Published: October 14, 2009 11:50 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight October 2009 Edition
Laura Smith
Laura Smith Photo by Peter Gardner 2007
Junior's Cave is proud to present a new sensational artist that our online readers will fall in love with when they hear her music. Laura Smith has created a wonderful and unique sound that fuses elements of Pop, Rock and Jazz music into a brilliant style that will take Pop music to the next level. In this recent spotlight with the Singer/Songwriter, Laura speaks to our Webzine about her music and what fans can expect from her music. Enjoy!
Isaac: We'd love to know about your inspirations growing up. I hear so many influences in your music. How old were you when you first discovered music? Is there any kind of musical history in your family?
Laura: Music has always been there for me and I have had some really inspiring teachers growing up who helped feed my passion for music. There have been many musical/artistic people in my family, although most are people I never met, for example, this distant great-great-great-great grandfather of mine lead and composted for a band for some royalty in the UK.
Isaac: What drew you to pick up an instrument in the first place?
Laura: My Mom played piano and guitar and sang a lot when I was growing up. We had this beautiful old baby grand piano that I played for hours and hours when I was a kid.
Isaac: As you hit your teenage years, did you know that this was what you would be doing for the rest of your life?
Laura: Yes and no, music has always been my number one. I was in quite a number of different garage bands in high school as well as band, choir, musical theatre, all around music geek kind of thing. It always seemed like an impossible or unrealistic profession to go into. But, I think one day I just decided I had to do this, and that was that.
Isaac: Is there a performer in any genre of pop culture that you would like to work with?
Laura: Timbaland? Haha. I would love to take part in a project like Arcade Fire or Broken Social Scene where there is so much energy and raw creativity involved when so many people are creating music all at once.
Isaac: Who are some musicians that you really like, present or past?
Laura: The Beatles, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and as a whole, indie Canadian music.
Isaac: What is your ultimate goal with your music career?
Laura: My ultimate goal at this point is to write great music and play everywhere I can with great musicians. Also, being a recognizable musician can be a great way to support different charities and causes.
Isaac: What has been some of the obstacles it has taken to get this far in your career?
Laura: Money.
Isaac: Would you recommend this "field" to others who are aspiring to be musicians like you?
Laura: Being a musician is the best job in the world, for the right kind of person. But it's TONS of hard work.
Isaac: Describe one piece of advice you've have been given to by others in the music industry.
Laura: I recently watched an interview with Emily Haines where she said…"Try to really focus on your craft, try to become really good at what you do as you, be and individual and try not to be too persuaded by people who are going to tell you things have to be done a certain way".
Isaac: What genre of music do you consider most of your music?
Laura: Indie pop/rock.
Isaac: What has been your favorite piece of work?
Laura: New music that Andrew Braun (my guitar player and co-writer) and I are working on right now.
Isaac: How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
Isaac: Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
Laura: My family, and Andrew's family. I think behind most successful musicians these days are really supportive parents.
Isaac: Any last words?
Laura: Indie music is where it's at right now, especially in Canada, and we have had a lot of cuts to funding recently, Federally as well as in BC where there is SO much good stuff going on. We should all make some noise about this. SERIOUS NOISE!! Let people know how you feel about it! They only want to support commercially marketable music, but it all stems from independent beginnings…look at bands like Metric, Broken Social Scene and Feist. They would not be main stream commercial bands if not for all their work as independent musicians.
