Romance inspires Bruin musicians’ original, cultural songs for Songwriter Sirens, part of Fowler Out Loud series
Alumna Manda Paul, fourth-year world arts and cultures student Erica Rey and fourth-year communications student Skyler Gray will each perform their own distinct music tonight for Songwriter Sirens, a female singer-songwriter themed edition of the Fowler Out Loud concert series.
Songwriter sirens
Today, 6 p.m.
Fowler Museum, FREE
By Madeleine Flynn
Feb. 10, 2011 12:08 a.m.
Singer-songwriter ““ it’s a term that brings to mind the image of a musician playing his original songs in the darkly lit corner of a coffeehouse. But the latest Fowler Out Loud performers show that, within what may seem like a wide music genre, there exists a place for the varied musical styles of UCLA’s female musicians.
Tonight, students Erica Rey, Skyler Gray and Manda Paul will each perform their distinct brands of music at the Fowler Museum during Songwriter Sirens, a female singer-songwriter-themed edition of the ongoing Fowler Out Loud series.
“It’s going to attract an audience that’s really interested in watching us each as unique artists,” Gray, a fourth-year communications student, said.
“Also, too, the fact that it’s at a museum kind of highlights the art aspect of what we’re doing.”
Gray has performed across the UCLA campus, from making a music video for the resTV show “AudioFeed” to performing on UCLAradio.com.
Describing her music as a mix of pop, rock and blues, Gray said she has been influenced by other singer-songwriters like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, as well as by ’60s and ’70s bands like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin.
“A lot of people say I sound like Jewel, so I take that as a compliment,” Gray said. “I like that. I love Jewel.”
She said she would perform a set of original songs at the Fowler. Each song, she said, was written about a different personal experience.
“It’s always exciting when people like the songs that you write and can relate to the experience you write, because I feel like … a big part of songwriting is writing about something other people can relate to,” Gray said.
Rey, a fourth-year world arts and cultures student, is meanwhile recovering from surgery to repair a ruptured tendon in her arm. Because she is currently unable to play piano, she will not be performing her own songs at tonight’s event. Instead, she said she would mostly perform songs by her partner, Danny Henson, 21, who will also accompany her on the guitar.
According to Rey, the turning point in her music career occurred when she auditioned for the Macy Gray Music Academy and was one of four high school students chosen to sing with the Grammy award-winning artist on tour. She then attended a singer/songwriter summer intensive course at Berklee College of Music, where she realized that she wanted to seriously pursue songwriting as a career.
“I’ve always loved writing and play on words and just different things like that, so being able to incorporate music with lyrics and poetry is the best combination for me,” Rey said. “Songwriting is a really good avenue for me to just express myself and release whatever’s inside.”
Like Gray and Rey, Paul, a fall 2010 graduate, said she also grew up in an arts-oriented family. Paul’s mother plays the piano, her father and brother both play the guitar and her grandfather writes poetry. But unlike her fellow performers, Paul said she does not write or perform her own music.
Born in an Armenian community in Iran, Paul grew up listening to and learning how to play traditional Armenian folk songs.
“I wish I had time to write my own music, but since music is a huge part of the Armenian culture, I try to keep my Armenian culture alive … through music,” Paul said.
Paul said she would perform a series of Armenian ballads and a few faster songs as part of her set at the Fowler Museum. To aid those in the audience who do not speak Armenian, she said she would translate each song before performing it.
“In Armenia, (my music) translates to being popular music, but it’s not like … pop songs in the sense that it is in America. It’s definitely popular music as in everyone knows it.”
With Valentine’s Day nearing, Rey said the songs she, Gray and Paul will perform would keep the romantic theme of the holiday in mind, but not all the songs would necessarily be love songs.
“(The Fowler Museum) didn’t want it to be too cheesy, so we don’t really have a theme going. We’re just kind of choosing songs that will fit the mood … just the getting ready for love vibe or relationship songs,” Rey said.
As for pursuing a career in music after graduation, Gray echoed a sentiment shared by her fellow performers.
“No matter what I’m doing, music’s always going to be a big part of my life for sure,” Gray said. “Whether I am a musician or something else, I’m always still going to perform at coffeehouses or just write songs for my own personal enjoyment.”
