Heavily influenced by the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince and Whitney Houston, Megan Vice has worked tirelessly over the last few years to establish herself as a musical talent in her own right. Now, following the release of her Spread The News EP, more and more music outlets and fans around the world are discovering the many talents of this New York artist. With dreams of sharing a stage with Justin Timberlake and playing Madison Square Garden, she kindly agreed to this interview to talk social media, musical inspirations and plans for the future.
PW: Please introduce yourself.
Megan Vice: Hey! I’m Megan Vice!
PW: How would you describe yourself and your music in a few words?
MV: Funky, playful, humorous, groovy.
PW: When did you realize you wanted to make music a career? Was there an album you bought or concert you attended that inspired you?
MV: I realized I wanted a career in music as a very young child. I think I’ve just always known… there’s never been anything else in my life that has spoken to me so clearly. I don’t know if there was a specific album or concert, but I praised all the pop queens & kings of the 90s growing up ie: Christina, Britney, The Spice Girls, N-SYNC… and I wanted to be doing what they were doing, I wanted to make people feel the way they made me feel when I listened to their music and saw them in concert.
PW: Which bands or artists influenced you growing up and have those influences changed over the years?
MV: Well as I said before, I loved 90’s pop music, I still do. But I also grew up with artists like Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney, James Brown. Those are artists my mother loved. My dad was more into classic rock like Zeppelin, Tom Petty, Pink Floyd, as well as oldies and doo-wop. My taste hasn’t really changed, I still love all this music. I think growing up with such different genres floating around my environment gave me the ear to appreciate many different styles and sounds. I’ve always had a very eclectic taste in music.
PW: Is there a band or artist you might say you’re similar to?
MV: No, I don’t like to compare myself to other artists. I am my own person. Sure, I have influences as all artists do, but I think what I’m creating is unique and fresh to now and to me as an individual. If other people want to compare me that’s cool, but I don’t compare myself.
PW: Who or what most inspires your song-writing?
MV: I’m not sure if there’s mainly one thing that inspires me, usually it’s different angles of relationships but I pull inspiration from many places… from a person I see walking down the street, from something funny I read, from made up scenarios I create in my head. Inspiration is everywhere.
PW: In your opinion, which is the greatest song ever written and why?
MV: This is like asking me to choose which eye I’d like to have removed and which eye I’d like to keep. I cannot answer this. Do you know how many songs exist? I couldn’t possibly choose just one, but I’ll give you a few of my all time favorites: “Man in the Mirror” – Michael Jackson, “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” – The Beatles, “What Is And What Should Never Be” – Led Zeppelin, “Darling Nikki” – Prince, “Sussudio” – Phil Collins.
PW: You’ve just released your Spread The News EP. How would you sum it up?
MV: Glitter.
PW: Could you pick a favorite track on the collection?
MV: My collaboration with French Horn Rebellion & Fake Money, “Like 2 Tell U.”
PW: If you could share a stage with three other bands or artists who can be living or dead, who would they be and where would you play?
MV: Prince, Breakbot & Justin Timberlake. We’d play MSG.
PW: What are your upcoming performance plans? Can we expect to see you tour Europe in the near future?
MV: I’ve got a few things in the works here in NYC and I’m definitely hoping to make my way over to Europe soon!
PW: What are your thoughts on social media and would you agree it’s a vital tool for bands and artists today?
MV: I have a love/hate relationship with social media, I think it has taken people away from living in the moment and has killed the organic process of getting to know someone new because everything is searchable and everything is curated. But from an artist standpoint I think it’s an incredible tool and absolutely vital now that the music industry has evolved. As an unsigned artist it gives you access to people/other artists you may have never had the chance to reach out to or interact with otherwise. Social media gives artists the outlet to keep things more personal with their followers/fans and I think that’s a great thing.
PW: What else does the rest of the year have in store for you?
MV: All of the funk.
PW: Finally then, what’s your ultimate ambition as an artist and what advice would you give to anyone looking to make it in the industry?
MV: My ultimate ambition as an artist is to have my voice heard, to move people in ways I have always been moved by the artists I admire. My piece of advice to anyone looking to make it in the industry is to have thick skin and to not lose sight of your goals and yourself as an individual. People will tell you no over and over, but that doesn’t mean shit. You have to consistently believe in yourself and your ability to climb to the top. This is by no means an easy road but it’s definitely fulfilling. If you’ve ever read “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho], it talks about how most people give up right before they’re about to achieve their ‘personal legend’ because that’s when it becomes the hardest… but that’s when you’re the closest and you must not give up. A good friend of mine sent me this quote a few years ago that really resonated with me: “When nothing seems to help, I go look at a stone-cutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that had did it but all that had gone before.”
For more information on Megan Vice, visit her website, give her page a like on Facebook or follow her on Twitter and Instagram. Her Spread The News EP is available now on itunes.
