Margarita Turns 'Tragedy' into Success

9/10/2008 - Rants and Raves

Success as an Indie artist is defined in varying ways. It may be that landing a record deal or A&E contract is the pinnacle for some, while selling a million records or making that many dollars is the mark of success for others. With Margarita, success is defined one small step at a time.

She wrote her first songs at age five and by ten was enrolled in the Lisenka Music School for gifted children. At sixteen, she immigrated from the Ukraine carrying one set of clothes and a dream to New York City. She couldn't speak English but soon found herself working towards her lifelong ambition; a career in music.

To support herself she teaches piano at Ivy Music Studio in New York. She is currently working on a recording project with a six year old student. They will be submitting the material to various song contests. That may sound like child's play to some, but Margarita is a winner in her own right with awards from the John Lennon Songwriting Contest sponsored by Yoko Ono.

Being the aggressive one that she is, Margarita found herself surrounded by top shelf industry people while working a party as a caterer. Realizing the opportunity around her she pushed some of her tunes on the patrons. Not a good idea if you plan to keep your job. The tactic didn't pay off, but it exemplifies her determination and willingness to sacrifice to reach her goals.

Through her continued efforts she managed to meet multi-platinum engineer and producer Mike Anzel. Having good contacts is essential in the business, but they don't do much good if there isn't enough money to take advantage of the situation. Margarita turned her poverty into opportunity and worked for Anzel as a part time administrative assistant to pay her production bills. After some brief delays they released 'Tragedy' in February of 2008.

Having been classically trained in piano Margarita has a music style that borrows from several genres. She mixes them up with a twist of electronica and pop and presents them with a sense of passion and understanding that reveals her real world experiences. The songs are about struggle and pain, growth and success. They are in short the realities of a young woman fighting the odds to realize her dreams.

"I wanted to create a story of a life," she says, "of a young girl who is alone, scared and rejected, searching for the meaning of life and love, while trying to reach out for her dreams."

Margarita is scheduled to begin recording her next project sometime after the first of the year. She is currently performing every Saturday at Banjo Jim's and looking for the right musicians to add to her performance ensemble. Recently, she played for the Chelsea Mind Games Trivia Show, hosted by comedian Jen Dziura, and works daily to find more high profile opportunities like this to advance her career.

Indie musicians often feel the cards stacked against them trying to sell music and drive patrons to their shows. Few have to begin their career with a language barrier and a green card in their pocket. All share a similar desire to achieve success. What they do day in and day out is the deciding factor.

Margarita says, "You have to be smart about it. If you want to do art you need money. Yes, sure someone might notice you and sign you and give you a break but you can't count on that. If it comes great, but you shouldn't wait; count on you only. When you have big dreams you tend to think big, however big is made out of small tiny steps. And it can be a challenge to concentrate on small steps. But the small strides are very important because they will, over time, become big leaps."