Photo contributed by Mandy Denbach

Danielle LoPresti

Founder- Say It Records
Indie Artist
Co-Producer San Diego Music Fest

Staying true to her music and commitment to music fans and the Indie Music Scene, Danielle LoPresti has dedicated her career to educating the masses on such issues as womens rights, child abuse and many other issues through her music and record company " Say it Records." Along with her tireless dedication to " Indie By Design " in 2004 she took that commitment a step further co-producing the " San Diego Indie Music Fest " with fellow artist, Alicia Champion and bass player Kelly Bowen.

Danielle LoPresti Interview

TCZ: Can you tell us when you knew you were going to pursue a career in music and what led up to that decision?

Danielle: I went to college on a Theatre Scholarship. As time went by, I slowly felt myself understanding how many commercials, soaps, fluffy musical theatre and such I'd probably have to be grateful to be cast in for every ONE script of integrity. With so many things in the world begging to be examined, I slowly began the process of learning to write. One thing led to another, less acting gigs, more music, until I came to make my living almost 100% through music, to this day. The only thing I do these days outside of music is voice over work, which very often overlaps into music.

TCZ: What instruments do you play and what age did you begin playing?

Danielle: I wouldn't say I play. I'm quite terrible. I play enough to write my songs using guitar or piano. I began singing as a toddler, I am told. I lived off my Mom's R&B records.

TCZ: At what age did you start composing music and is your early music would you say, as geared toward social issues as you are today?

Danielle: Not seriously until my early to mid 20s. I wrote for tv, film and other artists a lot at first, but as soon as I found the opportunity to write for myself, I began writing about what moved me, which was the world around me.

TCZ: As a song writer you lean heavily toward various social issues in your lyrics. But is there any one issue or cause you hold near and dear to your heart that you have not yet written about?

Danielle: In this new CD, which will probably be released in March of 06, I have a couple songs about the issue of Gay rights/discrimination against the LGBT Community. This is a new subject I haven't recorded up until this time. I am also feeling the pull to write about the people in our communities who are in prison, on death row...I want to examine how they got there. Society is so quick to judge, so in need to make things simple to the point of stupidity, simply for the sake of not having to feel. It is painful, and it takes energy, for example, to contemplate the fact that most folks don't just do bad things and then go to jail. There are many interwoven factors surrounding the prison system and who is in it.

TCZ: When you decided to go the indie route and use your lifetime savings to fund your first full length release, what were your feelings and what fears did you have?

Danielle: My feelings were big and broad. I was angry, in the best sense of the word, the good kind of angry that turns into some of the best fuel you can harness. I was determined. I knew I was good and had good songs and a hell of a lot to say, and I was sick and tired of being told that if there was any doubt my songs would make big money, I had no right to record them. I was afraid and overwhelmed and so full of desire for it to be excellent, for it to be listened to, read, felt, and even more, for it to nurture and resonate with the kind people who took the time to swim in it.

TCZ: Your debut album "Dear Mr. Penis Head" epitomises your struggles as a female musician trying to launch a music career on the title track. Can you tell us about that and the inspiration behind the song?

Danielle: "Dear Mr. Penis Head" is a 100% true representation of a phone conversation I had with a music attorney in LA who I was referred to after being nominated for a singer/songwriter award. He told me to quit doing music, because too much of my subject matter (racism, women's rights, child abuse, etc.) was such that no one would want to hear it. His quotes are right there in the song. It was so perfect I just wrote it down exactly as it happened, only in the format of a Thank You note for his advice. It was either drive to his office and allow all the years of being disrespected as a woman in this business boil over onto him like a raging, Sicilian lava, or call upon my Buddah potential and write about it. ;) So I did the latter.

" Dear Mr. Penis head " is the title track of my 1st self-released CD, and it is ALSO a Thank You note to him and the major label industry as a whole. It is all right there, straight from the mouth of one of the biggest music attorneys in LA- how they view music, artists, and the business.

TCZ: You wrote a very strong and powerful song about child molestation that you fittingly named your record company as well. Can you tell us about the composing of " Say It " and what it means to you?

Danielle: Few people ask why I named the record company after that song, and I wish they would. Thank you for noticing the connection. I was asked by my sister, Gina Angelique, who is an amazing choreographer in San Diego (Eveoke.org), to write a song about a pivotal moment in my childhood for a piece she was creating. As I brainstormed with my co-writer at the time, I stopped suddenly when I began to explain the story you now hear in the song. He prodded me and I suddenly just knew...I knew that if I could find the courage to tell such an uncomfortable, painful story, I'd be tapping into straight 100% honesty and vulnerability. For me, that means the beginning of a good song.

On a deeper level, the story is about a time in my childhood when I literally lost my ability to speak out of sheer terror. This theme has echoed through out my life on various levels, for various superficial reasons. At the core of the silence, though, has been fear. Fear of being judged, fear of being rejected, disliked, fired, attacked, whatever.

When I decided to start my Indie Label and to produce my own CDs, I did so largely in order to say what I wanted to say. To have the freedom to examine any part of life through music, regardless of whether or not a corporate record company thought they could make a big enough profit from it. So my record company is named after my decision to learn how to speak up, regardless of all the many reasons I've been afraid to in the past. I think you'll find the music is pretty much in alignment with that.

TCZ: You mentioned your band named themselves "The Masses" in honor of the historical activist magazine, " The Masses." Is that a reflection of the social issues you write about in your music?

Danielle: Yes, exactly.

TCZ: In 1999 " Say It " was nominated for Best Female Singer/Songwriter from the L.A. Music Awards. What led you to submit this song to the awards?

Danielle: I submitted it as part of a 5 song EP. And I recall thinking a lot about it before I sent it in. I finally went through with it because I knew it was incredibly honest and uncontrived. 2 things that I love in a song...so I thought it would possibly speak through the thousands of submissions they'd be going through. I also sent it in because I was proud of what it said, what it asked, what it stood for.

TCZ: Both albums your debut " Dear Mr. Penis Head" and your follow up " 22 Mountains " have received numerous nominations especially geared toward your songwriting which some of the major labels had dubbed as too risky. Looking back on that today do you feel the lack of support maintream radio gives indie artists hindered either album from becoming commerical blockbusters?

Danielle: I don't know about "Blockbusters", but I do believe that each CD has songs on it that in a country which respects it's musicians would have been received and played with much greater enthusiasm and support, even receiving some decent commercial success, yes.

TCZ: Say It Records has a unique logo can you tell us about it and what it stands for?

Danielle: Sure, what a yummy question ; ) The woman is my Sister, Gina. One of the most powerful and extraordinary women I know. What she is straddling is a Pomegranate, which is not only a major symbol of fertility, re-birth, abundance, etc. My reasons for choosing this fruit to be a part of my logo stem from a much more personal experience.

My brother, an amazing poet, wrote a poem about finding a dead pomegranate in the alley he was walking in at the time he was trying to re-connect with a woman he was deeply in love with. The poem took my breath away, and his connection between the fruit and his heart was profound. I decided to use my sister's image from a dance she was performing and to place it on top of what became for me was a symbol of the heart, of one's inner desires, questions, pain, joy. She is open, birthing, allowing, speaking out.

That's what Say It Records is all about, opening up, finding your voice and saying it like it is.

TCZ: As a vocal and active supporter of the indie music scene what area of the industry do you think is vital to the continued growth of the indie the scene?

Danielle: Several things: Education, teaching people what Indie means, getting people excited and turned ON about the Indie Music happening in their cities. And Radio and Press that actually RESPECTS the music and the artists working their asses off to make it. I want to work together to see the day when Indie Music is no longer referred to as "Unsigned" ! (God that infuriates me!!) and I want to see it as a thing of the past that radio stations play Indie Music once a week, on Sunday or Monday between the hours of 12 and 1 am. I could go on and on, the bottom line is this; there is REMARKABLE, delicious Indie Music being made. It deserves the respect of the Community.

TCZ: Tell us about "Indie by Design" what does it mean and what does it stand for?

Danielle: My bass player, Kelly Bowen and I created "Indie by Design". It is "an on-going showcase of independent-minded musicians making music on their Own Terms." We've been producing them for a couple of years now in San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Francisco, etc. They were inspired by a fellow musician I met with when I was forming my record label. I was taken aback, and saddened, by how little info. this person was willing to share.

After having done music professionally for 10 years in one of the most competitive and saturated music market in the world, LA, I knew something to be powerfully true; most of my gigs were referred to me by other female musicians. The so-called "competition" is NOT. They are our best resource. We may not have the big money the Majors have, but we DO have a hidden and relatively untapped resource in one another.

Indie By Design not only teaches folks what Indie Music means, and strives to get crowds excited about the Indie Bands rotating on each bill, it is about preaching the gospel of TEAMWORK. There is so much more that can be accomplished when we pool our resources.

TCZ: As a label owner, solo artist and producer all on the indie side of the industry what are the greatest challenges you face today?

Danielle: Finances are a biggie. It is really tough to be a professional musician, working with other professional musicians, and having to work for well below the going rate, constantly, because the gig is in an area you haven't built a strong fan base in yet, or because the gig is too good to pass up. For example, what we were paid when we opened for David Byrn this past summer was unbelievable. When they know you want the gig, the ball is too often in their court, no matter how great your band is, and they take advantage of that.

Lack of respect is another challenge. In San Diego, City Beat is a big music publication that has a yearly review of Local Music. They call it the great "Demo Review" of each particular year. I find this despicable. A great number of the CDs reviewed are full length records, CDs that have been written, produced, recorded, and mastered, by virtue of the blood, sweat and tears of these artists. And making a Cd is not cheap. It is an achievement to be celebrated, but instead of supporting these brave people who've done the hard work of getting their art out there, they so, so often tear them down, ridicule and discount them. I feel this is such a shame.

Art is healing, it is a Good Thing for the whole community. The press has every right to dislike anything. But to disrespect it is weak minded and sad. Then there's Radio. Owned by Clear Channel and company. Local and Indie Music is played most often on Sunday or MOnday night between 1 am and 2 am, or some such. A friend of ours who is a writer in LA just came back from a Music Conference where a Clear Channel rep. reported that "getting a record on the charts costs "between $100,000 and $250,000." This is who is played on the GREAT majority of USA Radio, artists whose labels can afford this price. Ok, this is sounding grim so I'll stop here ;)!

TCZ: What are your biggest influences in music at this point in your career?

Danielle: I find that a lot of my influences do not exist "in music" per se. What is happening in the world all around us is my biggest influence. Great artists, including my younger brother and sister, who never cease to awe me (Tony LoPresti is an author and activist with the Environmental Health Coalition and Gina Angelique is Artistic Director / Choreographer of Eveoke Dance Theatre http://www.eveoke.org) inspire me to find better and different ways of expressing and creating.

And then there are a vast number of artists I adore, too many to list, but I will put a few here: Lila Downs, Rachelle Ferrell, Zero 7, Ericka Luckett (whose new record I am listening to right now and loving), Jill Scott, Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Champion, Ani Difranco, Michael Franti, Jonatha Brooke, Chris Klich, Zapp Mama.

TCZ: Tell us how you met Alicia Champion and how you came to form a partnership in Co-producing the San Diego Indie Music Fest.

Danielle: In the spirit of my answer about the Indie By Design showcases, I heard her sound checking at a festival we were both playing. Per normal, when I hear an amazing musician, I cannot help but compliment them, and often get their info to book them for an Indie By Design, or to refer them for future gigs or what-have-you.

I did this with Alicia and she played one of our showcases. She was on fire with the mission and the message and such a powerhouse of energy, we started booking her more. She actually promoted! She showed up on time, she was as professional with her business as with her music, so we eventually began producing shows together.

After we produced "Celebrate Women's Herstory Month" together, we decided to do something really exciting. Of course the work involved with producing a festival on a shoestring budget damn near killed us, but we did it, and it was gorgeous ;)

TCZ: On November 5th, the second annual San Diego Indie Music Fest kicks off, with headliner Veruca Salt. What process did the SDMIF use to choose Veruca Salt as the headliner?

Danielle: That was all Alicia Champion. She worked hard on several folks before landing Veruca. Last year we worked together to get Jonatha Brooke, this year we divided a lot of tasks up between the 2 of us. We look at a lot of factors before going after Headliner types. They have to be Indie, they have to be exceptional, they have to have a relatively wide appeal and be recognizable, among other considerations.

TCZ: What do you hope the future brings for the SDIMF. Do you have any pre set goals in mind for how you would like to see the SDIMF grow?

Danielle: YES! In financial stability, in support from the community. Finances have been the number 1 challenge. As the festival grows, I hope to have people coming to us to be a part of it, so we can focus more on the producing and less on the fundraising. We'd love to see it grow and become much, much more supported because that means we can afford to have musicians from all over the world coming to play, and we can book artists based exclusively on their excellence, musical diversity, professionalism, etc... and less on their draw. I could go on....;)

TCZ: Tell us how other bands and artists can participate and support the SDIMF.

Danielle: By coming Saturday, November 5th! By helping us spread the word to as many folks, TV people, Radio Stations, ETC as possible ;)

TCZ: What would you tell fans today that they can do to help support the indie scene?

Danielle: Oh there are so many things! Perhaps 2 of the biggest are buying Indie music and going to shows. Every time you buy an Indie Cd, you're making it possible for that artist to continue making their art. Turning friends onto the artists you love and being receptive to new music is another Biggie. It is a HUGE gift when fans bring new friends to our shows. And then there's volunteering. I don't know what we'd do without our Merch Goddesses, Stage Managers at the " Indie By Design " shows and " SD Indie Music Fest, " etc. These people have become part of our family and their contribution is literally priceless. It is further testament to how Indie music builds Community.

I could go on...making it a habit to call radio stations each week requesting your favorite Indies, flyering, buying Indie Music for gifts, suggesting your fav. Indie bands to play at events, emailing Press and TV suggesting they cover what an awesome Indie Band is doing in your city....you know I could REALLY Go on and On! ;)

It takes a village to raise a Child, as well as to protect and support Art, especially in a country whose government does not.

TCZ: Do you think lack of any real support on radio is the biggest obstacle facing indie artists today? What can fans do to help combat that?

Danielle: I think it's a significant obstacle, no question. Fans can make it a point to call & email the radio stations, often and repeatedly, suggesting the most radio friendly track of a few of their favorite Bands each time, especially to DJs that are somewhat receptive. They can Vote, they can go to sites like MoveOn.org (http://www.moveon.org) and write quick emails or put in calls to their representatives about Clear Channel and the monopolies big business is being allowed to have.

They can praise those stations willing to play Indies and encourage them to continue, to even do more. They can cultivate awareness for Indie Bands on Blogs and offer to send a Band's music to as many internet radio stations as they can find each week. All these things add up to building a buzz and helping a band grow beyond the confines Corporate America would like to keep Indie music stuck in.

TCZ: What can we expect from Danielle LoPresti and The Masses in 2006?

Danielle: A New CD!!! I am so exhausted from working on the 1,001 details and challenges inherent in producing a festival, that I am aching to get back to my music and finishing the new record.

TCZ: Is there anything we haven't touched on that you would like to share?

Danielle: How much I appreciate your site, these incredibly thoughtful questions, YOU, Sister. Thank You.

© The Cover Zone November 2005