Young Adult had the opportunity to chat with the rebellious and free-spirited Dree Paterson, about her unique sound and what music means to her. A candid interview.
Young Adult: Tell us a little bit about yourself when you were a young adult…where did you grow up? What were you like in school?
Dree Paterson: I was really rebellious, kind of troubled, nothing like I am now 🙂 HAHA. I liked Korn and Slipknot as well as lots of 80’s music and movies. I dressed in all black, and went to raves! I grew up in Los Angeles in the San Fernando valley, and listening to music was always my savior when dealing with my “angst.” I would spend hours on the bus or walking because we didn’t have transportation in my home; it took me a long time to get to school or work and it was the perfect place to listen to music and write poetry and my thoughts on anything that was going on. All I needed were my headphones and a pen, but everything was very much for personal use as I was really shy with it and terrified to sing in front of other people. I sang often in my room for hours imitating the vocal stylings of Bjork, Fiona Apple, No Doubt, Aaliyah, Beyonce, anyone I could – that’s how I pretty much learned how to sing. I went to an arts school and I was there for dance, where I trained with some of the greatest instructors in the contemporary world. I was a well known kid in the school and had a lot of friends; but I wasn’t mentally prepared for taking on the entertainment industry and all that comes with it until I was into my 20’s. Although, I had gotten pretty close at times performing with professionals in Hollywood and training at the hot studios in LA. I always held myself back for some reason or another giving into self-destructive behaviors or being subject to the heavy insecurity that many young girls go through. I had to overcome many obstacles and growing pains. Once I got into college I was very studious, maintained a 4.0 and I was completely removed from arts at the time, hoping to find my footing in medicine or physical therapy. But in the end, I realized that something was missing from my life and I had to give the arts a real shot or I would regret it forever.
YA: How did you get your start in music?
DP: From dance to music, it all started happening as I was working in the dance industry in various companies, auditioning for tours and commercials — I then started getting into musical theatre. I was hired as dancer or ensemble at first but I ended up gaining a lot of confidence there and discovering how much I loved singing. I started writing lyrics again and had picked up a guitar – it was then I knew that I wanted to make the transition to music. Once, I felt confident in my writing skills I knocked down the walls of a few established producers and guitar players. I started writing guitar parts, tracks, and submitting some work for other artists, and basically wouldn’t take no for an answer!! I told them I was good, whether it was true or not just to get a chance to work on something!
YA: What do you find the most challenging about pursuing a career in the music industry?
DP: Honestly, The financial aspect is the most challenging!! Being a singer / songwriter and mainly a collaborator – unless we do our own in-house production and play all our own instruments, we are very dependent on others to help our vision come to life. Either we must collaborate with a producer or a co-writer, hire a band, a videographer or whatever other corresponding professionals to put on shows, put out music videos, record music and even do a professional style YouTube cover. In this area its been very challenging to move at a steady pace forward due to financial limitations. Song placements have been helpful and I’ve had to balance work outside of music as well, but with the exception of doing an Indiegogo campaign for my music video I am completely self-funded!!! It pretty much makes every achievement more sweet because it took so much to get there!!
YA: What do you find the most rewarding about pursuing a career in the music industry?
DP: When I think about music and artistic expression, its all just such a gift to be able to perform, to create and to relate to people through song. When I think about music, I would love to be able to do it full-time and not depend on other outside sources of work to make ends meet. But every time I do a show, it’s as if I were a child opening up a free piece of candy or box of chocolates. To be able to do anything with music at all and even have one person listen is rewarding in itself. I think for anyone it’s just so amazing to have a passion, know what that is, and make it your life … some people search their entire life for a goal or a purpose and if you find it, you are truly lucky!
YA: What has been your biggest success to date?
DP: A great success for me has been placing a few songs in TV and film – NBC’s “Parenthood,” USA’s “White Collar” and the upcoming film “Wingman, Inc.” This is one of my major goals as an artist and songwriter to make a place for myself in this uber-competitive and amazing world. I love helping a scene come to life with a song that illustrates it’s mood, flavor and emotions.
YA: Who or what has been your inspiration?
DP: Inspiration comes from all around — songs I write are typically from real life situations, be they silly, quirky, sad, or happy. When you derive from real-life experiences sometimes your songs just write themselves. I also love artists like Ingrid Michaelson who write the coolest songs that make you smile and that can make you cry. My mom is a big inspiration for me, she is such a strong woman, and has always supported me no matter what I wanted to do. Her belief in me really helped me to follow my dreams.
YA: What is your hidden talent?
DP: I’d say that my hidden talent is my passion for fashion! I love coordinating outfits, styling and coming up with innovative looks and being fashion forward in the trends. I love vintage clothing, purses, shoes, and I often have to dress myself for shows, videos and events and I’m known for coming up with key pieces to complete any outfit!!!
YA: What would you like your fans to know about you?
DP: Anything they want to know? I really silly! I love to have fun and I can laugh at myself! We are only here for a short time, no reason to not go for your dreams!!! I’m a good kid with stories to tell, and I hope that music lovers want to listen and can relate to them!
YA: Who are some of your favorite artists or bands?
DP: My tastes are pretty broad – I love Parmore, Stevie Wonder, Jason Mraz, Tool, Amel Larrieux, Foster the People, Ellie Goulding, John Mayer, Ingrid Michaelson, Radiohead, kaskade, Prince, Haim, Alicia Keys. Amy Winehouse, Chromeo, CSS, and Bruno Mars.
YA: Tell us a little bit about your single “Waiting”? Who inspired it?
DP: “Waiting” was written with Vic Kingsley, an amazing writer and musician who lives in Miami. We literally just sat on a couch and vibed lyrics and melodies back and forth over some guitar parts. It was one of those experiences that just flowed so perfectly! The song was inspired by the idea that maybe you are on a different path with someone, your wires got crossed, but it’s no reason to wait and wallow in the misunderstanding, you can still go out and take life by the balls!
YA: Where do you see yourself in 5 years, in 10?
DP: In 5 years I’d love to be able to continue to share my music with the world and perform in big venues around the globe. I hope to create a brand and find a unique way to express myself musically, inspire others and cultivate a fan base that I can grow with. I would have loved to tour the world, be signed by a major label or be able to sustain myself as an independent artist. I want to write music consistently for TV/film/other artists and maybe start my own music label for indie artists! I’d love to be able to teach kids who don’t normally get access to music how to sing/perform/create music. In 10 years, I just want to do more of the same!!!
YA: Who would you most like to work with?
DP: It would be a dream to write with songwriters like Michèle Vice-Maslin, Darryl Brown, Jacob Luttrell and would love to perform on bills with/collaborate with artists like Meiko, Maroon 5, Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, and Kaskade. A dream venue to perform would be the Wiltern or Hollywood Bowl, and some shows I would die to be on as a musical performer would be the Ellen Degeneres show, Conan O’Brien and Saturday Night Live!
YA: What’s next for Dree Paterson?
DP: The music video for “Waiting (When I See You)” is to be released February 4th, 2013 and can be seen on my YouTube www.youtube.com/dreepatersonmusic – this is my first music video ever, kind of an intro to Dree Paterson, and a huge step in my career. It was also funded by a successful Indiegogo campaign which means that it’s not just my video but its a community video and effort from the collaboration of friends and fans that I am so grateful for!!! I am in the works on new music both singles and an EP, (release dates TBA) with several different producers!!!! We are going to build upon my Pop/motown feel of “Waiting” and heavily increase the dosage of rock and indie whilst keeping the big pop chorus and storytelling verses. I can’t say that all the new material sounds the same, in fact expect the unexpected… that’s all I can say right now!!! I will also be continuously releasing new videos via YouTube of different covers that I love “Dree-ified” from new music to some of my favorite throw backs!!
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