 PC: Jason Code
Originally from California, Avalon Kali moved to Nashville to follow her dream of becoming a singer-songwriter. In the summer of 2017, Kali released her self-titled EP, which produced her first single, "Speechless." On March 23rd, Kali put forth an all new six-song collection, Heartbeat, and here she answers her Essential 8 where she talks about the EP, songwriting, her dream venue, The Grammys, and more.
Why did you choose to anchor you new album with the songs you did? I chose to anchor the album with the six songs I did because I feel like each of them have something different to show my audience. I wanted to make sure they didn’t sound the same melodically and also show a range of emotions. I love that there are stories about love, life, hope, and hurt. I think it is an album of songs someone can hopefully listen to no matter what mood they are in. Where do you draw inspiration from when writing? When writing, I usually draw inspiration from personal, real, and raw experiences. When I write a love song, a sad song, a hopeful song etc, I will pull from my own emotions that I feel in the moment or I have felt in the past. Do you have a musical mentor? If so who is it and how did they inspire you? I do have a musical mentor. Someone in my life that I have known since I was 14 years old. I opened up for Chris Roberts at an event in Sacramento called Golf and Guitars and he told me at that time to continue writing everyday and to not give up. Since then, I am now 21 years old, 7 years later, and have written a line, a verse, or a complete song everyday. I live in Nashville, Tennessee where I will continue to follow my dreams and not give up. Chris is an incredible songwriter and I feel grateful to have met him as he inspires me to be a successful songwriter and artist as he is. What's the best advice you have ever received from another musician? With that being said, I believe the best advice to give a musician starting out and the best advice I’ve ever gotten from another musician is to keep writing. When you feel discouraged, (because there will be discouraging days), to pick yourself up and to remember the reasons why you love music in the first place. For me, it is a universal language that connects everyone around the world and I’m not sure if there is anything more special than that. I want to be able to write a song that helps someone, makes someone feel loved, to help heal hurt, to give motivation… Music is a tool that we can all relate to. How incredible is that?
Is there one song of yours that gets the best response?
“Kitchen Dance Floor” is one of my songs that has always gotten the best response from an audience. When I sing it, I can look at the people in front of me listening to the lyrics I co-wrote with my dear friend, Forrest Finn, and know they know the exact feeling I am talking about. Love is different for everyone but we can all understand that feeling of dancing in the kitchen, being close in the arms of the one you love more than anything, is way better than getting flowers or going on generic dates. Is there a song of yours you wish was released as a single? “Heartbeat” is one of the tracks on my debut EP and it is one I wish I could’ve released as a single. I love everything about that song. Maybe it is because of who it is about but also because of the production that my producer, Sean Rogers, put into it. It was written acoustically and when we finished recording the track and I heard my emotion, lyrics, and music come to life. Let me tell you, I couldn’t have felt happier. “Heartbeat” is about that butterfly feeling you get when you are just head over heels for someone. It’s relatable and fun! Do you have a dream venue, if so which one and why? My dream venue to play would have to be the “Sleep Train Arena” in Sacramento. Since I am from Folsom, California and my first concert was in that specific venue, I would feel like playing there would be a complete dream come true. I remember going to see the Zac Brown Band there in high school and making the decision that I was going to do everything I could so I would be able to play that stage one day. (Fingers crossed.) Do you have a professional bucket list item? A professional “bucket list” item I would love to check off would be to get to go to the Grammy’s and be surrounded by incredible, inspiring musicians for a whole night. Just thinking about it makes me want to go write, work extremely hard so I can get there one day. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Avalon-Kali-552986998091481/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avalonkali/
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