So, I just woke up after four hours sleep . . .worked backshift, and it's noon. Who calls me, but Soraya, Sophie Milman's publicist . . .
Hi Mike! Sophie wants to know if you can do an interview in a few minutes . . .she's heading to Japan on the 16th, so it needs to be done before then . . .Oh God!! This is too cool . . .Sophie Milman is going to call me . . .do I . . .do I . . .What Do I Do?!?!? So I run for my notepad and a pen and jump on my couch
Five minutes later, all my worries and fears were extinguished, and I got the chance to talk to the most charming, sweet, and very modest young woman I've ever encountered.
The first thing that gets mentioned is that I'm from Nova Scotia, and she brings up how she had been here two years ago, for the Jazz Festival. "We got to take a very visual tour around".
"I love how nostalgic everyone is there", she says, and noticed how people can never get bored with how scenic and peaceful it is here.
The first question I can think of is about her background. "I feel very ethnically driven. I'm very much an immigrant, and I feel like I'm a spokeswoman for all of who I am". She says all of this with conviction, and has no doubt at all about who she is.
She continues, saying that her background also inspires her music, singing in the traditions that she's grown up in, which is apparent in her song, Ochi Cheryne. She mentions how she finds inspiration in the tragedy of the Jewish people in the Soviet Union, "
I was a Jew in the Soviet Union", she says, adding how their story of survival is a genuinely symbolic of Jewish integrity.
Okay, so right now, I'm loving this girl. She speaks with confidence and intellect, and I'm suddenly reminded of why I bought her CD in the first place. I continue picking her mind, and move onto the topic of her current tour. "I'm loving it," she says, quickly adding, "It's also very stressful". She mentions the long road trips, the pressure of getting a show together, and all the other drama that inevitably ensues with being a performance artist. "But when I get the chance to go up on stage and sing to an audience, it makes up for all of it."
/> "
So it's all worth it?" I ask.
"Oh, definately", she says. "I enjoy it very much. To be able to get up there and react to the energy of the audience, it's great." She goes on, saying that she also gets the chance to expel all of the pent up emotions and stress from her life. "It's great. . .I have that release."
She livens up a little, saying that she finds herself complaining about all the problems in her life, "I bitch a lot about things, but then I wake up and I'm in a hotel room, doing a show that night, and it's great again!" She goes on, saying that she's writing her last exam of the semester tomorrow. She's not worried about that at all. "I could stress about it and even fail, but I can't afford to sit around and wonder about it. I'll wake up in Japan, and I've got no time". She knows just how good things are in her career, and she loves it. She also knows how to count her blessings, saying, "That's it though. . .I could worry about that stuff, but in the end, I'm waking up in Japan!"
She says she's enjoying school, but when it's over and done with, she's focusing on her music as a full-time profession.
We start on about the European jazz movement that seems to be growing like a fire again. "I love the music that comes out of the Northern European countries. I love that Nordic sound", saying that the deep roots in that area are very rich for music.
It also turns out that Sophie is capable of blushing. I started on about how her fanbase is growing, adding that I actually bumped into someone who had her CD playing, walking down the street. "Oh, that's great!" She says, sounding very flattered. I wasn't helping matters, gushing over how deserving she was. "Oh, Thank you so much! . . .Go on . . ." she adds, laughing at herself. "That's great though. As an artist, I have to say, that's why we do what we do. It's wonderful to have that kind of reaction from fans in the world. And people are starting to recognize me now! I've had a few people notice me on the street. It's weird . . .I don't consider myself a celebrity. . .I'm
not a celebrity. It's weird, but it's nice too." She gets into this one. She obviously loves her fans very much, by the tone of her voice. "It's about how you make people react." And people are reacting . . .she's tops on more than one country's charts.
Playing with hypotheticals now, I ask her about duets . . ."
If there was a single artist still around that you could do a duet with, who would it be?"
"Oh wow . . .That's a good question. "I'd have to say I would do one with Stevie Wonder . . .yeah. He's definately who I'd choose". She goes on, "I've actually thought about that a lot, and I made a kind of list." she laughs. continuing, she says that she'd like to sing with Al Gerrau, James Taylor, Diane Reeves, Bonnie Raitt, and the list went on. I for one would like to see all of the above happen.
Moving on, I ask her which classic artists have driven her and inspired her music. "I used to copy pretty much anything I sang, before I started doing this professionally. But now, I do things in my own style," she adds that she enjoys taking cues from Carmen McCray, Ray Charles, and Cassandra Wilson, among others. K.D Lang comes up, and she suddenly picks up the tone, praising K.D for her musical talent. "I got the chance to see a tribute to her once", she says, affirming that the performance she put on was the best that Sophie has ever seen. "It was wonderful. You watch her on stage, and you hold your breath. You do, you hold your breath through the whole thing!"
Completely into every word Sophie has to say, I get curious about her personal life, as people tend to be. I ask her about her relationship with her boyfriend, and how she manages to juggle all of the different aspects of her life.
"Well, he's very involved in what I do.", she says. He's an entertainment lawyer that shares a lot of her interests in life as well as in profession. She mentions again how stressful things can be in her line of work. "I don't know what I would have done sometimes without him. He's been so supportive in what I do."
Sophie leaves for Japan on the 16th, and she's booked solid the whole time she's there. She's doing two 70 minute shows a night, which are each longer than the shows she does in North America. "It's very taxing." she notes, saying that the experience itself is going to be really enjoyable.
Wrapping up, I tell her again how much fun I've had (She's really personable and human to talk to, not to mention VERY bright). Fans are right to admire her, and she's humble to them as well. "Thank you for everything. All the support, and evrything. I really hope they connect as much if not more with my next album, as they did with the last. Thank you again!"
And thank you, Sophie for the opportunity to chat with you about all this! I hope this isn't a one time thing, and I can't wait to talk to you again about new things. Good luck in Japan!!
powered by performancing firefox
