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September 25, 2010

Conya Doss grew up in the underrated soul music world of Cleveland, Ohio. But she's proving to anyone who listens that Cleveland has soul, and she's blessing each and every listener as it pours out of her.

In this busy week as she prepares for her LP Release Party at the Beachland Ballroom and the release of her latest album, Blu Transition, on Tuesday, September 28th, Conya Doss managed to find some time to field a few questions and share a bit of a glimpse into herself and her music.

How old were you when you first got into music? How did you get into music?

Wow. Well I’ve listened to music since I can remember. I don’t ever remember being without music, ever. I think maybe the age of 5 or 6 was when I started singing.

And then I actually realized I could sing when I was about 8. At school, I played the viola in 3rd grade and continued to do things like that. I caught myself having a little singing group and we were actually harmonizing and things like that, so I would say then. But I started really taking it serious when I was in high school, and that was at the age of, like 15.

You went to the Cleveland School of the Arts, right?

Yeah. It’s phenomenal to have a school like that especially for kids, not saying that I’m outside the box, who I don’t believe would really be able to function in a general school. It’s definitely good to have a school where kids can channel their creativity where it needs to be channeled.

And are you still teaching? Or is that in the past now?

Oh no, I’m still teaching. That’s probably why I have a cold… trying to do too much.

What age do you teach? I had read it was with special needs kids.

Basically, these students have deficits in academics only. It’s like they may just be a couple grade levels below their grade level. I pretty much just try to stick to the basics, the general age appropriate curriculum. I have 7th and 8th graders.

It amazes me how much you must balance with your newborn, while still teaching, and doing music… how do you find the time to do everything, and keep your sanity?

Man, I’m just praying on it, because I don’t know! With teaching and doing the music, I just give the creator all the credit. And I’m still gonna give the Creator all the credit, ‘cause I’m just thinking, “Man, if it wasn’t for my support system, I’d be in trouble.” But, I mean, so far it’s just about balancing… it’s like a balancing act. That’s exactly how it is, so we’ll see how it pans out with this new motherhood because, obviously, he comes first.

How has having your son and entering motherhood affected you and your music, what you feel and create with it, and even how you view it?

Right, exactly. I just keep it moving. I’m up for the challenge though, so we’ll see, if anything is starting to slack I’ll have to sit down and reevaluate some things.

As a musician, this town isn’t necessarily the greatest place to expand and explore with you art. But what does it mean to you to be from Cleveland, do you intend to stay here, or would you like to stay here? How do you see Cleveland?

I love Cleveland because this is my home and this is where family is. However, there are certain things, you know, that I would like to do and be able to say that I’ve seen other things. See I would actually like to relocate, and if I don’t like it I know that Cleveland is always home.

Do you find that Cleveland gives you inspiration in your music, being from here? Do you find that it comes through in your music?

I think so. I think the reason why is because Cleveland doesn’t have a lot of outlets, it never did. And I think now they’re trying to do certain things. But especially for the kind of music I like, all the musicians sort have formed a kind of camaraderie where we all kind of shed off each other. And it’s a shame cause a lot of people leave and they’re like, “Where did you all come from?” So I consider Cleveland the best kept secret when it comes to good soul music… music period.

There seems to be a tight knit community in the musical community in Cleveland. It seems that everybody seems to know each other and support each other.

Right, exactly. And I think that’s what’s necessary. And then the other thing, as far as accomplishing things goes… I mean, I think if your in New York or Philly or the East Coast, or even the West Coast, you have more outlets – so that’s where a lot of the scenes are. But I think you don’t necessarily have to leave Cleveland to do that. Especially in this day and age with all the technology going on. I mean you can basically record something right at your house and not necessarily have to leave.

Your new album, did you record that in Cleveland?

Yes, I did.

And are you still doing things more independently, or are you on a label at this point? Do you want to be on a label at this point?

I’m totally doing it independently. You know, I didn’t even do the overseas licensure this year. I just figured there was so much going on, and I love the company that I work with over there, but I just decided to go out on a limb and just try to delegate more and just see how far it would go. But as far as wanting to… it would be great if the deal was, to say, lucrative. If they can do something that I can’t do on my own, then I’ll embrace it cause it’s a lot of work trying to do it independently, you know. But it’s always good to have a huge machine behind you and I think that’s what we have with the majors. So in that sense, that would be pretty cool.

The only thing is, you have to think about if your willing to compromise certain things, like your creativity. When you have people telling you what you need to do and if you don’t do it… basically your sitting on somebody’s shelf for years. In that case, no thank you.

With your new album, what was your inspiration behind Blu Transition?

Wow. When I think of Transition I mean I guess a lot of different changes from one phase to the next. And I’ll say this phase has definitely been a balancing act because I lost a parent and a grandparent. And my boyfriend, his mom passed away a month after my father passed away. When my father passed away, it came so quickly. Unexpectedly.

And throughout this duration as they transition on to the next life, when I think of Blu it’s like sadness like the blues so to speak. But I was also going through the ultimate transition myself with being pregnant during that time, and then ultimately having my son Blu. His name is Landon Blu.

And you know when I think of that type of Blu it’s just serenity, heavenly… you think of the sky and things like that. So on both spectrums I think it’s a Blu Transition.

What do you hope people take from your album as they listen to it and embrace it?

I just think, right now, that maybe some people can’t relate to it… but I know there’s always someone who can. I guess it depends. Like, I never would have thought this year, that I would be without a parent. My father had just turned 60, a week before. His birthday was that Sunday and he expired the next Sunday. When you don’t actually experience something, you know, you have friends who’s parents pass away – you feel for them but your not in their shoes to know.

So I figure, you can’t basically relate to their story. But now, me losing a parent, even becoming a parent… now I can relate. So I think I have found something different in the record that somebody else can relate to at that point in time in their life.

And in relationships, you know, sometimes things are good and then when thing are bad, I got songs for that too. At any given time, we never know what life may bring us.

What inspires you to create and what inspires you in your lyrics and the music you make?

I think it’s just life in general. I think it’s my experiences, you know… I can see something on the news, I can watch a movie and be inspired to write something and come up with a scenario. I pull from various things… you know, that’s how that goes.

Where do you want to go? What do you want to do with your music? If you could determine the future… where would you want this to take you?

I just want to go as far as I can go. If I can reach more listeners and touch somebody… I know how music touches my life and how it affects me. If I can affect somebody in a positive way with the way I have embraced music, then I think I’ll continue doing it as long as I can and my work is done. I’m just trying to make history. Or be a part of it.

I believe if you’ve changed one child’s life then you’ve changed the world, and it definitely sounds like you have had an affect on many of your students.

I’m trying. I want to see them do well. And when I run into a parent or a kid, especially in the special needs program, and they tell me, “Well, I’m starting college.” That just makes me happy, because I know what the stats look like for kids who do have special needs. I have some kids… they could go either way with behavior, but not many, because the group I’ve had for the last few years has been wonderful. But it’s like when they get confined in a controlled setting I don’t want that to translate into the real world, where they end up in a controlled setting… if you know what I mean? So to see them doing okay and see them doing well is great.

Do you bring your music into the classroom? And how do you do that?

Sometimes I do, but a lot of times I kind of put them on the block, you know – in regards to letting them expand their creativity. I may have them do what I call a copy tune, where they listen to a song like, as an example… R. Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly, and they’ll listen to it and then they have to take the title and do creative writing… it could be a poem or it could be a picture that’s related to that title. I just try to think of innovative ways to keep them motivated. And sometimes I have to stick to traditional teaching, versus progressive.

You’ve got a lot in the coming week here – the show on Saturday and the new CD coming out on the 28th. Is there anything else you would want people to know about the album that’s coming out or just you and your music in general?

Just to keep looking for more music. And I hope I get a lot of feedback, the good, the bad, whatever… any type of constructivism, I’ll embrace. With the new record, they can reach out to me and just give me that input. I think the people who support me, they’re very, very honest and tell me, “ Hey I didn’t like this” or “I wish you would’ve did it this way.” And I really take it in.

http://www.examiner.com/c...conya-doss