Fresh off the release of her brand new EP ‘Castles In The Sand’, Kayla Stockert agreed to an interview to let her fans get to know a little bit more about her and her music!!
(MTTB)Where are you from and how did you become interested in singing?
(KS) I am from Long Island, New York and since I can remember I always sang. I would watch and sing along to Annie & Grease about a million times. Then one time I saw a video Goody Goody by Frankie Lymon and it hooked me into the oldies. From there I started getting inspired by people like Connie Francis, Frankie Lymon, Kay Starr and Olivia Newton John.
(MTTB)You have had some excellent music experiences in your young career, how does being on the xfactor rank in those experiences?
(KS) I think I’ve been pretty lucky having the experiences I’ve had. Not to take away from the X Factor in any way — as it was an amazing experience, but it wasn’t my best. I think I needed to experience something like this to really show me how important singing is to me. Everything at the auditions was done for the camera, even down to the songs I chose. I will admit having LA Reid say he loved my voice and was convinced to send me to the next round was something I will forever cherish. Simon & Demi agreed I was unique but really didn’t give me anything too else.
I have found that some of my best experiences are the little gigs you don’t expect. Performing for a nursing home and looking into an older generation’s eyes and seeing them happy and singing along is so satisfying.
(MTTB)What inspirations helped you with the creation of your new EP?
(KS) Amy Winehouse is a huge inspiration to me as is Taylor Swift. So if you were to blend the two of them together, is what I want to be like. The Como Brothers were also huge inspirations too. I would go to their house and we would practice. They taught me a lot about how songs are written and arranged as well. The songs started to take life as we practiced more and more.
(MTTB)How was it working with The Como Brothers Band?
(KS) Really, really awesome! I want to keep working with them as long as I can. We will continue to do shows together and write songs together as much as possible. They are great songwriters. Matt and Andrew are like my brothers now and I feel really comfortable around them. It’s just fun and they understand me. They know how I have a retro side to me as well as a contemporary side and they really helped me to blend the two together.
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(MTTB)How did you like working with Kayla?
(TCBB) Earlier this year Kayla, Andrew and I were named Sony Sound and Image Showcase Emerging Artists. In May, Kayla’s mom messaged us asking if we would like to co-write a song with Kayla. All we knew was that she was 14 years old and was trying to write an original song. When we took a listen to her ReverbNation artist page and heard her work as an Oldies Singer we were blown away. We messaged Kayla back and said that we would love to co-write one song with her (Don’t Ge Messing With My Heart) and that we would write two songs for her (What They Say and Your Love). We also said we would like record the songs with her and be her band so to speak. This was the birth of her EP “Castles In The Sand”. It was awesome working with Kayla. She is so talented and very professional. We really just all clicked and it felt like we have been performing our whole life with her. We really feel Kayla was put on this earth to really make an impact through her music, Aside from a great voice and talent Kayla is a lot of fun to be around. She is smart, has a great sense of humor and has a great work ethic.
(MTTB)Do the two of you have any plans for collaborating again in the near future?
(TCBB) We would love to do a full album with Kayla. We are already working with Kayla on one of her new songs. She has some song ideas and we are pushing her to explore them. Kayla has only scratched the surface of what she is capable of. For her the sky’s the limit.
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(MTTB)Now that you have an EP out there, what’s your next step?
(KS) Continue writing songs, singing, practicing the piano and being a normal teenager.
(MTTB)Being such an amazing artist at such a young age, what words of encouragement do you have for others out there trying to start a music career?
(KS) When I was little I was in this contest and all the girls were singing like Whitney Houston with big runs and lots of vibrato and here I was dressed in my poodle skirt singing a 50′s song. I almost didn’t want to compete because I don’t have huge Whitney Houston voice, I just have my voice. My mom said, I want you to go out there and be you. If you can’t win this contest for being who you are, then I would rather you lose for who you’re NOT. Those words always stick with me and believe it or not, I won that contest. I want kids to work on their own identity no matter what it is in life they try. I think I’m kind of unique and I’m happy with that!
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To get a copy of Kayla’s EP hit the Itunes link below!!
If you want to see what we had to say about the EP follow this link to get to the blog post: http://marchtothebeat.net/2012/10/16/now-playing-underneath-it-all-castles-in-the-sand/
Kayla is a young and bright artist and with The Como Brothers by her side the future is also becoming a very bright one!!
Be sure to follow both these artists on their Facebook and Twitter pages to stay in the loop with everything going on in their careers!! I am thankful to have gotten to interview two wonderful artists and I hope you all will love their music just as much as I do!
MTTB
