Featured Artist - Regina Zaremba

In October 2013, I featured an awesome music collaborative team called Steamy in the City.  In that blog, we were introduced to this talented singer/songwriter, Regina Zaremba.

I had to know more about her, so I asked for an interview and this is what I learned:

Heather Renee - I read on your bio that you recently completed a project called "Twenty-Two Tuesdays", where you posted a new video on YouTube every Tuesday for twenty-two weeks.

Tell us about that?  What inspired it? 

Regina Zaremba - Yes! In August of 2012, I started Twenty-Two Tuesdays, which lasted for 22 weeks, into February of 2013. At the time, I was entering my senior year at Cornell University and I really wanted to embark on something that would hold me accountable for creating music. I have always loved music and have always made it a huge part of my life throughout my time at college. I played at a lot of coffeehouses and wrote songs in my bedroom almost every night, but when there were papers to be written, books to be read, and events to attend, I sometimes found it hard to prioritize posting new music online. I knew that if I promised to post a video every week, I would stick to it. 

Heather Renee - What were the challenges?  Did you make the videos?  Did any positive outcomes result from it?

Regina Zaremba - The whole thing was definitely a challenge at times. I was incredibly busy with all that I had going on outside of YouTube, so a lot of those videos were filmed at 2 or 3am on Monday nights (I had some really accommodating roommates… hah.. thanks guys). 

Though it was difficult, I definitely am so glad that I did it! First of all, it really did achieve the goal of keeping music in my life every day. If I wasn’t recording or rehearsing for a video, I was thinking of cover ideas. Seriously, every song I heard on the radio was an option for next week’s video. Also, I gained a few really dedicated and lovely people that now follow and support my music online, which means so much to me. 

Oh, and one of my covers was posted on Perez Hilton’s website! So that was pretty cool!

Heather Renee - Wow!  That is pretty cool.  I also read that:  In June of 2013, following your graduation from college, you traveled to California for a month to continue your career in music. Here, you collaborated with other YouTube filmmakers and artists. Tell us about that experience.  How did you find each other? 

Regina Zaremba - My experience in California in June was so wonderful! I really wanted to adventure a bit and do something different post-graduation and this trip was the perfect way to do that. I flew out to meet the SteamyintheCity Music Collective team, who found me on YouTube through Twenty-Two Tuesdays. 

In June, we made three videos: a cover of ‘Clarity’ by Zedd, a cover of ‘I Can’t Make You Love Me’ by Bonnie Raitt/Bon Iver and the original video for my song, “Where You Want Me to Be”, which is on my new EP. For that original video, we actually drove up the coast of California through Big Sur and filmed along the way—it was absolutely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life and it was such an amazing experience being able to capture that to share alongside my music!

Heather Renee - Any positive results resulting from it?

Regina Zaremba - It was definitely a positive experience—I was able to build upon my music career and I learned so much! I’ve actually been back out since then, working with the same lovely group.

Heather Renee - When did you realize that music was going to be something you wanted to pursue?

Regina Zaremba - Ah, I’m genuinely not even sure of the answer to this! I have always loved music, but I started writing songs in high school, and since then I’ve known that it will always be a huge part of my life. Now, I’ve graduated from college, so I have some more time to dedicate to it and I want to keep it going for as long as I can! 

Heather Renee - Does it run in your family?

Regina Zaremba - My mom played guitar when she was younger, but both of my parents are actually the epitome of ‘computer people’. My mom’s a programmer/developer and my dad’s a Chief Technology Officer, so I guess our talents are in slightly different areas! However, I grew up listening to music and we all share a real love for the art, so I attribute a lot of my passion now to my family.

Heather Renee - Who do you feel you sound like?

Regina Zaremba - Hmm… I am not really sure what artists I compare to at this point. I’m trying to find my own natural sound right now, but I definitely draw inspiration from bands like Bon Iver, Daughter, The Tallest Man on Earth and also singer-songwriters like Sara Bareilles and Ingrid Michaelson. 

Heather Renee - What is your genre?

Regina Zaremba - I also have a hard time defining my genre! I guess I’m somewhere at the intersection of singer-songwriter, acoustic folk, and pop? Maybe there’s a name for that that I’m unaware of as of now.

Heather Renee - If you could open for someone who would it be and why?

Regina Zaremba - Bon Iver is my favorite band of all time, so it would literally be a dream to open up for them. However, I’m not quite sure I could live up to that task! Right now, I would be so happy opening for an artist similar to me but with a big following, like Gabrielle Aplin from the UK or maybe somebody like Polica, St. Vincent, or The Staves.

Heather Renee - Which instruments do you play?

Regina Zaremba - I play primarily the guitar and I really love that instrument, but I love to play around with everything: piano, ukulele, banjo, whatever I can get my hands on!

Heather Renee - What was the first tune(s) you learned?

Regina Zaremba - I distinctly remember the first few songs that I learned how to play. One was ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen/Jeff Buckley and the other was “The World Spins Madly On” by the Weepies. Also, a LOT of Paramore songs… I watched cover videos of their music all of the time when I was learning to play guitar.

Heather Renee - Tell us about your independent artist grind?

Regina Zaremba - Being an independent artist is incredible because your world is a blank slate and you can tackle it any way you’d like. However, for the same reason, it’s also extremely difficult. I love days where I have a lot to record, promote, play, and places to travel and I also love days that are full of writing. I really thrive on working hard, so managing my own brand and working through that is actually one of the aspects that I love. The most difficult part is continuing to build new opportunities so that I will keep having things to work on.

Heather Renee - What is your measure of success? (Define what "making it in the music industry" means to you)

Regina Zaremba - I think that “making it in the music industry” is usually defined so differently by every musician that you talk to. For me, to have “made it” would mean simply that music is my sole source of income. I would be complete and so thrilled if creating, sharing, playing, and loving music could support me for the rest of my life— that’s the dream!

Heather Renee - Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

Regina Zaremba - Right now, I am in an exciting place where I’m not exactly sure where I will be in 5 years. I would love to have released a full-length album that has enough success to bring me on tour. In 5 years, I want to be collaborating with other musicians, perhaps have a full band, and just make it so that I’m still working hard on this dream!

Heather Renee - What advice would you give to other singer/songwriters?

Regina Zaremba - A lot of people ask for advice and I think the thing I wish somebody had explicitly said to me is to ‘be yourself’ and ‘do what you love’. I am well aware that this sounds like really stereotypical and unhelpful advice, BUT if you truly just allow yourself to step back and embrace what you’re passionate about, everything should fall into place from there. Easier said than done.

Heather Renee - That is awesome advice and I too wish I had followed it sooner.  Is Eclipse the EP you want to promote?

Regina Zaremba - Yes!! I recorded Eclipse EP starting in May of this year and released the project on August 22^nd, which was also my 22^nd birthday! I am really excited about it and love sharing that music. You can get it on iTunes now . https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/eclipse-ep/id684416900

Heather Renee - Where did you record it?  Who produced it?  Who Mixed it?

Regina Zaremba - I actually recorded the EP up in Ithaca, New York, where I went to school! Through a mutual friend, I found an incredible producer named Dana Billings, who works at a studio near Ithaca called Electric Wilburland. The studio is built in an old church—it’s so beautiful and had the perfect vibe for recording my music. Dana is amazing! He’s an awesome drummer, can play basically any instrument, and we also just collaborated really well. I had a vision for the music and he totally understood that and brought it to life.

Heather Renee - How can we find out more about you?

Regina Zaremba - I would really love it if you could stay in touch with me on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/reginazarembamusic), twitter (@reginazaremba), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/reginazaremba), Instagram (reginazaremba), and my website (www.reginazaremba.com)!

I post a lot of what’s going on in my daily and musical life on all of those sites and love interacting with people who relate! Come say hi!!

Churchill - Change

If you like this artist, be sure to check out Heather Renee @ www.heather-renree.com

Emiliana Torrini - Ha ha

If you like this artist, be sure to check out Heather Renee @ www.heather-renee.com