Okay, y’all have waited long enough… Let’s continue our conversation with Melonie Daniels.  If you missed PART ONE, make sure you click here to get caught up on things, then come right back!

In this segment, Melonie continues talking about her performing experience with Mariah Carey.  Then, she discusses her own voice, why she actually does NOT think it’s that spectacular, and why she continues to train it.

I hope you enjoy.  Here’s PART TWO…

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EJ:  Talk to me more about your work with Mariah Carey.  What was it like?

MD:  It was incredible.  I filled up a passport, had to add pages, and then pay for another one. *laughing*

EJ:  Someone wanted me to ask you this and I told them I would:  If Mariah was ever hoarse on stage, did you ever do her whistle tone notes for her?

MD:  Oh, heck no.  Mmmmm… That ain’t my ministry. *laughing*

EJ:  You can do that!

MD:  Not those whistle notes, I can’t do that whistle stuff.  Well, I can do it, but it’s not controlled.  It’s like a happenstance.

EJ:  But you used to do her soundchecks for her, right?

MD:  Yeah, cuz she wouldn’t come.  *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs*

MD:  But, it’s like… at a certain point in your career, you know what you’re gonna do and you know what you’re gonna sound like.  And if you have people working with you who know your characteristics, and they’re able to handle it, you let them do what they do.

I don’t think it was a “diva” thing.  People who reach a certain status have so many people around them who overload their schedules.  So, she would have interviews, photo shoots, TV tapings and all kinds of stuff, up ’til an hour before a performance.  She wasn’t able to even come to the soundcheck.  So, I would end up checking for her and her sound guys– so on point.  They knew what hertz, what megahertz, the treble… all that stuff.  And I was able to mimic her voice enough that they could get exactly what they needed, so that when she hit the stage, it was ready to go.

EJ:  What was the road like with her?  How did you fare, as a little Baptist girl, thrown into the mainstream industry like that?

MD:  I was scared outta my mind! *laughing*  And I had a moment– I was like “God, I know you didn’t give us the spirit of fear, but I’ve gotta be honest and say that I am scared witless that You’d allow me to go into this situation where I may be one of few, or maybe the ONLY one… I need You to shine through each and every thing I do– the way I work, carry myself, and sing.”  I didn’t put singing first– I wanted my interactions before the singing because, at that point, singing was secondary.  I had rehearsed and practiced enough.

EJ:  How many years were you with Mariah?

MD:  Eleven.  From ’92 to 2003.

EJ:  Do you miss working with her?

MD:  I do and don’t.  I did the road for eleven years and it was wearing.  I walked away without it being a bad taste in my mouth.  So, if an opportunity presented itself again, I would go.  But I don’t think it would be with that camp because I believe that, whatever my assignment was, it’s done.

EJ:  But, how did you know that?  Why did you stop?

MD:  Umm… God said it was time to move.  I didn’t have a plan, I didn’t know where He was moving me, but it was a faith walk.  And it was about taking the lessons that I learned in that professional surrounding and bringing that level of excellence to whatever was next, which happened to be Greater Allen Cathedral in Jamaica, New York.

I got there with people that had been in the industry with me, and because of our expertise, we were able to pour into the music ministry the things we had learned, to make a more excellent offering to God.  Not just to build a music ministry and walk away, but to show people that it can be done excellently and still allow for the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do.

EJ:  That’s needed in the Body.  So, do you ever get star-struck?  Like, do you still have those “I can’t believe I’m here for this gig” types of moments?

MD:  Yeah, I have those.  Like, any of the awards shows.  Because you turn one way, there’s Stevie Wonder.  You turn another way, it’s Eric Clapton.  You turn another way, there’s Boyz II Men (at that time)… Then, you’ve got David Foster walking past you and here comes Clive Davis and Aretha Franklin, Faith Hill and Celine Dion… You either take it in and process it, or you pass out from all the excitement. *laughing*

EJ:  *laughs*

MD:  I’m the kind that takes it in and processes it.  The only person I get twisted over is Stevie Wonder. *laughing*  I stop breathing when the man walks into the room because his ears are impeccable.

EJ: *laughing*  But you’ve sung with him before, right?

MD:  I’ve never sung with him.  But when BET did the Walk Of Fame thing a few years ago, Mariah had to sing.

EJ:  I remember that.  She did “You And I.”

MD:  Right.  And I did the vocal arrangement for the backgrounds, because he didn’t have background vocals on that song.

EJ:  I remember the performance AND the background vocals, and I could hear you loud and clear!

MD:  *laughs* And I did her soundcheck.  I’m glad they told me afterwards, but he was sitting in the back listening to me.  And I was like “WHAT?!”

EJ:  Oh wow.

MD:  And I was like “I’m glad y’all didn’t tell me” because I would’ve said “I’m not doing it… somebody else do it!”

EJ:  Are you kiddin’ me?!

MD:  I’m so serious.

EJ:  But don’t you KNOW… you know how great your voice is, right?

MD:  Mmmm…

EJ:  You really don’t?

MD:  I don’t agree. *laughing*  I do not agree.  I hate to hear my voice.  The only reason I listen to myself is for recording situations, if I have to match what I’ve done, or stack vocals.

EJ:  What do you think is wrong with it?

MD:  It’s not pleasing to me.  I believe I have a decent voice, but it’s not pleasing to me.

EJ:  But, you don’t think you have a nice tone?

MD:  No.  I think it does what it needs to do.  But you’ll never get “high praise” about my voice from me.

EJ:  I hear that.  But that’s most vocalists, I think.  How did you train your voice?  Was it classical, jazz, piano lessons, what did you do?

MD:  All of the above.  I didn’t grow up playing piano, but when I went to college at Five Towns College, it was part of the curriculum.  My ear was developed enough that I could take piano classes and make the connection between my voice and the music, and I was able to understand that it shouldn’t be separated.

And, just outside stuff with groups growing up– David Gates & Love, Peace and Joy, another group called God’s Creation, and another called One Accord, as well as being choir director at my church.

EJ:  So, tons of formal training and experience, plus some informal work.  How many octaves is your range, really?

MD:  I think it’s four.  I’ve not tested it in a minute, but I think it’s four.  And females have less of a range than males do, actually.

EJ:  Really?

MD:  Yes.  Claude V. McKnight is my principal example for this– he sings first soprano with Take 6, but he can sing as low as Alvin Chea.

EJ:  He sings bass in the group, right?

MD:  Yeah.  So he has, like, a 6-octave voice.  And the reason that guys have a wider range is because at puberty, when your voice changes, you get the low end, but you still keep that prepubescent high end, which most guys use as their falsetto.

For many females, three octaves is it.  Some have four or five.  I think I’m maybe four, or four and a half.  When I was a kid, like around 12, I had a freakish situation as far as my voice was concerned– my voice changed in puberty.

EJ:  Really?

MD:  I was singing soprano like a squeaky little girl and, next day, I was singing tenor.  I was devastated.  So, my mom took me to voice lessons and I began exercising those top parts of my register.  I have a pretty low break for a female– the break is that place where your voice changes from chest voice to head voice.  For me, it’s pretty low.  So, all that stuff you hear with me doing the high stuff is usually my falsetto and it’s been exercised to a point of strength, such that it sounds like my chest voice.

EJ:  RIDICULOUS!

MD:  But I did it out of a strange devastation.  *laughing hard*

EJ: *laughs*

MD:  I was like ”I’m a freak.  I don’t wanna be a freak.”  Please, it devastated me.

EJ:  Did kids make fun of you?

MD:  They didn’t make fun of me because they didn’t know what was going on.  All they knew was that I was a chick with a low voice. *laughing*

EJ:  Now, how did you learn to work a song so well?  Some people start right in with all they’ve got and, by the vamp, there’s nowhere else to go.  How did you train for that performance aspect?

MD:  It’s about knowing the choices, knowing what your voice is capable of and not capable of… knowing what is comfortable for you.  As far as ad libbing, if you don’t have the Word of God in your heart and your mouth, you have nothing to say.

EJ:  SAY it!

MD:  All it’ll be is riffs and “oh” and “yeah” and “no”.  And that’s the extent of your WORD repertoire.  You can tell if people are worshippers by how they ad lib on a song.  You can tell what they have to offer by how they deliver a song.

Now, ”oh” and “yeah” is not always a bad thing, but it’s up to the individual with the gift to work your education of that gift.  The gift comes from God, but the gifted are not perfect vessels, so we have to hone and train the gift in order for it to become effective.

EJ:  It’s funny you mention honing and training the gift.  A while back, your Facebook status update said you were on your way to a vocal lesson, and I laughed so hard because everybody was like “WHAT?!  Not YOU!”

MD:  Maaan, they blacked OUT! *laughing*

EJ: *laughs hard*

MD:  I mean, I got so many comments for putting that up– “what do you mean?” or “you should be teaching it!”

EJ:  Right.  What’s the problem with those types of responses?

MD:  It’s ignorance to think you don’t need it.  But it’s also “celebritizing” things.  Like, Meryl Streep– I wouldn’t be surprised if she goes and does stuff to keep herself sharp, and we call her one of the greatest actresses of the century.  Or, like Denzel… he still shows up and does Shakespeare in Central Park.    You know?  Just to keep himself sharp.

There’s always room for improvement and the moment you think you’ve got it all, or that you don’t need anyone to show you anything… go on and pick out your casket.

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Wowwww… good stuff, right?!

As I mentioned yesterday, I’m ending each interview segment with a clip of Mel doing her thing.  Someone posted this video on YouTube and, though the video is not great, it’s MORE than worth the listen!

When we did the interview, she had just gotten back from this performance at the Gospel Heritage conference a couple of months ago.  She told me that she had been sick with an upper respiratory infection (which almost turned into bronchitis) for several weeks.  She had been on vocal rest during that time, and THIS PERFORMANCE was the FIRST DAY that she had sung in weeks.  You’d never have known it cuz she held it down, as always…

Here’s Melonie singing “Precious Jesus”:

Lemme know what you think about the clip, but make sure you gimme feedback about the INTERVIEW too!