World, meet Cassia Sage. She has been part of MVM for several years now and she has written and recorded some amazing tunes through the process! We asked her a couple questions, and she gave us her answers. Take a moment to read through her responses — they show wisdom beyond her years.
WHAT TYPE OF MUSIC DO YOU CREATE? DO YOU PLAY AN INSTRUMENT? IF SO WHAT DO YOU PLAY?
I create art of course. I don’t know if I could really label it with a genre, it’s just what feels right at the time. It’s just me, it’s what I think and feel. I play the guitar as well as sing. I used to play the violin, viola and the alto sax for awhile too, but out of all of those the guitar is definitely my favorite. I have always loved it, and it’s so awesome to be able to accompany my singing in that way. I’m not that great at playing it, and I am constantly striving to be better at it, but it is really satisfying to complete a song with a melody, and lyrics, and even an instrumental.
WHY IS MUSIC IMPORTANT TO YOU?
Music is important to me in so many ways. It’s just an amazing thing. It can, change your mood and even sometimes your entire opinion of things in an instant. It can lead masses of people, and it can invoke the movement of an entire generation. It’s something that can be used to express years of opinions, and a lifetime of feelings and emotions, in just a couple of lines. It can alleviate emotional, and even in some cases physical pain too. Personally, it’s really my only fully constructive way of dealing with my problems, and things that are bothering me. It’s been my dream for as long as I can remember to create music that people not only can enjoy, but music that will make people think. Music that can express my opinions, or emotions in a way that they can understand. Music that will evoke questioning in knowledge or common understanding. Music is important to me because ultimately I think it will be humanity’s salvation haha.
WHAT DID IT FEEL LIKE THE FIRST TIME YOU HEARD A RECORDING OF YOUR MUSIC ON PLAY BACK?
Haha well, the first time I ever heard my music recorded, It was totally awesome, and incredibly horrifying at the same time. It was so weird hearing what my voice actually sounded like, because it wasn’t all that different from what I sounds like in my head. Of course I have gotten a lot better than the first time I ever recorded, but I will never forget what it was like. It was also really satisfying hearing me playing an instrument, and singing, matching up perfectly with someone else singing and playing an instrument. And even that much more satisfying knowing that I helped write a freaking song, and it didn’t sound horrible.
“…the first time I performed on stage I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life…It’s just one of the most amazing feelings ever… It’s like the only place where I really feel I belong.”
Cassia Sage
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT BEING A PART OF MY VOICE MUSIC?
I just really love MVM. I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for being a part of this program, I would have never found out that I was not a horrible singer, and that I could actually play the guitar after working at it a bit. It was a bit of a mind trip when I heard someone else say that I didn’t really sound that bad when I sang, because that’s what I had been telling myself for so long. They create an environment where I feel like I can be honest, and I can share my ideas candidly, and I wont be judged for it or ignored. On top of that they really gave me the tools to express myself in a manner that I’ve really always craved. Music has at some points in my life, been the only thing I lived for. Because of that, I felt like I owed it to myself, and every musician that has helped through rough times, to be able to create music to be able to express myself with in a different way.
HOW HAS BEING A PART OF MY VOICE MUSIC HELPED YOU OUTSIDE OF MUSIC – IN SCHOOL, AT HOME, ETC
Well, it’s helped in a lot of ways. Of course, it’s boosted my self confidence immensely. Knowing that, I could actually call myself a musician, that I had written a song, and I could write more if I had the inspiration, was so great. On top of that, writing songs has actually helped me a lot with communicating my concerns, and issues and whatever else. Conversing in general. Being able to describe what is going on with me in song, is so useful in explaining yourself in conversation. So because of that, it has been so much easier to talk to my parents, therapists, teachers, even my friends.
WHAT IS THE MOST CHALLENGING THING FOR YOU IN TERMS OF YOUR MUSIC AND WHAT IS THE BEST THING?
Well, everything about it is challenging. Trying to squish so much thinking into a few minutes is no easy task. I guess I would say the MOST challenging thing would be finishing a song. It’s so easy to start a song. Come up with some random chords, and maybe 1 or 2 lines, but around the 3rd or 4th line I write, I usually start to hate it. It’s just really difficult to write an entire song and then still feel good about. When that does happen though, it’s like one of the most fulfilling things ever, I just have to really work for it.
WHAT DOES MUSIC BRING YOU AND HOW DO YOU FEEL WHEN YOU PLAY? WHY DO YOU PLAY?
I remember the feeling I had the first time I performed on stage. I knew in that moment that that was exactly what I wanted to do with my life. In fact, for awhile, that’s all I ever wanted to do. It’s just one of the most amazing feelings ever, if not the most amazing. It’s like the only place where I really feel I belong. No matter how good I did, or how badly I butchered whatever it was I was playing, it just feels right. I don’t know if I could say why. Playing music, for me isn’t really something I have a specific reason for. It’s just one of those things that really just clicks with me. At this point, it’s really a required piece of who I am. If I don’t play music for awhile, I start to lose myself, and I start to change. Me saying that makes it sound like an obligation, which I guess in a way it is. It’s not a job, and it’s more than a hobby. I guess I’ll be cliche and say it’s a lifestyle haha.
WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM YOUR MUSIC WHEN THEY HEAR IT?
I hope people can listen to what it says, and keep it in the back of their minds for awhile. That is, if it’s not in the front haha. I don’t expect people to take anything away from it, but yeah I guess I do hope they will. I hope people can hear it, and I don’t know, feel something about it. Think something about it at the very least. That is really seriously my goal in life, to make people think, and feel, and contemplate, and even begin to understand me if possible. I want to do that through my music. It’s more than just that. It’s really complex. So, in short, I just want people to hear it. Not just sub-consciously hear it, and I don’t care what they think in relation to it, but I want people to really take a good listen to what I’m saying.