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1)
Hi,
first off I just want to congratulate you on your new album. To new
fans could you please fill us in on the history behind it all?
Tamrah
- Thank
you - I am very excited about the release of my new album. I have
been writing songs ever since I can remember. I started playing the
guitar when I was 6, and I started playing the piano when I was 9.
Writing songs and playing them on my instruments just seemed natural
to me. I began playing in various rock bands in the States when I
first went to college. I then purchased a four-track tape-recorder
so I could record some of my originals. I put together a demo of
about 12 songs, and I had copies of the demos with me wherever I
went. Eventually, I met
producer Lionel Hicks in a night club in Minneapolis. I just gave
him my demo and didn’t expect that he’d call back, but after he
went back to London, he called me up and said that he really liked
my material and thought I should get it recorded professionally.
Soon afterwards, I went to London and began the process of recording
my material and looking for record deals. I traveled around Europe
for about three years before I was signed to Massacre. That’s a
very brief summary...
2.
How
has your new album been received by the media?
Tamrah
- So
far I’ve gotten a great response from the media and fans alike.
People seem to really relate to my music. It’s a bit different to
what is currently being played I think. I’ve been lucky.
3.
I
know artists are not happy to categorize their music, but how would
you describe you describe your music to an outsider?
Tamrah
- This
is a hard one. I’ve asked other people to categorize my music for
me and I get so many different responses. I just write what comes to
me naturally, and I don’t model myself after any particular style
on purpose. But if I had to put my music in a category, it would
probably be alternative rock/folk rock.
4.
Where
does your inspiration come from, both musically and lyrically?
Tamrah
- I
get my inspiration from my experiences in life. I can only write a
good song when I am in one of my creative moods. If I try to force
it, or try to be like someone else, it doesn’t work. There isn’t
a pattern for how I write a song. Sometimes I write a song on the
piano, other times on the guitar. Sometimes I write the lyrics first,
and other times the music comes first. It all depends...
5.
What
topics do you deal with in your lyrics and why?
Tamrah
- I
deal with topics that are personal to me. Like I said before, I am
inspired by what I experience. The album title “Typical Gurl”
has to do with women’s rights. I’ve been in places where I
don’t think I was taken seriously as a woman, and the song is a
kind of sarcastic, “tongue-in-cheek” statement to those issues.
Some of my other songs have to do with the paranormal and the
mysterious. These subjects are fascinating to me.
6.
Who has produced and mixed the album, and are you pleased with the
end results?
Tamrah
- My
album was recorded and produced by Lionel Hicks (Balance of Power)
in London, and it was mixed by Dennis Ward (Pink Cream 69) in
Germany. I am very happy with the results. I worked very hard on the
album and I was also there giving my input as it was recorded,
produced, and mixed. I really had faith that these guys would do a
good job, and they did.
7.
Who
has done the artwork? And how important do you feel it is to have a
great cover?
Tamrah
- I
got Stuart Allen to take the photos you see in the album artwork
because he is a personal friend, and I really like his work. The art
design was done by Bob Duffy at Postscript Design in the UK. He is
very professional and has done a lot of good work on albums in the
past.
I
think it’s vital to have a great cover. It’s the first
impression people get when they see the album in music stores.
It’s the thing that sparks their curiosity and makes them want to
pick up the album and have a listen. A lot of people judge artists
based on the first thing they see (i.e. the album cover).
8.
Do
you have touring plans?
Tamrah
- I
have gigged an awful lot, especially in the US. I plan to gig in
Europe as well. As far as tours go, I would love to do a real tour
in the future sometime, but there are no immediate plans for it.
9.
How
do you feel about the cooperation with your label, and are you
satisfied?
Tamrah
- My
record label is Massacre, and yes, I am very happy with them. They
believe in my music and they are very accommodating.
10.
The internet is a very important source for many music fans. How do
you use the internet, and how important is it for you and other
bands?
Tamrah
- I
have a website which is for the purpose of promotion. It’s
at http://www.tamrah.net.
I am continually expanding on that site. I am a part of some other
sites as well. I also
hope to broadcast live gigs and concerts via the internet in the
future.
Since
I am always surfing the net, I know that I discover a lot of bands
this way, so I believe that it’s very important for bands to make
themselves known via the internet in whatever way they can, whether
it’s just a simple web page, or if they offer samples of their
music or live performances over the net. It’s important to reach
out to people on an international level.
11.
How
do you see the music scene at the moment?
Tamrah
- Which
one? It’s hard to say. I’ve been to so many different countries,
and there are so many different trends and vibes to the music
scenes, that I can’t really answer that—It’s really quite
diverse. In the States, I mainly listen to my favorite CDs—I
don’t normally tune into the commercial radio stations.
12.
To
finish things off, could you please make an all-time 5 or sort of
the 5 most important albums in your opinion?
Tamrah
- Wow,
there are a lot of them, but if I had to pick 5, they would be;
-
Rush
- A Farewell to Kings
-
Led
Zeppelin - IV
-
Tori
Amos - From The Choir Girl Hotel
-
King
Crimson - The Court Of The Crimson King
- Kate
Bush - The Dreaming
Hugs
to Tamrah for this great interview, if you are looking for a great
emotional album do check her debut album out. Also a big thanx to
Claus (Intromental) for setting up the interview.
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