Nico Vega
By Alex Teitz
| Nico Vega started as a band in 2005. Although they’ve gone through many changes, they’ve always been characterized by overflowing energy and the driving force of frontwoman, Aja Volkman. Nico Vega was one of the first signings of MySpace Records and allowed them to release their self-titled debut full length album. The follow-up, Lead To Light, was released earlier this year and was funded, in part, by a PledgeMusic Campaign. The single “I Believe (Get Over Yourself)” is highly addictive and filled with pop hooks. For years Nico Vega could be found touring the nation in small clubs building a small but faithful following. Since 2010 Nico Vega has been doing stadium shows as part of the Imagine Dragons tour. This is not by luck. Volkman is married to Dan Reynolds of Imagine Dragons. FEMMUSIC has been wanting to speak with Volkman for many years. We were honored to be able to do an e-mail interview recently. For info visit nicovega.com |
FEMMUSIC: Can you describe your songwriting technique?Aja Volkman: I always write about my life experiences or the life experiences of those that I am close to. I am a collaborator for the most part. As a band Nico Vega writes all of our songs together and we have worked with several different producers.FEMMUSIC: What was the biggest challenge making Lead To Light?AV: Getting the record finished and released was a huge feat! When we write it seems like it takes a long time to pull the collection of songs together and release something that we all feel solid about. We have a lot of extra material.FEMMUSIC: How did you meet & decide to work with Tony Hoffer for Lead to Light?AV: We worked with him on only 2 of the songs and it was a total pleasure. Funny enough, we have been talking about it for years and it finally happened. We have a mutual friend that was trying to get us in the same room. Eventually we had the opportunity and it worked out. He is really great to work with!FEMMUSIC: Talk to me about Five Seven Music. After Myspace Records what made you decide to sign to another label? Since Lead to Light was partially crowdfunded, what benefits does Five Seven Music give to you for this & other projects?AV: It’s nice to have other people helping to put things together behind the scenes. We have done a ton of licensing and a ton of touring. Five Seven is an indie label, so they have not been able to fund everything that a building band needs, but they have certainly done their part to get this band off the ground. It’s been a nice partnership and we also trust them a lot. On a side note, things got a lot more expensive for us once I had a child whom I insist on taking with me everywhere…hence the Pledge Campaign. We had to get creative to come up with ways to raise money so that we could continue to be mobile as a band. Now that licensing has taken off, it really has helped a lot as well.FEMMUSIC: You’ve now toured many years with Imagine Dragons. Does touring with you own band and your husband’s band put a strain on the relationship? Conversely what benefits does it give you both?AV: It’s the best thing for us both because we get to be together as a family. Also, they are always cheering us on and we cheer them on as well. We, of course, love playing for our own audience as we feel we get to take more liberties. It’s no easy thing to jump on stage every night and try to win over an arena of people who don’t know who you are and don’t really care. Luckily, Imagine Dragons fans are about the nicest group of people I have crossed paths with. They just want to have fun and tend to be drawn to empowering music so it’s been a nice fit.FEMMUSIC: How has your music changed from what you envisioned when you started?AV: It’s been a roller coaster of experimentation. We write music that is like a soundtrack of whatever we are going through. None of it is ever the same. Sometimes that works against us.FEMMUSIC: What one thing would you like to change about the music industry itself?AV: I would like to have more access to people. Radio is a really hard thing to break and without it you can really only get so far. I wish there was a more open format for new music to reach the public. The internet is like an overload of information, so everything gets lost. I suppose licensing is the new radio, but that’s no easy thing to get either.FEMMUSIC: As a woman in the music industry, have you been discriminated against?AV: Not openly, but I would say that I have been at many festivals where I am the only female singer and in a lot of cases the only female musician. It makes me think sometimes that my chances of reaching a larger audience could be lessened, but I am not sure. I don’t let it affect me.FEMMUSIC: If you could collaborate with one artist who would it be and why?AV: In terms of music, I suppose I wish I could collaborate with Angelo Badalamenti on a David Lynch soundtrack. Hahaha. I would like to score a David Fincher film. Those are both pretty far off, but who cares.FEMMUSIC: What advice would you give to a musician just starting out?AV: Treat it like a job. Work harder than you ever imagined you would…And love what you do!!