By Alisha Kinman

Denise Marsa, President of KeyMedia Public Relations and music veteran, discusses how she started KeyMedia Public Relations and how music has influenced her life and career choice. KeyMedia has recently signed Rachel Millman and Nicole Berke on their path to musical success along with many other musicians as well. Also included is an interview with songwriter, guitarist, client and all-around passionate musician Andy Gabrys who has recently joined Marsa to mix a combination of several voices into one song.

Denise Marsa

http://denisemarsamusic.com/

Denise Marsa

Sentinel: What major influences have impacted your music?

Marsa: Life, nature, relationships and my instincts have all influenced my music. I have always been drawn to writing, producing and singing. My instincts to write music showed up very early, and I taught myself to play keyboards and other instruments to help nurture those instincts. I believe people have callings in life, and if one is lucky enough to hear them…and follow them, one can live a more magical life.

Sentinel: Explain what KeyMedia Group and KeyMedia Pubic Relations is really all about (mission, etc.).

Marsa: There are two parts to us. One part is the label, KeyMedia Group, which includes writing, producing and releasing music. The public relations and marketing part of the company, KeyMedia Public Relations, concentrates on bringing greater visibility to our clients.

KeyMedia Group’s mission is to help launch new artists. To discover, nurture, educate, and help to define and develop emerging talent. We like to think of ourselves as a launching pad for new artists. The music business is a very complex, beautiful beast and we provide what other companies in the music business might not.

KeyMedia Public Relations helps to bring definition, visibility and exposure not only to artists, but also to other clients, most of whom are in the arts and entertainment field and/or service industries.

Sentinel: What do you look for in a musician who wants to get signed with KeyMedia (i.e. what type of personality, style of music, etc.)?

Marsa: We are building KeyMedia Group as a company that features an eclectic mix of artists and music. I like to feel the raw talent. I am drawn to artists that sound different.

I also have to like the person, and our visions of their career have to align. I ask lots of questions, and I close my eyes and envision what it would feel like, look like and sound like to produce that artist in the studio. Would my skills and my associates’ skills complement and improve their talent and their product? I have to be inspired. Ideas pop into my head and that’s when I know the collaboration has potential. I like hard working, positive, talented, honest, passionate and unique artists and musicians. It is important to work with artists that appreciate and understand the value of a mentor.

Sentinel: Which artists (singing, writing, dancing, etc.) have influenced your style of music?

Marsa: I have been influenced by so many artists from so many different genres of music. Kate Bush has always been my favorite female artist, as she is just so unique. Ella Fitzgerald was an amazing vocalist. Elvis Costello and Laura Nyro are two of my all-time favorites, as both incredible songwriters and lyricists. I also adore Sting, whose work is always evolving. My favorite producer is Daniel Lanois.

Sentinel: What is it about indie musical artists that really attract you to wanting to work with them?

Marsa: I want to encourage, educate, and empower new indie artists. There’s a clean canvas to start with, and I have it in my nature to help people. I am drawn to the energy that artists have at the beginning of their careers….it’s unbridled, but needs direction, and everything is still possible.

Sentinel: Who were some of the first people you started mentoring?

Marsa: Christopher Dallman was the first artist I took under my wing. I discovered him in a tiny bar in the west village in New York City, and we worked together on every aspect of his career. I was able to truly help him to understand the business of music, and at the same time help him with his sound, his songwriting and his performing.

Sentinel: What is the most rewarding part of your job?

Marsa: Seeing artists I work with doing well, and growing and developing both as artists and as human beings is the most rewarding part. Simply being thanked by the artists, their families and friends for a job well done is extremely gratifying, too. And I always get a charge out of hearing an artist’s music on the radio, or seeing a story that we have helped to secure show up in the media.

Sentinel: What are some projects you are excited about right now?

Marsa: I just produced Rachel Millman’s first music video. It is an a cappella remix of her debut single, Throwin’ Rocks at the Moon with Brandeis VoiceMale. Both the remix and the video were my idea, and I’m thrilled with how they are turning out.

Brandeis sophomore Jared Greenberg, VoiceMale’s musical director, and I discussed my vision and he went to work on the arrangement. It is really a wonderful arrangement. He captured the essence of the original recording using syllables and parts alone, with no additional instrumentation. Fellow student and group member Doug Friedman recorded the sessions on his Protools home studio, or in this case, his dorm room studio. I am mixing the recording with Andy Gabrys, and the video was filmed by Boston local Michael Murie, who runs http://www.bostonmusicseen.com.. My associate producer is another Boston local, Dave Owczarek of www.davesphotoblog.com . He helped me put the entire project together with Debbie Royal, who works with me at KeyMedia. This video is a perfect example of collaboration and social media networking at their best. When Rachel and the boys met it was magical, and you see and hear that in the video.

I am also looking to release my second CD this year. I have patient fans waiting…

Sentinel: When did you first think to yourself that music was the right career path for you and not just a hobby?

Marsa: There were two defining moments. The first was when my first band, Jamaica, from Ewing High School in New Jersey performed in the talent show and won. The entire auditorium stood up during the song, and I sang my heart out and I realized the power of music. The second was when I got a call in New York telling me that my first recording session (Lucky Stars w/Dean Friedman) was a hit in England. I was asked to go on tour. I had had a feeling that the song was going to be hit, and it was…and that was really eye opening. Believing is 80% of the game in my opinion. That was when I started to believe even more in my own talent and instincts and thought, “OK this is a career.”

The challenge for me through the years and through the various people that came in and out of my career…lawyers, managers, musicians…was keeping my instincts with me always, no matter what anyone else said or tried to convince me of. I had many struggles in my own career; people were always trying to get me to do what I did not want to do. I was always looking for someone to get me there. In the end, you get yourself there…but you have to work with the best people for you, or you might not get there.

Here is an example of Denise’s work, her track It’s No Ordinary Day’.

To view Denise’s latest full album, click here to go to the iTunes store.

Please visit http://www.keymediapublicrelations.com

Andy Gabrys

http://www.andygabrysmusic.com

Sentinel: Recently, you have been one of the main people in charge of mixing a song that involves nine different vocalists from the Brandeis VoiceMale a cappella group. What was the most difficult part involved with that process?

Gabrys: I think the difficult part of mixing a song is imagining how the mix is going to sound before you actually start working on it. Once you can imagine that, then you can start. If your original vision doesn’t work – you can start again. But it sets a direction to start driving towards

Its like making a painting – maybe you say “I am going to paint a green and brown tree” and then you work towards that. You ride the volumes of the individual parts up and down to paint the picture, and you add EQ and effects as needed to help make the leaves green and the trunk brown.

With this project, we also had a lot of tripled parts to add density, to make it sound huge, so there were about 40 tracks when I started to mix. One of the references I thought of was the great acapella group – Take 6 – working towards that level of production, but also keeping our own flavor, as the arrangement and the voices suggested a different direction.

Andy Gabrys

Sentinel: What is it about Jazz that draws you to play that type of music?

Gabrys: What I love about Jazz, and why I felt a calling to jazz is that it’s a free music, and innovators have always led the way. Those that don’t bring something new to the table are not household names in Jazz, whereas even most non musicians have heard of Miles Davis. In my book Miles Davis was a tireless innovator – sometimes beyond the range of peoples ears, as they weren’t ready for the changes in the jazz sound that he brought about.

While history plays a huge part in Jazz – learning how to play certain styles and rhythms that we recognize as “Jazz”, it’s also about innovation within those paradigms.

Part of this innovation is about having a personal voice on your instrument, using your own take on the language of Jazz, and part of it is about adding to the canon of compositions, making things fresh and new that help tell the world about your life experience.

Sentinel: In a biography I read about you, you seemed hesitant early on into your music career that you did not know if you could pursue music as a full-fledged career. But, after graduating from Berklee’s College of Music, do you feel that you made the right decision?

Gabrys: Absolutely – I went to (arguably!) the best contemporary music school in the world, and studied with great teachers. I also saw many young talents that were very inspiring. And I also moved to Boston, which is a great town with a lot of history, and then to New York. I got to see a lot about these cities that influenced my world view and naturally, my take on music.

Sentinel: After moving from Canada to New York, did the culture shock inspire any of your latest music?

Gabrys: Well, I lived for quite a while in Vancouver, which is about 1.5 million people, and in a number of much smaller towns – so yes – being surrounded by 8.5 million people was quite an experience.

There is a “buzz” about NYC that is part of why it’s such an exciting and electric town. It sets trends in the US, and in some ways, around the world. It’s a major historical center for Jazz, and for more commercial types of music as well.

Since I am involved in writing and playing jazz, this certainly influenced it, and since I am also involved in commercial composition and production – there’s no question that being in NYC made a dramatic difference in the way I saw things.

Sentinel: I’m sure that at times you have encountered roadblocks here and there that have pushed you back as far as your career with music. What advice would you give to struggling musicians?

Gabrys: Never lose site of your dream – what it was that called you to play or sing in the first place. Have an internal compass that you keep checking in with. At the same time, be open to opportunities outside what you were previously considering. You never know how those situations shake out

Sentinel: What is your favorite song of your album Constant and why?

Gabrys: This changes from time to time – currently I like Sippin’ A Gin. It’s a fusion of rhythm and melody that is forward looking but retains the swing feel that many consider a hallmark of “jazz”

Sentinel: From remixing to singing to playing guitar and teaching guitar, do you favor one over the other or find one more rewarding than the other?

Gabrys: It’s all music to me. When I play guitar, I play an instrument that makes sound. When I mix, I play ProTools and it makes sounds, and when I teach, it’s about showing somebody else how to do some of the things that I know about sound. There’s a lot of cross references – getting more skilled in one are often yields rewards in another. That’s part of what I like about it – being surprised.

To hear excerpts from Andy’s cd Constant, click the track players below :

1. 1704
2. September
3. Fat
4. Breakout
5. Sippin’ A Gin
6. Constant
7. Limits
8. Sleep

To view Andy’s latest full album, click here to go to the CD Baby store.