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 Interview:
Tiffany Apan-
With a beginning in musical theatre and opera to an unexpected venture into the world of horror films followed by a return to her musical roots by taking on a career as a recording artist to top it off, Tiffany has experienced more than one area of the entertainment industry.
Throughout grammar school and high school, she honed her performing skills in various musical theatre and opera companies and productions. Early in college, she began to take film acting classes which led her into the genre of independent horror. She landed a supporting role in the Troma film, "Meat For Satan's Ice Box" which also earned her the title of Tromette of the Month in August of 2005.
That earned her guest spots at several horror film conventions and events, more offers for film roles in this genre (being released in late 2007), features on several horror related sites, and the title of a "Scream Queen" along with fellow up and coming horror actresses, Lennox Miller and Elske McCain and already notorious Scream Queens, Debbie Rochon and Tiffany Shepis. But almost as soon as her career in independent horror began to take off, Tiffany began to feel a little confined by the genre and wanted to explore other avenues. She made a move to switch gears and return to her first love...music.
She met her music connections while auditioning for the James Bond inspired dark satire, "La Femme Bond" and began working on projects with musician and songwriter, Jason English. She released a maxi single, "Porcelain Doll" in early 2007 where she demonstrates vocal diversity and agility as well as poetic songwriting.
She is also working on two full length albums, working on a song with DeadhouseMusic.com, and contributing music to the films, "La Femme Bond", and "The Gore Orphanage" in which she also as acting roles. Tiffany is also preparing for stage showings of her music and music video tapings. There are also film releases coming in late 2007, a webtv series inspired by The Twilight Zone and Saturday Night Live, media interviews, and a few appearances at horror conventions. She plans to make music her primary career with side projects of films. Expect to see a lot more of Tiffany this year and the years to come!
Since childhood, Tiffany has been a natural performer. Even before she began her acting and voice lessons, she had a burning passion for performing for an audience and on camera. The evolution of her career spans from her early beginnings in theatre up to her present recording and film career. Tiffany is both a multi-dimensional person as well as performer and seeks diversity in her movie roles and her music. With a growing worldwide legion of fans, she continues to draw people with a unique blend of classiness, sultriness, on-screen seduction, and haunting vocals and lyrics. Her biography is here letting you into her life and career as it unraveled, evolved, reached a few bumps and dead ends, and then returned to travel a road to what is turning out to be an everlasting career.
Website- http://www.tiffany-apan.com
MySpace- http://www.myspace.com/tiffanyapanmusic
Below is an interview that we recently done with Tiffany Apan:
Interview:
1. How would you describe your music stylistically?
The style of my music is ambience mixed in with rock and classical vocals. We draw from many different genres and styles of music, but that is the basic gist of the music's style.
2. Will you tell us about your debut release, Poet?
Absolutely! It is an album that came together by my drawing for journal entries and poems that I had written throughout the years hence the name, Poet. This is a very personal album and I believe it is a good introduction to who I am as a person and certain aspects of my life. It is also unique in the sense that the music is such that people have found difficult to place into one particular genre. As a result, the released songs from the album are being played on a wide variety of radio stations ranging from goth to metal to pop to folk/americana and other genres. I love it because it is resulting in me reaching out to a broad range of audiences; people of all ages and all walks of life.
3. Where can people purchase Poet?
It will be available online and in some stores. A few places that I can think of off the top of my head include Amazon, CDBaby, some Borders stores, Dave's Music Mine, and FYE online. A complete list of locations on where to pick up the album will soon be up on my website and myspace.
4. Where does the inspiration come from for your songs?
Life, Love, the world, relationships, breakups, events that have occured in my life, history, the present, the future, EVERYTHING. I'm constantly getting ideas in my mind for new song. Anything can trigger it be it a glance back into an old journal, a news broadcast or current event, or a chat with a friend. I've been writing poems since I was a child and it is the best therapy (for me at least).
5. What is your favorite song that you've written and why?
That's a tough one as all the songs on the album are special to me. But if I had to choose one, I would pick Ashes to Dust. It's what best suits my state of mind at this time:)
6. Do you do many live show?
Well, we are just wrapping up a warm up mini tour for which we played six shows in five cities. We peformed in art galleries, churches, and clubs. Now in 2008, we are kicking off the first half of "A Poet's Labyrinth" Tour which is set to run for January through June and that consists of 12 confirmed shows and 10 cities. For one of those shows, we will be playing a show with the internationally acclaimed prog rock band, Persephone's Dream. We possibly may add one or two more shows on to the January-June tour schedule. The second half set to run from July through November will be announced in April or May.
7. What artist do you enjoy listening to?
There are many:D I enjoy many different artists from almost all genres of music. But a few I can pick out include Sarah Brightman, Nightwish, Tarja Turunen, Loreena McKennit, Dead Can Dance, Lacuna Coil, Black Eyed Peas, The Cure, Judy Garland, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Celtic Woman, Mandy Moore, Opeth, Frank Sinatra, Bjork, Sade to only name a few.
8. Your bio. includes some acting credits especially in the genre of horror films. I'm curious how did you get involved with that and is acting something that you hope to pursue more in the future?
I've been acting since a very young age. I was involved with local and regional theatre from middle school up until mid college doing shakespeare, musical theatre, and cabaret styled shows. I have also always loved horror movies and I had the opportunity to be in a couple throughout the years. For me, the horror films are a chance to relax, have fun, and hang out with some people I wouldn't have otherwise met. Music is my primary career, but I plan to do some more with film and theatre in the future. I will also be contributing some songs of mine to a couple films, so watch for that;)
9. What's the one non-living thing that you couldn't make it through the day without?
Well on an everyday basis, I would have to say lip balm because even though I'm a big water drinker, my lips get really dry pretty easily. As far as being a singeis concerned, Rowen Poole of the band Persephone's Dream introduced me to a wonderful tea called Throat Coat. Now I'm never without it for a show or recording session along with Vicks and my mini vaporizer:)
10. Anything I missed that you want to tell our readers?
Check out my websites at:
http://www.tiffany-apan.com
http://www.myspace.com/tiffanyapanmusic
http://www.iacmusic.com/tiffanyapan
Interview:
Red Carpet Rats-
Red Carpet Rats are a pop/rock band. All four songs off the band's self-released E.P. have been receiving airplay on mainstream, college and internet radio.
The band's lineup is, Uni (vocals), McCabe (guitar), Doc (bass), and Tige (drums).
The band is also working on a Red Carpet Rats comic book (through Viper Comics) set for 4,000 store distribution.
Band frontman Uni has also been busy writing an ongoing first person account of the band for ACED Magazine (http://www.acedmagazine.com) and his own show on errorFM.com.
Their up-coming CD contains songs written by Uni and band guitarist, player/producer, and also includes synths by Jim Ebert (Butch Walker, Jason Faulkner), keys by Tim Akers (Kid Rock, Keith Urban), violins by Rob Hajacos (Shania Twain, Garth Brooks), mixing by Kevin Beamish (Elton John, Henry Rollins), and mastering by Randy Leroy (Relient K).
Website- http://www.redcarpetrats.com
MySpace- http://www.myspace.com/redcarpetrats
Below is a recent interview that we done with Red Carpet Rat's singer Uni:
1. For anyone that hasn't heard your band's music before how would you describe it?
Uni: Red Carpet Rats is driving against traffic down a one-way street and yelling, "But we ARE going one way!" kind of music. It's songs to tailgate by. Makes you feel like you're hanging, I believe the criminal term here is loitering, in the parking lot, with one arm around that special someone and the other around your beverage of choice. Mine is Jack Daniels by the way. Yes sir. No deep, introspective,
stroke-your-beard-like-you're-listening-to-Radiohead, intended message here. At least not yet. We consider it our moral and civic duty to use any means necessary to help you forget about any harmful toxins that may be in your life. And we're glad to be of service.
2. Who are some of your musical influences?
Uni: As a band, our musical influences cover a range wider than the state of Oklahoma. All swinging I might add. And when I say swinging, I mean in a Miles Davis at the supper club in a 3 A.M. jam kind of way. You want our back-story, I'm talking the ups and downs and ins and outs and in betweens of the 20th and 21st century's most slammin' popular music. Singing the praises of heaven movers and ground shakers from Van Morrison to Van Halen. Black Sabbath to The Black Crowes. Not just one, but both Elvises. Or is that Elvi? I'm not sure.
3. What do you hope that peopple take away from listening to your music?
Uni: Red Carpet Rats offers good-old fashioned, school's out, big blockbuster, summer fun. It's Will Smith versus the aliens. Russell Crowe against the Romans. The underdog of all underdogs fighting for truth, justice and your entertainment dollar. I like to think that listening to RCR is like riding the Cyclone at Coney Island, where you might feel a little light-headed afterwards, but man it was fun while it lasted.
4.What is the most interesting live show you ever played?
Uni: Funny how the mind works. You say interesting, I think excruciating. Ya' see, at one time we were gonna be cool and flirt with some alternate tuned guitars. RCR rocking classically like the Stones. Get our collective Keith on, so to speak. Had a few songs worked up. It was gonna be brilliant. Well... cut to the opening of our show when our fearless lead guitar player McCabe hits the first few chords and gets a "what the hell was that?" look, not only from the rest of the band, but also everyone in attendance. Ok. Gotta roll with the punches to get to what's real, right? And hey, it's not that bad, he can just switch to the guitar that's in the appropriate tuning, can't he? Of course not! Cause our
rent-a-roadie-for-the-night got his wires crossed and thought we played all of our songs in that tuning. So here we are mid-song, as McCabe disappears to give someone side stage a piece of his mind and a few other things, while yours truly is left soldiering on with, oh yeah, of course my guitar was also tuned incorrectly! To make a worst-experience-of-my-life story short, we were a three piece for about 4 of the longest minutes in recorded history, sounding like a bad version of a band playing a bad version of a bad Sex Pistols song. I'm nevertheless proud to say that eventually we came out the other side and, after much therapy, have fully recovered, and are now ready to lead relatively happy, semi-productive lives.
5.What music do you avaliable now and where can people buy it?
Uni: Right now, we are threatening to release our first full-length RCR CD. It's our maiden voyage into parts unknown. Songs of faith, hope and jealousy. No, that's not the title, but it should be. We're calling it 'The Big Picture'. Just so we don't lose sight, ya' know? And when we are finally ready to unleash the beast onto John and Joan Q. Public, it will be available in all the usual locations. And some of the unusual ones. From iTunes to IHOP, that's our marketing strategy, and also where we get our sense of style.
6.What was the last two band's music that you listened to besides your own?
Uni: I've been up to my ears in RCR stuff for the past I don't know how long that unfortunately I haven't really had the chance to give a good listen to much else. And honestly, throughout the recording process specifically, I tried to implement a little something I picked up from producer extraordinaire Michael Wagner, who doesn't listen to anything except what he's working on at the time. Buuuuut, there's always a but, isn't there, now that the record is finished, I've accepted my mission and entered phase one of Operation: Full Media Assault. Sounds all military-like, huh? Nothing to be too afraid of, or maybe it is, it's my own radio show, 'Club Uni', on the U.K. based station Error FM, streaming on www.errorfm.com and airing every Monday at 6 P.M. EST. That's 6 A.M. the next day, for those of you in Bangkok! I'm spinning a lot of pop rock stuff from the way-back and not-so-way-back machine, and looking forward to becoming a hyperactive listener again. Feel free to stop by. I'll leave you + 1 at the door.
7.You mentioned in our earlier e-mails about a Red Carpet Rats comic book that's in development will you tell us alittle bit about that?
Uni: A while back, an engineer we were working with once told us that given our vibe, he wouldn't be surprised if one of us could fly. Now normally I'd chalk this kind of talk up to an over abundance of pot smoked in the 90's. However this time I thought, well that's it right there. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! What better way to get the Red Carpet Rats message to the people than that age old purveyor of the superhero credo, the comic book. So after brainstorming a premise, I beat the streets to get a first class company interested in the project. Just dotting the i's and crossing our fingers at this point. With any luck, we'll have a booth at the next Comic Con, sandwiched tightly between Supergirl and the ladies from Sin City!
8.Anything we missed that you want to touch on before we end the interview?
Uni: That all depends on what you're wearing! Actually, thanks to you and Indie Music Stop, we're flashing the Batsignal as we speak requesting everyone to be in attendance as we make our way across the map. It's a block party, covering about 65,000 blocks. Dress appropriately. Or as inappropriately as you like. Oh don't worry, the band will be cooking. Look for me, I'll be the one wearing cowboy boots and the 'Kiss Me, I'm The Singer' apron.
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Indie Music
