When we're upset, our vocal cords tighten and we can't speak. And when I lie - well, I can't lie, because the same thing happens - everyone who knows me knows that when I start squeaking, I've started lying.
Single Record of the Year and New Vocalist were such a blessing to see, but when I saw that I was up for Album of the Year, that's when I started to be like, 'What in the world, this is crazy!' That one really got me in a pretty different way.
With 'A Million Miles,' I still was proving myself as a writer and as a vocalist. It gave me the platform to tour again.
In any event, I'm proud to wear the badge of jazz vocalist if that's what people want to call me; but at the same time, there are many other things I like to do.
I like to sing because my mother was a singer. She sang to me all the time, so I learned to love singing. I did have a career as little 10-year-old George Benson. I made my first record as a vocalist, but I've been playing guitar since I was 9.
I like Kehlani a lot because she's on her grind; she does everything herself. She's writing her own music and, you know, putting all the vocals together, and she's just dope. She just reminds me a lot of me.
When Alcatrazz played in Japan in early '84, the record label offered me the opportunity to do a solo album while continuing to play in the band. I wanted the whole album to have vocals, but the record company didn't want that. Initially, the album was released solely in Japan.
By the end of high school, I had this fork-in-the-road moment where part of me considered going to vocational music school to really pursue it.
I still drink vodka; I'm not an advocate of drinking, but I'm no angel. I don't like grass, because it just makes me hungry.
Whiskey's to tough, Champagne costs too much, Vodka puts my mouth in gear. I hope this refrain, Will help me explain, As a matter of fact, I like beer.
It Might As Well Be Spring... I used to sing that as a young girl in my voice lessons. Then I picked it up again and it spoke to me in a whole new way.
I was always singing around my house, and my parents thought they should put me into voice lessons just for fun.
I wanted to be Whitney Houston at first, and when I started taking voice lessons, my voice teacher kind of geared me more towards opera.
A friend of mine once told me that I can't screw up when I play my own music. I also take voice lessons, play other peoples' songs out of music books, and occasionally figure out how to play other people's music from records. This keeps my ears, fingers, and mind working.
If I can iron out my accent, it opens up another world of possible jobs. Whereas if you have that very strong European accent, it leaves you always being cast as the Hungarian maid or the stripper or whatever. I have voice lessons, and my coach has given me different tongue-twisters to rehearse at home.
From the time I made my announcement that I was going to be an actor, I auditioned for community theater, did shows at Greenbrier, interned at the Cleveland Play House for a summer, took voice lessons, took ballet lessons. I did everything that Cleveland allowed me to do - everything that was available to me.
I'm super and very openly obsessed with voice-over. 'In a World...' was my love letter to the industry of voice-over. And in a way, I sometimes think of it as a 93-minute audition to the voice-over industry to say, 'Hey. Consider me!'
I love to do voiceover because, for me, if you know what you're doing, it's simple. No makeup, no costuming, none of the baloney. None of the egos - you don't have to deal with all that crap. I love voiceovers.
Whether by my own volition or otherwise, I was given a year-and-a-half break after Dad passed. It was kind of like an elephant in the room, and everyone was giving me space, whether I wanted it or not.
I used to hear a lot that all I could do was hit a serve, I couldn't volley, I can't hit a backhand, I don't return well, and then people would turn round and tell me I'm underachieving.
