Usertika + Musician in Vancouver, BC

SEEKING

ABOUT

I'm interested in getting back to my roots of songwriting and singing...I left the country for several years working abroad- it was during this time that I lost my connection with the music scene, and now I'm looking for the right people to reclaim that passion with!!

I began writing as early as 13, bought my first guitar (Ovation) at 16 and quickly emersed myself in the local music scene in Vancouver. I performed at a lot of open mic nights, recorded/wrote music with many a friend over the years, and eventually sang full time as lounge entertainment on the local dinner ships in Van. But my trip hop/dj projects were my heart and soul.

When I play/write on guitar it's more folky stuff with a dark'ish sweet sounding thing. In acapella, my voice has a very jazz and soul/r&b fused feel. I also play a little digeridoo. Odd add to the mix, I know...but just one of those things I picked up along the way :)

The 3 tracks on the audio tab here span styles from as far back as 20 yrs old- up til Feb 2010.

Dark Horse: Recorded in a cabin on a cruise ship. Feb 2010 Thanks Tony :)

I Dig It: (My first crack at producing, Nov 2008 have patience- the vocals come middle to end. Now that I have a proper mic, I'll prob re-mix it very soon...(Thank you Tom Lee Boxing Week Sale for all my new gear!!!)

Sunbleached and Faded: (my "I hate my boyfriend" stage. appropriately written around 21 yrs of age :)

Interesting how I "get it" a little more now after listening to my older stuff...I'm a lot pitchier then than I am now, so it's cool to see my vocal progression...Hope you like it...please leave me your comments :)

You can reach me at crystalle79 at dot com

Look forward to talking to you soon. C

Screen name:

Usertika

Member since:

Sep 06 2008

Active over 1 month ago

Level of commitment:

Committed

Years playing music:

13

Gigs played:

50 to 100

Tend to practice:

More than 3 times per week

Available to gig:

2-3 nights a week

Influences

I'm a trip hop kind of girl, major influences and favorites are:

Thievery Corporation
Zero 7
Imogen Heap/Frou Frou
Conjure One
Tricky/Faithless
Massive Attack
iiO/Nadia Ali
Daft Punk
Portishead
Metric
Arcade Fire
The Shins
Bjork
Erykah Badu
Lauren Hill
Manu Chao
Mars Volta
Sarah Vaughn
Edith Piaf
...

Kinda scattered near the end, but I'm into most anything apart from rap and new country...really looking for someone who can produce great tracks or someone who wants a a partner in crime for songwriting and singing.

EQUIPMENT

Ovation Medium belly acoustic guitar (with a built in mini-pre-amp/pick up)

Shure KSM 27 Cardioid Condensor mic (Studio basket mic)

2 Digeridoos! (haha!)

ZOOM HD8 track recorder with built in D&B machine

Joemeek compressor/pre-amp

Boss Loop Station RC-2 effects pedal

Two 5" Rokit Monitors

mic stand/pop guard

MUSIC