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Camille Michelle Gray {Interview}

Camille Michelle Gray: University of Maryland Marketing major by day, soulful songstress both day AND night! You’ll be hard pressed to find a more hard-working, talented and determined musician than Camille. With countless performances, open mics, auditions, and not to mention skills in guitar, piano, violin, and vocals, this Maryland fresh face isn’t going to stay under your radar for long. Get ready for more big things from Camille after this exclusive Groundsounds.com interview.

Stage name?

Camille Michelle Gray

Current projects?

mtvU Woodie Awards, becoming a BET Music Matters Artist, no solid EP or album yet. Launching a website, photoshoots, and booking performances. Haven’t booked any performances yet, but I say the mtvU Woodie Awards because I think I might win that contest. My fave place to perform is open mics. The atmosphere is always chill and low key. Official performances always make me jittery

Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years?

Touring the world in order to promote my 2nd (or 3rd) album. Creating or already in charge of my own music management company that finds and picks up talented people who may not have the means/connections to make it big by themselves.  My main mission is to become a successful singer and songwriter, with a few indie movies under my belt.

Have you always wanted to sing?

 There’s no way to answer this besides by saying YES. A resounding, YES.

How are you promoting your music?

Via social media–youtube especially. A little bit on Twitter and Facebook. Not really in the position where I’d have something solid to promote (yet).

Do you write your lyrics yourself?

 I always write 100% of my lyrics. I see myself as a writer first, a singer second, and a guitarist third. Being able to have autonomy over my songwriting is a solace. I’m lucky that people can find their own story in my lyrics and that people can find it relatable. I write music for my own catharsis, and can see that now, it can become someone else’s cathartic release as well.

Do you ever collaborate with other artists? Yup. Mostly rap artists who see my voice as being fit for their songs. My most important and celebrated release has been my collaboration with Logic. In some way, it definitely put me on the map.

What artists would you like to work with?

I’d love to collaborate on a songwriting or producing effort with some people. Perhaps maybe even a photo shoot or a treatment for a  music video. It runs the gamut from people like Lady Gaga, to relative unknowns like Manchester Orchestra. Rappers like Kendrick Lamar and Azealia Banks, to crooners like Lana Del Rey and Paul McCartney. I want to do colorful hipster shit with people like Santigold and The Strokes and Metric. And then refined soulful ballads with people like Lianne La Havas and Fiona Apple. Producers like Diplo and Brian Eno too. And comeback classics with the surviving members of The Eagles or The Knack. JUST EVERYTHING. (Sing with an Amy Winehouse hologram. I’d fuck with that.)

How long have you been playing the guitar (what kind of guitar)?

 8 years. Right now I play an Ovation. But I’m also fond of playing Fender. I name them too. Zuri, Veronica, Pete…

Do you play other instruments?

 Classically trained violinist for a while as a child and adolescent. Had a minor stint with the flute in middle school.

How would you define your music? (or what genre would it be in?)

I don’t have a genre. I sing the songs that I write, and if you like it then you like it. There’s nothing less soulful than placing a label on something as free and abstract as music and art. So I guess if I HAD to answer this question. I’d say my genre is “Life.” I sing the music of life.

How long does it take you to write a “good” song (what’s your definition of good)?

I’ll start by saying that my idea of a “good” song is one that is lyrically sound. I judge EVERY song based on it’s lyrics, whether it’s pop, folk, or rap or jazz. If you’re saying something new and in a new way (that means NOT rhyming “girl” with “pearl” or saying contrived things like “when you left you took a part of me” YAWN), then despite the instrumentation or melodic components, I think it’s “good.”  A song is good to me if I was successful in being able to emotionally vomit everything out, and feel better afterwards. If I’m still in turmoil after I write, then something went wrong. After the lyrics are done then I focus on the melody. I try to make all my songs sound pretty. It just needs to sound gorgeous. So a song becomes extra “good” if the lyrics have integrity AND they’re backed by beautiful music. I always find that even the worst lyrics can sound profound if sung by a very interesting voice. Even though I pride myself on my writing, I still try to mold my voice into the most PERFECT representation of the lyrics, a la Billie Holiday. If it’s a sad song, I can make my voice sound like I’m about to cry as I sing. If it’s an empowering song, I can put my belly into it and belt out some powerfully soft notes. It all varies.

As for how long it takes? That varies. I can say with honesty that 90% of my songs are written, composed, and finalized within hours. And maybe in the subsequent days I’ll fine tune it and add flourishes. If a song is troubling me to write, or it’s taking long to finish, that means my heart is not in it and I scrap the song. This goes back to my emotional vomit comment above. If I have to stick my finger down my metephorical throat in order to throw up, then the result will be forced. If the vomit comes naturally (and sometimes when I’m not prepared), then it will be the most truthful and effortless representation of my emotional state.

Inspiration? (artists, people, colors, etc)

 Life is my main inspiration. I observe myself and people around me, and most of my songs are first or second hand stories of things I’ve gone through or witnessed others do. For example, when I was in Paris with a group of my peers, I saw that one boy and one girl (who I became friends with) from our group would keep going off together, despite the fact that this boy had a girlfriend back home. So to deal with my frustration over the recklessness of that, I wrote:

So I heard you have a girlfriend
Why you messing with my girl then?
Oh never mind
She’s just fine
She’s all about the attention
Skipping out on side streets
Sharing smiles across the concrete
Silly child
Dumb and wild
Can’t exist without the affection

            -Camille Michelle Gray

Sometimes other singers inspire me. If I hear a song I like, I’ll sometimes set out to write my own song like that.
Also, I’m deeply inspired by nature. And the outside. Especially desert landscapes and open sky and earth. I love looking out the window and listening to music. I’m weird.
God also. God, The Universe, stars, the unknown–love writing about that.

What’s the next step after you get a good idea for a song?

 MUST WRITE IT DOWN IMMEDIATELY. Or I forget it. I need to write lyrics as they come (hence my iPhone Notes app), and record melodies as they come (iphone Voice Memos), or I forget them. Then after I write what I think is a good song, and it’s all complete, I get so jazzed  and feel the need to record it or perform it immediately!!!!

Who is your target audience?

Women. Of all ages. not to say that men won’t find things in my music they can relate to, but I’m writing from a 21st century women’s perspective, and my lyrics cover all the common ground of womanhood. And women just happen to think differently about the world than men do, so that’s why I say I write on the behalf of women. My target audience is women. But my dream audience is everyone.

I used to only write songs as a means for me to cope. And people liking them was just a bonus. Now I’m more aware of the fact that I’m writing for an audience. So I try, now, to write songs people would like to hear. This meant ending my 5 year period of only writing sad songs, and starting to delve into the realm of empowering, silly, angry, spiteful and hopeful lyrics.

Favorite song you’ve written? Favorite song period?

I always favor the songs I’ve most recently written. My current favorite song of mine is one I wrote called Dreamer’s Dance. It’s a song where I’m basically just like “look, i hate clubs, I’m not extroverted or talkative. I’d rather watch a movie and stay home. I’m quiet and most guys wont come up and talk to me…and because this is the antithesis of what a 22 year old beautiful woman in America is supposed be, I’m just going to drink and wait for someone who understands me.”

Favorite song by someone else also always changes. For now let’s just say, “ANYTHING” by Amy Winehouse.

People compare me a lot to…:

Sound wise? No one. People throw so many randoms at me, it’s never the same person over and over. So that’s good. It means I don’t sound like anyone really. Look wise? Kerry Washington and Fefe Dobsen. Rihanna too now because of my hair.
If you couldn’t sing, what else would you be doing for a living?

 Something in the music or fashion field. Maybe an actress. Something that would let me creatively write and travel a lot. I can’t fathom what exactly that job would be since a world where I cannot sing does not exist. It’s hard to think about things that do not exist lol

Random fact about yourself and/or your music style:

 It’s not a random fact, but I love my personality. I LOVE the juxtaposition between the fact that to 90% of the world says I am quiet, shy, and stand offish, yet in reality I’m super hilarious and insightful. My favorite interpretation of this is when my friend said I am a Jack in the Box: You have to keep on winding me up and winding me up, and then one day, BAM, ALL UP IN YO FACE.  And I’m never going away.

Camille Michelle Gray – “Dreamer’s Dance” {Rough cut}