Victoria Love Interview

Victoria Love Interview

Victoria Love's industrial rock/world crossover music has a profound, fulfilling quality, as noted in this review of her EP just breathe on the blog Sappho's Torque: 'Imagine taking Arabic rhythms and then twisting them slightly to the side. Now fill the space with gothic-friendly vocals and a host of stringed instruments. Give lyrics with…relatable themes: redemptive love, righteous indignation, artistic passion. What you'll find when the dust settles is…a haunting five-track disc that will make you want more even if this isn't the sort of music you normally listen to."

Victoria Love (aka Monique Jamail) hails from Houston, Texas, and has been singing and writing music since 1994 as a self-taught artist. At barely 20 years old, she recorded an 11-song CD entitled Small Victories, which received tremendous positive feedback as it and her live shows grew in popularity in her hometown.

In 2002, after a successful tour, personal tragedy struck, and Love went through a period of self-doubt, hating everything she created, which led to an eight-year hiatus from her music. Looking back on that time of her life, she labels it her metamorphosis: her need to grow up, to ignite her soul. She rid herself of old habits and objects that reminded her of years of burnout, and when the purge ended, she returned to music in a searingly focused, dedicated way.

Among her accomplishments, Love has taught at The Famous Girls Rock Camp and founded 'Elle Acoustique," a regular event that celebrates women in music and is in the process of becoming a non-profit organization to support women's music education. In September 2011, she released her EP just breathe and is nearing the finish of her new album Ataraxis with the visionary producer James 'Roz" Rosnack from Neurotic Artist Studios in Austin, TX.

Love's music is soulful, introspective. The unique arrangements boast a sound that makes you pay attention from their first notes. Again from the Sappho's Torque review: 'The thing about this music is that the sound is so full, it's easy to recede into it, to let the layers of instrumentation…pile on top of you while your subconscious plays around with the vocals. It's a singularly fun experience to lose yourself in it for a while." As reviewer Senseitional in I Am Entertainment Magazine put it, 'Victoria Love's music is a breath of fresh air from all the monotony in music today. Love's voice, songwriting, and musicianship combined make her a force to be reckoned with, and I advise other female rockers to stay out of her way if [they] don't want to get [run] over."

Interview with Monique Jamail

Question: How would you describe Victoria Love?

Monique Jamail: I am a singer/songwriter from Texas. Nailing down a genre for my music has been a very difficult task. I have so many influences. I read articles all the time about how artists should label their music in order to make it easier for people to relate to you. It's all marketing, which makes sense, but it leaves artists like myself in a bit of a pickle. When I write songs, I write them on an acoustic guitar. A lot of my music is really dark though, so it just screams for more and more layers of sound. I play a lot of shows this way still. Just me and my guitar. However, if you listen to the Full Band versions of my songs, they sound quite different. It took me a long time, but I finally decided the closest I can get to describing this unique sound with a Genre Label is Industrial Rock/World Crossover. I believe it makes sense when you hear it. The grooves can get very Industrial (think Nine Inch Nails, etc) and I like my electric guitar very hard at times. I am Lebanese so middle eastern music has been a big influence on me my whole life. I remember listening to Arabic records and Elvis before I ever remember listening to popular radio. I am a huge fan of stringed instruments so I knew that having Cello and a Violin on my album was a must. These strings have really given the music a Gypsy Noir sound. The combination of all these individual styles has made something quite special in my opinion.


Question: Tell us about what Victoria Love has been up to, lately?

Monique Jamail: I released my EP, just breathe, at the end of 2011 and I am still working on finishing up the Full Length Album, Ataraxis. (Ataraxis: to live without anxiety) I hope to be releasing it in the early part of 2013. Truthfully, this album has been over a decade in the making, but I have been working with Producer, James "Roz" Rosnack out of Austin, TX, for the past 2 years putting it all together. I just finished shooting my very first Music Video (YAY!). I am very excited to see the finished work. Director/Producer David Craig from Fearless Films took this project on with me. It's more of a miniature movie than a music video. He was really great about working with me and we shared a very similar overall vision. I am bored by a lot of music videos out there today and I wanted something that really told a story. I have my Music Video Premier on November 10th at the place where we shot most of the video. It's a local place called The Avant Garden. It's beautiful, old, and very Gothic. It was the perfect place! Right now, I am working to finish my album, get another video going, and start putting a band together to play live shows with me. I am also nurturing my brainchild, Elle Acoustique. It's an event that I started a few years ago that celebrates Women in Music. Much like the Lilith Fair, but on a smaller scale and local. It features tons of great Texas Singer/Songwriters. I really think it's important to have events like this and there really weren't any anymore, so I started one. It's on it's way to becoming a non-profit with a focus on musical education for women and girls of all ages. I feel very passionately about sharing music and art. Teaching at Girls Rock Camp the past two years was just more confirmation for myself that that's what I want to do.


Question: Do you write your own songs? What's your inspiration?

Monique Jamail: I do write my own songs. It's not always easy for me since I don't have much of a technical background in music. I am mostly self-taught so I learned to read guitar tabs and then I just started figuring stuff out on my own. I was introduced to the music of Ani Difranco when I was a teenager, and I knew then that I wanted to be a songwriter. Before then, I just learned songs that I liked and played them in my room away from the judging eyes and ears of other people. I didn't even sing much before then. I really loved to sing, I just never thought I was any good. Ani's music, and everything that she is, empowered me. PJ Harvey has also been a huge inspiration. She is so weird and I love her for that. Both of these women are at the top of my list for amazing songwriters. When I really need some inspiration, I go see live shows, or listen to my favorite artists. I use to spend hours a day just listening...really listening to music. I still do, but most of the time now, it's while I'm doing other things. The older we get, the more we must do. Sometimes I just want to be that teenage girl who use to sit in her bedroom and just listen. I learned more from music than I ever did from any school.

Question: What music/artists do you listen to when you are not playing your own?

Monique Jamail: Oh, the list goes on and on. As I mentioned before, I have so many influences. Ani Difranco and PJ Harvey are at the top of my list for a slew of reasons, but I have many many favorites from all different genres and walks of life. Jeff Buckley, Massive Attack, Sinead O'Connor, Amar Diab (arabic singer), Portishead, Tool, Delirium, Fiona Apple, Sarah Mclachlan, Mazzy Star, Poe, Coldplay, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails. I mean, I really could list so many. People like Trent Rezner, Thom Yorke, and Maynard James Keenan are examples of leads from bands that went off and did their own side projects that were equally as amazing as their original works.


Question: What's next? Tour/Album/Single?

Monique Jamail: Well, I will be putting a band together as soon as I get closer to finishing the album. (in a couple of months or so) I will absolutely be taking that band with me on the road. My first single ('Yours for the Taking') will be released with this music video that is premiering on November 10th. I'm stoked to share it. We remixed the song and it is really going to take people's breath away. At least, it does, mine.


Question: Was there a moment you contemplated throwing in the towel?

Monique Jamail: Oh, yes! Not just one moment, and I actually did for 8 years. This is not the type of career I would choose if I wanted a secure and easy life. After pursuing music really hard for a few years, I gave up. It was just too hard for me to handle. I had a nervous breakdown after I came back from tour in 2002. I tried doing everything else with my life. I started my own business, I started organizations, I worked a dozen different jobs, but I have no choice. Music is everything to me. I was so empty without it. I believe that we are all born with different gifts. When you are given something special, you just can't ignore it or try to be someone else. It doesn't work. When I decided to move back home to Houston after 11 years on my own in Austin, I jumped head first back into music and I have not looked back at all. I have amazing support from my family and friends, and I will not stop until my dream becomes my reality. It's absolutely worth all the pain and hardships. I don't really want to be living with my parents at age 32, but I am doing something much bigger than myself right now. This is the only way to afford it, so there you have it.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Monique Jamail: I love them both. They are two completely different worlds of music. Recording is fun because you can try everything. It's like building a masterpiece and you take your time with it. For now, my performances have a very large improvisational element to them. I like to grab up other musicians and just throw them on the stage with me. Every performance is unique because of this. I have been privileged enough to play with some very talented artists. My recordings and my live shows are very different, as I'm sure you can imagine. When the album is finished I will put a full band together to perform what we have done in the studio, but until then, I like to just get up there with whoever is willing at the time and go for it. Just share what we have inside us with the audience. I have to admit, I have noticed that a show like this really captures people's attention and respect. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that there it's raw. There is something beautiful about that.


Question: What/who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?
Monique Jamail: I don't know that I have much inspiration to be a part of the Industry per se, that's just something that comes along with doing my passion for a living. Music though, I think I covered that before. It's just who I am. It's been a part of me since before I knew my own name. It will never leave me.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?

Monique Jamail: It's hard to say what the biggest challenge is. I'm still meeting new challenges all the time. However, right now it feels like I'm living the hardest challenge every single day. I'll try to explain. Two years ago, I moved back home. My job wasn't making enough money to live on, my love life was a disaster and my emotions were unstable, I hadn't played my guitar in 8 years, and I was a real mess. I was in a lot of pain all the time from issues I had with my body and I just lost who I was completely. This was several years in the making, I suppose. It was like lava had been slowly forming inside me and my whole life exploded like a volcano, all at once. About a month after I moved back home, I was rushed to the hospital to undergo a major surgery. The point of moving back home was to focus on music, get caught up financially, and put myself back together again. I planned on a year to get back on my feet and then I would come back to Austin. Surgery set me back about 3 months. Then I started to get back on my feet and climb out of debt. I started recording my album and things were going awesome. Truly on my way, until I had to undergo two more major surgeries. So once again, I was set back. I went from really catching speed on shaping my new life to sitting on the couch not physically able to do anything. It's been up and down and I have gone from one job to two jobs to one again. I struggle with my body everyday trying to regain strength. I have been away from all of my friends for two years now and what I thought would be a bump in the road has turned into the highest mountain. I have been completely isolated from everyone I love (except for my family because they are here in Houston) and I work relentlessly just to create an opportunity to be who I am. People that I thought really loved me, just seemed uninterested in keeping in touch. I try not to let it get to me, but it's really lonely at times. I just work harder though. I don't allow myself any days off. I don't go out and meet new friends or go on dates or do any of the things that most people my age do because I don't have the time. I'm already in my thirties and there are kids touring the world right now with their music. I'm so far behind in my own life. Living this life, right now, is my biggest challenge. It would be easy to give up, but I have been down that road and it's not worth living.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Monique Jamail: Well, I wouldn't say that I have many typical days, to be honest. I can tell you what I'm doing this week though. I wake up and I work on music and social media until I run out of time. Then I do my physical therapy and I go to work. I have several events and projects going on all the time so a big portion of my energy goes toward planning those things. I don't actually play music anywhere near as much as I wish I could, but all of this hard work will allow me to one day in the near future


Question: What has been your favourite part of becoming a music artist?

Monique Jamail: The moments that I get to sit on the stage or in the studio and offer up what's inside me. Those are the moments I do everything else for.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Monique Jamail: That list is way too long. I would love to work with Ani Difranco, or PJ Harvey of course. I have many people on my list that I would feel honoured just to meet, not to mention sing or play the guitar with. Now, this is kind of an interesting dream that most people don't know about me. I would really love to work with Massive Attack. I have a huge passion for Trip Hop. They work with a lot of great female vocalists and to be on that list would really make me feel accomplished and special.

Question: Do you have a website fans can visit?

Monique Jamail: I do. I have tons of social media profiles and places to listen, but the main hub is my website www.VictoriaLoveMusic.com


Question: Can you tell us 5 things required for a happy healthy & enjoyable life?

Monique Jamail: The serious answer? It's different for everyone, but for me: 1) Physical health. You really don't have anything without it.
2) Passion. Not just to be passionate about something, but to be able to take part in whatever it is.
3) Love. I don't care who you are, without love, life is incredibly lonely.
4) Support. Everyone needs a support system because life is tough!
5) Peace. This may be the hardest to achieve. You have to find some sort of inner peace within yourself. For some people, they find it through religion. Others may find it through meditation or physical activity. This is really the key to happiness, in my opinion. If you have this, you can do anything!


Question: What message would you like your music to say to your fans?

Monique Jamail: Every song has a different message. They are all stories meant to be shared and heard. Right now, if I had to pick a message, it would be to follow your dreams and don't ever give up on what's important. My mom always tells me not to sweat the small stuff. I never really understood what qualified as the 'small stuff' until I was forced under the knife three times. It's a surprisingly long list. You have to be able to step away and have fun.


Question: What is the story behind the band's name?

Monique Jamail: I wish it was more exciting, but it's just a name I gave myself in High School. I never started the 'Victoria Love Band' like I wanted to back then, but the name is extremely appropriate for me now.


Interview by Brooke Hunter