Exposed Vocals Interviews Cassia Crawl
Exposed Vocals: How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
Cassia Crawl :: I heard about you guys through twitter actually, and decided to reach out!
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Cassia Crawl : I grew up in Toronto, and i’ve always been enamoured with music, when I was a kid I was involved in all the school plays for the singing roles, applied to talent shows, and took classical singing lessons. This continuously grew over the years, I’ve been involved in different projects with various genres, I think it’s essential to keep an open mind to each style and take that away for inspiration on your own.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Cassia Crawl : Well the first part of my name is actually real, but the project “CRAWL” represents overcoming the struggles and hurdles life threw at me over the years. I was bullied in school and kind of in my own- little world- so I was able to grow from that into what i’ve become now.
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Cassia Crawl : I think putting out your music into the world for free is so important in getting your voice heard, I mean I have some tracks that are free for download up on soundcloud, and others are just for streaming, this largely depends on the agreement I have with the collaborators (guitarists/producers) but also on the popularity of the song. I try to giveaway my tracks for free as much as I can.
Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
Cassia Crawl : It’s going to be HARD and a lot of work, but if it’s your passion and what you breathe in everyday, it’s what you’re meant to do so it’s worth the journey, which can honestly, be quite harsh and long. Always keep at it, always believe in yourself, because no one’s going to do it for you.
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Cassia Crawl : Sometimes, but I never really let it show, I think mistakes are part of the experience, sometimes mistakes can beautiful too.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Cassia Crawl : Not yet, just local right now, but exploring new places are one of my favourite things, take everything in and let that propel your art forward.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Cassia Crawl : I’m inspired by everything. As a writer and artist, I’m sensitive to my surroundings, emotion- it can be a childhood memory or 3 am walk home, if it sticks, it’s worth writing about and sharing with the world.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Cassia Crawl : soundcloud, bandcamp, facebook, instagram, Twitter I pretty much use all of these to distribute my content, whether it’s songs, giveaways or behind the scenes at projects.
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Cassia Crawl : I’m not really embarrassed by my music, since I am so open to different genres and styles, IMO the mainstream songs take less pride than the underground ones
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Cassia Crawl : I would probably invest it all in my music, as we all know music videos and productions can become quite costly, but first before releasing a new album or video I would escape the world I know to somewhere else so I can get a fresh perspective as inspiration for writing new material.
Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
Cassia Crawl : I am currently working on a new song “Chakra” and another song that is related to David Bowie since he was a huge source of inspiration to me.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Cassia Crawl : The best way to promote my tracks is through social media channels like my facebook page or instagram, otherwise I sometimes get approached to interview for a blog or to submit towards publication.
Exposed Vocals : If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Cassia Crawl : Bjork and Nina Hagen in Tokyo- I grew up watching anime and identifying with their underground culture, plus I feel like they would all appreciate the three singer circus of that performance, we’re all really out there.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Cassia Crawl : I am booking more local shows and hoping to focus on that for a little while, aside from my studio work.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Cassia Crawl : Well I do plenty of other things aside from music, although I always find my way wandering back. I’m an artist in many forms, I write, I paint/sketch, I do make up on a special effects and beauty level, all of these are side passions of mine that I often dabble in when I have time.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Cassia Crawl : My first album was Portishead’s “Dummy” album, changed my life since my music takes roots from trip hop and jazz.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Cassia Crawl : Oh gosh, well I tell myself that everything i’m working towards is to benefit my music in the long run, I always try and set time aside for my music after I take care of the urgent matters.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Cassia Crawl : New music, along with a new music video and plenty of live performances!
LINKS:
Twitter @cassiacrawl
IG: @cassiacrawl
YT: /cassiasparkle
FB: /cassiasparkle
Soundcloud/ https://soundcloud.com/cassiacrawl