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Trizonna McClendon Interview

Trizonna McClendon By Norman Mayers Trizonna McClendon is on the rise. This fresh new talent in making waves with her independently released CD Overtones & Innuendos, a potent combination of soul, r&b and modern jazz elements with a little bit of house flavor thrown into the mix. Nu-Soul is bringing you this up and coming talented young lady before the masses get ahold of her. Nu-Soul: You grew up in Chicago. How did that environment influence your musical talent? Trizonna: I grew up on the South Side of Chicago so I was schooled by Motown and 70's soul but also lived on the city's North Side where I fell in love with 80's top 40. What really enjoy about being from the Midwest is that we're literally in the middle of the country and as a result, exposed to the best of both coasts and everything in between. Nu-Soul: Who are some of your musical influences? Trizonna: There are so many great musical influences in my life. Michael Franks is definitely one of my favorite voices. I'm intrigued by his smooth tone and playful, sexy lyrics. Other influences include the usual suspects: Stevie, Marvin, Diana, Prince and Michael J. sprinkled with a little MC Lyte and 80's blue-eyed soul. Overall, I have to say that my dad has been my biggest influence. If it wasn't for his love of music, which resulted in hearing me great artists around the house daily like Gino Vanelli, Sergio Mendes, The Spinners and Phylis Hyman, the love affair would have never began. Nu-Soul: You have lived in several different places throughout your life. Do you think that has been a major part of your eclectic style? Trizonna: I never really thought about it, but I would definitely have to say yes. I was born and raised in Chicago, however my dad was in the Army so we moved to Germany when I was really young and I was exposed to a lot of different sounds. In my early teens my mom and I moved to East Oakland where I joined the Castlemont Castleers high school choir. It was a great experience for me and happened to be where the mega-talented group Toni Tone Tony got their start. Nu-Soul: What did you want to say with your album Overtones & Innuendos? Trizonna: I wanted to show that being sexy doesn't have to be overt to get your point across, nor do you have to brow beat to let people know that you're smart and spiritual. Nu-Soul: What has the response to the album been like? Trizonna: The response has been truly overwhelming! I've been getting a real thrill seeing children, parents and grandparents sing and groove to my music. Several people have shared that they love the fact that they can play my CD with their kids...this tells me that I'm making music that's truly universal. Nu-Soul: How do you approach your live performances? Trizonna: I get a little nervous leading up to a show, but I really try not to over think it. I just kind of go with what I'm feeling and feed off the crowd's energy. Sometimes I'm conversational, sometimes I'm not, but no matter what I make that sure I'm having fun and the crowd definitely picks up on that. Nu-Soul: As an independent artist how do you go about marketing your music? Trizonna: Three words immediately come to mind - word of mouth. I also have an awesome team behind me that has really been on the grind since day one. My CD was released by an indie entertainment company, 4 The Soul-Reciprocity. The label headed by the super talented Greg "Olskool Ice-Gre" Lewis. By leveraging his music relationships and forward thinking, we've been able to create a really nice buzz that continues to grow. I've been doing as many shows as possible in bars, lounges, bookstores and cafes from Brooklyn to Chicago. I really just want folks to know that I'm here, so we're exposing my sound by any means necessary! Myspace has also been a really effective tool. We've booked a few shows via Myspace and shared music with DJ's across the pond (UK) through the site. By the way, here comes the shameless self-promotion...if you're not familiar with my music, please visit www.myspace.com/trizonnamcclendon. :-) Nu-Soul: The track "Trizonna" stood out to me. What was the inspiration behind the track, both musically and lyrically? Trizonna: Thanks for the compliment! "Trizonna" was inspired by a break-up, however I didn't want it to be the typical and somewhat depressing "woe is me" tune. The song was written to be a reflection on a lesson learned. The music was produced by an awesome production team by the name of Steal Vybe and it was originally released in Italy on their CD "Creations" in 2005. The group (Chris "Cee Rule" & Damon "Dizzy Fingers" Bennett) actually named the song for me. After recording it I was so caught up in the moment that I forgot to title it, so after referring the tune several times as the "Trizonna track," they decided to call it just that and it worked for me! Nu-Soul: What is next for you? Trizonna: I just completed a mini-performance tour with Borders bookstores in the Chicagoland and neighboring Indiana areas. The performances were very well received so we have plans to pick back up in the spring. The Borders' shows have been awesome because they give me an opportunity to share my sound with several demographics, which in turn gives me great insight on how my CD will resonate with the masses. We have a lot of big things in the works for 2007, especially overseas, so please stay tuned! www.myspace.com/trizonnamcclendon www.trizonnamcclendon.com Purchase Trizonna's music at Itunes Purchase Trizonna's music at Amazon

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