I am so very lucky to have the team I have.
I think that makes a huge difference, as I know that this is a very tough industry for so many reasons, and as much as there can be a lot of good, there can also be a lot of bad. But I am fortunate to have the most amazing supporters, like my managers, Andrew and Julia Allen, my incredible Radio promoter Scott Clements, my publicist, Sera Roadnight, my videographer, Lee Watkins, and good friend and co-writer Robin Ghosh. I am also so lucky to have some very talented musicians that enjoy working and travelling with me. All in all I just really feel privileged to be surrounded by all these talented and kind people. No to mention , I also have a very supportive family who always has my best interest at heart. There are some very talented artists who probably can’t get to where they should be, because they may not have the support of their family, or the luck to be surrounded by the right people. I am always very aware of where I am and how I got here.@oliviamusiclive
Episode #346 : A.V.A Live Radio Behind The Music with Jacqueline Jax :
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/avaliveradio/2016/08/03/episode-346-ava-live-radio-behind-the-music-with-jacqueline-jax
GETTING TO KNOW OLIVIA PENALVA
by Jacqueline Jax host of A.V.A Live Radio
I am so very lucky to have the team I have.
I think that makes a huge difference, as I know that this is a very tough industry for so many reasons, and as much as there can be a lot of good, there can also be a lot of bad. But I am fortunate to have the most amazing supporters, like my managers, Andrew and Julia Allen, my incredible Radio promoter Scott Clements, my publicist, Sera Roadnight, my videographer, Lee Watkins, and good friend and co-writer Robin Ghosh. I am also so lucky to have some very talented musicians that enjoy working and travelling with me. All in all I just really feel privileged to be surrounded by all these talented and kind people. No to mention , I also have a very supportive family who always has my best interest at heart. There are some very talented artists who probably can’t get to where they should be, because they may not have the support of their family, or the luck to be surrounded by the right people. I am always very aware of where I am and how I got here.
I have to say I have experienced many more pros than cons,
that’s for sure. Definite pro, is when you hear your song on the radio!! Ot when a song you wrote, wins an accolade, or even just when someone on You Tube tells you they love your voice, or your original music. The cons, I guess are when you put a lot into something and it does not come out the way you hoped. But in those times, I just remind myself of how far I have already come, and take the bad with the good, learn from the things that did not work out, and mostly be in the moment and enjoy the whole process. I was once told that this is a marathon and not a sprint, and those are truly words to live by. This is what I want to do with my life, and so I take each day as it comes, each bad results as just one result and not something to hold me back, and each good result as a small accomplishment which makes me smile.
I guess there are so many ways to look at this.
My first album came more from just achieving a goal I had set for myself to write my own music, and an album would push me to try to write more than one song. Since then I have written a fair amount, and released a couple singles along the way. This EP came about from just the concept of these songs and the direction my music was heading, and I chose my favorites to compile into this EP. I wanted to release it as an EP instead of a bunch of singles, as I wanted to showcase the music I was really proud of altogether. But I do recognize that many artists are now choosing to just release singles as they go, instead of albums, and my plan is to release my favorite singles as they come along over the next months. I already have a couple in mind that I am very excited about!
Today there are so many great platforms
that can help an artist get their music out there. We really are lucky. You tube has really changed the way an artist can get discovered, so I love You tube for that. I am always so blown away by the fan support and all the positive comments and support they give from watching a video. Facebook is great too, especially locally in that people I know seem be the most engaged in what I put out there. Twitter is also great for music bloggers, and its cool to get a random tweet from someone I don’t know just telling me they heard me on the radio and loved my song. I also love platforms made especially for musicians, like Reverb Nation. I have gotten some great music industry support through Reverb Nation, as well as fan support from other musicians. So I can’t say that there is just one best way to get my music out there. It is a collective effort between all platforms.
Ha ha love this…
as far as musically anyone that knows me well would know that I would definitely pick Ed Sheeran. He is the ultimate story teller and I am a huge fan of his song writing. Outside of music… Zac Effron … loved him since High School Musical.
As an artist for sure you try to be a little bit current
so that you can engage your fans, but at the same time you want some of your music to have a bit of a timeless quality to it. Not every song will have that for sure. I do love some of the trends and those can be an influence in what I write, but I also love to write and make music that can hopefully be appreciated once the trend has past. My Christmas Single, Christmas For Two has that timeless quality and so it gets played by radio stations across Canada every year. I also love to perform music that people of all ages can relate to, some of my favorites being Norah Jones and Melody Gardot. Balance is always hard to find, and much of what comes out of a writing session depends on the mood of that day. But I like a lot of types of music and so I can be excited about a song that is super current and trendy, as much as a classic. My playlist has everything from Coldplay, to Drake, to Nina Simone, and so even my own stuff can b, and should be varied.
I just saw this on twitter the other day and it makes a lot of sense to me…
“I did not change, I just see things differently now”
It’s a great way to look at life and look at things from another perspective.
My brother and sister and I always loved putting on shows
for our parents when we were little. I remember when they would clap we thought they enjoyed it so much, we would go on for hours. Looking back now, I feel sorry for them ha ha. We were always singing in the car and around the house, and one day when I was 11, my parents told me I actually had a nice singing voice. I was pretty excited, and so I went about finding myself a music teacher through a friend at school. Her name is Betty Anne Northup, and after one lesson I was hooked. I started with a couple lessons a week, then went on to performing at a local talent show called, Our Kids have Talent. I was so scared to get up on that stage because I had never performed in public before. I almost chickened out, but I am so glad I got up there because it was at that moment that I knew I wanted to be a singer. After that I got some small local gigs and then went on to working on writing my own material. By age 12, I had released my first two singles (they are pretty funny), and my first album Rainfall at age 13. At one of the gigs, the lady who hired me actually sent a video of my performance to Sony / ATV writer and fellow Canadian chart topper, Andrew Allen. I guess he liked what he heard, because after that I started writing with him in LA, to him and his wife Julia becoming my managers and mentors.
SKYLINE
Skyline is the 4th track of my EP Weightless.
Style-wise it’s a bit of a departure from much of my other music as it has cluby-beats, but lyrically it fits in line with other songs from the EP. It’s about being bold and making those decisions in your life to get out there and live a great life, and to not hold back and stay in the safe zone. We are just finishing up the video shoot for this and it plays on the idea of a small town girl taking off to the big city to live out her dreams. I think that is a concept that many of us can relate to, the idea of not settling and taking risks.
Support Artist: https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/skyline/id1111873757?i=1111873776
I wrote this song with one of my favorite songwriters, Robin Ghosh.
He flew up from LA to work with me in January, and we started talking about our dreams and what it feels like to just take that leap into the unknown, and the song just evolved. Production-wise we decided to lean a little towards EDM, as it just seemed to really fit the energy that the lyrics were trying to relate.
I am very proud of and really love this EP.
The songs are about being positive, self-love, taking risks, feeling good. All concepts and emotions that anyone can relate to, and that make people feel good. One of the songs, Outshine the Stars, is one of my favorites on the EP, because it is a reminder for us to love ourselves, despite the darkness that may being going on around us. I have gotten some amazing feedback from fans sharing their personal stories after hearing it. It has done really well here in Canada and has gotten some great radio traction. You can check out the video to that one on my You Tube page https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbaDUQ155_E I also love the title track, Weightless, because it’s a reminder to let go of the things that hold you down, and to move forward without the negativity and baggage that can boggle us down. The EP itself really reflects the direction I am going with in my music. As a teen, you are already trying to discover who you are as a person, and then trying to figure out who you are as an artist at the same time has been interesting. But I think I am figuring it out and enjoying the process. As far as what I want from this EP, I think it is just to get my music out there, and to hopefully make people feel good when they listen to it.
I live in a small city called Vernon,
in British Columbia Canada. It’s about a 5 hour drive east of Vancouver. It is really beautiful here, and there is a huge love of the arts and great community support for music. I think that is part of why I am here doing what I do now, because at a young age there were some many opportunities for me to get my voice heard. There seems to be a real love for all kinds of music here, and there have been some great success stories coming out of this city. I am really grateful to the people here for the love and support they continue to show me and my music.
Lots of outdoor adventures to do here.
There are three lakes, and so lots of boating and water sports in the summer. Golf is huge here, as is skiing in the winter. And we ae famous for our orchards and wineries. So there is definitely something for everyone.
Well I spend a lot of my time doing music related activities of course.
I love song writing, especially collaborating with other song writers. I also love performing, and working on concepts for my music videos. I love using Pinterest for theme ideas for my video shoots and cover art. It’s a great forum for discovering new things and creative brainstorming. When I am not working on music, I guess I just love to do what a lot of teenage girls do, hang with my friends, shop, watch movies…. I also love to cook and travel. My dad is from France, and so we have spent a lot of time over the years going to Europe. I love the cultures and discovering new places and new food.
Social Media Links:
Website: http://www.oliviamusiclive.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/oliviamusiclive
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/oliviamusiclive
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/oliviamusiclive
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/oliviamusiclive
Reverbnation: https://www.reverbnation.com/olivia4