Interview With Nicole Steed - March, 2006

Artist Information

Instrumentation
Nicole Steed: Vocals, Piano, some Guitar
Pablo Sepulveda: Guitar, backing vox
Rob Pasko: Drums

Biography
“Every moment you spent broken, and every time you ever cared” there was a little voice inside asking "Why?" Sometimes you'll never find the answer, but you can sure as hell keep trying. Nicole Steed may not have all the answers, but she’ll keep searching until life makes just a little more sense, if only to her. As a young girl, Nicole knew that music was an important part of her life; from dancing around her basement to the likes of Gloria Estefan and Madonna, singing Christmas songs in church pageants, playing piano for fun, and searching for as many musical outlets as she could find in highschool.

Today, Nicole has much the same view on music, but an entirely new perspective on life. “Every relationship we take part in shapes who we are inside” – Nicole Steed. Through her own personal experiences with friends, family, being in, as well as falling out of love, she has grown into adulthood; not necessarily wiser, but more perceptive. Her debut album is a culmination of many of the experiences and influences of life. Using what she’s learned and hopes to yet learn, along with the influences of artists like Switchfoot, Michelle Branch, and Avril Lavigne, Nicole has just begun to express what she thinks and feels through music, and hopes to continue doing so in the years to come.

With the assistance of a few talented friends, Nicole has created Piano infused, guitar laced songs that capture segments of life and put them on display with thoughtful, emotional, and some times even catchy lyrics and melodies. From a technical music standpoint, breaking the rules of theory are a specialty that has been working out just great so far, and will provide interesting music as the days go by as well.

Who is Nicole Steed personally?
I'm a 21 year old Carroll College student majoring in Business Administration. I've lived in the Milwaukee area my entire life. I still live at home with my mother, but I essentially live in a loft apartment with a lot of freedom. I spend my spare time (what little I have) with my best friends Julie and Kelly, or if they're unavailable, I read a lot of books or putz around on the piano. I also have a couple guilty pleasures that I indulge in. Gilmore Girls, One Tree Hill and Supernatural. Julie tapes them for me, so that when I'm done at school or work I can come over and we watch the wittiness of Lorelei and Rory or ogle Chad Michael Murray and Jared Padelecki. I love doing crafts and I love animals. I tend to start craft projects, but I'm really bad about finishing them. The past few months I haven't been working nearly as many hours, so I've started volunteering at the Local Humane Society. I love going in and walking dogs and playing with all the furry Cats. The best part of my day is when i get to the shelter and one of my favorites has gone home. I love watching chick flicks and I have an unexplainable fasicnation with the X-Men movies. I'm a slob at home, and meticulous at work. Romance is something found in books as far as my life is concerned. I've given up on dating for the time being. I don't have the time or the motivation to screw around with guys just looking for a screw. I'm really overprotective of my friends and family, and I tend to take the Mother Hen role in a group. My group of close friends has credited each of us with a character from the sitcom FRIENDS. Apparently I'm Rachel due to my fashion sense. I don't have a Ross as far as I'm aware, Even though in junior high I did briefly date our groups Ross. :)

Out of your parents, who was the greater influence in your life?
Probably my Mother growing up. My parents divorced when I was pretty young, and since I only saw my dad every other weekend, my mom had a lot more opportunity to influence me. I know I got my attitude and my temper from her. Also my love of shoes and clothes. I've spent a lot more time with my dad in the past few years, and I know I have a lot of his traits as well.

Did either of them encourage or discourage your music career?
My Dad is all for my music career. He's my backer. For the past 3 years he's given my funds for my birthday and christmas which have all gone towards recording time, amplifiers and other equipment. He knows that what I spend it on, and it makes him happy. He knows I'm getting something useful, and he doesn't have to agonize over what it is I'm looking for. He's also been at almost every one of my local shows and even considered coming to new york with me this month. He's always giving me new ideas. My mother has never been outwardly supportive. She's only been to one show and she's very critical of my pursuit of music. She doesn't want to see me dissappointed, which is understandable, but she rarely offers and encouragement.

Do you have brothers or sisters?
I have a younger Brother Marcus, as well as couple of step-sibling equivalents. All older.

When did you start playing piano?
I started playing piano in 3rd grade at Milwaukee German Immerson school. It was the only instrument you could take at school without your parents having to be there during lessons/practice. I loved it so much I was playing stuff from grades above me that first year.

What was your first piano/keyboard? And do you still have it?
My dad got me a Casio CA-100 for chrismas when i was nine. It came with a michael jackson songbook. I've still got it, but I never play it anymore. Safe in storage.

How fluent are you with guitar these days?
I dabble with guitar. I mostly just don't have the time to sit down religiously and work at it. I have a couple of songs that I wrote on guitar, but rarely play live. My current guitarist has been working with me on my skills a little though. I can play Easy to say badly now, so long as i don't try to sing at the same time. lol.

What subjects to you tend to write about?
Love, Dissappointment, Hurt. Mostly the dissappointment and hurt that comes from love. I'm influenced a lot by my friends and thier relationships, and also my lack of luck in relationships.

How many songs do you have under your belt so far?
Oh man. Well songs that have both music and words, probably a good 35. Unfortunatly, I have a habit of letting go of old songs when I write new ones. There are a good 10-15 of that 35 that I couldn't play if my life depended on it at this point.

Tell me about Pablo and Rob, when did they join you?
Pablo joined me in Late September 05, and Rob auditioned back in early December 05. They've both been unbelievably willing to practice and work on new material. We all have full time lives outside of music, so it takes effort to get together and practice, but we all make that effort. Pablo is married with 3 children, and he recently started a painting business. He also plays in two very active cover bands, and does gigs with Michael Rossa. Rob is a Nurse at a local hospital, so he has a different work schedule than most people, so we practice at different times every week. They are both really talented, and I'm lucky to have found them.

You also have additional musicians join you from time to time, who are they and how often do you get the use of their gifts?
Tom Giles is a friend from college. He's really into the indie music scene and gets his hands into as many music projects as he can. He plays guitar, and does some songwriting. I've co-written a handful of songs with him. He used to play guitar for me any time I did a show, but this past fall he studied abroad in England and I had to find someone to play for me. But pretty much all the guitar in any of my current recordings is Tom.
Chris Bartel is also a friend from school. He was actually friends with tom, and tom introduced us and Chris began playing Bass with us. He's a great guy and as much as I would love for him to continue playing and recording with me, He's got his own band Hillcrest Road thats really taking off. His talents are included on the recordings of Elijah, Happy, Mother's Lullaby and Faithless. I really miss having his great bass lines, but I'm fully supportive of his new project.
Erick Anderson is a hilarious Guitarist/Songwriter/Violinist. Erick has his very own style, and he's great to see live. I've had him open for me a few times and never regretted it. He's the guy playing the violin on Happy and Mother's Lullaby. I don't get a chance to work any of these guys as often as I'd like, because we're all so busy with our own projects.

Where can people find your music?
I sell my 5 song Easy to Say EP at every show, and I recently set up a paypal cart on my Myspace page where people can order a copy and have it shipped anywhere in the US. (myspace.com/nicolemsteed) Plus I've got streaming audio at Sonicbids.com/Nicolesteed and Purevolume.com/Nicolesteed. And of course my official website www.NicoleSteed.com

What has proven to be the most effective promotional tools for you?
I've gotten really good at making fliers to post at venues and around town. I've also used the Event Invite tool on Myspace a lot. Its a really quick and easy way for me to invite people to shows and let them know whats up after they've already shown in interest in my music by adding me as a friend. I also do a lot of word of mouth promotion. I don't know whats most effective. I tend to do everything all the time. :)

Who would you say are the most influential people in music today?
I don't know if these are the most influential people in music for everyone, but i've found a lot of encouragement and picked up ideas from Switchfoot and The Fray and The Honorary Title. 3 great bands in their own rights. Switchfoot has proven themselves time and time again and have never dissappointed me. Their stlye has grown over the years, and I like to think I change a bit with them. Then the fray is just breaking onto the mainstream scene and it great to see another piano led band making it big. I think bands like Coldplay and Ben Folds have shown that piano isn't just for Billy Joel and Elton John, and that the listeners are getting it. I love the Honorary Title. They are slowly but steadily working their way up touring with bigger bands and getting exposure on Fuse. They kind of push the envelope for emerging indie artists in my opinion. I love all sorts of music, but I think that the indie take over is changing the face of a lot of mainstream genres of music. People like what their hearing, so Pop and Rock and Rap are all adapting.

If you could only use one of your gifts (singing, song writing, piano, guitar), which would you choose and why?
I could easily live without guitar, even though I own 4 of them. I think i'd have to choose song writing, because I could still use my piano and singing even if it was for someone elses benefit. although, if i had to give up piano and singing, I'd have to find a new job. I'm no good as a Music Director at a church without those skills.

Are you still bound to a 9-5 job? If so, how do you manage it with your concerts?
I spent most of fall working 30 hours a week, going to school full time and not only playing a few solo gigs, but I was also playing with a funk band out of Beloit. Which meant driving and hour and 15 minutes to beloit at least once a week. I totally gave up my social life and stopped sleeping. Winter and Spring have been much easier. I gave up the funk band and the office job. I've spent a lot more time working with my band and have had the time and energy to write, as well as perform 3 weekends a month. I've also had time to book more gigs. My cash flow is getting a little low though, so i'll have to pick up some more work for the summer. But it is definitly a bitch trying to work, go to school and have a music career.

When do you find you are most creative? (time of day, etc)
To the bain of my friends and family, my creative time is between 1am and 5am. Mother's lullaby took 2 nights of 1-5am to get the way I wanted. I actually wrote a new song this week that had my up until at least 4. I've tried sitting down in the afternoon or early evening and i got nothing.

So, I see you are doing a series of shows here in IL, we're looking forward to this opportunity to see you. Do you have anything booked after June yet?
I've got a gig in Madison in July. I'm looking into playing some more in Rockford and Chicago in July and August. I also have to get some more gigs in milwaukee/waukesha soon. My locals are getting restless. ;)

How does the rest of 2006 look for you?
I'm hoping that by end of summer to get into the studio again and record a bunch more songs, and hopefully get a full length album out by christmas. Thats been my goal for the past 2 years, but maybe things will work out this time. I'm also looking into doing a college tour in the fall and maybe even getting out to California in the New Year.

www.NicoleSteed.com - www.sonicbids.com/nicolesteed