Latin musician Lorena Nicole talks about her music-making. See her take the RAW stage at the V Lounge at the next Santa Monica showcase on Thursday, March 4th!  

Tell us about your background as a musician.
My cousin James was the first one to think I could actually sing. We were on our way to Wal-Mart and I was singing along to a Wynona Judd song. Then soon after, I started singing mariachi music when I was about 12. Mostly Linda Ronstadt's "Canciones de mi Padre." I got the opportunity to open for some very popular Latin musicians. Including Latin Grammy Winner, Ramon Ayala, who I got the great chance to open for for five years in a row. And that's pretty much how the whole enchilada was made. 

From where do you draw inspiration for your music? 
I've been lucky enough to work very closely with my producers on my music. And when we sit down to write, it is very much a collaborative effort. Drawing inspiration from our lives and the lives of people around us. Writing a song isn't just about what you've been through personally. Sometimes it's a big cluster of experiences that you and the people you know have been through. 

Do you engage in, or draw inspiration from, any other forms of art ?
Before I ever started singing, I was predominantly a dancer. I also went to school for Musical Theatre. So I get to draw from a lot of different forms of art: dance, acting, music, and theatre.

Tell us about your song-writing/making process.
I write poetry. Then when I go into a writing session with my producer, it can go one of two ways. Either we bring in a guitar player and start from scratch. Or, he'll already have some tracks for me to listen to and choose from. And then we go from there. We sit down and talk about what the song should be about and start brainstorming ideas that will make the song as interesting and relateable as possible. I'll sometimes take inspiration from the things I've already written. But a writing session itself can be so inspiring, that new things can form that you never would have thought of initially. We usually start with writing the chorus, and then form the verses around it. I think it's the best way to really form a cohesive story with a beginning, middle and end. 

All time favorite album?
Wow ... that's really difficult! I don't think I could choose. I love all music from The Beatles, to Kings of Leon, to Duffy, to Lil Wayne, to George Strait, to the soundtracks to most Broadway musicals. I could never choose! 

When you aren't making music, what do you enjoy doing? 
I'm a homebody. I like to sit at home and watch movies and listen to music. But I do love the river during the Summer. I grew up on it so I love to wakeboard and water ski.

Are there any musical styles that strongly influence your work? 
I would have to say Latin music in general. When I first moved to LA to pursue music, I was dead set on recording English Rock/Pop. But, after a while I realized that Latin music is where my heart really was. So I compromised, I decided to continue to doing Rock/Pop, and switched to singing in Spanish. 

Why showcase at RAW? 
I think RAW is a great organization. I think it's great for up and coming artists to have a chance to showcase their work, and for other people to get to see it. We all put a lot of work and heart into our various forms of art and being able to show that to others is an amazing feeling.