An Interview With Pop Singer-Songwriter Arden Kaywin - Page 3

Was she planning on touring the world?

"Yeah, hopefully!" She laughed. "I would love that to happen, but I'm indie so I don't have a huge label behind me. Which is funny because my music, in terms of genre, is not indie. When you think of indie music — which is sort of Alt/Punk — my music is 100% pop singer/songwriter mainstream. But as an artist, I am indie in the sense that I don't have a record label."

"Have you played any big shows yet?" I asked thinking that maybe I should have asked that first.

"Define 'big'. Have I played Madison Square Garden? No. I have played the Avalon here in L.A., which was a couple thousand. So that was probably the biggest one."

As an unsigned artist getting a gig at the Avalon, a paragon of the nightclub scene around Hollywood and Vine, is impressive.

"I haven't really had that opportunity yet to get that kind of huge exposure that top 40 radio can give you, or doing a major tour, because those are the kinds of things that the record labels help with and get you started and break you. So most of the touring and things that I do are focused on that smaller scale. Just because of the nature of my status as an indie artist, I just don't yet have the resources to go big like that."

And what about fame? That all important celebrity status that so many talentless wannabes crave and that our cultural consciousness seems to revere above hard work and honest skill. How does someone with real talent and training feel about fame?

"I would love to have a career like Sheryl Crow or Alanis Morissette or some of these other women who are on their 10th album, still selling a million records each album and have some longevity. I don't want to be a one hit wonder. I want to have a career. But I want to be able to have a life. I want to be known for what I do, obviously, but the idea of that mega-stardom is very overwhelming. I would love to be able to support my musicians and to sell a lot of records so that I can keep selling a lot of records."

Article Author: A.L. Harper

I'm a writer and music journalist originally from Salt Lake City, but now living in Scotland. I was a Punk/Goth in the '80s and these artistic influences have stayed with me; although a love of Chopin, chamber music, and Spanish guitar would seem to belie this. …

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