Petra – Just Stay

By starrymag | October 22, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

A) I, honestly, would call it straight up pop. I would say somewhere along the lines of straight up pop.

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

A) I have been influenced my whole life by traditional pop music. And, of course, growing up in the 90’s and listening to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and hearing that kind of music really was an inspiration for a lot of my sound and what I wanted to cultivate when I was trying to decide what I wanted my own music to sound like. I was also influenced heavily by 60’s and 70’s bands, a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Queen. I also love artists like Cher. So, there are a lot of old-time rock and pop influences mixed with what I was listening to as a child.

Q) Your new song “Just Stay” is coming out soon! Talk a little bit about the story behind it.

A) That song was made on a crossroads that I was experiencing in a relationship. It was at a very pivotal moment. It was really based off this (I didn’t know it at the time) idle conversation that we were going to have, me and my partner. There was so many problems that were occurring. We just loved each other so much that we just put that aside. For the final time I was like, “Let’s forget it. Let’s just stay together,” because I’m a hopeless romantic and I think that love can fix everything. But, that’s not always the case. I learned that the hard way. So, that song is just based off of that final moment of letting it all and just baring yourself for someone you truly love. But, unfortunately, it not working out.

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans will connect to?

A) I think it’s the vulnerability that would really drive someone to be drawn towards the song. We’ve all been in a moment, whether a romantic relationship or even a friendship, where you are a point in a crossroads where you are tested and you have to sort of find a way to navigate it and come to that feeling of like, “Okay, I need to confront this and face it head on.” Definitely just the vulnerability and that fiery emotion of, “I just want to make things better.” I think we’ve all been in that position one way or another.

Q) The video for “Luckboy” is amazing!

A) It’s a funny one! [laughs] I definitely got to express more of my goofy side, which I don’t often get to do. So, that one was really fun.

Q) What kind of fan response have you gotten to it?

A) I’ve gotten so many different responses! I mean, a lot of it has been, “I didn’t know you were this funny,” because I usually take myself very seriously. [laughs] My friends always know that I’m a total goofball. I crack jokes and make silly faces. I wear crazy outfits in regular life and when I perform on stage. So, to be able to incorporate all the things that my close friends know about me into a video was really fun. Having other people see that side of me, they were like, “Oh! This is actually really cool.” I was actually in a meeting with my boss (I work in a music studio) and he was like, “I saw your video! You’re funny! I never see you really get this goofy, but you’re really funny!” I was like, “Well, you know, I try.” [laughs] I’ve gotten a lot of great feedback on it and it was just a wonderful project that I got to work on with my friend Carlos [Vasquez]. More to come in the future, definitely!

Q) What is your songwriting process like? Do you need a beat before you work on lyrics?

A) It really varies every time. Each song has been written in a different way. These last three singles that I released…“Dancing Without You” is a song I sat down and wrote with my brother. Everything came to us in a night of writing. Then, “Luckboy” was a song where I heard the music first, especially the percussion and drums. Then, I had all these ideas. I thought I’d sit with this idea I was working with. “Into the Sun” was more of a lyric based song, based on this whole idea about venting about a really terrible job and how I could get out of it. I set that to music because I wanted it to have these contemplative lyrics that had a really happy background. So, each process is always different and I think that’s what makes it so exciting to write music.

Q) How much of a hand do you have in the production of your music?

A) I would say a lot of it is influenced…I co-produce my own music. So, when I was taking these songs to my producer Richie Beretta, a lot of the songs were already pretty well formulated. I recorded demos at home and I would take them to him and be like, “What do you think?” Obviously, he has the magic ability to make everything sound wonderful. So, that’s what I trust him with, but a lot the writing comes from my perspective and we collaborate together on the final version of the sound. A lot of production and music element ideas come from me.

Q) What can fans expect from a live Petra performance?

A) Definitely some very vibrant costuming. That’s where I get my influence from Cher. She’s one of my big icons and idols. But I love to put on a very eye-catching show. Live performances are very interactive. I love to be able to get fans involved in my performances and I always love doing reimagined covers. So, I would sneak in a way to do a cover of a pop song or even a throwback and reimagine it completely 180 with my band. We like to have little surprises here and there. Another thing about my live shows is I performed for four or five years before I released any of my music. This is my debut project. So, there are a lot of songs that fans who have been following me for a while are very familiar with. Once in a while I’ll throw in an old song, just as ear candy so they’ll hear something familiar from my performance history. So, it’s always fun. I always have a good time doing shows.

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform?

A) So, some of my favorite places…Webster Hall in New York. I got to play there a few times. Knitting Factory is another incredible venue. I’m going to be performing there again on the 25^th of this month. Then, I’ve also had the chance to tour around the country and outside of the US before. One of my favorite cities that I got to tour was Kobe in Japan. That was one of the last couple days of the entire ten-day tour that we had. It was just such a different reaction than I’ve ever gotten before to my music. Just how the audience absorbed it and they were so captivated by the performance. They reacted in such a different way than I expected. That was a really great place to perform. I really like this venue in LA called The Mint. It was so charming and sweet.

Q) What artist would you most like to collaborate with on a song?

A) Oh my God! It’s always been a lifelong dream…If I could ever do a song with Stevie Nicks. I think that would be the icing on the cake for me. I would love to do a song with Stevie. If we’re talking about modern day artists, I would love to write a song for Lizzo. I’d love to work on a song for her or Lana Del Rey. Honestly, I’m such a “pop head” that I’d work with any of these kinds of artists. [laughs]

Q) What is an album or band that you’re super into at the moment?

A) That’s a really good question. I’ve been listening to King Princess. She’s someone that I’ve recently gotten into and her album is something I’ve been listening to a lot. I’ve also been throwing it back a little, so I’ve been trying to listen to some Fleetwood Mac records. Those are the two that I can think of off the top of my head.

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

A) I think mostly because I’ve been so lucky to have performed all over the world and I think it’s the one place I can sort of keep up to date with everyone. I love updating people and love being able to share what I’m doing. And that’s through Facebook and Instagram or even Twitter. It’s important because I always want to constantly have communication and a relationship with my fans because a lot of them supported me eve before I had released a single song. They just knew me because they saw me at an open mic or a venue or a show or even when I was at a pitstop passing through a city. So, the fact that they have stuck around and have been waiting for me to release music has been really cool. It’s really important for me to maintain those relationships and stay in touch with them. I’m always writing to people and I am always getting messages. It’s pretty cool when someone says, “I heard your song and it’s really cool.” I’m like, “Wow!” It’s always a really exciting feeling.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your music?

A) Oh my gosh! The biggest thing would be thank you so much for just streaming and listening to my music. The fact that you’re supporting indie artists like myself is incredible and I can’t wait to keep releasing music and keeping your ears that are peaked on to new things that are coming out.