There are some vocalists who just immediately grab your attention as soon as you hear them, and Miss Velvet is one of them. Miss Velvet, around the Rock-n-Roll scene for sometime, has shown herself to be a soulful vocalist that can get rough & tough when she wants to, making for a fantastic Rock-n-Roll leading lady. Then, around three years ago, Velvet and her band found themselves opening for George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic on two world tours. An series of events which exposed her talents to a larger audience, now in 2023 Miss Velvet prepares to release her new album Traveler.
Set for release later in 2023, Traveler is already swirling up intrigue with the release of singles such as “Long Way Home.” Poised to be a big move for the performer, Miss Velvet herself recently took a little time to discuss the work put into the music, her influences, and a whole lot more.
Cryptic Rock – You have been involved in Rock-n-Roll for a long time now touring with the likes of George Clinton, etc. For those not familiar with your work, what can you tell us about your journey in music to this point?
Miss Velvet – In some shape or form music has always been a thread that has been woven into my life since I was a small child. Whether that was my mom taking my sister and I to musicals, concerts and even Opera in New York when we were kids or to my father blasting a Tina Turner song first thing in the morning. I was in school choirs, shows, and always attended for a better part of all my childhood summers, at the famed Interlochen Arts Academy, or “band camp” as my sister and I referred to it. For a decade, I performed in the New York live music venue “grind” circuit.
I got a big break three years ago when I was able to open for George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic for two world tours. After the standstill of the pandemic, I moved out to California, had two babies back-to-back while continuing to work on new material. I have just finished a solo record album with Rock Producer Esjay Jones. And I am gearing up to release the fourth single “Zumirez” from the LP Traveler.
Cryptic Rock – It sounds like it has been quite an interesting journey for you. In recent years you have put out music as Miss Velvet and the Blue Wolf. As you stated, you are finishing your first solo record. Working solely as Miss Velvet, what has it been like to pursue a solo career?
Miss Velvet – I have to admit, at first, very daunting. When I came out to Cali a year ago I literally didn’t know one person in music out here. I would look up at those massive mountains driving along the PCH and say “holy cow I gotta climb that again and start over.” My manager set up a meeting with Producer Esjay Jones and from the start, it was electric when we spoke. I felt like this person got me. We started writing together a year ago–she would come live in my house a couple days a week and we would just write and walk to the beach with my kids and write and write and write! Songs began to pour out.
I felt really safe to express the parts of Miss Velvet that I always wanted to express or that I knew were buried somewhere in me, but were hard to see at the time. This next iteration of Miss Velvet started to take shape and I have to say, I just started to step out my own way. I stopped trying to label it. The more Esjay and I dug into my life, drawing from my current state of life and putting those emotions into the songs, the more they just came into shape. It’s really exhilarating right now because it’s so fresh and I’m discovering just as much as the new listeners are discovering it.
Cryptic Rock – It sounds like it has been an inspiring experience. Your sound is best described as passionate Rock-n-Roll that has a classic feel. What did you have in mind when you started to create the new music that makes up the latest solo material?
Miss Velvet – I knew I always loved Classic Rock. I loved that era where the sonic landscape was so expressive and colorful even in the voices I was attracted to. I really kept asking myself certain questions. What makes me feel at home? What makes me feel authentic to myself when I get on stage? What makes me excited to share? The more I stayed true to those questions, the more I knew I was getting closer and closer to my artistic home.
Cryptic Rock – Right, and when you realize what feels like home, that is when your best work comes out. You have released three singles in the recent year. These are very powerful tracks which all offer something different. What can you tell us about the forthcoming album? Would you say the diversity of these tracks are representative of what we can expect from the album?
Miss Velvet – The album really showcases a chapter in my life at this very moment. Each song is a snapshot of a bigger story that when you listen to the album as a whole, it takes us all on a journey.
Cryptic Rock – The track “Long Way Home” is a rather powerful song about self- discovery. Do you feel that one reaches a plateau of self-discovery or it is an ever-evolving cycle in life?
Miss Velvet – Thank you so much! It’s quite a powerful song for me personally. I feel coming home to one’s self is ever changing and growing. Now as a mother and a wife, home has a different meaning. Home also has a different meaning artistically for me now and I know as I peel back my own onion layers, it will continue to evolve. I am also super proactive in digging deeper to uncover what that means for myself.
Cryptic Rock – It is great that you are willing to do that; self-exploration is freeing. As someone who has collaborated with other artists in the past, what would you say you have learned from these experiences that you bring to your solo work?
Miss Velvet – Collaboration is one of the most important skills I think a human can do for themselves to learn about themselves. Collaborating has only strengthened my understanding of what I really want and what I don’t want and what I want to experiment with as I embark on my solo career that maybe I couldn’t do before. The knowledge gained from learning these concepts, and working with so many talented people and influences along the way has fueled me. In truth, nobody does anything ‘alone.’
Cryptic Rock – Right, and the more we work with others, the more we understand one another, which is also very positive. Your voice is really quite dynamic. You can reach high, but also offer softer subtleties. Most of all, there is a passion in the notes you sing. What are some of your biggest inspirations as a performer?
Miss Velvet – My voice itself has always been the lighthouse beacon for me. I trust my voice to convey those emotions after I listen to my gut and probe my feelings about what I am singing or what I’m trying to say or how I can crystalize what I feel at that exact moment. I look for elements in the music that I know I can take to a far place, a soaring place, to an imperfect place, to a guttural place, or a delicate, poignant place or even a “primal scream” place.
Cryptic Rock – It certainly shows, because the raw emotion is real in the music. You mentioned your love of Classic Rock. So, what are some of your biggest influences?
Miss Velvet – I am influenced by so many great artists of the late ’60s to ’70s. I also pull a lot from classical music.
Cryptic Rock – Those are some of the best decades of Rock-n-Roll with so much to dig into. Last question. If you are a fan of Horror and/or Sci-Fi movies, what are some of your favorites and why?
Miss Velvet – I love Hitchcock movies. The Birds (1963)… there is something so bizarre, horrific and beautiful about that movie.
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