Avian X is someone I’ve watched for the last four years. We met at an indie conference/showcase in Connecticut. I’ve been on her mailing list for all of this time and I have admired watching a woman slowly build herself in this industry and as an artist. She’s gone from singing with her own tracks to having her own band. Her canvas and artistic tools have expanded greatly.
TIC: You are a singer, songwriter, recording artist. You’ve had your share of hurdles and you haven’t backed down, but continue to grow. What made you decide to become a singer?
AX: It was an inner calling that I had since I was a little girl. I was pushing it away for a long time. I always had excuses (to avoid the responsibility of following your dreams). Once I changed my attitude and started educating myself about pursuing of dreams everything started to fall into place. “Energy and persistence conquer all things.” — Benjamin Franklin Words like that inspired me.
This country was a major factor in my decision. I saw a lot of indie musicians making a living and living their dreams here. It was very empowering. There are so many books, articles all directed to musicians who want to make music their career.
TIC: Have you had vocal coaching and were your experiences always positive?
AX: I signed up for the vocal lessons for the first time when I moved to states. It was not easy because I didn’t always understand what I was supposed to be doing. I didn’t know the language that well. My first studio experience was rather unexciting. I didn’t like it. It grew on me with more experience and working with really good vocal engineer in NYC (Chris Griffin).
TIC: Who is Avian X? What happened to Natalia?
AX: Having my real name as my Artist name wasn’t the most creative idea :)
Apparently I am not the only girl on this planet name Natalia ;)
I had to find something that was unique. I was going for something science fiction-y and futuristic. I wanted something that sounds like a name of a spacey girl warrior. My friend in UK did an anagram of my first and last names. And AVIAN came out. This band name was already taken so I came out with adding X at the end. That extra X made it sound exactly like I wanted it.
TIC: You started out performing with your studio tracks, you now have a band and dancers. How did that come about?
AX: I don’t have dancers any more : ) We are a rock band live. My early demos were all electronic. Now it has rock layers. It has guitars, bass, and drums. For me to translate my recordings on stage I had to have a band. So I looked around for musicians. Through a mutual friend, I met a drummer who invited me to see his band perform. The supporting band that night had guitar and bass player that got my attention. I approached them and now they are very lucky musicians cuz they play in my band :)
TIC: English is not your first language and America is not your original home. Have you experience obstacles because of that? Have you run into people who treated you differently?
AX: The only obstacle I ever experienced was my own mind’s limitations :), nothing else. People are extremely welcoming in this country. Very supportive of your dreams.
TIC: Your videos are very professional, polished and work with the tunes that you’ve created. Do you create the video concepts or does someone on your team do that?
AX: Thank you! It was me and my photographer Candyce (Candylust.org). We exchanged ideas and shoot a video in her studio with some help from two of her friends. I think it came out pretty cool for a small budget video like that. I call it “Brooklyn touch” video. Because it’s creativity over money.
TIC: If you had to estimate how much money you’ve spent packaging and marketing yourself as an artist, how much would that be?
AX: Recording music with really good producers cost a lot of money. I would do the vocal session and then next month have my producer do the arrangements. Then wait and do another song in a while. But I can’t tell exactly how much I spent. On-line marketing is free and available to anyone. I learned how to build my own Myspace in html. It was always creativity over money.
TIC: Indie artists have to bust their asses to do their own marketing, creating, performing — we wear all of the hats. Do you have help with Avian X, or are you working around the clock to do everything?
AX: I don’t have any help. It’s all me. It is exhausting. I take breaks. I am friends with other indie artists and we all have same issues. For me on top of having a day job pursuing your dreams in music is a lot of work.
TIC: You’re in great physical shape. Do you work out every day? What’s your secret?
AX: Haha thanks ;) I better put that donut away then to sustain my reputation. I try to work out few times a week. It helps with endurance in all areas of my life. I do a mix of everything. I jog and do P90X training :)
TIC: What is your ultimate goal with music? Where do you see yourself in say, 5 years, 10 years?
AX: I’d like to have management and have my music properly released and marketed with a help of a record label. I will definitely keep writing and recording and promoting myself as much as I can on-line and playing shows. In 5-10 years I hope to have more music recorded and have a nice loyal following and tour in all the places where my fans live.