Jennifer Filzen

Sirena Interview

Q: What have you been doing since the release of the last album, “Sirena”?
A: “We have been really proud of the recognition our debut album has received and have been spending all of our time trying to promote it around the world, get out and perform, and try to figure out what we did right so we can reproduce that success in our new album, “Groovement”.

Q: You wrote a song on your last album called, “What Have I Learned?” What have you learned now as you’ve worked on the new album?
A: “I’ve learned several things. The biggest one that comes to mind is that in spite of my first album receiving recognition in 2007, there are still a lot of hurdles to conquer. One of course, is developing that thick skin that’s so necessary for the music industry. Another is that critical acclaim and lots of money don’t always come at the same time. I’ve also learned is that it’s tough to put together—and keep together—a happy, grooving, hot band that can play everything we create in the studio. One thing I know for sure…I’ve grown a lot as an artist, and I’ve come a long way in a short time.”

Q: You often convey the message that you want to inspire others to follow their dreams like you have. If you had an opportunity to share some wisdom from what you’ve learned to get where you are now, what would you advise?
A: “Funny that you ask! Just recently, I spoke at Pacific Grove Middle School’s Career Day, and I had an opportunity to talk to the 8th Graders about my story. Here’s what I shared with them.

“If you want to follow your dreams, there are three things you need to do:

Be authentic to YOU. Because anything else isn’t 100% original like you are. Don’t allow yourself to be a cheap imitation.

Build a solid skill set. Practice daily. Learn about marketing and business techniques. Take it one step at a time. Keep doing things every day to move forward in your progress.

Yes you CAN! If you don’t let fear stop you, and you keep moving forward one step at a time, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.”

Q: What are your plans for the new album, “Groovement”?
A:“We are planning to perform as much as possible this year and spread the word about our music to a broader audience. Since I’m singing the song, Sirena, in Spanish on this album, I hope the Latino community will hear it and love it. The “Sirena” album introduced us to the world. We want the “Groovement” album to turn the world on its head! We are really proud of this album and feel it has a happy sound, over all, with lyrics that make you think. We’ve tested it out on some focus groups and the feedback has been very positive.”

Q: Where can we purchase “Groovement” and when?
A: We are still working our magic on the album, but we expect to release it this October, 2009. When it’s ready, it’ll be sold on our website, www.jenniferfilzen.com, on iTunes, on CD Baby.com, and a select few record stores. Since most people are downloading their music now, we’re selling most of our songs online. CDs will be for sale, of course, at all of our performances.”

Q: How can we stay in touch with you and keep abreast of your progress?
A: Visit this website to check out my blog, which will give you updates on what we’re doing and where we’re doing it. You can also follow me at www.twitter.com/filzen, and/or become my Facebook friend at www.facebook.com/jennifer.filzen.”

Making A Music Video
Article contributed by Jennifer Filzen, as featured in the Marina Gazette (www.marina-gazette.com)

So, let’s say you’ve written a song and you want to make a music video out of it. What do you do?

Fortunately, in this day and age, you have several options. You can whip out your own video camera and have a friend film you while you’re acting or dancing to the music. Or, you can hire a professional.

Hiring a pro is what I do when I create my own music videos. I don’t trust myself to make a quality video without the guidance of a professional director. Here are the stages we went through when putting together my latest music video, “Love Is Like Fire”, the new hit single from my soon-to-be-released album, “Groovement”.

First, I wrote the song. It was then professionally mixed and mastered by my producer, Vince Hudson. That’s the “broadcast” quality you want when releasing your music out into the world. A simple tape player just doesn’t cut it anymore (remember those?), nor does an unmixed rendition of what you’ve recorded on your home software.

Next, I contacted my director, GJ, and sent him a copy of the song so he could give it a good listen. From this point forward, the direction of the music video is now under GJ’s vision and guidance. Since the song is dedicated to firefighters and talks about how love is like fire, he came up with a “storyboard” of sorts and told me what scenes he envisioned.

After hearing what was on his mind, that’s when my work began. I had to locate a fire station that would host us, buy a red dress, recruit a whole bunch of friends to help, and talk my boyfriend into dressing up as a firefighter and dancing West Coast Swing with me. Why did I use my boyfriend instead of a real firefighter to dance with? I didn’t want anyone’s wife or girlfriend to feel uncomfortable when I get all flirty with the guy. Besides, my guy is very handsome and looks great in “turnouts”—the yellow suits firefighters wear.

On the day of the shoot, you start praying. You pray for good weather. You pray that everyone is going to be there. You pray you look good in your little red dress and that your hair cooperates with you. You pray that you don’t run into problems with equipment and props. You get the point…

When filming the video, GJ played the song for me and I sang along while he filmed. I really do sing along because I want to get into it, just like I’m performing live. We shot a scene of me pulling a fire hose. Then we shot multiple scenes of me walking around the fire truck. Later, we did several shots of me and my guy dancing, which means we danced the full song about five times. Not every scene will get placed into the video because the lighting may not be quite right, I may have looked goofy, or the wind blew my hair in my face the whole time.

When the filming was over, GJ went home to L.A. and edited the video to the music. To tell you the truth, this is when the real magic happens. He has a wonderful knack of making me look really good—in spite of my goofiness. He uses surgical precision to make the video really sync up with the music so it reflects his vision. For example, he mixed old films with current images and came up with a flirty and playful, yet respectful, video.

If you want to see what I’m talking about, my music video, “Love Is Like Fire”, is now up on YouTube, and you can find it by searching for “Jennifer Filzen”. Hopefully, by press time, it will also be up on my website at www.jenniferfilzen.com. The song and album will be available for purchase soon, so if you want a copy for yourself, send me an email at me@jenniferfilzen.com and I’ll put you on my VIP list.

I hope you like the video and will share it with all your friends (including Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter friends). You can tell everyone you know the inside scoop about it because you read it in the Marina Gazette!

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