Interview with Sal Cano

 
Finding your best friend usually doesn't happen for most people at 8-years-old; it did for Amanda Sena the moment music captivated her.

Sena knows people roll their eyes when she lets them know her dreams of getting in a raggedy old van, traveling from city to city, doing show after show. Sena admits she's okay with taking criticism and questioning herself, but is confident she's pretty good at what she does.

With three albums under her belt and opening for artists like Jessica Simpson and Alanis Morissette, Sena waits patiently for the opportunity to showcase her talent to anyone who will listen. I recently spent an afternoon with the aspiring musician in the comfort of her home.

Sal: Since recording your first record five years ago you've been classified as "up and coming"—is there a moment when that title changes to "overlooked"?

Amanda: I think when I throw in the towel. When I stop recording and doing shows and I promote myself as someone who had done all of this. I don't know if the press and media ever draw that line for you, I think it's all about the artist.

S: What do you feel you offer now as an artist that you didn't five years ago?

A: I was listening to my old songs and I noticed a lot of them, just musically, have the same chords. It's really weird cause you can tell when someone starts off, all they know is a certain amount of chords. Now, I'm using chords I don't even know the names of because I'm putting my fingers in different positions. I'm experimenting more, venturing out of the same melody and my words can say different things. I'm trying to use different arrangement of words, different references and different rhyme schemes and trying to tell more stories. There's a lot I've experienced over the past years I wouldn't have been able to sing about when I was 18.

S: One thing you have experienced recently is the passing of your father, which occurred right around the time you recorded the track "Upstairs" which coincidentally deals with death. Was it hard to differentiate the two?

A: Yes! The words mean so much and the overall idea and concept of the song definitely deals with my father. "Upstairs" is a song about missing someone who passed away and even though I didn't write the song for him, it took a lot to convince myself the song was intended for someone else. I kept telling myself to stay strong and cry after the session or on the way home, just not during the recording time.
My father will have a song of his own soon. I want to write a song about that event, I want to sit down and give him a song, but my emotions won't let me do that yet, I need some leeway time before I can physically take myself out of the situation.

S: Would such a song be something you could perform or is there a point where a song is too personal?

A: As a performer I understand there are songs you want to keep to yourself. I don't know if I could ever perform the song. I probably wouldn't be able to. It's one thing to go in the studio, in a safe zone and record something around people you know and people you trust, but I don't know if I would have the guts to go on stage and pour my soul out like that.

S: Can a songwriter successfully write about an experience they have never dealt with?

A: Writing a song well is all about how you can act it out in your head, how much imagination you have and then choosing your words wisely. It's based on "the idea of…" It's thinking about how I would feel if my parents died tomorrow or how good it would feel if I found the perfect person. It's taking these tiny things and putting them under a magnifying glass and exaggerate and exaggerate. You have to get into get into character. If you're going to write a sad song you have to reenact sadness.

S: Does it help when you look at musicians you've been compared to like Michelle Branch and Jewel, who have been successful despite not living up to physical standards of society?

A: It does help that I hide behind a guitar and piano, but people still size you up and down like a pop princess and they question: Can you sell? Sex does sell. I don't think I could go to a show in a beige hoody and flip-flops, and my hair in a messy ponytail and still sell as many CDs as compared to when I go in a nice outfit.

S: Does the amount of records an artist sells reflect the quality of music?

A: Numbers help an artist, but they don't justify talent. A lot of records sold are based on loyalty to the artist and the fact that something is new. An artist can put out one single prior to the release of an album and it can be really deceiving because the album is nothing like that one song. So you can get the numbers, but it doesn't mean it was a great album, it means you had a great single.

S: In this industry what do you feel separates who makes it and who doesn't?

A: I'd like to believe the hard worker makes it because it's something I pride myself in, but this industry is a business and you need to know someone. I don't think you can't just submit good material anymore. No matter what you do, there is someone who has probably already done it, and may have done it better than you. It's that little ounce of difference that separates each artist and, for me, I hope that difference is based on effort.