Jersey
girl rocker Colleen Fitzpatrick answered an ad in the Village Voice,
snagged a band, landed a label, and found her niche. But the band came
and went and Colleen was left to reinvent herself. With a peppy tune
from her first album called "Smile," and the name Vitamin
C, Colleen gave the music scene a happy dose of talent. She followed
that up with "Graduation (Friends Forever)," a song
many high school seniors couldn't get enough of last year.
With fans
craving more of her universally themed songs, VITAMIN C released her
second album More. Its first single, "The Itch,"
is a hint of where Vitamin C is at and where she is headed. Here's what
this Old Bridge High School (Old Bridge, NJ) grad' "golden girl"
had to say:
Celeb
101: Did you do any kind of singing in high school?
VC: No, I was a dancer in high school. There were some guys playing
in bands in my high school that taught me a few chords and I started
writing songs, but, quite honestly, there was no one that really wanted
to play with a girl in high school.
Celeb
101: Really? Why do you think that was?
VC: I think it's not uncommon for girls to play rock. This is before
everyone had a computer in their house. People can make different kinds
of music nowadays electronically. But at the time, most guys played
guitar and drums and they played with their friends. It's that old cliche.
I don't know why there are so few women in rock even today.
Celeb
101: Do you think that motivated you more to push for certain things
that you want?
VC: Oh, definitely. I knew that I had to find a different way to
do it.
Celeb
101: How you did you go about it?
VC: When I went to college I tried to form a girl band. It was short-lived
and fun and I learned a lot. Then I answered an ad in the Village
Voice and that's how I got my first serious band, Eve's Plum. We
just worked really hard and we got a deal.
Celeb
101: Where did you go to college?
VC: I went to New York University and majored in literature.
Celeb
101: Being a literature major must have also helped with your songwriting.
VC: Definitely. Just being in a creative environment is very helpful
also.
Celeb
101: And then what?
VC: My band got signed right around the time I was graduating. We
put out our first record in '94, did another record in '96, and then
we got dropped. That's when I had to recreate and reinvent myself. I
began doing a solo project because I knew I wanted to do something different.
I wanted something that was more like groove, dance-based, that had
a sense of humor. Something that was a little bit more, I don't know,
less heavy. More upbeat.
Celeb
101: How did you come up with your great name?
VC: C is my from first initial. It's not to be taken seriously.
You need to have a sense of humor about it. I'm not a health nut. I'm
not crazy. It's just a joke. It was something fun, something friendly,
something familiar.
Celeb
101: Now what about the hair? Did you decide on that because of your
name?
VC: No, I change my hair color all the time. I just happen to like
myself better in the yellow/gold area. But I've been every color that
you can imagine.
NEXT-> | Listen
to The Itch
