Reno News and Review - Thursday June 22, 2000

15 Minutes

by Chris Frosini


ERIKA PAUL

After playing gigs for eight years in the San Francisco Bay Area and 10 years in the Reno-Sparks area, Erika Paul knows how to swing. Not only does she play the piano, but she also sings, manages her own jazz band and gives music lessons. But Erika doesn't gripe about her busy life. She says she's just glad she has the opportunity to jazz up the Reno music scene.

WHAT'S AN AVERAGE DAY LIKE FOR YOU?

I wake up about 8 a.m. and begin my day with lessons; I give both piano and voice lessons. Then I have a little break in the afternoon before I go to my night job at the Monte Vigna Restaurant inside the Atlantis. I sing and play piano five days a week there. I also have other side projects that keep me pretty busy.

DO YOU LIKE TEACHING OR PERFORMING BETTER? DO YOU LIKE TEACHING PIANO OVER VOICE LESSONS?

To tell you the truth, I can't say I like one over the other. The two go hand-in-hand. It's the same for lessons. They're both so different that you just like them for different reasons.

WHEN DID YOU KNOW MUSIC WAS IN YOUR FUTURE?

Ever since I was 6, I've known that I had to be a performer. My parents couldn't really afford music lessons until I was 10, so up until then I was self-taught. The singing thing came later when I went to college. I was really fascinated with jazz pianists that sang too. Right about that time, I started to merge my music so that I was taking on both disciplines at once.

WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS ARE YOU CURRENTLY INVOLVED IN?

Right now I'm organizing some free shows for Uptown Downtown ARTown's jazz and blues concert series. We're really excited about this because it gives us a chance to get jazz out there to the public. I'm also working on my sixth album. I'll be writing six new songs as well as playing some older tunes. As far as long-term goals, I just want people to begin to appreciate jazz again. Right now, the music is so undervalued because it's not that popular. In the last few years, my band and I have played at over 35 elementary schools to 15,000 kids who had never even heard of jazz. But when they walked out of there, their faces were just glowing, and they were so excited about the music.

WHAT CDS ARE ON ROTATION IN YOUR STEREO RIGHT NOW?

I'm really into the female jazz singers who play piano, such as myself. Shirley Horn and Diana Krall are just amazing. David Koz, who was just at the Atlantis, has a really good sound. I've been listening to his albums a lot. However, it's important to remember that with music, you have to listen to everything. Musicians are constantly looking for new ideas, and by listening to some old stuff, you can take what you've heard and build on it, and make it your own.