Review Fix chats with singer/songwriter Theresa, who discusses her origin in music and new single, “Be By Your Side.â€
About Teresa:
Born and raised on Long Island, New York, Theresa had aspirations in becoming a musician since childhood. She wrote her first song at age 11 and closely studied the careers of Madonna and other stars of the 80s. Working to make her dream into a reality, she formed The Yips, a rock band in her early 20’s, in which she was the lead singer and lyricist. After a string of unforeseen traumatic events, she decided to put her dreams aside. With a strong passion for all things music, Theresa re-focused her music career to work behind the scenes, taking roles at Jive Records and Sheryl Crow’s management company, W Management. Presently, as an established music advertising executive, Theresa has reignited her long-standing passion for songwriting and performing while sharing her story with the world – one song at a time.
Review Fix: How did you get involved in music?
Theresa: My involvement in music started at a very young age. I was a kid who was always singing along with the radio, begging my father to buy me the albums by the artists I was starting to idolize. I literally wanted to be Madonna – and started to write songs while dreaming of my popstar future. Throughout my teenage years, life got super tough, but I still had hopes of one day achieving my early goals. When things didn’t go for me as planned in my mid-twenties, I started to lose self-confidence and began making up excuses as to why I couldn’t be in the spotlight (ie: “I’m not good enoughâ€, “I’m not pretty enoughâ€, etc). I started working behind the scenes in the music industry – first by taking internship and assistant positions at Jive Records and with Sheryl Crow’s management company, W Management…later landing as a music executive in advertising. However, two short years ago, I re-discovered my passion for my own music and have been pursuing my dreams of becoming the pop artist and songwriter that I always wanted to be.
Review Fix: What inspires you?
Theresa: I am lucky that I find inspiration on a daily basis. In the past year, I’ve been practicing meditation and living more in the moment. I feel like the space I’ve been able to create in my mind, body and soul have led me to have more bandwidth to feel thoughts and emotions that I might have tried to block out or simply not allow in while dwelling on bullshit. I get inspired by my past experiences, future self, former loves, beautiful days, cloudy skies and most recently by the passing of my beloved cat, Sprinkles.
Review Fix: What does music mean to you?
Theresa: Music is life. Through every moment in my life, whether it’s good or bad or in between, there has been a song in my head helping set the stage for what I needed right then and there.
Review Fix: How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard you?
Theresa: POP. POP. POP. I love pop music and proud to be an honest pop artist and songwriter.
Review Fix: How are your live shows different from your studio work?
Theresa: Ask me again in about 6 months once I get the band back together! I literally had my first rehearsal with my killer band the night before we all went into quarantine. But live shows are most definitely in my future!!
Review Fix: What inspired your latest single?
Theresa: My latest single, “By Your Sideâ€, is about a person who is no longer in my life, but I will always leave the door open to some sort of reconciliation. Although the song itself is about a love interest, I find there are people who have come and gone but our story is far from over. Sometimes a bond is too strong to say goodbye forever…it’s all about forgiveness and acceptance of the past and an appreciation of an unknown future.
Review Fix: What are your goals for 2021?
Theresa: My goal for 2021 is plain and simple – to keep going! I’ve come such a long way over the past two years as an artist, writer and most importantly, a woman. I’ve dedicated a lot of my time and energy into pursuing my dreams and I get such a high when looking back at all I accomplished. There is something driving me to do what I do, and my inner voice is pushing me to go even further on my journey. To quote my song, “Marathon†– ‘I won’t stop til I get to the top and when I’m on top I will not stop!’
Review Fix: What’s next?
Theresa: My next single, “Level Upâ€, will be released in early May! In the meantime, I will be writing and recording new material – and hopefully playing live very, very soon!
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