Local teacher records her music for TV

Tea Area vocal teacher Janice Gilbert recorded her music for a spot on The White Wall Sessions June 8. While she recorded last week, her piece will not air until sometime after Sept. 1. The sessions are recorded at the Last Stop CD Shop in eastern Sioux Falls and air on KELO TV, along with stations in North Dakota and Minnesota. When she is not teaching, Gilbert likes to perform her own music at different events. This was her first time recording anything for television.

“It was fun. The TV part was very intimidating, I thought,” she said. “The hardest part about TV is if you mess up, they want you to stop. Usually when I play live I’ll mess up in some form but I just keep going. When they’re doing TV if you mess up, you can start and stop.”

She noted that on her second song she kept messing up and said her nerves got the best of her. In addition to the five songs recorded for TV, she recorded some more songs that they will air on radio and on their website. When her recording airs, she will be on an episode with four or five other artists.

The producers will choose what song or songs to air, along with her interview. The recording session is open to the public and Gilbert estimates they had about 25 people there to watch hers, which the producers thought was pretty good. Having an audience made it somewhat easier to sing and play her keyboard and guitar.”It made it easier on the songs that were story songs or funny songs, then you’d have people’s reactions,” she said. “The TV part I think made it harder. They got to see all the mess ups.”Gilbert applied to be on The White Wall Sessions through their website. She had to fill out an application and provide links to her music before being selected.While television is not the format she prefers, Gilbert wanted to try the sessions because it is another way to get out her music.

“I think it’s good exposure for anybody to be on a TV format. It’s another way to get out there in a different way because there’s so many CDs you can sell at a gig,” she said. “I think it’s a great way to make people aware of your music. When they find out you’re local, you might have more opportunities that way.”

This summer she has already performed three gigs and has five more lined up for July and August.

Find her music online and on Facebook at Janice Gilbert, musician/band.