QUEENIE

I asked Queenie if she'd do this interview because I find her to be unique among a sea of female musical clones. Queenie writes, performs, and records her own music. She writes fiction, likes to cook, and sends out an unboring newsletter to her fans. I delete most things in my inbox with little more than a glance, but I actually read the Queenie letter.

I'm drawn to Queenie because her voice is lovely, her music at times haunting, and because . . . well, she's the first female artist I have been able to relate to lately. I also had a feeling she'd be interesting to interview and I was right.

The following is my Q and A with Queenie. Hope you enjoy it.

Shauna: Queenie I subscribe to your newsletter, and I think it's the coolest artist newsletter I receive. Not only do you let the fans hear about you, but you give us recipes and things like that. So it has useful and interesting stuff, not just the typical "our band is playing at Joe's Pub on Tuesday" announcement. Tell us a bit about your newsletter, and how can people subscribe to it?

Queenie: Thanks so much, Shauna. The original goal with the newsletter was to create something more than a Queenie fan bulletin--I wanted for my newsletter to benefit my listeners in some way. My free Queenie Newsletter centers around articles for the independent musician, but it also includes any breaking news about my new free Queenie MP3s, performances, or features new to my website, Queeniemusic.com. I like to include an easy vegetarian recipe in my newsletter because cooking is one of my favorite hobbies and I plan on writing my own cookbook someday. The articles in my newsletter are geared towards anyone interested in home recording and independent music, so I've written articles on subjects such as Time Management for Independent Artists; I've even warned indies against one famous musician's organization in my controversial article The Trouble With TAXI. All of my Queenie newsletters can be accessed in the newsletter archive. If you would like a free subscription, email me at queenie@queeniemusic.com with the address you would like to get the newsletter at or simply submit your information at one of the many newsletter buttons on my website.

Shauna: For those who have never heard you, how would describe your music to them?

Queenie: I'm the Gothic Enya. My sound is not typically American. If anybody remembers Kate Bush or Happy Rhodes, I'm not that far off. My style is very light, almost Classical, but far more melancholy. Vocally I am somewhere between Sarah McLachlan and Sade and to this day I have found that my voice is my biggest draw. I compare myself to Enya because she does a lot of heavy harmonies with her own voice arranged to sound like a big choir. My first album, QUEENIE, that I recorded in my closet, sounded like a stripped-down Enya. The signature song off of that album is called "Lost". Lost is a ballad with piano and my voice and a little harmony, and it has always been my most popular song even though I consider it very long and strange in form. I've been experimenting with thicker sounds and more of the Gothic/medieval elements for my upcoming album Dream of Flight. In this album I've tried to run with the ancient music theme, adding fragments of Gregorian chant and piling on the instruments and harmonies. I've created a site already just for free stuff and updates on this album called Dreamofflight.com. There is plenty of free downloads and I regularly update the site with how the album is coming along.

Shauna: You started writing music at an early age, the first being at age six. I wonder, what kind of songs did you write at age six? What's the first one you can remember?

Queenie: My musical style and tastes emerged very early. The first song I ever wrote at age six was a D minor piece of dung called "Thunder Horse". It was depressing and had one chord, D minor. Thunder Horse was created and quickly shelved, and luckily I learned to add some complexity to my chord structures. By the time I was ten I could improvise all kinds of marches, waltzes, and even tangos on our old upright piano. I taught myself to do all of this. Even though I took lessons on and off from age 6, my first teacher, who was old school, never taught any real theory or improvisation. She was notorious in our neighborhood as a mean old biddy piano instructor and she even had a little stick she hit the boys with. Happily I survived her lessons with the continuing desire to write music. The music I heard on the radio growing mostly did not inspire me, being mostly blues, pop, and rock. However, the Michael Jackson Thriller album is still in my mind a great work of music, plus I still admire all the early stuff by Sting, the Police, anything by Yes, and the spectacular voice of Nancy Wilson of Heart. My father loves country music and I was pretty much raised on it, and many of my song structures reflect the traditional verse-chorus-verse-bridge-chorus architecture of a typical country song.

Shauna: You play the piano and the guitar. Do you have a favorite between the two? Which one do you play better?

Queenie: I'm better at piano, but I love listening to the Classical Guitar. It's heavenly to me, like a small harp or modern lute. My favorite piece for the Classical Guitar is the June Baccarolle by Tchaikovsky. I like its simple elegance and lovely rolling beat.

Shauna: When you were fifteen you say you became disillusioned with the real world and slipped into a kind of fantasy world. What influence did this fantasy have on your creativity? Do you think being disillusioned actually helped your art and music?

Queenie: Some kids are born with attention deficit or hyperactivity. I was never hyperactive, but I was not a normal kid. I theorize that I am actually very mildly autistic and had more pronounced "symptoms" if you will, at a young age. As a child I had several episodes where I tuned out of reality and became catatonic for periods ranging from 5 minutes to an hour. Once I did this at age seven standing on an ice rink, and it took 45 minutes to shake me out of wherever I had gone. As I grew into my teens, I had disturbing experiences with lucid dreams that occasionally turned into hallucinations. I stayed away from drugs in high school mainly because it already seemed like I was on them. None of this led to an active or fulfilling social life so I became very withdrawn. Creativity wasn't something I understood then. I did not realize how crucial it was for me to create music and artworks, as my mental health to this day depends on it. For me, creativity is as necessary sustenance as food and shelter. I was diagnosed with severe depression as a teen and put on medications by well-meaning psychiatrists. To their objections, I later took myself off of antidepressant meds in my early twenties.

Shauna: What was it like attending music college? Can you tell us some of the experiences you had then?

Queenie: Musical college was more hard work than it was fun, but I continue to utilize what I learned there almost every day. I went to Chicago Musical College at Roosevelt University where I was educated by some of the most fabulous music teachers put on the planet. My skills were woefully inadequate from years of bad teachers and teaching myself, but I finally began to catch up pretty much just as I graduated. One of my best memories from music college was the friendship I had with a Ukranian piano player. I had helped him one day when he was suffering through the unit on tone rows. For those fortunate enough not to have experienced tone rows, they are a type of 20th Century music based on a simple mathematic theory. With his limited English my Ukranian friend was lost and desperate to find someone to explain the blasted things to him. I knew he was a great piano player far superior to myself, so I pulled him aside, not wanting to see such a great musician fail the unit. We became good pals after that, and I used to tell him tacky "This guy walks into a bar" jokes my Dad and brother brought home from the plant they worked at near Cicero. We've lost touch, unfortunately, mainly because of the awkwardness of adult male/female friendships. Chicago is referred to as the Silver City in one of my songs. At Roosevelt I was very deeply depressed, disillusioned, and intimidated by the city and its beauty, all the money constantly thrown around, the rich girls who never had to scrounge for change just to afford a 45 cent bag of pretzels in Union Station. In college I felt trapped, as I seldom had time for my own music. I had that despairing instinct that I was not furthering the type of music career that I wanted, that I should be out in Los Angeles or New York playing and singing in a dive bar trying to "make it", being romanced by sleazy producers. In hindsight, I'm glad my path led me where it did: independent music.

Shauna: What got you interested in medieval music?

Queenie:Medieval music has always been the most similar to the music I've always heard in my head. Not necessarily because it is what they call polyphonic, but mainly because of the instrumentation and the rhythms. So, yes, one could consider me a fan of the hertie gertie and the schaum, but I'm no scholar, I just like it. It enters my music subtly, mostly in my harmonies which sound Celtic or Native American rather than bluesy.

Shauna: Do you still teach piano to children? If I were 12 and came to you for lessons what could I expect?

Queenie: Yes, I'm currently teaching about 30 students and I have a thriving practice as a piano teacher. If you came to me for lessons, you'd be among a majority of girls your age at 12. I'd sit you down and make you warm up with a scale I expected you to half-memorize. Then, before you played the song that you'd prepared for the week, Skip to My Lou, I'd nudge you and ask my favorite question: "What Key is It In?" You would dutifully reply it is in G major because it one sharp. Then you'd play Skip To My Lou and if you played well you would be rewarded with a shiny sticker. Sometimes you would have composition assignments like create a waltz in C major. Once a year you'd play in a big recital in a recital hall and hopefully you would progress to cool pieces like Linus and Lucy, Mozart's Turkish Rondo, Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, and even some light jazz improvisation. I adore my students. I'm known as a relatively "hip" music teacher. My students learn plenty of jazz and Disney songs along with the usual suspects, Bach, Mozart, Kabalevsky.

Shauna: You've gained a lot of listeners from people through the internet, people who appreciate your talent and unique sound. And yet the major labels would still rather have Britney Spears. Do you have any comments on the music industry?

Queenie: I've seen a huge upward surge in my website hits lately, and I attribute this to more and more people seeking out musicians on the internet. The majors bank on Britney Spears because she isn't selling music. Music is hard to sell. It is far easier to sell lurid sexuality or controversy than it is to sell intelligent music. The public is fickle towards the big-label superstars, though, and growing portions of it constantly want real music from real musicians. It is these die-hard people who constitute my core listener base. Then there is the issue of free music. More and more people are computer-savvy and want free music for their iPod. I'm more than happy to provide it. With major label artists, you run a definite risk of being sued if you share music, even if you originally bought the song for 99 cents. I think that we are seeing the traditional music industry crumble before our eyes. It's a sinking ship, they've pandered to the lowest common denominator for too long. I think the majors will always have a foothold where hysterical screaming eleven year-old girls and teenage hoodlum Eminem wannabes are concerned, but the adult listening public is migrating towards independent music. Why? The free music, but also because to be independent is to respect a listener as a thinking person; whereas to Britney Spears, you are an automaton, a cashflow unit in a focus group.

Shauna: Ok Queenie. As a subscriber to your newsletter I am privy to much sought after, top secret--well, formerly top secret--Queenie information. That is, I actually know your real name. It is........(insert drum roll)....... Kimberly Steele! Woo hoo. Readers should make note of this since you're now writing under this name. I'd like to talk about your writing in a second, but first, will you give us the story on how you got the name Queenie?

Queenie: Yes, I'm Kimberly Steele. Queenie is a name I borrowed from a novel called "Queenie", the same novel that was made into a movie starring Mia Sara. Queenie or Queen is a common first name given to people of mixed ancestry, and I felt it suited me because of my mixed Japanese/German-Irish heritage. Queenie was also already famous when I assumed the name in the year 2001 because there was a British celebrity dog named Queenie at the time who has since passed away. It struck me as cute that I would have a name shared by many dogs, cats, and horses, and that I would come up on Google next to someone's pet hamster. I like my real name, but it is rather common after all and doesn't quite have the romance of my stage name Queenie Sataro. However, it is the perfect name for a novelist, nearly an homage to romance writer Danielle Steel.

Shauna: Now about your writing. I really thought I was the only songwriting female with a thing for writing vampire stories. Tell us about your novel "Forever Fifteen" and how people can get a copy of it?

Queenie: Yes, you have inspired me to publish a book on Lulu, and I cannot thank you enough. I've self-published in a very new form, the free audio novel. My book, "Forever Fifteen", is one of the only free audiobooks on the internet and is availble to stream or download from my website. You can download all of the 34 chapters for free to your MP3 player or iPod or listen directly from your computer. For those who prefer hard copy, the book is available through print-on-demand service Lulu for under 12 dollars.

Forever Fifteen is my novel about a teenage vampire who is shuffled into an arranged marriage shortly after her puberty in the late Middle Ages. The story follows her to the present day where she is reluctantly seduced by a high-school boy in a neighborhood that mimics the one I grew up in in suburban Chicagoland. I started writing Forever Fifteen one morning when I awoke bolt upright from a recurring dream. The characters came alive over several months and within two years I had completed and published the novel on Lulu. I drew upon my teenage obsession with Medieval era history and relived many painful memories of high school as the novel grew to completion. My novel is not a work of high art, but instead would appeal to fans of V.C. Andrews or Stephen King. It is compared to Pandora's Box by Anne Rice. It's a fun weekend read for fans of the vampire genre, a temporary diversion. I worried at one point that Forever Fifteen would be seen as controversial because of the mature sexual situations I depicted the character Lucy as having, but historically girls were married at a young age, and in the days of a more agrarian economy, girls married and had babies starting at age twelve.

Shauna: You're involved with charities and things. Which are you involved with presently?

Queenie: I have been involved with Women for Women International recently, Treats for Troops, and the American Red Cross. Currently, I am part of a compilation CD called Care Package that benefits victims of the Southeast Asian tsunamis. This CD is a great buy as you get a sampling of independent artists from all over the world and 95 percent of the proceeds go to charity. I'm trying to organize a Chicago leg of the Care Package tour which would mean a rare live performance from me here in the area.

Shauna: When is your CD "Dream of Flight" going to be released? Are most of these songs based upon real dreams you've had?

Queenie:Dream of Flight is coming out in June 2005, and I'm currently in post-production, and I am behind every part of the songwriting, singing, and production of this album except for the feature solos of world-famous violinist Edgar Gabriel. Two of the songs were taken from dreams. I'm very lucky to have received such an extensive musical education that I can identify pitches and write them down either by listening to them or hearing them in my head. The "Dream of Flight" title track began this way, literally from waking up and still hearing the music I had made up inside a dream, and so did "Voice in My Head". Coincidentally, both of these songs feature violin solos from Edgar Gabriel. Right now, you can obtain free songs that will be on Dream of Flight at Dreamofflight.com.

Shauna: It is tradition that I ask this. Who is your favorite Beatle?

Queenie: John Lennon. He had songwriting I could identify with, where McCartney and Harrison were too far indoctrinated into the executive-eighties-pop in their solo stuff, talented as they were, Lennon was more of an artist's artist.

Shauna: What music was the biggest influence on you growing up?

Queenie: I spent my childhood searching for music similar to what I heard in my head, but I found few composers or artists that matched. The new age movement in the late eighties that included Peter Gabriel, Sting, and Kate Bush came very close to my vision, so they became quick favorites. Goth rock Bauhaus survivor Peter Murphy wrote some wonderfully crafted songs, and goth music in general tends to appeal to me more than any other form of popular music. Of course there are the Classical composers among which my favorites are J.S. Bach, Camille Saint-Saens, and Chopin.

Shauna: What music do you listen to the most these days? Have any favorite artists?

Queenie: I listen to independent artists from CDBaby and my current favorite is Vienna Teng. She's very soulful and her voice is exact, precise, she's an artisan. I also like Heather Dale, a Canadian singer-songwriter who writes Enya-like songs with themes from Arthurian legend. She has earned her following and is another craftswoman of beautiful songs. I feel a camaraderie with indies like these two who have put their music CDs and MP3s out there. They are producing art music and a legacy for future musicians that is unmatched by anything in the non-indie world.

Shauna: Is there anything you'd like to shamelessly plug? If so, the floor is all yours.

Queenie: Visit my website, for the only whole free vampire audiobook on the internet, Forever Fifteen. Listen to my free music at my newest site Dreamofflight.com then visit the cool people at Carepackagecd.com Support independent artists on the internet--buy your music from CDBaby artists or download our music from iTunes, MusicMatch, or Rhapsody. If you are tired of the antics of the major labels, who add insult to injury by charging too much for music and then slapping listeners with lawsuits, act now by giving independent artists a chance and trying a CD from CDBaby. Because when you buy from me or other indies, you are part of a movement that is shaking the established music industry to its very core, which is you, the listener. When you become a Queenie listener, you are supporting my ability to create art music as a career. Your support may enable me to have time to perform live or even tour some day in your area. Really. Just from a 99 cent iTunes download of one of my tracks, or when you visit my website repeatedly. It doesn't seem like much, but you'd be amazed at how word-of-mouth can lead to an artist's success.

Shauna: Thanks for the interview, Queenie.

Queenie Thank you Shauna!!!