Islandevents: Which artists – past and present – inspire you?Tricia Lee: One of my first inspirations was Billie Holiday, as well as Elaine Paige – a magnificent singer from the West End (London) musical scene. Madonna too for her breathtaking ambition and her ability to transcend the world. NO! Barbara Streisand is my all time heroine…she may be a mega diva, tantrums and all, but she deserves her queen status as she has done everything I am still trying to do. When she is on I am riveted, studying every nuance, trying to learn as much as I can.
IE: Who would you most like to meet and why?
TL: Madonna, I am in awe of her approach to the music business and the rest of her career and I would love to learn her take on things. I would have also loved to meet Cary Grant as he was the sexiest man in the movies in his day and I love watching him…I am a total fan.
IE: Has singing ever stopped being fun and become work?
TL: No, although with a full bus tour across Europe for the entire summer lined up I could change my mind!
IE: Is there anyone that you haven’t worked with that you would love to collaborate with musically?
TL: I have always wanted to do something with our very own Panazz. Marc Anthony too and would love to write with Melissa Ethridge and Robbie Williams…I have also had my eye on musical theatre since I was 10 and it remains one of the things I most want to do in my career.
IE: Do you see yourself re-uniting with Second Imij (now Imij & Co.)?
TL: Maybe for some kind of novelty gig…it would be fun.
IE: What do you consider the best move you ever made in terms of your musical career?TL: Moving to England. It is hard and riddled with homesickness, but I am a firm believer in taking the less beaten track. I feel my successes more deeply knowing I have sacrificed and so far it is paying off. Life in Trinidad is too sweet…here I feel like I have to make my mark and I am.
IE: What has been your most enjoyable experience of your success so far?
TL: Being alone in Miami airport returning from the Winter Conference and checking out the UK top forty on the net to see if we made the chart and finding out we did. I was on top of the world.
IE: When you’re on the road, what do you do to keep energized?
TL: Meditating, in my fashion, in my room, it keeps me completely focused. To stay fit I usually use the gym in the hotel although on the coming tour I might end up having to jog alongside the bus!IE: What’s “crazy” in your life?
TL: My schedule and lack of sleep.
IE: Does your voice ever crash on you?
TL: Only once, about three or four years ago, and it was horrible…I wasn’t allowed to sing for a few weeks it was torture.
IE: Explain an average night after you have finished performing?
TL: I don’t enjoy crowds because I am so wound up after a gig, but every now and then I will try to relax and have some fun. At the end of the tour in Sydney, I went to look at some of the other artistes perform and then we all partied til the wee hours at the after party. I think it had something to do with almost dying to get there, (the plane almost crashed).
IE: What was the moment growing up that you knew that you wanted to be an entertainer?
TL: I would pretend I was on stage as early as age 8 or even younger, it was the only thing I wanted to do. That and be a dancer, however, no talent there!
IE: What was your biggest hurdle in getting to where you are today?
TL: A self-consciousness, which took ages for me to grow out of. I really used to hate being spoken about but I have accepted it as part and parcel of my job so all I can say now is “let me entertain you!” It no longer bothers me what my detractors have to say.
IE: Where do you see yourself going professionally over the next 5-10 years?
TL: With maybe two successful solo projects under my belt, a stint on the West End and learning my lines from a great script for a movie while my three year old son is blissfully asleep with his head on my lap.
IE: What are the three best things about life on the road and the three worst?
TL: The 3 best things…meeting artistes from around the globe, visiting amazing countries and being able to share my music with people who really enjoy it. The 3 worst…lack of sleep…long haul flying and having to starve myself constantly.
IE: What are the three best things about being outside of T&T and the three worst?
TL: The 3 best things…I appreciate everything about Trinidad more…When I first moved here being anonymous made me work harder…Seeing the world and learning other cultures makes me a more rounded and educated person. The 3 worst…my family, my fiancé and my dogs are all in Trinidad.
IE: If something tragic were to happen to you tomorrow how would you want to be remembered?
TL: As someone with empathy, consciousness and dignity. As an example of someone with pure willpower and determination to achieve their full potential as a human being and as an artist. Making mistakes is not a terrible thing, not learning from them, well there is no excuse really.IE: Since your days with Second Imij have you seen any meaningful advances in the T&T Entertainment Industry?
TL: It seems that we are more connected with the international scene and so young aspiring artists have more of a chance.
IE: To what do you attribute that?
TL: Hard grafting and pushing and blinding ambition on the part of our artistes, and those surrounding them, are what have contributed to this.
IE: What do you think it would take to elevate Calypso (inclusive of all its forms: rapso, soca etc.) to the prominence gained by reggae?
TL: Mainstreaming the lyrics so everyone can get how clever and funny and talented even the most basic calypsonian is, but saying that I would hate to see it completely watered down, that would be a sin, as the character of the music is in the scandalous way we as Trinis express ourselves. There is no problem with our rhythms whatsoever, you can’t touch them…I have never performed soca to people who weren’t at least tapping their feet.
IE: Do you see yourself going back to soca?
TL: Maybe I will eventually, who knows, certainly not right now. I will do it only if I have the best writers on the team. I enjoy performing it but I don’t trust myself to write on my own yet.
IE: If you could do it all again what would you change professionally? Personally?
TL: Professionally and personally I am where I am today due to all of my experiences. I would change nothing but the relationships I may have sacrificed to get here. You make mistakes, you suffer, you learn, you grow. I am comfortable with where I am now and who I am. I am a better person and a better artist.
