Music Connection: Is this your first ASCAP Expo?
Divinity Roxx: This is my first ASCAP Expo, finally! I made it! I flew in from New York, like, two days ago and it’s been crazy. I’ve just been running and running. I’m excited to be here though, finally!
MC: What are your plans for the expo?
Roxx: My plans are to attend some of the workshops. There’s so much information here, so I missed a couple of the workshops, but luckily when you’re here you get a chance to go back and watch some of the workshops you missed on video. So I will be doing that because there’s just so much information and so many amazing and knowledgeable people [talking] about songwriting and performing and getting paid-- which, we all want to do as artists and musicians, get paid fairly! So I just want to absorb some of the information [about] some of the things I’m not sure about [and] learn more about [it.]
MC: How can artists absorb the information?
Roxx: You know, this is the first time for me, so I don’t know what to expect honestly! I would say just do your research, find out what’s happening, what you’re missing in your game, and go to people who know what you don’t know and try to learn from them. I mean, there [are] professionals here, people who are actually making a living and making money playing music, writing music, publishing music and this is the place to be. You know, meet some of these people, let them know that you’re serious about your craft, and do some networking.
MC: You’re playing the She Rocks Showcase tonight. Can you tell us about that?
Roxx: I played the She Rocks Awards and NAMM. The Women’s International [Music] Network is an incredible network of women who play all types of roles in this music industry. I love what Laura [Whitmore]’s doing over there. She’s really highlighting how integral women are in this industry and the many different roles they play. From manufacturing, to publishing, to writing, to performing. You know, she’s really highlighting all the aspects of the music industry and the roles that women play so I really appreciate her and I’m going to have fun tonight! We’re going to play some new songs off my new album ImPossible-- I just released an album! You can check it out on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play. I’m on Soundcloud, divinityroxx.com. We have a new single, ‘We Are,’ we are the ones we’ve been waiting for. It’s super positive music, good music, and you should check it out, for sure.
MC: How did you get started with She Rocks?
Roxx: You know, She Rocks, how did I get started? I think the very first time we worked together was during a three-day conference over at the Musicians Institute. That’s where Laura and I met, and I just came in to jam with the students. You know, they do a jam session every night. They had many songwriters come in, producers-- female producers and songwriters-- to help guide young musicians on their paths. So I came in and we jammed every night. Jennifer Batten was there. Incredible. So that’s how we met and we just stayed in touch and just kept working together. I played the She Rocks Awards with my band and it was amazing. We honored Chaka Khan, amongst so many other incredible women in the industry at the NAMM Show, so yeah, we’re just going to keep going.
MC: How’d you get started in music?
Roxx: Oh man, how did I get started in music? I think music was just something that I was supposed to do. From a very young age I started playing music, singing and Choruses. You know it started in school and that’s why it’s so important, to me, to have music in the schools because for a lot of young kids that’s where you are first exposed to the idea that you can even play music. So the fact that music is being taken out of schools is really a tragedy because that’s where I started, and if you were to ask most artists who are in the game today, they would say that’s where they got started. And through a series of crazy events, I started playing bass guitar and toured with the incredible Victor Wooten and toured with the amazing Beyoncé and now I’m doing my own thing and playing bass, rapping, singing and performing all over the world. Started in school, though.
MC: What’s the best advice you can give to new musicians?
Roxx: The best advice that I can give to anybody starting is... wow! There’s so many different things! I would say the most important thing that you could do is hone your craft. To become the best that you can be at what you’re doing. Become a better songwriter, a better musician, a better whatever! Just work on being better and continue to do that throughout your entire career, no matter how much success you attain, continue to work on your craft. And, the other thing that I would always say is, look at yourself as a business, not as an individual. And I think if you do those two things, the other stuff will sort of fall into place.
MC: What does this year hold for you?
Roxx: Oh man, this year I’m so excited because I put out this album called ImPossible and it is by far the best body of work I have created, I have to say, at this point in my life. It’s personal, it’s musical, it’s an incredible journey so I’m excited to share it with the world. Like I said it’s available on iTunes, you can listen to it on Spotify, Soundcloud, Pandora. The biggest thing for me is getting this music out for other people to hear. I’m an independent artist. I don’t have a record label behind me, it’s just me and my small team, my small army of good people fighting to have good music heard. You know, we’re not on the radio, so it’s really a movement, a grassroots movement and I think that once you listen to the album you’ll feel it in your heart and you’ll want to share it with other people, so that’s the biggest thing for me. We’re going to be touring the US, we’ll be touring in Europe. We’ll be dropping more videos. We’ll be traveling around and doing some workshops in schools. Come out! Divinityroxx.com, signup to the newsletter and find out all the cool things we’re going to do this year.
Photo by Lina Bhambhani
Interview by Victoria Patneaude
Video editing by Siri Svay
For more information and tour dates, visit divinityroxx.com.
