Published: June 11, 2010 8:33 PM EST
By: Isaac Davis Jr., MBA (Juniorscave.com)
New Music Spotlight June 2010 Edition
Cheryl Metrick
Music Now Artist/Band Spotlight Weekly Series
Cheryl Metrick
Singer/songwriter Cheryl Metrick has such a lovely voice that comes out sounding simply heavenly. Our Webzine recently spoke to Metrick about her music. She revealed many wonderful things in this special spotlight. Here is what transpired.
Isaac: Let’s get started with this interview. When and how did you first become interested in music? How long have you been playing music?
Cheryl: My interest in singing started in elementary school. I knew from a very early age that I wanted to become a singer because I enjoyed singing and I always received positive feedback from my teachers and my audiences, small as they were back then. I sang in school chorus, school plays and church choir and then started private voice lessons as soon as I was able to afford them, at 16 years of age. I continue to work with a voice coach today, at least a zillion years later.
I wish I could say I play a musical instrument, other than voice, but I don't. I've taken a little piano, a little guitar and when I was a child I took violin. But I am not accomplished at either, strictly for lack of time, not interest. I want so much to go back to piano and guitar and would also love to learn to play the harp someday, not to mention the Native American flute. I just wish I had 40 hour days.
I am a SAG/AFTRA actress who has worked professionally for the past 25 years in theatre, television, and film. I also entertained at many of the New York Catskill Mountain Resort Hotels and performed in clubs, charitable events, and industrials in NYC and the tri-state area.
Isaac: Who would you say are your biggest musical influences and why?
Cheryl: Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Edith Piaf, Barbra Streisand, Ella Fitzgerald, Peggy Lee, K.D. Lang, Willy Nelson, Johnny Cash: because of their phrasing. They are/were all impeccable at turning a phrase. Not only could you hear each and every word, but you really understand their messages when you listen to their work.
Isaac: What has been the greatest highpoint in your career so far?
Cheryl: My song "There Are Angels" recently won a song contest given by Twinfinity Creations & The Minnesota Association of Christian Songwriters. As a result, it was included on their compilation CD "Songs Your Mother Should Hear" which will be sent to missions around the world. My song is track 15. The song has also been getting played on a few Internet radio stations. Would love to get it onto regular radio, but perseverance...
Isaac: What has been the greatest disappointment in your career so far? What did you learn from that experience?
Cheryl: I had a leading role in an off-off Broadway show and had put a lot of work (3 years worth) into the production of it, only to have the entire production collapse just as the it was about to be mounted. Everyone on the team was disappointed, but that's Showbiz. My lesson? Although a lot of time and effort went into the project, and it unfortunately didn't work out, I still meet some terrific people and got some good experience and made contacts. So I am also a bit of a fatalist, and feel it just wasn't meant to be at that time. Maybe sometime in the future.
Isaac: What draws you to want to play the type of music that you do?
Cheryl: I like to write and/or sing music with a positive message, and touch the hearts and minds of my audience to uplift them, as best I can. Of course, sometimes I also may want to draw attention to something when I feel there is necessity. That’s a different kind of message song.
Isaac: What do you feel it takes to play this type of music that you play?
Cheryl: Honesty and openness to something bigger than oneself.
Isaac: What do you think you will create that will make your performances and who you are stand out in the music industry?
Cheryl: Yikes...you got me on this one...humility? (meek smile)
Isaac: If you had the opportunity to do one cover, what cover would you do and why? How would you put your own spin on this cover?
Cheryl: I think Rogers & Hammerstein's "You've Got to Be Carefully Taught" from South Pacific. I have always loved the message of this song which talks of how people are NOT born with prejudice but are taught it - some teachings are NOT good. My own spin would be how I would use my own phrasing, as I do with every song I sing. I sing every word from my heart. If I don't mean it, I don't sing it.
Isaac: What does it take to be a good songwriter?
Cheryl: Silence within ...to listen to your inner voice, then get ready and let it flow. At least that's how it works with me. I think it's different for each person.
Isaac: How difficult is it to juggle music, family and work obligation, and life in general? Explain.
Cheryl: The word DIFFICULT...can't even begin to explain it. It is so tough, but when you love music, you have no choice. It is part of you, a part you can't say “no” to. You find a way to squeeze it in. But it ain't easy.
Isaac: What is your definition of being an Indie artist/band?
Cheryl: Dedication to your music in spite of possible lack of financial remuneration, or at least enough of it. You do it because you love it and you feel compelled that this is what you are meant to do. Not to mention the endless self-promotion. Most importantly though, you are your own boss. You create your art the way you see it and hear it. You own it and that's a great feeling.
Cheryl: I am currently in the middle of collaborating on a book called “On the Wings of Inspiration” that is based on 13 of my drawings and poems and it will be published by this fall. Plus, I have written a short animated film which is for my song “There Are Angels” which I am going to produce probably by the end of this year or early next year. I also have a children’s story that I intend to write soon, and I’ve been writing more songs lately, and will probably record a full album of my own material sometime next year. But my word... five years from now? I just hope to be writing, and producing, and with luck... people will like my product. All I know is that I put my heart and soul into my work, so I do know at least that I like it.
