Exposed Vocals Interviews Amandy
Amandy was born Amanda Parker in Columbus Indiana and she has always been a lover of all things music. She has been involved with music since she was about 12 years old. She started off just singing and eventually picked up writing lyrics. Now at 23, she is teaching herself how to create dance/edm/electro music. She has always been greatly inspired and influenced by Madonna. Almost all of Amandy’s music has driving bass, catchy melodies, and just makes you want to dance. She is still learning and continuing to grow stronger as a singer,songwriter, and now producer. When Amandy isn’t working on her music she like to read and make crafts.
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Amandy:
Well where should I even start?! I grew up in Columbus, Indiana and have been here my whole life. Columbus is a small town with not a lot of serious interest to truly pursue music. There is also not a lot of stuff to do especially entertainment wise unless you like bars. After 9 pm that’s pretty much all that’s open besides Walgreen and Walmart. Some people love this quiet little place…Then there is me. I have always loved music. I remember being 7-8 years old and going to used CD stores and picking out dance/club music. My friends/family thought it was different because literally all they knew was country music. I was forced to listen to just country since I was born. I didn’t know there was any other genre to be honest with you. So when I discovered dance/electronic/pop it was like another world to me and I was hooked. As the years went by I sang along with some favorites like “Into the Groove” by Madonna, “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, and who didn’t love Eiffel’s “Blue (da ba dee)?!” I instantly drew to Madonna. I had to know who she was…What she looked like, how she performed, how she spoke. I was hypnotized. Then at around 12 I realized that not only did I love her, I could also sing her songs! I started studying her and I started doing impressions of her. I used to study one of her concerts and practice for months. I went to local Goodwill stores with her pictures from that specific tour and tried to make costumes as close to hers as I could. I performed for about 30 people each time. I was known as “Mini Madonna” and they even wrote about me in my school newspaper. (See attached picture.) A few years later I started writing my own songs and recording locally with Jaybird Music. The problem was I was recording country songs and that’s just not where my heart was. After doing a few sets for a while at a line dancing facility called “Mike’s Dance Barn” I had enough. I knew I loved performing/music but I just couldn’t get into country. Some more years later and we get to this point. Now I am making my own dance/electro music and I love it! Some have lyrics. Some don’t. Some are uptempo. Some are more mellow. Either way with my songs there is almost always a heavy bass line and beat. I’m really excited about it!
(School Newspaper)
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Amandy:
It’s actually pretty simple. My name is Amanda and my “country” name was Ms.Mandy. I just mushed them together and came up with the original “Amandy.”
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Amandy:
I think it’s a great way to get yourself out there. I feel like in today’s world almost everything is online/virtual. It can reach a broader audience. It’s really great for busy people. You can share or listen pretty much any where if you have a phone. It just makes things smoother and easier for everyone. I do share freely because with me being a new producer of music I need that exposure for learning and feedback to make sure I’m on the right track.
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?
Amandy:
Keep an open mind to what music you play. If you’re not “known” and want to do original music, I feel like you need to start with covers of songs people know 1st until you get good recognition. If you go out and do a set of original songs and no one knows you yet, they may not take to you right away. If you start with covers of songs people know, they’ll be interested to see how you sound singing/playing it vs. the song itself. Once you get a feel for that throw in an original every now and then. This way you should have the audience intrigued to listen.
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Amandy:
The world around me. I try to be as observant as possible to what’s around me or happening to me/others. If something really makes me think or makes me feel something I know I’d better write it down. I usually keep 2 journals. One for my random thoughts and ideas. The other one I use to put those ideas into a song format.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Amandy:
Right now I am using soundcloud.com/amandymusic. In the past I’ve used youtube. I have an Amandymusic twitter and I share with my personal facebook.
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Amandy: Defiantly travel. I would love to see how other people/cultures live. I want to visit the people who are out on the streets creating their art and passion.
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Amandy:
So far it’s been just online. I am pretty new to promoting myself so I’m still learning.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Amandy: I would love to make a CD that is “enchanted forest” themed. Like fairy tale/ Alice in wonderland- type dance songs with music videos. A few of my songs on sound cloud have that sort of vibe. I think that is going to be my next big project.
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Amandy:
I think I’d still be doing some sort of art. I love creating in every sense of the word.
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Amandy: As much as I’d love to stop all my current responsibilities and just make music, right now I just can’t. However it’s not necessarily a bad thing. The other things I have to do/experience in life gives me inspiration on lyrics/sounds/ and the feel of a song. I use life for writing material.
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Amandy:
Lots of good dance/club music that should sound amazing with the bass in your car! =D