Music Review and Exclusive Interview with Macy Medford – I’m Done
This track is, by all accounts, everything you might hope for in a strong pop song. The backing track is gentle yet stylish, a nice bit of piano to make it feel organic and real, a light and summery beat, and a smooth and easy to listen to leading vocal. The song itself has a great sense of melody, both the verse and chorus sections have their own memorable style to them, so the track works well in raising itself up and falling back again appropriately. The music helps in this sense too, a totally relevant production style, consistently bright sounding – a pleasant track and well timed for the summer.
The song is generally dealing with the idea of being over something, or someone, and moving forward with your life. So there’s strength in that, and the vibe that the music gives off highlights this joyful strength really well – it feels like an optimistic piece of music, light hearted, but very much to the point; ‘I’m Done’ doesn’t leave any room for negotiation. That kind of decisiveness is a great quality for an artist to put forward, it shows integrity, and independence – all important elements in terms of the traits you might want to influence people with, rather than being a pushover, or waiting quietly in the sidelines for something to happen.
No music of recent years has drawn any similarities to this as far as I know, so it’s great that someone is working on this kind of art. The track has a lot of strength to it, and alongside this, it is generally pleasant to listen to. The melody holding up the ‘I’m Done’ hook line is strong enough for it to get caught in your mind. There’s nothing hugely new about the music, but for today’s scene it stands on it’s own two feet in a lot of ways, so that’s always a good thing.
By Rebecca Cullen
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
Macy Medford: I grew up in a suburb outside of Houston, Texas called Katy. I’ve always loved entertaining and performing; When I was really young, I would sing at the top of my lungs at home so that every one in the house could hear me, and I would expect my family to clap for me every time I made an entrance downstairs. When I was in second grade, I entered my school’s talent show, and from there my hobby grew into a passion. I’ve also been writing songs for as long as I can remember; I made up songs in kindergarten and would teach my friends so that we could walk around to all the other classes and perform them (and the teachers would reward me with candy). I made up songs with my brother on long car rides, and I even made up songs for my neighbor and I to perform one day. That day never came, but I still remember the lyrics to those songs! I guess I’ve always kind of been an artist, cause I can’t remember deciding to be one; it just happened.
Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Macy Medford: It’s actually just my name! I got really lucky- the double M’s sometimes make people think it’s a stage name!
Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
Macy Medford: I think having my music online is great, as long as artists get a share of their streams/ downloads. I give my music away for free all the time, but artists should be able to choose when their music is given away for free.
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?
Macy Medford: The greatest piece of advice I ever received was to do at least one thing a day to further your career. Whether it’s something simple like tweeting about your music, or something as huge as booking a gig, when you look back after a year, you will be that much further. If you do something to further your career everyday, gigs, fans and airplay will follow!
Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Macy Medford: I’ve been doing theatre for almost my entire life (and I’m a musical theatre major), so I love performing live, and with performing live comes mistakes every once in a while. However, those little mistakes make each show different and exciting! I deal with them differently each time, but I’m usually pretty quick on my feet because I love improv and having to come up with solutions on the spot. I am also a perfectionist, so I’ve had to learn to not dwell on the little mistakes I make, but instead try to improve my performances each time.
Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
Macy Medford: I haven’t officially gone on tour because I was always attending to public school while working my music, but I have performed all over Texas and Los Angeles. When I had my CD release party, I didn’t know all of the band members who performed with me very well. Right before I was supposed to go on stage, one of the band members accidentally walked into my dressing room thinking it was his, and I had absolutely no clothes on because I was changing into my dress. Five minutes later I had to be on stage performing with him and we had to act nothing awkward had happened- Haha!
Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Macy Medford: I gather inspiration for my songs from everything- boyfriends, friends, school, every day life! In the past, I usually wrote my songs like poetry, with the lyrics first and with the music following. I still sometimes write my songs like that, but recently I’ve been writing the music and the lyrics together, based around a tune I get in my head.
Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?
Macy Medford: My website is macymedfordmusic.com. There you can stay updated on my schedule, listen to my songs, look through photos, and even join my mailing list! You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Reverbnation, and Vine as @macymedford
Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Macy Medford: I still have every song I’ve bought on iTunes since the 7th grade! Everything from High School Musical (which I still jam to), to many musical theatre albums, and music from the Bratz movie!
Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Macy Medford: I would save some of the money, give to charity, and with the rest of it I would travel. I think it is so important to travel and make new life experiences so that you can have new, fresh experiences to write about in your music. After my year off, I would come back and record a new album!
Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Macy Medford: So far, the best way I have found to promote my music has been through performances. I’ve played everywhere from a crowd of 40,000 to a coffee shop with just my mom and dad listening. I love getting to do performances for charity, and through those performances, more people get exposed to my music.
Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
Macy Medford: THE BEATLES OR ELTON JOHN. I got my love for both of them from my dad, who has always been a huge fan, and I grew up listening to their songs. They are music icons, and it would be the greatest honor to get to perform with such incredible artists that completely changed the music industry!
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
Macy Medford: Right now, I am looking forward to a music video for my single “I’m Done” that has recently been added to the playlists of many radio stations. I’m also looking forward to the releases of a few new songs that I have written!
Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Macy Medford: Umm… If I weren’t acting either, I would probably go to law school to study entertainment law. Or I would be a librarian because I am a bookworm and history buff.
Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Macy Medford: My first album was Hilary Duff’s “Metamorphosis”. I was obsessed with Hilary Duff- she was even the first concert I went to. I still love that album!
Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
Macy Medford: It is pretty difficult- I’m currently taking a full course load in college while every day trying to further my career. Luckily, my major is in the school of music, so most of my courses are helping further my music career. To stay on top of everything, I have to keep a calendar so I can make sure I get the things done every day that I said I would. I have to be very careful with my time management!
Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in 2016?
Macy Medford: 2016 has already been one of the most exciting and crazy years of my life! I went to the Grammys and the Clive Davis party, and my song “I’m Done” has been picked up by many radio stations! I expect the rest of the year to be even more exciting- fans can look forward to new songs and music videos! Thank you so much to all of my fans for all of their support!
