Interview With Ashley Noot

Ashley Noot was born in St Louis Missouri, prior to moving to Houston Texas, where unwittingly, her experiences as a young teenager began fueling the content of her music…
She has a fan in Texas blues artist, Bob Schneider, who encouraged her to pursue her clear musical talent. Shortly after recording her first demo, Ashley was introduced to UK producer John Ravenhall by her renowned vocal coach Debbie Beinhorn. John immediately signed Ashley to his UK label Johnny Boy Records.

Her debut album is an exciting partnership of commercial guitar pop, laced with dynamic melodies and poignant lyrics. Ashley delivers commanding and compelling vocal performances as she takes you through her journal of young relationships and continues to ask the question…Why? She has the uncanny ability to communicate that which she wants you to feel.

Read more for the Interview

Tell us a little bit about you the singer/songwriter.

My name is Ashley Noot, I'm a singer/songwriter from Texas.. I am signed to a label called Johnny Boy Records, which is based in the UK. My album is being officially released on the 10th of October.. I've been singing, writing and playing guitar for as long as I can remember. It is a huge passion of mine and I hope to be doing it for as long as I possibly can!

We watched your EPK video and heard that you got your first guitar at 8 years old. How did you learn to play it from there?

My parents put me into guitar lessons at a place called House Of Guitars where I took lessons for several years. Once I learned a few chords, that's when I started adding music to what I was writing.

In your EPK video you said you started vocal lessons with Debbie Beinhorn at 15 years of age, what was that like? What was the most important thing you learn from Debbie?

I remember the first lesson I had with Debbie- she had me making all of these weird faces while doing weird vocal exercises, like singing into a bowl. I felt so ridiculous and I remember second guessing voice lessons all together.. after the first couple lessons there was already a dramatic change in the power of my voice and I realized this woman knew EXACTLY what she was talking about! She was also a lot of fun so i always had a good time going to voice lessons. The most important thing I learned from Debbie was how to use my abdominal muscles instead of my throat to sing powerfully. It keeps you from losing your voice and adds more of a powerful sound.

Tell us a little about how it is to work with John Ravenhall and what he brings to the table.

Working with John is always an adventure. haha He is good fun but he is also good at what he does. He is a talented producer and I am very grateful to be working with him and signed to his label.

You have toured for about 3 weeks, is this your first tour? Express your experience with being on the road.

Yes it was my first tour and it was SO FUN! It's so awesome to meet fans and to hear what they think about your music and performance. There are a lot of busy days and night that you don't get enough sleep before shuttling off to the next city or town to sing but it is completely worth it when you get on stage and everyone is singing along. It is so much fun!

Your first single, "Song About You",  is scheduled to be released on Oct 10th 2011, how excited are you about this?

I'm really excited! This is one of my favorite songs from the album and I'm thrilled to have it officially released.


You even have your own famous clothing designer working with you, Juan Vargas, how did this come to be?

One of the talented make up artists we used in New York, RaeDawn Johnson, highly recommended her friend, Juan Vargas. I met Juan on the set of Song About You and we had instant chemistry! Needless to say, he definitely worked his magic!

What response did you get to your music at the Legacy Showroom in High Point?

Performing at the Legacy Showroom in High Point was so much fun; It was the first time I had ever played with a band so I looked forward to singing there twice a year. It was always a great atmosphere and people always had a great time so naturally I did too!

What is it that you love most about England?

I feel like England seems to really embrace performing arts even as a career which is something I have not experienced in the US. While I was doing the school's tour, there were teachers and guest speakers encouraging kids to go into the music field if that is what their passion was. Outside of my family's support (which is amazing and rare) I was told often by teachers that being a singer/songwriter as a career was "farfetched" and "impossible".. when we would write papers or do activities that pertained to our future goals, I was asked to choose something outside of performing arts. I'm very happy that those teachers did not slow me down or change my mind. I hope that I become such a success that they think twice about telling other children what is possible and impossible.

Links
Facebook
MySpace
Official Website
Twitter
YouTube