Marina V - May 2008 Flower-Powered Artist @ KGRL.fm.

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Official Website: http://www.marinav.com
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/marinav

It is perhaps the desire of a lot of people in many countries to be able to go to the land of the free, U.S.A., and follow their dreams. Not everyone who does get that chance however, succeeds. Success (unlike Sunshine) is not guaranteed. The tale we are about to tell in this month’s feature is one of success. The tale is about a Russian singer/songwriter who, against all odds, made her way into America and successfully bloomed into the music scene. We are proud to present this month’s Flower-Powered Artist, Marina V.

Marina Gennadievna Verenikina (or simply Marina V) was born in Soviet Russia to a communist nuclear physicist father and a child psychologist mother. Musical affinity was readily apparent before she even began talking. She had her first songwriting experience at age 4 with her beloved grandmother. Her mother took notice and enrolled her in a music school. Spending time studying music during her childhood means Marina was not able to enjoy playing with the other kids in the school, but that’s not all bad considering that a future career is at stake. Life is always a gamble but it always is easier when you are well-prepared.

At age 10, Marina’s musical journey was put to a test when she decided to play one of the songs she wrote to her piano teacher. That was a mistake. Cultural difference played a role in testing out the budding singer/songwriter as her teacher branded her music “non-sense." But Marina’s destiny is simply inescapable, it is almost as if music is genetically encoded in her genes – it just needed a catalyst. It was in the popular band from Liverpool, The Beatles, where Marina found the way back into doing music. It all started out as learning their songs: playing and singing them herself. The Beatles have inspired our little FPA so much that writing music was easier than ever - although, she still kept the songs to herself.

She was 15 when she entered a national competition that turned her life around. Luck, destiny, pure talent, or perhaps simple magic might have played the part - as she beat thousands of other contestants for a scholarship to study in U.S.A. for a year. She stayed in Springfield, Illinois and became an exchange student. It was entirely a non-musical affair but rather a cultural and academic pursuit. As the scholarship ended, Marina moved back to Moscow only to find out that her mom is moving to Australia and that her year of study in U.S.A. wouldn't count academically in Russia. As her initial shock wore off, she decided to move back to America. To do that, she took a job working as a secretary for a confectionery/beverage franchise, Cadbury-Schweppes – supporting her family as well in the process

Finally, at age 17, she made her way back to America and took a course in business, international politics and Spanish. While she was positively enthralled with her decision to move, her heart carried a gamut of emotions: guilt (for leaving her family), loneliness (being away from family), and fear (living with an abusive host family). Relationships and work-related matters compounded her situation. It was this time that music proved to be a lot more meaningful in her life. Writing songs, in her own words “became my drug, therapy and my spiritual healer."

By age 19, she met her soon-to-be partner, Nick Baker. Upon hearing her songs, Nick urged Marina to pursue music as a career - "You have to be playing for people, not just for yourself." It didn’t take long for their partnership to be forged. Nick became Marina’s songwriting buddy. It was time to test out the waters, and so Marina joined a college talent competition. This time, she’s ready to bring out her songs to an audience. She sang her original song "Leaving" and won first prize. That was all it took for her to get started, for soon afterwards she received support from fellow students and teachers. The pre-orders allowed Marina to work her songs in the studio, finance the whole recording session, as well as manufacture her debut CD titled Let Me Dream. The debut was released in 1999. Though it was a sound wrought with a lack of musical identity, it satisfied all those who waited.

It was only logical to follow her CD with plenty of shows in and around Central Illinois, which quickly expanded to surrounding states. Garnering successful shows under her belt wasn’t the end of it. She went on and produced another record, Lift, which was released in 2001. It went smoothly as was planned until the CD release show, where the ceiling of the venue collapsed. Fortunately, no one was hurt. The show was cancelled and they went on to sign CDs instead.

The third record, titled Something Of My Own, was released in 2003. That same year, Marina and Nick decided to move out of Illinois and went to live in Los Angeles (where they currently reside). As they are the new kids on the block, they had a hard time finding venues to play in. They were back to square one with little venue and book/music store performances. What they really needed this time was someone who would help them shop their music around… And that’s when they caught the attention of David Krebs (instrumental in the careers of renowned artists like: Aerosmith, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Don McLean), who became their manager. More shows and gigging ensued thereafter.

With Marina and Nick’s songwriting partnership growing further, a new CD was released in 2005 titled Simple Magic. Two of the tracks on the record were produced by Jack Douglas (produced notable artists like John Lennon & George Harrison to Aerosmith). Having mastered stage performances, Marina went on to produce a live record titled Live At SoundMoves in 2006. This live recording was recorded in one session at a recording studio in front of Marina’s most devoted fans that sponsored the entire CD production. That same year, 2006, was also the year Marina became an American Citizen.

But that is not the end of our tale just yet; January 2008 saw the release of Marina’s latest full-length titled Modern Fairytale. The album was recorded in four different studios. The bulk of it (lasting over two months) was recorded with Jared Brown at Graham Nash's studio. One song was recorded with their friend in Santa Clarita. Another track, The Strength I Need, was recorded with a Russian producer. And lastly, a couple of songs were recorded in Marina’s own home studio.

KGRL is very proud to present our May 2008 Flower-Powered Artist, Marina V. What makes this month truly special is that Marina and her band (Nick Baker and Cole Coleman) went with us in-studio to perform exclusively for all you lovely flower-powered listeners! That's right! Also, if that news is not enough, you get to see our exclusive FPA videos in an upgraded high-definition version! What's in the full-feature you ask? Well, it is filled with great stuff as usual including: a CD review of Marina V's latest album: Modern Fairytale, photos, high-def video streams of the first KGRL FPA Live In-Studio Sessions, as well as our very comprehensive interview with Marina V in video, audio, and transcribed form.

As per our usual monthly feature, we are giving away 3 signed Modern Fairytale CDs! Just e-mail me at mysty @ kgrl . fm (remove the spaces) and tell us why you deserve to win. Don't forget that you can request a FREE copy of the FPA live session DVDs as well!

KGRL had a chance to interview the Russian pop princess, Marina V, right after our very first KGRL FPA Live Sessions held at the Amp Studios - 04.16.08.

Watch the exclusive Marina V video interview using the player below!
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Marina V Video Interview (Click to launch the player!)
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Listen to Marina V's responses in High Quality MP3 Stream using the player below:

Transcription excerpt from the interview:

KGRL: Your partner, Nick, is one of the folks who pushed you into the musical career path... What were the steps you took to go ahead and pursue music?

Marina V: Nick Baker is my co-writer. He's really the reason I'm here today. When we first met a few years ago, he heard my songs and said "You have to be playing for people, not just for yourself." At that point I wasn't really sure. I just didn't know what I was going to do, and I didn't think I could do this [as] a career. I know for sure that in Russia it would have been much more difficult.

Then I participated in a talent contest [at] my college .... I think every college probably has those "talent nights". I performed my song for the first time in my life in front of many people. Six- or seven-hundred people were there. My whole college was there, pretty much, and they gave me First Prize [after] I performed my own song. The response that I got from people was so encouraging. That was really the start of [my musical career].

They ended up sponsoring my first CD. They basically gave me enough money to go to the studio, record, and put out my first record. [It] is long out-of-print, but some people, I hear, find it on eBay these days and Amazon.com used section.

KGRL: What inspired you to have a concept of a Modern Fairytale in your new record?

Marina V: If you ask any girl ... Almost any girl will tell you that [her] dream is to be a princess, and I got to be a princess on my album. We have a song called Fate on this album, and one of the lyrics in the song [is] "This is a modern fairytale." Fate is ... a love story [about] how people ... are meant to be together. We thought that would be a really nice title for the record, and then ... I wrote a couple of songs that fit the fairytale theme, like Rain On The Butterfly which is about [a] butterfly guardian-angel protecting children. We have a lullaby and a song about a ghost .... For many reasons, it became a modern fairytale.

-> READ the full transcript along with high/low quality mp3 of the Interview by Clicking Here! <-

Marina V’s path towards her musical career is in itself like a page torn out of a fairytale novel. The sixth studio recording from Marina, titled Modern Fairytale, was officially released on January 2008. I know you are all wondering just how mystically magical Modern Fairytale is, right? Well, let’s take a closer look…

The song Hope starts the record and instantly induces aural bliss. The band arrangement complements the fairly-straightforward lyric. A lot of peace-themed songs sound pretentious and cheesy. With Hope, Marina takes on a first-person approach coupled with her experience crossing the cultural barrier, effectively making this one both intimate and honest.

The very catchy pop track, titled The Strength I Need, follows next. The spit-shine recording and production values are quite apparent in this one. This song was produced and arranged by a film composer, and as such, it sounds like it came from a movie soundtrack. This is clearly destined to be a radio hit single.

It was like we are transported back into the 60s with the next track, appropriately titled Sunshine Guaranteed. This Beatle-esque track radiates a sun-shiny happy feeling guaranteed to put a smile on your face. While the track The Strength I Need belongs to a movie soundtrack, this one is perfect for a television commercial. The length of the song, clocking in at 2 minutes and 21 seconds, is just about right for this type of song – short but memorably sweet.

The melodic ballad titled Fool enchants us next with its infectious hook. The song talks about someone who is hiding what he/she truly feels by wearing a mask of a happy face. There are events in Marina’s life that are probably too painful to talk about. Whatever that is, this song seemingly reflects those events. It feels like a diary entry in the form of a song with the way it was delivered – emotionally intense.

Another Beatles-inspired track comes our way with the song Fate. There is actually more than just a Beatles inspiration in this song, I’d say that the Tori Amos comparison is well justified in this track. I was just talking about a Tori Amos comparison when the next track played and proved to be in the same category. I’ll Stand Up For You is a slow classy ballad that celebrates and appreciates parents.

Alone is a song almost 10 years in the making, as Marina originally wrote it when she was 17. It has a sort of a rock edge to it with the palm-muted guitars playing as the main instrument. The drumbeats serve to enhance the rock edge. It is totally a fun acoustic track, which makes us wonder why it never saw the recording process in its early years.

Music box-like keyboard sound highlights the whimsical melody that the song, Love Me Back, exudes. The vocal work is quite top-notch. The instrumentation climaxes with a powerful bridge that once again mirrors a Tori-esque vocal style. Again, unmistakably the styling of Tori comes in the eerily haunting song about a ghost, titled Wilhelmina.

Rain On A Butterfly is a wonderful tale that perfectly fits the concept of the CD. The song talks about a butterfly that flies around protecting kids from the rain. The melody is just as interesting as the lyric that was
so cleverly written.

Babushka (Grandmother) is a song of Marina’s longing for her beloved grandmother. The use of lyrics written and sung totally in Russian language vividly paints a portrait of the emotions and feelings for her grandmother that is deeply rooted in her childhood years. This track is another autobiographical piece that showcases the amazing vocal work of Marina.

The album ends with a good closure track, titled Moonlight Lullaby. While it is a good closure track, it is decidedly the weakest track in the record. Perhaps the track before this stole its spotlight? I guess there is a reason it’s called a lullaby, as it sounds like something that will result in a calm and relaxing deep sleep.

There is indeed something magical with Modern Fairytale. Whether it be a fanciful tale of a butterfly, or a supernatural phenomenon depicting a ghost, or even a real-life based story about someone hiding the pain deep inside, in the end the magic is contained within the music itself. It may not strictly count as a concept album but the record never failed to fill up a musical canvas with enough colors in different hues to create a magical world that warrants endless revisits.

Modern Fairytale CD - Buy It Now (Click Here)!

Tracklist:

Hope
The Strength I Need
Sunshine Guaranteed
Fool
Fate
I'll Stand Up For You
Alone
Love Me Back
Wilhelmina
Rain On The Butterfly
Babushka
Moonlight Lullaby

The last photo (bottom most one) was shot by Stan Schutze.

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KGRL proudly presents the very first FPA live sessions featuring the lovely and very talented Russian pop princess, Marina V . The streams can be viewed using our embedded flash player. We do hope you enjoy these wonderful exclusive videos shot in high-def video and audio.

And remember, those of you who support the station by donations can request a copy of the DVD. Click here for more information on how to obtain the DVD!

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Hope	The Strength I Need	Sunshine Guaranteed
Rain On The Butterfly	Babushka	Love Me Back

Fool

Feature Credits:

Heartfelt thanks goes out to Marina V, Nick Baker, and Cole Coleman.