 Q: When did you start your
training for singing &
piano?
Well, as a child
I loved to
sing. Even when I was a baby
my parents say I'd wake up
singing in my crib rather
than crying. They would hear
me on the monitor making
sounds of notes. Even when
I was 3 or 4 singing on
swings in the park, my mom
said complete strangers
would stop her and remark on
my singing for such a small
kid. My first solo
performance was at the age
of 8 in my local church, at
the time I had no voice
lessons. I only knew how much
I loved to sing. Once I
moved to Oakville ( at 10
years old) did I start to
receive lessons from a
private teacher in her home.
So far it's been five years
in voice lessons, along with
many competitions and awards
in classical and music
theatre.
I never did go into piano
lessons very much. I
remember as a kid when my
mom tried to put me into
lessons... I hated them! But
when I was twelve years old
one of my amazing friends
suffered the terrible loss
of losing her mother on
Valentines Day, for no
apparent reason. I felt so
helpless. What could I do? I
knew she was experiencing
something horrible back at
home and it felt like there
was nothing I could say to
her to make it
better. So I wrote a poem.
And slowly but surely I
approached the dreaded
piano, made one chord in C
major, and wrote the song
from there. The song is
titled 'Today'. To this day
I've only taken some piano
theory (preliminary exam)
and not much actual piano
technique or sight reading.
I just make it up by ear and
taught myself.
Q:
Who and what has been most
influential in being
recognized by the public?
Well, in the Oakville region, I'm
well known in classical
circles because of all the
festivals and church type
events, but for a larger
public I guess it would have
to be my MySpace so far. :)
Q: How many hours a day do you
devote to your talent?
Well for my voice lessons
I
should be doing two hours a
day. Now at the Grade 7
level its getting difficult
and I have to sing in up to
5 different languages and do
difficult theory.... but
that doesn't happen. Shh...
don't tell my teacher. I
often spend about an hour a
day playing through what I've written, or dragging
out piano score from my
favorite artists and playing
that. Yes I've become
better at reading piano
music ... but not much. I
very often spend another
hour a day on my lessons or
writing new material.
Q: Was your family supportive
of you being involved in
music?
My mom is VERY supportive!
In fact, almost so much it's
scary! If I had a kid, I know
I wouldn't fund all the
craziness I go through. She
has done so much for me and
I know if I ever make it in
this industry it will be
because of her.
Q: Besides talent, what else do
you need to be a musical
performer?
Well let me start by saying,
talent in all areas is VERY
important! I see soooo many
pop stars now who have a
great electronic, over
produced voice, but when they
get on that stage it's a
WHOLE different story. Singing live, you hear their
true voice. But besides
talent, I'd go with style and
an attitude that appeals to
the public. By saying style
I don't mean conforming to
the magazines all the time,
but you're under constant
cameras so you need to dress
for it.. As for attitude,
I
don't ever want the over
blown egos you see in some
stars or the way they talk
about others as though
they're under them. But... I
think one thing you need to
survive in this industry is,
you have to stand up for
yourself because not many
others will do that for you
and everyone has their own
self in mind and not you.
Be strong and stand for what
you believe!
Q: Who inspires you?
Evanescence, Emilie Autumn,
Nightwish, Within
Temptation, and darker
classical music are
recording artists who
inspire me.
Q: With the holidays coming up,
what are some of your
favorite memories of past
celebrations?
I'd have to say my favorite
Christmas was when we went
to Florida to visit my crazy
auntie, my uncle, and my
three older cousins. I was
much younger then but it was
my favorite Christmas to
date. I adore them and
loved the weather. I hate
the cold, so Florida was
MUCH warmer then Canada that
time of year... and no we
don't live in igloos. : )
Q: When did you know you were a
musician?
Well I guess even after
writing a ton of music, I
never did consider myself a
musician until I was called
one. I had preformed one of
my songs at a Remembrance
Day assembly in my
elementary school in grade
eight. That is November 11th
in Canada. I remember
after I was finished, one of
my teachers said 'I didn't
know you were a musician!' I
smiled and replied, 'Well I
guess I didn't know either!'
There's a good feeling in
being called what you strive
to be.
Q: Which song that you've
written means the most to
you right now?
I'd have to say the song
"The Blood to Bleed".
It's not on Myspace yet, but
is being
released at the end of December on
my EP. It's about a friend I hold very close to my
heart, but she's always out
to end herself. She's into
drugs, cutting , and has
fallen so far from the image
in grade seven, when I first
met her. I normally write
songs when I feel hopeless
on issues and this is
another one of them.
Q: Where does your inspiration
come from?
Ha! I just answered that! I
normally write songs when I
feel hopeless and can't do
anything else but simply
write about it. Most of my
songs revolve around that
theory, but my inspiration
can come from listening to
other artists, when I need
to pour out my heart on a paper,
or simply had too much sugar.
Q: What other talents or
hobbies do you have?
I love to
draw anime (cartoon)
characters, realism drawing,
and tattoo designs in my
spare time. I
also am a writer and am
working on a novel that I
hope to accomplish, because
normally I can't get past
the third chapter without
getting bored with myself
(I'm so A.D.D. sometimes).
Another hobby of mine is
dying my hair. My natural
color is
blonde, but so far it's been
Brunette, Candy Cane-Red,
Orange, and it is now
currently Purple.
Q: What would surprise people
about you?
That I'm a happy person? Ha,
I don't know! It depends on
what you already know/think
about me! Maybe the fact
that I used to hate even
going NEAR a piano would be
a big surprise.
Q: What makes you sad?
Things I feel hopeless about
or when someone I love is
suffering. I hate being
lonely and I love being in
a crowd of people who are my
friends. I'm not very sad
often, but when I am I don't
show it. So I feel I have to
express sadness in a
different way when feeling
it than most people, so I
write it! That's why it's
hard to believe that in
reality I'm a silly, loud
and happy spaz with my
friends. Because of my
music people think I'm a sad
person, but its really the
opposite.
Q: What makes you happy?
Life! I love
being with my friends,
sleepovers, parties, and going
out to movies. Summer
makes me happy when it's
nice and warm because when
it's cold I don't feel like
going outside.
Q: Are you more comfortable
with a group or by yourself?
Both. I love being in a huge
crowd of people and having
fun. But I can switch moods
quickly when I want nothing
but to lie on my floor in my
room and stare at the
ceiling, draw, or write
music.
Q: What are your favorite
stores to shop in?
I don't really have a
favorite. I'm more of a 'see
it, like it, get it' person.
Q: Do you go out often, like to
the mall, movies, or for
dinner with your family?
I go out tons with my
friends, also with my mom
and sometimes brother. We
don't do dinner out much as
my mom is an awesome cook. But we walk the dog together
every night when I can't
sleep due to creative
thoughts, no matter how
cold.
Q: How much time do you spend
with your friends?
A lot. I feel bored and
annoyed when I have nothing
to do, so I try to fill my
life with things to do at
every given minute!
Q: Do you go to public or
private school, or are you
home schooled?
Sadly, I go to a private
school. I don't like the
uniforms and conformity and
I'm being told I have
to change my lovely purple
hair color :[ ) The only
reason I attend is because
the major population of my
elementary school friends
go there and I'm terrified
of having to make all new
friends at another school.
Q: Do you have any brothers or
sisters? If so, are they
into music also? If not,
then do you have any
relatives in music?
I have a younger brother who
is a musician in denial. He
can hold an awesome tune and
even makes other melodies and
harmonies. He has a great voice
for a boy. I told him to
take lessons but he said he
wasn't good at music...
hmm. My Mom is a piano
player and studied music in
university. My grandparents
were all choir singers and
my grandma has a strong
voice that was never trained.
She was an immigrant of a
large family and never had
the opportunity.
Q: Who has been your most
favorite person to perform
with?
My friend Christie, we went
into a school talent show in
grade seven and sang a song
to the school.
Q: If you could perform in any
venue in the world, where
would you most like to
perform?
Anywhere in Japan,
I love
their culture and want to go
there some day.
Q: What instrument that you
don't play, would you most
like to learn?
The cello. I love the sound
of it.
Q: Name three Dark Horse
artists whose music you like
the most. Why?
Well, this is very difficult
because you have so many
great artists, but in
general I will usually
listen to female artists
since they inspire me more
in my own music (sorry
guys). So I'll have to
choose from them... a lot of
these are not my preferred
genre, but these are the
artists I admire:
Jenifer Goude - great strong
voice, and 'Out of the Ashes'
speaks to me. I like her
songwriting and want to hear
more from her !! :)
Jaxonville -
I love harmony
and these are again two great,
well-trained voices - for
the genre, they can really
kick it !
Chilli Gold - again, another
strong rich voice. I love the
piano in her tune - again,
would love to hear more from
her. ! :)
Q: You have the ability to go
any direction in
entertainment that you want.
You are already a
singer/songwriter/composer/dancer/actor.
If you had to choose just
one of those skills, which
would it be and why?
I'd be a singer/recording
artist first, that's my
dream - then an actor. I
have to sing my own music
though. I have issues
singing what other people
have written (like, BIG
issues). I have no grace, so
I wouldn't like to be a
dancer. I wouldn't like to
be a songwriter/composer
because I'd just be in the
background with someone else
doing my music. I'd have to
perform anything I write as
I write mostly for my own
voice.
Q: What has your experience
with Dark Horse been like so
far and what do you
anticipate the future with
DH to be?
Well, DH so far has been
amazing ! Steve has been
such a great friend and
inspiration. I was
brand new to MySpace (about
1-2 months on) when I met
him. Every artist is
uncertain about their own
music, but he was so
over-the-top excited about
my music, it really inspired
me. I also think its
amazing to have a group of
people who are as passionate
about music as I am, and who
can support and pray for
each other when they need
it. Also, you know Steve
is genuine since he has no
other stake in things other
than his love of your music.
That's a great feeling.
In the future I hope to meet
other DH artists and Steve
in person. It's really hard
to say what will happen down
the road but I just know
that DH will always do
everything it can for all
of its artists, whatever that
may be, and that's a good
thing to know !
Thanks Steve !!
To hear Mikki's music go to:
http://www.myspace.com/varascite
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