Stella has been singing in Casa since the beginning of summer 2008. She traditionally kicked off the madness and mayhem of Fluffy Fridays @ 10amslt. Unfortunately due to RL committments she is unable to do this set until the summer. All is not lost however, as Stella will be singing at Fluffy Fridays every other week @ 3pmslt - WOOHOOOO. Stella was good enough to answer some questions so we could learn a little more about her. Thanks Stella :))
1. Who are you and where are you from?
Stella Silvansky, and while SOME PEOPLE (ahem, Angel and Mason) might claim I'm from another planet, I currently live in Western Maine, USA.
2. How long have you been playing/singing?
I've been singing all of my life it seems, but only since April, 2008 in SL.
3. Do you play any musical instruments? if so which ones?
I can play Chasing Cars on my Big Baby Taylor. Oh, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat.
4. What was the first tune(s)/ song(s) you learned?
Umm, ever? I remember sitting in my room with my Sony Walkman cassette player singing along to Chicago's You're the Inspiration when I was, like, 12...I remember playing Lisa Loeb's Stay over and over until I could get the lyrics down perfectly with no mistakes when I was 20. I think the first song I learned for SL was the Indigo Girls' Galileo.
5. Is your family musical?
No, but they should be... A tragic Italian opera maybe.
6. Which famous musicians do you admire? Why?
I admire Sheryl Crow because of her song-writing and truly gifted guitar work. I like Dave Matthews for his earthiness and easy ability to convey to us how much fun he's having.
7. Do you write everything yourself?
I have yet to write a song. I am a Creative Writing major, and you'd think the lyrics at least would come easily, but I always feel mystified and overwhelmed by the process.
8. Who was your first teacher? Other teachers?
My kindergarten teacher, Miss Myers. She had really long hair down to her waist, and I always wanted to touch it. Oh...this was supposed to relate to music, right? Okay, then, Mrs. Garst, my Junior High chorus teacher sort of took over where Mrs. Davis, my elementary chorus/music teacher left off. They both encouraged me to sing, and gave me my first solo performances. Mrs. Garst smoked like a chimney and had this great growly voice, but she was the best choral teacher I ever had.
9. What are your fondest musical memories?
The non-R-rated ones?
10. Were you influenced by old records/tapes? Which ones?
I used to listen to the Mary Poppins album endlessly. I remember being enthralled by Dick Van Dyke's haunting take on Chim Chiminey Chim Chim Cherree -- there was something so sad about it to me, and I loved that. I also listened to my mom's Best of Patsy Cline album a lot for the same reason, I think.
11. Who are your favourite musicians? Groups?
I love Dave Matthews, Miles Davis, Nina Simone, Sheryl Crow, Eva Cassidy, Trisha Yearwood, Neko Case, Patty Griffin, umm...Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Shawn Colvin, Deathcab for Cutie, Snow Patrol... This is always a hard question 'cause there are so many, and my taste is pretty eclectic.
12. Do you perform in RL? If so where?
Umm, yeah...in my office when I'm singing for all of you in SL.
13. How do you handle mistakes during a performance?
Sometimes I laugh them off...sometimes I just pretend they didn't happen, 'cause it's not like the audience has Tivo and can rewind -- "Wait, did she just say...?" Nope, I didn't, hehe.
14. Do you get nervous before a performance?
Sometimes still, but mostly only when it's a new venue or if it's venue that has a weird vibe to it (yeah, I know, it's all just cartoon, really, but venues DO have good and bad and weird vibes).
15. What advice would you give to beginners who are nervous?
Picture all the avis in their underwear?
16. How often and for how long do you practice?
I usually spend anywhere from 5-10 hours a week practicing. When I first started it was considerably more as I was learning so many new songs at once.
17. Was this your life long dream?
I always, always dreamed of singing on stage. It's awesome that SL lets me do that even on a small scale.
18. If you won an award for your music, who would you thank?
Lance, of course, because he is both my biggest fan and toughest critic which always makes me want to be MORE...Angel and Dak because they really gave me my start and made a home for me at The Deck...Sarah because she gets me all my gigs and puts up with my brattiness...and Max because he put my name out there over and over again when I first started, and he let me sing with him at venues that otherwise wouldn't have given me the time of day.
19. Where can people find out more about your music or keep in touch with you?
My myspace is: http://www.myspace.com/stellasilvanskysings
Just for fun:
- Person or thing you would most like to be reincarnated asJulia Roberts?
No wait, Jennifer Garner because she got to make out with Michael Vartan a LOT on Alias. (Then again, Lance is pretty awesome in the make-out department, so I'd just be me, but living in Hawaii.)
- If your house was on fire what one thing would you take with you as you ran out? (NOT a person)
My computer!! It has my whole life on it -- my writing, my photography and recordings of my songs with Max and Rasp.
- If you were on a desert island and could take two things with you what would they be?
Lance and my kids.
- If you could go back to a particular period in history when would it be?
Hmm...The 90s?
- What is your favorite food and drink?
Pepperoni and Onion Pizza and Mountain Dew (you said FAVORITE, not HEALTHY)...ooo, and Starbucks Coffee Almond Fudge Ice Cream and a Quad-Venti Sugar-Free Vanilla Breve Latte from Starbucks.
- What’s your pet hate?
Cleaning up after any of them?
- If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
Hawaii, of course. :)
