Today we’d like to introduce you to Tatiana Erse.
Hi Tatiana, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hello! First of all, thanks for having me! It’s a pleasure to be part of this project. So, i started with my love for music at a very young age. Brazilian culture surrounds us with music and it becomes a very natural and organic way of expression. All of my friends played guitar and sang, it was as usual as getting up in the morning so, I learned guitar at age 13 and started writing songs.
At age 17, I moved to California to come live with my mother, who had come a couple of years before.
Faced with this new life, I saw an opportunity I didn’t think I’d ever have! Suddenly, here i am, in Hollywood!
With little time, I made friends who were doing music full time and encouraged me to give it a try and with a “I don’t have anything to lose” mentality, I went for it.
Since then, I’ve grown as a person, as an artist, as a woman and as a business person. Met incredibly talented and hard-working musicians, producers, managers and everyone in between.
One of my favorite moments in Los Angeles so far, was when I recorded and filmed an acoustic album at the world-famous SUNSET SOUND STUDIOS. Six original songs, played and performed LIVE, no cheating, no fixing vocals or guitar… all real and live!
My friend Drew Dempsey, was someone I met in my early days here in the US. When he started working at Sunset Sound, he got in touch with me and said he was managing the studio and working with artist development. He mentioned that he could help me with this vision I had for this project. Drew went above and beyond, he got me in the studio, produced the video, filmed it, edited it, made the whole thing happen! All I had to do, was sing and play my songs. What a concept huh? We artists, are always doing everything ourselves these days! It was nice for a change.
Then I was asked by Drew to be back again and sing on the JANIS JOPLIN’S 50-year anniversary of her death tribute, “MERCEDES BENZS”, acapella. What an amazing experience! To sing her song at the studio that she recorded it at! Incredible.
I was back at the studio with my band partner and friend, Julia Lage, from our band, “THE SISTER KNOT”. We did a tribute to Tom Petty’s song, “FREE FALLING”. Tom Petty had tracked that song and his album “FULL MOON FEVER”, at studio number 3 at SUNSET. It’s was an immense honor for us to have paid tribute to him where he worked before as well. Both projects produced/directed/filmed and edited by Drew Dempsey. Super shout-out!!!
I was back at SUNSET SOUND to record 3 other original songs with my producer, Aaron Kusterer from AKSTUDIOSANDPROD. After releasing those as singles, we dove into my first full-length album, which Aaron Kusterer produced, mixed and also played electric guitars on.
The album has twelve songs and it’s called “CONFESSIONS”. This project is very dear to my heart. We put a lot of time and work into this album. I felt as if it was like a diary, but open to the public.
I learned a lot about recording, singing in the studio and all that comes with it. I Coproduced the album and have learned that music is all about taste. Just do what feels good to you. That’s all. Aaron is a tremendous producer, musician, guitarist, singer and facilitator. Nothing was out of reach. Everything was possible. It’s no surprise he’s producing my next single and album! The new single is called “Tick Tock” and it’ll be out in February. I’m really looking forward to it!
The album release for “CONFESSIONS” was a dream come true. We played at THE FEDERAL in North Hollywood, booked by my great friend MK of GIVING IT UP EVENTS.
The band was ON POINT! Janna Brunner on Drums and back vocals, Russ Walters on Bass, Christopher Labarbera on Keys and Aaron Kusterer on electric and back vocals/ MD.
After the release, we performed the album at THE HOTEL CAFE and the room was packed! What a night! Beautiful musicians who made beautiful music. I am forever grateful for them.
Aside for my solo project, me and Julia Lage have a band called “THE SISTER KNOT”. Pablo Martins is our dear friend/“family member” and Guitarist. Pablo is incredible, full of feels and skills. We’ve got our perfect guitarist!
We’ve released singles and a few videos. The album is almost finished!! Julia sings and plays bass, as well as songwriting. She’s a ninja on video editing and recording.
Julia’s like a sister to me, and that’s where the name of the band came from, we have the “SISTER KNOT”! We’re not sisters by blood, but we have the “sisterly knot” that keeps us moving forward.
Right now I’ve been working as a solo artist mostly. Playing solo shows and showcasing my originals. A new single called “TICK TOCK” is about to drop in early 2023 and my second full-length album is on its way! For now, check my video “HER”, produced and directed by the visionary and fierce Stephanie Botelho.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The artistic community I befriended has been a huge support and they’ve been extremely helpful.
Hermosa Beach has incredible talent and professionals. The team at the HERMOSA MUSIC COMPANY is always coming up with creative ways to help artists and displaying the local talent in a very professional manner. Steve Aguilar, amazing keyboard player/producer/audio engineer, then Zeal Levin, singer/songwriter/guitarist/producer/manager at HMC, Russ Gilbert, keyboardist/tech director/CTO and more, have been the frontmen on many of the events happening in there.
The music business has been kind to me. I get to play my original songs and feature my bands in various ways and venues. What’s hard at times is that because this is such a flexible job, you have to take it when it comes, which can lead to overworking, tiredness and pretty much burnouts. I found that the key to staying engaged in your art is to always learn new songs, always be thinking of a new project that excites you and always working with different artists. It keeps it fresh.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
The best part of what I do is, playing live my original songs. I feel alive the most when I’m singing and performing, that’s the purest expression of myself in this life. Nothing is more important. Nothing gives me more pleasure. I’m really proud of my songs and the album. When you’re writing a song, you don’t think “oh, I’m going to record this song one day”, you just do it because you need to, that part of you needs to get out, you need to expel those feelings. We musicians just happen to write songs to do that.
Writing songs to me is also a job, creating is how I make a living. There has to be a constant effort in writing, it doesn’t and it shouldn’t be a spontaneous form of work. The more you practice writing, the better you get at it.
As a singer, I’ve recorded vocals for many other artists. It’s another kind of work I love. To be part of someone else’s artistic vision is tremendously humbling, as I have to take my ego aside and serve what the artists want. Luckily, I’ve been hired to sing just the way I do in all of the sessions I’ve done.
It’s hard to point out a quality that’s unique in my art and self, I believe that everyone who’s creating something from scratch is unique. Perhaps, I thrive in the romantic side of music, with real hardy and challenging vocals. The more challenging, the better! Feels good to sing with all i have. All the emotions and all the knowledge I’ve gathered. It’s a lot of fun.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Seems like the music industry is always finding a way to make art more accessible. Easier on the listener. Almost unintelligent. Meanwhile, real artists are becoming more argumentative, curious, experimental and clever. I see a vast majority of inspiring artists struggling for recognition and jobs. Unless you’re already famous or have a substantial amount of money, it’ll be hard to get the spotlight due to the huge amounts of cheap, undemanding, straightforward music that gives people a sense of “reality” and comfort. “Just put some music on the background and let’s talk over it”. Venues like THE HOTEL CAFE, are the ultimate places to go to really listen to music. It’s expected of you to be silent during the performance. The artists are always playing original music and the talent is consistently extraordinary.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.tatianaerse.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tatierse/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tatiersemusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TatianaErse
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tatianaerse7134/featured
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7nT3jamkac6HsPWCGKnZSX?si=35RcgsIYR2WJ7W3blfCEEg
Image Credits
Erin and Jake Photography. MARCDPHOTOS. Drew Dempsey
