Vernon Morning Star - melissa jameson - Sep 4, 2005

Music has always been a part of who Christina Schmolke is. She wrote her first song when she was just eight-years-old.

"It's just been an evolution for me," said the former Vernon resident of her songwriting. "As I've grown, my songs have grown."

"I grew up taking lessons from Elizabeth Scott. She taught me a lot about singing classically."

Schmolke, who now lives in Edmonton, recently put the finishing touches on her three-song demon CD.

"Right now I'm trying to get my name out more," said the 24-year-old. She's currently working on applying for grants through the Alberta Foundation for the Arts. Schmolke, who was recently in Vernon to visit family, describes her sound as a fusion of pop, jazz, soul and funk.

"I draw a lot from urban artists who unfortunately aren't that well known in Canada," she said.

Among her major influences Schmolke notes Annie Lennox, Jill Scott and Erika Badu.

"Those artists just really help focus what I want to do," she said. A weekly gig on Whyte Avenue in Edmonton also helped Schmolke to hone her performance skills as well as her sound.

On her return to Alberta's capital she'll begin rehearsals with a trio comprised of herself, a bass player and a drum player. Playing bass with Schmolke will be Dan Churchill and Fred Brenton will be on drums. While struggling to get a grant to further her music career may seem like enough work, Schmolke balances her passion for music with another love.

"Music was my minor in university," said Schmolke, who majored in psychology.

"My whole life I've had two passions. One is people and the other is music.

"A lot of times they overlap."

Currently Schmolke works as a suicide intervention trainer, is involved with the Edmonton Distress line where she provides training for the volunteers, and also works with Community Connections which helps people in need to find community shelters, counseling and food banks.

With all her time spent working, one might wonder where she finds the time for her music.

"Music is something that's a priority for me," said Schmolke. "It's a way of dealing with life experiences. I just can't avoid music. If I didn't do music I wouldn't be a fun person."

While Schmolke says she felt she needed to leave Vernon in order to grow, she also gives the city credit in shaping her as an artist.

"Vernon gave me a lot of opportunities," said Schmolke, who graduated from Vernon secondary school.

"Vernon is very culturally rich in spite of its small size. I had opportunities to do musical theatre, dance, drama and music. "I never felt starved for opportunities."

Schmolke also gives much credit to well known Vernon singing teacher Elizabeth Scott.

"She always raised the bar a bit higher.

"Vernon seems to have a lot of musical acts. I learned a lot about professionalism. The teachers I had helped. I still keep in touch with Elizabeth. She's like family to me."

Schmolke says her decision to move to Edmonton was one that came instinctively.

"I knew I needed to be comfortable wherever I lived, but I also needed to be challenged," she said

While music will indefinitely be a part of what makes up the inner workings of the young performer, she is also a realist.

"I know music is generally not a very lucrative career," said Schmolke. "I'm realistic in terms of where my priorities go in terms of supporting myself financially."

But at the same time, she's still optimistic.

"That's the thing about life. You don't know what will happen. Either way it's important for me to feel fulfilled whether it's performing or writing or just pushing myself creatively.

"I feel like I'm starting on this path and taking it to a different level."

Schmolke also looks to push herself when it comes to her songwriting.

"The melody seems to come to me really easy. I sit at the piano every day and practise or just create. I try different chord progressions and one will strike me and resonate with how I'm feeling emotionally. It's a way of creating a tangible outcome."

When it comes to lyrics, Schmolke says they sometimes come easily, but most of the time she has to work on the words for her songs.

"It's really easy to fall into generic patterns," she said. "I try to push past that. I want something to say. "I'm not the first person to write about love or social situations. I want to make it more novel and come at it from a different angle."

For now, Schmolke is busy balancing her love of music and people.

"The next step is doing a lot of performing and applying for grants," she said. "It's a new challenge."

Along with her already hectic schedule, Schmolke is also looking to record a full-length album in the next year.

To hear Schmolke's demo's or for more information, visit her website, wwww.Christina-music.com.