An Interview With Edward Sylvan
My grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer so I felt very connected and moved by Music Beats Cancer’s mission. Being able to raise money for such a good cause was truly an honor.
As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Melroze.
Inspired by vulnerability and being her true self, Nashville-based pop artist Melroze is not afraid of sharing the realities of her resilient character through her music. Influenced by dark pop, acoustic, and electronica genres, Melroze stands out with her ability to make people feel, and think about the words she includes within her intricate songwriting skills.
Studying classical voice in college, Melroze was inspired to start writing her own songs and eventually moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. In 2014, she performed at the Troubadour Club in London, a stage that brought us the talents of Ed Sheeran, Adele, and Bob Dylan. Influenced by bands such as Evanescence and the Cranberries, Melroze took a deeper stride at songwriting by collaborating with funk/R&B producer Ryan Prewett in 2019 to record her next project to be released this year. In hopes of sharing the importance of genuineness with her fans, Melroze is eager to share her newest releases in hopes of inspiring others to always be true to themselves.
Thank you so much for joining us on this interview series. Can you share with us the backstory that led you to this career path?
Thank you for having me! I started playing piano when I was 11 and started writing piano themes when I was 14. I always dreamed of writing movie soundtracks, so piano themes were my attempt at writing melodies I thought could be “themes” for characters in movies or tv shows. When I was 18 I got accepted into the Florida State University’s Vocal Performance Program and I learned a lot about how to control my voice. Even though I ultimately ended up leaving the music program, I still graduated with a degree in English and I wrote pop songs the whole time I was in school. When I left college I moved to Nashville and started writing with different co-writers and I decided to put up a post on Facebook asking about which pop producers in Nashville might be interested in producing some pop songs I had written. I had a lot of people comment, but I ended up picking Ryan Prewett and together we recorded 6 songs. So far 5 of the songs have been released and in that time I’ve been on the radio, gotten a couple of sync licensing opportunities, and even got a chance to perform virtually for a conference in Nashville! It’s been a wild ride, but I’m very grateful to be able to release my music; it has been a dream come true.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?
When I first moved to Nashville, I got a job working at a restaurant called “Noshville” in a part of town called “Green Hills” as a hostess. Vince Gill used to eat there almost every morning and one day my shift was just really slow and I took a seat beside him at the bar. He was always so kind and he had a conversation with me for maybe 5–10 minutes. I was asking him for advice on how he kept going in music and he told me this incredible story about how he opened for Kiss one time and the audience booed him and he said it with a huge smile on his face. That’s when I realized: What if he had given up on music after that? Hearing that someone as great as Vince Gill had to go through that really inspired me to keep going with my own musical dreams. It taught me that even great artists have bad gigs and not to stop trying just because you haven’t found the right venue or the right listener. Keep going.
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
More than anything I would say: write songs you would want to listen to. Don’t lay awake at night asking yourself what other people want to hear. Authenticity is what attracts people to you and the audience will find you if you keep experimenting with how and where you release your music.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?
In terms of a person who has made a profound impact on me, I would have to say: my dad. He told me all the time when I was a kid that all he expected from me was that I was happy. Then he would follow that up with “And that’s harder than you think it is.” He is always very optimistic and open-minded. He’s never a critic. He always has a lot of respect for artists and creative people. I would still consider him to be my best friend.
How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you’re working on right now?
I recently had a chance to partner with a charity called Music Beats Cancer that funds entrepreneurs developing new cancer treatments. With the help of my fans, we raised almost $3,000 for MBC and my hope is that through those donations I am able to help people with cancer to receive cutting-edge treatments.
Can you share with us a story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
My grandmother passed away from pancreatic cancer so I felt very connected and moved by Music Beats Cancer’s mission. Being able to raise money for such a good cause was truly an honor.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
I hope that the small part I have done thus far to help raise money to fund cancer research would help even one person to survive this devastating illness.
Are there three things or are there things that individuals, society, or the government can do to support you in this effort?
I would ask anyone (and we have all been touched by cancer) if they would please consider making a donation to Music Beats Cancer by going to this link: https://musicbeatscancer.org/campaign/
By raising money for new and cutting edge research, we can create a better world where cancer isn’t so devastating
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started”
- Learn how to “hang out.” Become a professional “hanger-out-er.” Music is a very social business and a lot of opportunities can come your way because of networking. Be open to making new friends at every level- friends who want to be producers, writers, or artists.
- Embrace the reality that music is a very visual art form at this point. Have a style. Do some creative photoshoots. Try to include a picture in everything that you post on social media. This helps people start to recognize you and, in a way, get to know you.
- While you should never try to copy anyone, try to at least associate yourself with an act or an artist that is recognizable. If somebody asks you what type of music you make and you answer is “it’s kinda hard to describe” they probably aren’t going to know what to do with that information. If you say instead “Imagine if Amy Lee, Sarah McLachlan, and Banks had a baby” (which is how I would describe my own music!) then that person has some kind of idea of what you do and they have a much better chance of investing energy into checking out your music.
- Don’t get discouraged if you don’t have overnight success; start with a 1-year plan to start thinking ahead and making some goals. Also: understand what success means to you. Everybody’s version of success is different.
- Say yes to everything when you start out- podcast interviews, gigs at bars and restaurants, collaborating with other artists or writers, writer’s nights. Once you make a small group of trusted friends or people whose work you admire and want to work with, you can start being pickier about what you say yes to. But if you start out being picky you’ll miss a lot of chances to make potential connections and friends who will become your lifelong colleagues and partners.
You’re a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I am blessed to have a following of friends and fans of my music. I hope that I can inspire them with my music. To elaborate on what we spoke about earlier, Supporting Music Beats Cancer is an organization close to my heart. I hope to continue to help raise funding for cancer research so in the future, more people will get more time with their loved.
Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote? And can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
I live by the quote “Learn how to rest instead of quit.” When I was 26, I decided to give up on music. I was exhausted by trying and still feeling like nothing I did was working. About two years later, the itch to record new songs hit me again and I realized: I was ready to try again. I needed all that “rest” to come to terms with what my definition of success was and to figure out why I had quit in the first place. I was just too young to understand that I had to take charge of every aspect of my career instead of waiting for someone else to come along and take charge for me. I’ve done more in the last 2 years than I had in the previous 6. I think you always need to commit yourself to resting, not quitting. Time off renews your drive and you need to have a lot of energy to push yourself in a field like this.
We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
There are so many interesting people I would love to meet! But currently, I would absolutely love to have a meeting with Ryan Tedder. He’s a world-class pop songwriter who has written SO MANY of my favorite songs- “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis, “Rumour Has It” by Adele, “Halo” by Beyonce….the list just goes on and on. I tune in to watch him on “Songland” all the time and I even bought one of his online production and songwriting courses to learn from him. He has a really laid-back and casual approach that makes songwriting seem like fun instead of like it’s scary or intimidating. If we had a private breakfast or lunch, I think I’d spend the whole time asking him what his favorite songs were to write and about his experiences working with the artists he’s worked with. He’s someone I truly respect and think would be a lot of fun to both work with and just have a conversation with.
Thank you so much for these amazing insights. This was so inspiring, and we wish you continued success!
Music Stars Making A Social Impact: Why & How Melroze Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.