This week's episode of the Drew Carson show features the tremendous music of the uber talented Ms. Ariel Petrie. I had the pleasure and the great oppertunity to interview Ms. Petrie for this here blog in a segment I like to call "8 ?s With..." and you guessed it folks here is that interview.
What age were you when you started to play music?
When
I was 8 I begged my parents to get me a piano. After months of me
begging, they finally took me seriously and bought me a piano and I
started lessons that same week.
Did you know from a young age you wanted to pursue music as your career as well as your passion?
As
soon as I started piano I realized I had a passion for music. I'd spend
hours a day practicing - not because I had to but because I wanted to.
When I was 11 I really got into classical music. I was learning really
advanced pieces by then. I thought,
at that age, that I wanted to be a composer or play concert piano in an
orchestra. It wasn't until I was 13 or 14 that I started writing lyrics
and figured out I really wanted to be a singer/songwriter. All that to
say, yes. I knew from a young age that I wanted
to pursue music but it took years for that passion to evolve into what
it is today.
You were on the American version of the X-Factor in 2011 what was that
experience like and did it help you to improve as an artist?
Being
on The X-Factor was a huge, life changing event in my life. Before that
experience I was insecure in my singing abilities. When I passed the
producer rounds and went to the celebrity judges I got to sing in front
of Simon Cowell, who I loved. I sang
an original and he loved it! I went to Pasadena, CA for Boot Camp week,
which I didn't pass, but I left feeling confident and good about myself.
It definitely pushed me to move forward with my music career.
Your first EP came out after that entitled "Catch 22" how did that come
about and what was that experience like to record your own music?
Catch
22 came out soon after leaving The X-Factor. I wrote the single and
title track Catch 22 about a specific event that happened on the show.
So, during the second round of Boot Camp there was a group performance.
Everyone was put into groups the producers
felt would be a good fit for everyone. I was put in a group with 14 year
old kids. As an 18 year old, engaged to be married adult, singing the
song: "We're The Kids In America". I felt so embarrassed and out of
place I ended up bombing the performance. Completely
screwed it up. At that point I felt I was damned if I succeeded and
damned if I lost. I didn't want to be seen as a kid - I already looked
really young for my age, but I felt so much older than I was. I had
graduated high school at 17 and was already in college.
I didn't want to be pegged as this kid anymore. I ended up being
eliminated after that performance but I almost felt relieved about it -
like I avoided being put in a creative box and had producers decide my
image for me.
That
said, the experience of creating my first EP was great. I was able to
get it done in a professional studio in Normal, IL with a great
producer.
You have followed that up with your latest EP "Magic." As a writer
myself I am always fascinated by other writers' writing style and how
they find their story. What was your writing journey on "Magic" like and
is there a song that particularly stands out as
having special meaning behind it?
"Magic"
was something special from the beginning. If I ever did co-writing in
the past it was with my mom, who's a phenomenal writer. I never really
got into it with other people. But I met Scott Faircloff and that
changed. He has such a strong, creative
mind things just started flowing and we just clicked. We co wrote
Promises and Through the Clouds together and he produced everything
else, changing things here and there to make the songs better. The title
track, Magic, was our labor of love. I went to him
with this bubble, Sarah Bareilles-style track originally. Really up-beat
and bouncy piano-based song. But it was so similar to Queen Scotty
wanted to do something completely different. He introduced a lot of
electronic instruments, completely changed the tempo
and arrangement. It transformed into something really magical. It ended
up being our favorite one.
Did the recording and producing side of things differ on the second EP
from the first and what can fans of your first EP expect this time
around?
The
producing side of things on the second EP was completely different than
the first EP. The first time around I was in a fancy studio with a
producer who wasn't as involved in the creative process or collaborative
as Scotty. With Magic, we were working
out of Scotty's house. There was a lot of collaborating and co writing.
They were both completely different creative experiences. Fans can
expect a more unique sound with Magic. Each song is different but pulls
similarities from each other. Overall, I think
this EP is more polished, well-written, and more professional than the
last.
How have you found performing these new tracks so far and have the audiences strongly responded to them?
Since
the release, I've only performed these songs once but the reaction has
been overwhelmingly great. I played at The Stone Fox in front of family
and friends, but also a lot of strangers. I had people I'd never met
coming up and getting the CD. It was
very encouraging to get such a positive response from fans as well as
people who had never hear my name before.
Where can people hear you perform next and what are your goals for 2016 as a whole?
I
have a show at The Basement in Nashville March 14th with Daniel
Rylander. It'll be a fun time! If anyone will be in the area I recommend
coming out. Daniel is a great musician and songwriter and I always like
meeting new people.
My goals for 2016 is to get a song (or more) placed in TV or film.
I've submitted my songs to a couple databases, but it'll be a few weeks
until I find out if they've been accepted. If that pans out, my songs
will be available for major television and
film companies to find them and (hopefully!) use them in their work.
I'd like to thank Ariel for sharing her music with the Drew Carson show Nation, yes I call all of you listeners the DCS Nation I'm weird like that, and for being the first 8?s With... Interviewee. You can hear songs from Ariel's new LP on this week's show along with the interview with Mike Vogel so it should be a great episode.
You can find Ariel at:
Facebook
Twitter
Website
This week we welcome stand-up comedian, professional speaker, interviewer of high achievers, international best-selling author, TEDx and MoMondays speaker, radio show co-host, and yogi Mr. Corey Poirier into the virtual studio to talk about what makes high achievers tick and how their thought patterns lead them to achieve their goals.
