Kara/M Perspective on West on 90
The need to be creative. I don't feel complete unless I'm creating something, and that turns out to be music.
West on 90 is a story of a friend of mine who read the signs about her marriage, and chose to save herself. It was such a scandal. She was so brave, and the last I heard, she had oceanfront property in CA. So, let them talk and choose for themselves.
To be your own person. If the partner you're living with doesn't respect you and abuses you, verbally as well as physically, there is a way out. In this case she didn't have kids so it turned out well, for her anyway.
My song "Look What I've Done" is about having a fight and not being able to sleep. Thoughts run from A to Z, feelings from regret to stupidity, wrestling with all the justifications for saying or doing what was said or done. Love is hard and mistakes are made. “ “I’m sorry” goes a long way.
Production value wise I'm really impressed with Trishia Yearwood, Garth Brooks and Ashley McBryde's songs. The mix is so important and there are a lot of bad mixes out there.
For me it's about the lyrics, quality of the voice and mastery of the instruments. Melody and shape of the song is right up there, and how well it is recorded and mixed.
My humor, love of nature and spirituality.
Finding the right hook and keeping it in a set genre.
Half of my songs start with the lyrics and half the time the music.
They're an accurate reflection of my lyrics. So, yes.
My mom and two sisters.
I wrote a song about my Barbie Doll called "Barbie Girl, Party Girl".
Spirituality and the human experience.
Yoga really helps. During times my mind isn't racing and when I'm calm enough to allow inspiration to happen. Living in the moment.
My co-writer and producer, Stanford Felix, is wonderful to collaborate with. He's also my voice teacher and an amazing musician.
Country
“Kara/M”, is the song- writing team of Kara Millerhagen and Stanford Felix. We started our collaboration in 2023. My lyric's try to give positive messages to inspire people looking for their authentic path. I also think our music encourages, uplifts, challenges convention, and energizes the soul. Now, one year later, after composing over 50 original songs, we've just released our first LP, "Walk in the Sun".
I live in Northfield, MN, and Stan lives in Farmington, MN, both just south of the Twin Cities. We're both professional musicians.
Probably hearing the organ and singing in church. Both our families are full of musicians so its hard to say.
Since starting collaboration with Stan Felix in June of 2023 I've seen my songwriting grow in a way that is very exciting. I brought a lot of my compositions into this collaboration and Stan brought a lot of his instrumentals. Songs of mine were fleshed out by Stan and orchestrated from my original piano parts and chords, and I took his instrumentals and put lyrics and a melody over the top. Although our first album "Walk in the Sun" (Dec. 2024) is all country, many of the songs we write together are a mix of genres from chill to alternative rock to funk. It's a sound I haven't heard before, and that makes everyone of our upcoming songs very exciting.
Stan and I both have a theater and musical theater background. I play piano and guitar, and performed alot in a group with my two sisters, and Stan had a pretty good opera and musical theater career. He also has a Doctor's Degree in Voice Performance and has taught at three different universities on the voice faculty. He's a pianist, plays jazz sax and flute, and worked as a second engineer in a recording studio near Times Square in New York City. We met in 2017 when I was looking for a voice teacher.
I knew by ninth grade.
Fun, inspiring, filled with passion. This song and album are a mix of country, Americana, rock, and blue grass.
It's exactly the opposite! Music fills my life and I'm never lonely when I'm creating.
I can't live without it! It's look air to breathe.
To connect with people. Music is vibration, and vibration is a powerful force.
Both Stan and I have done almost every kind of job, from waiting tables to driving Lyft, to University Music Professor, to being a mother.
Being open to new ideas, seeing the beauty in the little things in life. Being empathetic to people's feelings.
With Kara/M so far it's been through online music platforms but looking to start touring the summer of 2025.
Stairway to Heaven, most Beatle tunes..... There are too many great tunes out there.
The artist lives in the moment, and the more of us that do that the more enlighted we become as a society.
I practice regularly. Used to practice a lot more in my 20's and 30's.
If people feel joy and free from worry, I've succeeded.
Genuin, kind, carring.
Music from the Amazon rain forest.
Positivity, strength, free loving.
Too many choices to answer that one!
Just being open to new ideas, willing to put yourself out there and risk everything, beating the odds, and doing the best you can.
Make music curriculum more of a priority in the schools. The younger the better. Treat it with just as much importance as sports. Being involved in music as a young student sets that student on a more creative and mentaly healthy path in life.
