Summer Ames
9th Annual Love Song Vox Pop Winner
Here is the Music Player. You need to installl flash player to show this cool thing!
Genre: Love Song
onclick=”document.getElementById(‘light’).style.display=’none’;document.getElementById(‘fade’).style.display=’none’”
href=”javascript:void(0)”>
HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Dallas, Texas, USA
WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? Singer/Songwriter, Indie, Pop
ALBUM NOMINATED SONG IS ON: Complicated Daydream
ARTISTS ON THIS TRACK: Summer Ames, Justin Brooks, Taylor Johnson, Stephen Boutwell, Jacob Schrodt, Chris Clayton (written and composed by Summer Ames).
WHERE WAS SONG RECORDED? Dallas Sound Lab (Dallas,TX) and The Bedington House (Ft. Worth, TX).
WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? My music is available on iTunes, Amazon, Rhapsody, and all other digital retail outlets. And my live shows, of course!
WHAT INSPIRED IT? IS IT BIOGRAPHICAL? I tend to write about people in my life that influence me the most, and my sister is a huge influence in my life. My sister has been through a few rough relationships and talking with her about them inspired me to write. Things like: how a person can come into your life, change it, and forever make you obligated to forget it, and making it hard for you think, feel, breath. That inspired me to write “Breaking Up The Love Scene.”
IS IT EASIER TO WRITE ABOUT LOVE LOST OR LOVE GAINED? Love gained is probably easier for me to write about. In my opinion, how you love depends on how you view life, and I try to always make my glass “half-full.” Love will always be a battle. If it were perfect, there would never be compassion. I like to focus on what brings humor in my relationships, and share that in my songs…especially with love tunes. Those are the songs that can help people through a “rough spot” in their relationships.
NAME YOUR FAVE LOVE SONGS & WHY THEY RESONATE: “He Loves and She Loves” by Ella Fitzgerald. It’s the perfect example of telling the one you love, you want to be loved in return. Ella’s tunes have always influenced how I hear music. I grew up listening to vinyl albums with my grandmother and it was all I knew.
DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? Yes and no. Complicated Daydream is my debut EP, so I was just getting my feet wet when I began recording. Several fellow musician friends came together to help make this project happen!
WHO IS SITTING IN YOUR AUDIENCE? My audience is very diverse. I would say my primary audience is people ages 18-25 (about 65% female). Although, I’ve had everything from girls as young as eight or nine, all the way to senior adults talk to me about their favorite songs. Most of my audience is from the Dallas/Fort Worth area, though I’ve met quite a few people from various states coming to shows when in town. Social media has also allowed me to connect with several fans from various parts of the world!
WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? Like I said above, fans of my music are so diverse. It’s hard to place a label on the “type” of person that likes my music. I prefer to create music that speaks to people as humans, to which we can all relate.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? I love to play coffeehouses because of the intimate feel…although the fact that I also love a warm cup of tea plays into this also.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? I feel very blessed to have received such positive feedback about my debut EP so far. The EP itself was also a great accomplishment because I was able to be my own engineer, producer, etc. The entire process was and will be very memorable. But, the most memorable achievement to date is being nominated for an Independent Music Award because it represents the best of the independent talent from around the world. I feel honored to be a part of the 9th annual program, and I’m very excited!
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? More performing, creating, and recording! I’m hoping to put out my first full-length album by August 2010! Excited!
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS…Rapidly changing. With new advancements in digital media, our generation has transformed the music industry into something historically profound. With the ability to create, record, distribute and publicize digitally and independently, you can get fresh new music and ideas to people’s ears faster and cheaper than ever. This allows any independent artist with the drive to do it, to make a career for themselves creating the music they want to make. I think this is a threat to major labels, knowing that virtually all aspects of the music industry can now be achieved by the musician themselves. The tools are there for the taking.
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? Success is being able to create and perform my music full-time. Touring. Writing. Expressing.
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? Connee Boswell. She’s classy, but not trendy for today’s standards. It’s nice to relax to 30s tunes. During WWII, she visited and shared her music with disabled soldiers in military hospitals. I think she’s a true legend! Just look back at quotes from Ella Fitz, and you’ll see that she, too, was inspired by Ms. Connee.