know if you’d make it, and then someone else comes along, or something else comes along, and pulls you through it? “Hanging On” is a personal story of survival through the help and support of another human being, and how people come into our lives for a reason.
     The drummer for this song, Elliot Polsky, (really amazing musician), did a fantastic job of capturing what I had heard in my head. When we were all together in studio doing this song, we were all struggling to try and capture the initial rhythmic intent of it. When we finally found this groove (that reminded us a lot of Kashmir, Led Zepp) we all loved it and went with it..
     This was a difficult piece to produce, as it was initially written entirely by me for a 12 string acoustic performance, but we heard so much more. I think it’s a good first attempt at producing it. Elliot did all the percussion as well - he used an Udu, a Dumbek, and a talking drum to really capture the feel of this groove. His specialty is world-music, hence why we chose him for this song. There’s an element of Peter Gabriel’s Passion in this piece (Ed. Note: See influences discussion later).... It’s a dream of ours to be able to take this type of song and record it at RealWorld with a complete ethnic and world music feel... but of course, we had to try and keep it accessible for this album as well. And we didn’t have the budget to fly out to Peter’s studio.. (No, we don’t know him personally, yet. I hope to meet him one day, I really do.).

“Mama” (HiFi - LoFi) is another beautiful tune that resonates with me. The final lyric is an optimistic “maybe one day we’ll find love.”  Comments on this song? I feel the cello serves the mix well.

     Hee... everyone thinks it’s a cello - but it’s actually a ½ size upright bass that was used to support this song. “Mama” is another personal song (maybe I’ll explain it in my auto-biography one of these years) and it speaks of a mother who leaves her child in order for her child to survive.. I think it resonates with everyone, this song... In fact, I usually put in a Kleenex in my press kits as well as a warning label... as it’s based on a true story, and I think everyone knows the disconnect of mother and child and how powerfully that can affect our spirit.

“Watching” (HiFi - LoFi) has some excellent harmonized vocals, several counter-melodies, as well as many soaring ambient vocal parts interspersed throughout the mix. This is an interesting song to listen to. Musically it’s sparse in many places, but there’s so much the music adds throughout, particularly the ‘Big’ percussion. Talk about writing and recording “Watching.”

     If you know the song, “Growing Up” by Peter Gabriel, I really really love the way he does his counter-melodies in that song, so we tried to work with that type of melodic concept with “Watching”. It’s akin to the “Every Breath You Take” song by Sting, in terms of its darkness. When people listen to the lyrics, you’ll notice the darkness of the character, even though the melody and arrangement sound much more upbeat.. So, I really wanted this song to achieve a dark underlying lyrical quality countered with the bright arrangement and melodies... It’s not necessarily a happy song.. Frankly, it’s what I refer to as the “psycho” song of the album... Listen to the lyrics and then tell me if you agree.

“For Her” is a piano ballad with obvious commercial appeal. “Desperado” by the Eagles comes to mind when listening. It actually has a different ‘feel’ from many of your other tunes - musically seems somewhat of a departure. How did this song come to you?   (Ed. Sorry - no audio available on this one.)

     Interesting you caught onto that. I was speaking one day with an artist friend of mine, who mentioned that her father, who was a musician, died when she was only a few weeks old. The moment I got off the phone I felt this overwhelming urge to get onto my piano and write this piece.. The piano is more Elton-John-esque, really not what I normally write.. And this song came out in just a few minutes. Anyways, to this day, I think that perhaps her father, who was an established and well-known musician, maybe had a message for her, and chose my piano to come through on. I know it sounds kind of strange, but sometimes I really do feel that I’m not the one writing. It’s a sensation that I know many writers encounter. So this one was a gift for my friend. I wanted her to know that her father probably still does watch over her, and walks with her as she lives her life.
     Oh, and by the way, Elton John and Billy Joel were also big influences in my life growing up... I don’t really write just one type of music, although I’ve been careful to try and pick similar styles for this album.. But For Her does bring out some of the piano writing influences I grew up with, and is a departure for this album. Since I write so much, I do write for various genres, and am hoping to secure a publishing deal one day where I can funnel some of this material to other artists in different genres... Am still trying to focus on the Rose Reiter style, and I wasn’t sure if this song should make the album, but I think it will.

- - - ON YOUR FIRST ALBUM - - -
Can you talk about the experience of putting together your first album “What I Don’t Get” (released in ‘99)?

     I really had the love and support of so many people behind me on that first project, that I feel it really was a work of many talented people.
     I really included my band at that time as part of the production team, and it was a great learning experience. For that project, we had spent a lot of time and money in some decent studios in Vancouver, BC, and I was fortunate to have engineers that really believed in the project, that donated much of their time to this. So, even though we spent a ridiculous amount of money on the creation of the album, it was a team effort, and I really learned about working with a team and seeing a project through to its completion - and of course, found the beginnings of my global audience...
     One of my long time friends, Kelly Frey, joined on as co-producer of the project - and even though neither of us had ever produced an album before, I think we did a good job for the most part - although I find I am now critical of the work we’ve done on that album (“hey, that was WAY too over-produced... TOO much of this,,,, etc.. ”) alas, the artist is never satisfied, I suppose. We live, we learn, we grow, we change. That is the nature of the artist. At least for me, it is.
     The first album almost wasn’t finished due to various issues such as funding (typical) and health. In fact, a serious bronchial problem I had (which has since been resolved) affected my voice and lungs severely, and I really had to stretch to reach some of the parts.. There were times when I was just so frustrated that this might not be completed due to my lungs. This problem delayed the release by almost a year. But you know what? My lungs started working again - that first album was an exercise in belief and persistence... and I think, no matter what anyone says about the production choices, the vocal deliveries and even the song arrangements - the fact that it was completed, and that so much love and effort was put into it, is a testament to the drive and passion that is shared by myself and those that work with me.

I feel your first album gets into a deep groove with the fourth track “Fairy Tale” and continues in a very cool ‘place’ all the way to the end of the album. A lot of albums don’t achieve this. Can you talk about album construction: song order, song transitions, and overall album flow?

     Thank you - I was fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Chin Injeti (formerly of Bass is Bass) - on the song “Fairytale”, as his bass line really made that piece groove - it’s amazing what bass does, eh?
     Looking back, I felt, like you, that from track 4 onwards, we hit the right flow. The first three songs were placed to try and provide a setup for the end result of the album - which was “Right side down” (still one of my favorites)... A bit of an extrovert to introvert position.
     A little on some of the song choices and positioning: Again, looking back at it, I can see that I was in a much darker place back then, as a person, and I can see why I placed those darker songs at the front - In fact, even the album cover was chosen dark and introspective. I wanted to release some of the anger and confusion that every teenager / 20-year old probably has pent up - “No Thank You” was a song directed towards the people in my life that I allowed to manipulate me. “Heaven Knows” was a song of desperation and hope knowing there was only so much manipulation I could bear, - and “Intention” was a powerful piece directed towards trusting others and opening up... Hence why “Fairytale” then enters the scene and starts to paint a picture from an imaginary perspective. I wanted the audience to enter a different world, both musically and spiritually, to offer perhaps a set of different glasses to see the world by. Even the bridge on that song was meant to offer a push - a shove, perhaps - for the audience to get UP and get away from the comfort of anger and distrust - and to perhaps believe again.
     “Top” - one of my favorites - especially for its arrangement.. its groove... sexuality released - to trust someone intimately - to take someone as high as love and intimacy can take you. It’s still a favorite.
     Then the title track, “What I don’t get” - funny song, that one... I was standing at a bus stop in downtown one day, next to this fancy clothing store. I’d seen this beautiful lavender dress, and thought, “hmmm, I’m curious to see how much it is...” So I walked in and my jaw just about hit the ground as the sales lady told me it was $5000 - sale price... HA!!!! I couldn’t believe it - it’s not like it was a wedding / ball gown.. it was a single piece hand-knit summer sheath dress - and I walked out of that store writing the title track for the album. I started looking at the world a little differently at that point in my life.
      “Silence” - another favorite of mine. I was in Japan when I wrote the initial idea for the song sitting in the rain under a temple roof listening to the sound of the water hitting the rock gardens below. This song is still on my repertoire - and still reminds me of how powerful silence really is. The act and experience of silence is, for me, one that is profound. I wanted to challenge others to sit in silence and know that the internal struggles we all have faced can be faced... silence is an amazing way of facing the thoughts and actions that we have encountered, encounter and will encounter. The arrangement on this song - again, slightly different... I like the fact that it was originally written on a 12-string guitar - and now when I perform it, I do this one solo with only a guitar.
     The song “8 of hearts” - another love song... one of possibility - that love does exist... Ever had a moment where you look into someone’s eyes - a complete stranger’s eyes, and feel that you know them? That you would fall in love with them? This song takes the audience through the fantasy of it - So far, the album has gone from dark reality, to fantasy, to intimacy and trust, to disbelief, to silence - and back to love... the possibility that perhaps more than lust exists - a true connection with someone else...
     “Over You” - again, a love song - personally, I didn’t like how this song ended up. Funny how we can write and then once it’s arranged and produced, not like what we ended up with. I felt it was weak in terms of its production - but still a solid song.
     “One day” - another song - of hope - a loud expression that perhaps what starts off as a fairytale in our minds can indeed come true...
     AND then, another fave of mine - “Right side down”. Throwing everything up in the air and knowing that we land sometimes right side down... That song was written in a few minutes and I recorded it in a couple of takes - and placed it on at the last moment.. I like the fact that it’s not as produced as the others.. I really like its simplicity... I left the album on that note, knowing that I would be working on the next album project - and sure enough, I want to continue the story that the first album began, with this next album.

You do falsetto parts very well. “Top” and “8 of Hearts” on the first album are examples of where the falsetto is silky smooth. Is that something you’ve always had, or have you had to work on your voice to achieve that? Do you write songs to specifically take advantage of your range?

      I’ve been so fortunate that my 4-octave vocal range (I usually only use about 3, though) - is so flexible... it’s also my ear - I always had the ability to hear sound and replicate it, using my voice, my piano, my guitar - it’s how my brain processes sound in general.. I remember going through a Pearl Jam phase, where I ended up picking up the vocal characteristics of Eddie Vetter - and you know, I had to stop listening to them because my voice automatically captured nasal characteristics that I didn’t want. Hence why I don’t listen to some singers - so now when I work my voice, I have created a set of 6 CDs filled with music from soul to rock that really works my range - and works my voice the way I want to hear it.
     I do work to keep it up, as with any muscle group - but also, my voice is my instrument - it is the instrument I know the best. I LOVE LOVE LOVE to sing. If you were a fly in my car on any given day, you’d hear me sing as I’m driving down the road. For me, singing is to my spirit as breathing is to my body.

- - - INFLUENCES - - -
Your music spans the range from the softest touch (Phantoms) to some fairly rocking tunes (One Day). Can you talk some about your influences and inspirations?

     One day, I was about 13 years old, my father gave me a tape that he’d found... it had this odd yet amazing music on it.... EVERY night for about two years (until the tape died), I’d listen to this tape as I went to sleep... The music was passionate, so deep, so engaging, so stimulating.      The tape was not labeled - so for the next 10 years, I didn’t know who the artist was... turns out it was Peter Gabriel’s passion album... along with other Peter Gabriel songs..
     I really grew up in a musical vacuum in terms of exposure to popular music... Of course, I heard 80’s rock and pop on radio stations, Madonna, Cyndi, and the like were definite influences - but my real musical influences came from outside the home, and really by chance.... I’ll keep it simple: everything and everyone was an influence.
     But Peter Gabriel is still my first influence, with Floyd, old Genesis, Sarah, Paula C, Seal, Sting, and many many many others not far behind. When I left home I made it my mission to listen to as much music as I could possibly listen to - and really have been playing catch-up ever since. Only about 4 years ago did I learn who YES and CSNY were.... The last five years, I’ve picked up more influences than I did in 20 years before then, and I am continually influenced by new artists. Check out Adrina Thorpe - wow, she is amazing and is an influence for me now.
     Inspirations = everything around and inside me. Everything. Every little and big thing.

- - - SONGWRITING - - -
Several of your tunes are written with Gerry Plant. Tell us about Gerry and how you write/compose/record/collaborate.

      Understatement of the year: I write a lot. (About a few hundred ideas / songs per year no problem part-time). So, I tend to bring music to Gerry and we arrange and complete / polish material together.. We’ve been collaborating for a few years now.. and we became best friends through the years, and then CROSSED THE LINE!!! OH MY GOD, and we were just married this past year. And we still collaborate together. On a musical and professional level, he really is great to work with, and continues to be so, even though we are intimately involved - and you know, that can be a difficult thing for most couples.. For us, it’s been a journey of passion and thankfully we are both professionals, and tend to be able to wear that hat easily when in the midst of working. He has bleepin’ amazing ears.. I also personally think he’s a relative of Peter Gabriel. Gerry is a professional bass player (he plays various instruments really well, and his Excalibur is a 6-string fretless Curbow) but recently has put on his studio hat and built our project studio and is solely responsible for allowing us the freedom to write and produce the material with less restrictions on studio time.. He is focusing also on TV/Film composition - so we both have our own projects that we work on individually, and collaborate on other musical projects together, such as this upcoming album.

Specifically when writing - from where does the inspiration arise? What is the muse?

      My muses (I think I have many) - strike at the most amazing and unexpected times... I could be grocery shopping and a whole song will load into my brain - and I have to hurry up and get home to work on it... I find that rhythm tracks really inspire me - and even my own imagination.. For example, if you told me that I was to write a song for the Grammies, I’d close my eyes, imagine myself on that stage, and ‘hear’ the song that would be played - and then I write it. Gerry often jokes to others that I could be in the bathroom for 5 minutes, and come out with 10 new songs... It’s a tap that has never turned off for me.
     My own emotions and life experiences also play a big part of my inspirations - but not to the exclusion of my observations of human nature and the plight of the human spirit. Movies, TV shows, other songs - you name it, has probably inspired me....
     So, from the tiniest bug to a million universes - everything inspires me. Recently, I think love and hope have inspired me the most - there’s not as much anger in my life - but trust me, I still draw from my well of experience - music as therapy - when I want to write from a place within myself that needs healing.

When writing - how do songs come to you? Example: Music first, then melody, then words? Vice versa? A whole song at once, or do parts develop over time? Do you write on a particular instrument?

      ALL OF THE ABOVE. I go through phases... but mostly, it’s dependent on my environment around me. Meaning, if there happens to be a classical guitar lying around, I’ll pick it up and see what comes of it ... If I’m stuck on a bus somewhere, I’ll write in my head... If I’m wanting an upbeat song, I’ll generally start with a rhythm track (Reason file, Dr. Rex drum loop, as an example) and then write on top of it...
     Some songs come immediately.. others take time to develop.... The ballads tend to come quickly for me, whereas the more upbeat produced songs take me longer to develop, probably due to the nature of their production and more complex arrangements.

- - - PERFORMING LIVE - - -
Tell me about performing live.

      I love it. The bigger the audience, the more I love it.... I love theatre in the rounds... I love live pianos.
      I hope to be playing at this year’s NXNE festival in Toronto, Canada... and I look forward to touring Europe as soon as we can bring in the financial support to do so.

Do you have a ‘band’ or are you primarily a solo act?

      Mainly solo, but I really do love working with a team of talented musicians.... I tend to call in the hired guns as needed for the larger shows, and do the solo work for the smaller gigs.

Many of your tunes have several vocal parts sung by yourself (I think) - not just multed or harmonized parts, but countermelodies and thick backgrounds also. Does this present problems live or does technology allow you to pretty much perform your tunes to their fullest?

     I do all my own vocal parts, and therefore, yes it does present issues... at least for songs from the first album... The band members have to be multi-talented and for my next album, we toned it down a little so as to fit a better live scenario. Since my vocal takes are not run through Alsihad (read the Adventures of Mixerman to understand the reference), I can perform each of those vocal take LIVE, (yes, that means without lip-synching and still -wow- remaining in pitch and retaining vocal characteristics) - I’m sorry, I’m a little bitter at some of the “vocalists” out there that are supported by majors that CAN’T EVEN HOLD A F****N note to save their lives... Anyways, I always require that my live shows meet or exceed the CD. So, yes, live singers are part of it. We can also sometimes use triggers for important backups - but I try to avoid that.

- - - THE MUSIC ‘BUSINESS’ - - -
Can you talk some about the business side of music? How do you go about getting heard and making a break for yourself? Album distribution? Making a living? Can you characterize major label interest?

      Uh-oh.. You just touched a nerve. Again, I’ll try to be concise. But if anyone who is a musician is reading this, and has hopes of signing a major label deal - my intention is to sincerely empower and encourage you - not dash your dreams of wearing tight pants in front of a crowd of millions.
     Let’s start by looking at the word ‘Business’... A business - for me, this means I create a product and sell it, looking to make a living, doing something that I am passionate about. Some synonyms include: commerce, trade, industry, dealing, production.
     OK - now let’s define the word ‘break’ - To crack, to smash, rupture, shatter, split, and sever.
     So put them together? I think too many artists strive for the fantasy break - the break that will suddenly give them their dreams on a silver platter - and for those that have gotten those breaks - many are still recovering. I have to look up the reference, but I remember somewhere around 90% of major label releases do not sell more than about 1000 copies..
     But for the majority of successful artists, it takes years of hard work and dedication and development to achieve ‘success’ in the industry..
     Personally, I don’t believe such as thing as a break... I rather believe in the interconnectivity of people - like a web - or perhaps like a spiral - where one step leads to the next. I believe that an artist these days has plenty of power as an independent and through dedicated hard work and perseverance, market analysis and common sense, can really make a decent living as a musician. The key, I believe, is to adapt and stay on top of what’s truly happening in the business, and to READ READ READ those business articles - I have a binder that I keep any articles of interest. It takes a lot of time and effort to do so, but is worth it.
     I believe that if the music is solid and sincere, with decent production, mixing and mastering - I believe that the audience will connect, and I do my best to maintain my personal connection with them.
     As for business strategies and stuff, if anyone wants to e-chat with me on that, I’d love to discuss... there are many options out there....
     With that said, I’m also not poo-poohing a major label deal - in fact, I’m looking for that elephant right now - but the key for me is that I want to be able to negotiate a reasonable deal that will offer business support and financial intelligence - (I know many a band that has signed and the label spends the money recklessly) - so I am building up my own audience as best I can, before partnering with a major.

Obviously I feel your music is some of the best I’ve heard in a long while, and listeners like myself hear very good artists on unsignedbandweb.com and wonder “why is this not on the radio?”

     Radio - ooooh. That touched another nerve.. If you’re talking about mainstream media - well, at least up here in Canada, the major labels have the most control over what gets played on major radio stations, and I’ve heard directly from music directors that they receive a ton of pressure from the labels to play only the majors talent. So, very few stations support indie talent, except for the co-op and college stations. (Which, by the way, are excellent stations in themselves.) Simply doing a little homework (what format do they play? Who’s the music director?) then calling and sending in a package usually works, and we can get a lot of airplay that way on the smaller stations. CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corp) is also a great place to get played - I’m happy that we do have a few stations here on Vancouver Island along with CBC that actually take a risk and play indies. But very few do.
     Up here in the Great White North, we have something called CANCON - which stands for Canadian Content. The major radio stations are required to play a certain percentage of Canadian artists - but this really doesn’t include indies. For us indies, we get more airplay in the United States then we do in our own country (Thank you U.S. radio!) Cancon usually means the radio stations will play the Shania Twains, Celine Dions, Avril Lavignes and Bryan Adams of Canada, but unfortunately very little, if any non-major label talent, no matter how good they are. Hence, why having a major label supporting me would be good in that sense, as I’d have a better shot at getting heard on a major station.
     Again, I believe that there is a fallacy in this industry that is perpetrated by TV shows such as American Idol, etc... that one day, someone will see you... that OVERNIGHT things will just HAPPEN.. Well, maybe for some, but not for me.
     I realized that I was waiting for someone to notice me all these years, when in reality, it’s my responsibility for standing up and being noticed.... Anyways, I want that big “break” as anyone else does. But I also won’t leave it all to chance. I believe in the concept of co-creating my own life... Wayne Dyer books et al.

Methods of distribution, the song, and the album:

     I don’t see the album as the product per say... I see each song as the “product” - and an album simply as a collection of songs that work well together... I think you’re going to be hearing many songs from me that will never be on the Real album, but perhaps on a future album, or perhaps never to be found on an album... It’s only because I write so much, and want to share so much with my audience. I think the music industry has changed, and now offers me an outlet that never used to be there before.. Thanks UBW for being a part of the change!

- - - IN THE STUDIO - - -
Tell me briefly about your process when working in the studio and recording.

      Gerry tends to place down the beds, sometimes I do some parts, but I trust his timing and prefer his characteristics to mine when it comes to guitar and piano... Except for a few songs.. Anyways, we work in spurts, I find... we tried to keep this project non-formulaic and organic.. Each song is approached somewhat differently, as for us, I think, each song is its own life.

Are there particular mics and mic preamps that you prefer for your vocals?

     Over the years, I’ve really enjoyed working with Neumans.. For the quiet whispery stuff, we use a Neuman U87... due to the fact that the condenser accentuates the airiness and basic presence of the track...but then that becomes overly hyped when I start pushing, so for those instances, we use an AEA R-84 ribbon mic... Preamps - FERN and SUMMIT preamps, Compressors: Drawmer 1960. We have a WBS console at home that we use the onboard compressors of as well... I have a very dynamic range, (Gerry: Jesus, there’s an understatement)..

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I’d like to thank Rose for taking time from her busy schedule to answer these questions in such great detail. I edited some responses down for size, but tried to tread lightly. To learn more about Rose visit her Home Page or Unsignedbandweb Artist Page.
Those that know me from the forums know I don’t blow smoke - Rose’s music compares favorably to the best I’ve heard - there’s something special there. If you agree tell someone. More folks should hear what’s out here.