"TOYSHOP"

interviewed By: Rotten

I always look forward to submissions for reviews for Punk Globe, you never know who you will meet, hear and converse with.

This month I had the pleasure of talking with Amanda White, who is promoting her new album TOYSHOP, and what a voice she has...

The album is an eclectic mix, with Blues based tunes, some Rock based tunes, and even a song called "MONICA'S GETTING HER TITS DONE" .....A cool song that has a Punky vibe and a great title.........I must admit that it caught my attention firstly.because of that.

I would ask anyone who loves Female Vocalists to check out Amanda's music, as she really DOES have a great voice.

So, without further ado, lets find out more about Amanda and TOYSHOP.

Punk Globe: Hello Amanda, You have a wide and varied musical background, Tell us how you got your start in music and why you wanted to be in music.

Amanda: Besides the usual aborted piano lessons as a child, I had no musical training until I suddenly decided to become a singer at 14, and jumped into taking lessons. It sounds young, but as it was I was a late bloomer- my town hosted a world-renowned children's chorus that churned out all the high school's good singers, so when I hit the scene it was like, "Whoah, where did this person come from?" Because everyone else had been singing since they were 7..

Punk Globe: What are your biggest influences and why?

Amanda: It could be anything. I could name you an influence for almost every song on the album, not just artists but specific songs that inspired me. Musical ideas on my album came from Muse, Letters to Cleo, Lacuna Coil, Amanda Palmer, Evanescence, and a couple really obscure bands that I happened to be familiar with.

Punk Globe: Tell us about the TOYSHOP album.

Amanda: Toyshop is my first solo album- my first real rock album at all. I think the songs cover kind of a wide expanse of styles, but I guess all musicians think that about their music, so I didn't worry about it. Martin Bisi produced, and Ross Byron played both guitar and bass (not at the same time) and Vincent Ambrose played drums. I wrote all the songs, some from the years I lived in Paris and some since I've been back in New York.

Punk Globe: Where do you get your inspiration for lyrics and tunes?

Amanda: I'm one of those lucky people who usually feels my music and lyrics at the same time. Then I let the music take its course, and I go back and try to work the lyrics that came out of my mouth into something that makes sense.

Punk Globe: Do you feel the barriers of music being a "guys only" thing have been broken down fully, and who would you attribute it to?

Amanda: I don't think the modern music industry has ever been a guys only thing. I think women in music really came into their own when operatic castrati fell out of fashion in the late 18th century, and the female soprano became the star around which an opera orbited- a position which we still hold in the classical world.

In the rock world, I don't think the problem is that women aren't allowed- it's that they're not taken seriously as musicians. Especially if you're a singer. People have this idea that you're just some chick who wants to play dress-up and be the center of attention. I can be singing circles around every guy on in the room and sight-read music and know more theory and terminology than anyone around me, but because I'm a girl and don't play an instrument, people treat me like I'm just here to be eye candy.

Punk Globe: If you could play with anyone or have them cover your songs, who would it be and why?

Amanda: I would love to add some cool opera vocals or gregorian chant to some famous person's album. I don't know how many people can cover my songs though- the vocals can get pretty high for most rock singers. But for whoever's got the range, I'd be honored.

Punk Globe: Did you find the recording process easy or was it a fraught experience like most I hear of?

Amanda: Recording was not difficult, although I was on a tight budget so I was always worried about time. If things hadn't been rushed it would have been nice. But as for my part, I recorded all the lead vocals in one day. Nothing hard about it. I just brought a couple beers for when my voice got tired. Recording the drum and bass were hard, because we were totally under rehearsed- I was in the middle of rehearsing an opera in Western New York and bussed back down just for two days to do the tracks, and some of the songs we had never even practiced. But we pulled it off with flying colors. I took to conducting a couple times, which is weird in a rock setting, but extremely effective if you can get the band to watch you.

Punk Globe: Whats next for Amanda White?

Amanda: Well, I'll be doing a solo Midwest tour late September-early October, and then it's back to the East coast to do a couple operas. I'll be singing one of the most difficult opera roles in the world, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, at Brooklyn Repertory Opera in December, so I've got a lot of practicing to do.

Punk Globe: Where can we find out more about and buy TOYSHOP?

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