Interview with Singer-Songwriter Becca Roth

​Becca Roth


               
AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them?

Becca: I was first drawn to music through growing up singing in Church, as well as from repeatedly watching Disney's "The Little Mermaid". I feel like there is some sort of balance between those two things that has created my passion for music. I only knew Christian music for the first part of my life...and when I started listening to pop music on the radio, as well as musical theater, everything changed. I specifically remember hearing "Unwritten" by Natasha Beddingfield and being very inspired. That song will always be great. 


AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote? 

Becca: Yes. It was called "Free". I wrote it after I picked up the guitar around 10 or 11 years old. The lyrics included, "I'm free, free as a bird, free as the horses running on the beach".  


AHC: Who are some of your musical inspirations? Which musicians have you learned the most from?

Becca: Some of my musical inspirations include; Alanis Morissette, Lady Gaga, & Daughter. All very different artists. 


AHC: You've credited your professors at Berklee College of Music for having helped you to find your voice, what are some of the profound lessons/advice you walked away with from your time there?

Becca: There are several stories I could answer this question with. I had about 4 or 5 professors at Berklee in particular who really shaped me as an artist and as a person. I have a note from my Songwriting teacher, Scarlet Keys that is on a shelf in my room. The last sentence says, "Remember, there is no perfect, and you are amazing". Speaking to my tendency to be a perfectionist. 


AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak?

Becca: There are so many types of songs, and so many ways to make music. For me, the only thing that matters is how much feeling has been put into it. 


AHC: How has your music evolved since you first began playing?

Becca: My music has evolved in as many ways as I've evolved as a person. I'm a better guitarist, and vocalist now, and a better songwriter..but that's only because of experience and time.


AHC: Do you consider music to be a type of healing art, the perfect vehicle through which to translate a feeling, a state of rupture, hope lost and regained? Does the writing and creating of the song save you in the kinds of ways that it saves us, the listener?

Becca: Absolutely. Music is therapy to me. Alanis Morissette describes music as a cathartic process, but not necessarily a healing one until it is shared. 


AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road?

Becca: I think that my best musical memories are the ones that happened last week when I played a show with my band. I have a very luminous feeling that the experiences I have had in the past don't compare to the ones that are coming in the future. I truly believe that each show I play is better, and more enjoyable than the last. 


AHC: What would be your dream gig, if you were asked to go on tour and open up for one of your musical heroes or heroines? 

Becca: Perhaps playing for one of my musical inspirations as listed previously; Alanis Morissette, Lady Gaga, or Daughter. 


AHC: Could you talk some about your new EP Unstable? What is the inspiration behind the title and what are some of the guiding themes, thematically, of this album?

Becca: I am very proud and relieved to finally be releasing this EP. The title is inspired by my song, "Unstable", which I wrote after a particularly emotional show that I played in Boston. I felt like I must be crazy for feeling all the things I felt, and the only way I could make it better was to write a song about it. The word "Unstable" describes how different of a story each song tells in this EP.



For more information visit beccaroth.bandcamp.com/

www.beccarothmusic.com/
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