10 Questions with ... Linda Perry & Willa Amai

BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:

The first time that we really got to know Linda Perry was in 1993, when the band 4 Non Blondes rode the song that she'd written and sang "What's Up," to the top of the charts all around the globe-hitting the Top 15 that summer on the Billboard singles chart in the U.S.

These days she's dug in with her company We Are Hear, which brings 13-year-old Willa Amai into the picture, and soon enough on to the radio with her cover of Daft Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger."

We Are Hear principals Kerry Brown and Linda Perry

1) You're about a year and a half into your most reent venture, We Are Hear, which is both a record label and publishing entity. As an "artist empowerment company," how are things going?

Linda: It's shocking what we have done in such little time. The level of talent we are working with is a creator's dream. The We Are Hear team is as bad ass as they come.

We work very hard, no one sleeps much but that's how you need to be when you run an independent business. Constantly thinking of new ways to break our artists without breaking our integrity. Providing a safe and trustworthy environment is extremely important. We are helping fulfill their creative vision as well as our own.

Building a community of artistic soldiers with higher standards and emotional freedom? Where do I sign?

2) What do you and your partner in this venture, Kerry Brown, bring to the table in terms of combined strengths?

Linda: Kerry is the Jedi master an incredibly powerful human.

He gets the job done with Yoda mind tricks.

Me? I don't fuck around. But still manage to be charming. :)

We don't believe in wasting time and we don't wait for anyone. We do!

3) Obviously Pat Benatar was a great start for you and your company-who should we be excited about getting music from down the road?

Linda: You will hear from all of our artists. We have some big records coming.

• Dorothy
• Lion
• Willa Amai
• Natasha Bedingfield
• Jynx

It's super exciting.

Willa Amai

4) Willa Amai is 13. Her age is no reflection on how well versed a musician that she is. How did it all come together?

Linda: I met Willa through a mutual friend of her mother. I was asked if I could check this kid out to see if she had anything.

And she did, she had big bottle cap lenses for glasses. She had a mouth full of metal and she had a very funny brainy dork demeanor.

Most of all, she had the voice and tone of an old familiar soul.

5) Whose idea was it to cover Daft's Punk's "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger?"

Willa: It was Intuit QuickBooks's idea. They always knew that they wanted a cover of that song - they were just looking for the right voice. I performed at Chiat Day, the ad agency, and I got the call that night. It all happened really fast!

6) What was it like when the song was featured in the Quickbooks commercials?

Willa: It was amazing! So much work and effort was put into this song and into this commercial on all fronts, and it felt really good to finally hear it and see it on TV. Also, I had separated my life as a teenager with my music and this campaign, so I don't think I really processed that my friends at school would see it. It was funny, actually, because in the beginning this commercial played during a lot of big football games and my jock friends started coming up to me and saying, "Wow, that was really powerful."

7) In the video for the single, you're surrounded by all kinds of musical instruments. How long have you been playing music? Do you have a favorite instrument?

Willa: I've been playing piano since I was 4 years old, but I've been singing and creating little tunes of my own for as long as I could talk. I knew from the moment that I opened my mouth that I wanted to be a musician. I've picked up guitar and ukulele along the way, but piano has always been and will always be my favorite!

8) Do you write songs? What's it like to work creatively with a songwriting legend like Linda Perry?

Willa: Yeah, I do write my own songs - I started writing music when I was around 9 or 10. I was really into poetry and I experimented with mixing my poems with music and that's when it all started. And since I do write, at first, it was extremely intimidating working with Linda Perry. She is so talented and passionate, and I was terrified of disappointing her. But, as we became friends, it turned into more of a collaboration. It's comforting to know that with every song I write, Linda will be there to listen.

9) Given the access that everyone has at this point to immediate delivery of music and media, etc, is it easier of harder to get people's attention and get your music heard?

Linda: Tricky question, it is both for sure.

Now, you can be heard very easily but with limited exposure, and it's hard to get past all the noise. There's so much of it out there. So many artists competing for the same space. I'm not sure if "special" is even good enough. It takes a series of events, thoughtful choices to break out of the cattle line, most will end up in the slaughter house.

10) If you had to pick just one of the songs that you'be written and said 'that's the one that is most representative of my work life,' which one would it be?

Linda: I have not written that song.