Ilana Armida Q&A

In a small closet at her Mill Creek home, Ilana Armida puts her soul into her music, her profession, her career.

It is a fitting location considering she will have to rely on her own creativity and talent to make it as a solo act in the music business. Now it's just a matter of whether she can emerge from the darkness.

A ray of light has been shining the past three weeks as Armida released her video "Pretend" online. With 17,000 views in the first three weeks, Armida is hoping key players in the music industry take notice.

At home working on Aug. 4, Armida sat down for an interview with the East County Observer.

When did you realize you wanted to perform?

When I was 2 or 3, mom put me in tap dancing lessons. She said the moment I started walking, I was dancing. The moment I started talking, I was singing. I think that was about the time 'The Little Mermaid' came out.

So your parents (Kim and Thomas Simone) put you in theater when you were 7?

I wouldn't stop singing and dancing, so they put me in the Manatee Players. I believe the first show I did was 'The King and I.'

Why do you feel you were a natural?

My parents would say they are not musical, but my dad plays the drums and they both have beautiful singing voices. My grandmother, Marsha Gehling, had a talk show for a very brief time in Milwaukee.

Was there a time when you decided you wanted to pursue a music career more than anything else?

It was always there. I didn't want to do anything else. I decided to go to school to take business, but in the music industry. I made that decision when I was 10. I eventually went to Florida Atlantic (graduated 2014) with a degree in commercial music business."

So what have you done, music-wise, since graduating from Lakewood Ranch High School in 2010?

If anyone asks, I tell people I've been writing and recording. A lot of it has been honing the artistry, my sound, what kind of music I put out. I've always been close to releasing stuff, but I've been off the radar. I did go to L.A. a couple of times to work with other producers and other singers. I also performed with a hip hop crew, U4ria. I think that really helped me a lot because it gave me a lot of confidence in my performing. I also do most of my own choreography.

What can people expect to see when they watch you perform live?

I have two types of shows. The one I do at college performances, music festivals and talent shows where I use four backup dancers, two backup singers and a keyboard player. Then I do the shows where it is just me. It's different, but it's still me.

'Pretend' is such a feel-good piece, is there more coming?

I have all this new music that we are developing with our dancers. We are getting ready to put something together so we can build a following. We want to put out this project, which will include 'Pretend' and do a small tour, probably four stops. One here in my hometown, then Miami, Los Angeles and New York."

How hard is it to get booked?

I'm lucky because I went to FAU and I went to school with so many business people who book shows."

Does it get frustrating when it comes to signing with a major label?

I definitely chose the most difficult industry to break into. The hardest thing is getting your brand across to the masses.What is really encouraging to me, though, is that this is not about a flashy 15 minutes of fame. If you put a lot of work into your art, it won't go unnoticed. It cuts through.

Have you set a deadline to make it big?

I don't want to think that way. I quit my job a year ago and moved home. I built a studio. I am putting 100% energy into this. But there really are no industry standards. It is very tricky to navigate this. They really want to see that you have a following.

Are you proud of "Pretend?"

Technically, this is my first original product that I have put out. It had 17,000 views the first three weeks. We are really going to push it. You have to push it, because no one is doing a search for Ilana Armida.

That many hits must be very cool to you.

I am very ambitious. I wanted 100,000 views and I fell short. But I am happy what it is doing. I only put out something I want to believe in. I wrote that song three years ago. It is super expensive to put out a video, and I wanted the guitar to sound like this ... and the drums to sound like this .... Josh Holiday was my producer.

It is a lonely life going down this road. Is it tough on friendships?

I think I am at a point where I am choosing to put the focus on my life. I'm happiest on stage performing. My mom and dad are my managers. I have those kind of friends where I need to say 'I can't' because I am in the studio. You lose friends. But your real friends understand you and they stick around.

What has been your best moment in music?

I released a small EP on a small scale and I put it out there for free on SoundCloud. I received a call to play at the Aloha Winter Music Festival at Da Big Kahuna in Ft. Lauderdale (Dec. 8, 2013). It was my original music, my choreography. But my set was pushed late and it took almost until 1 a.m. to start. I was told I had to cut the amount of songs I prepared in half so I was freaking out. There were only about 15 people there when I went on, but I said, 'Let's do this' and by the end of my first song, the whole bar was packed. People were coming off the beach and they were dancing. It was a magical moment. When I finished, I walked off and headed to the bathroom. I was crying. It was so good.

Your video is shot by a pool, with a lot of good looking young people. Do you feel you need to work out to impress?

I do work out, but not to impress anyone. Of course, I'm not blind to it, either. I just try to be myself. If I feel like dying my hair purple, I die it purple. I always dress insane. Whatever I am feeling like inside, it's exaggerated. But I decided to be happy with what I look like. It's the real me.

Would you rather write music or perform?

I love writing and creating, but to have an audience in front of you is incredible.

Have you heard your music on the radio?

I didn't hear it either time, but it has happened twice. Bubba the Love Sponge played it on his morning show in Tampa. People kept calling my cell phone saying they were listening to me. I also had a song play on Power 96's local artists.

Why be a solo artist instead of joining a group?

It's hard to match schedules with other people. A lot of people aren't as motivated, determined or focused. This works for me and artists can be very emotional.

You built yourself a studio in a very small closet of your Mill Creek home. Do you spend much time in there?

Yes. But I will put a lava lamp in there or glow stickers, things that will help because when I first started recording it was so dead in there. Now it's not so bad because I have learned to trust my ear and trust myself. Actually, I spend more time in the closet than anywhere else.

Do you like your voice?

I don't think anyone likes the sound of their own voice, unless you are Kanye West. But I am used to it now and other people seem to like it.