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VT: And that’s it. When we’re doing what we love, I think that’s when we’re having fun, right?
BiTS: Do you have any ambition left? Is there something you’d really like to do in your life?
VT: That I’m not currently doing?
BiTS: Yes, that you’re not currently doing.
VT: I don’t think so, Ian. I think I’m very happy doing this music and loving every minute of it and also I’m
very active in my church and we do concerts and things like that, so I don’t think there’s anything that I
would like to do that I’m not doing. I’ve been very blessed in my life.
BiTS: Back in 1991, I lived in New York City for a year and I had a friend who lived in Westchester County,
which is where I gather you are. I wish I’d known there was a church where I could go and listen to some
gospel music there [chuckling].
VT: Oh, that’s wonderful, wonderful. So have you been to New York lately?
BiTS: I haven't been to New York for must be at least 15 or 16 years, I would think.
VT: Okay. Well if you ever get this way, please give me a call and we’ll do the town.
BiTS: I will do that. Have you been affected by COVID? Have you had gigs that you were doing that were
cancelled?
VT: Yes, the lockdown was very hard for
musicians, especially in New York. I
have friends who do Broadway, and
they weren't able to work. I was
fortunate in that I was able to work
because we have a studio. I couldn’t go
out and do sessions, but people could
send files to me here and I would do
commercials, or I would do background
vocals for different people. I wasn’t very
busy, but I was able to stay busier than
some of my colleagues.
BiTS: I’m delighted that that was able
to happen for you. Do you play any
instrument? Piano, I guess and what
else?
VT: That’s it. I play keyboards and I
played keyboards on a lot of the songs
on “Fight The Good Fight”.
BiTS: Oh, do you now?
VT: Yes.
BiTS: You said you wrote a lot of these songs with your husband. How does that work? Do you both sit
down at a keyboard and hum melodies and lyrics, or does somebody write lyrics and then put melodies to
it, or what?
VT: Well, mostly when I’m writing alone, all of those things come together for me at the same time. I’m
writing chords and melodies and words, and for some reason, they all fall together at the same time. Of
course, when I’m writing with other people, like if I’m writing with my husband, he will start the track off -
he’s a drummer - so he’ll put down some beats and maybe a bass part and then I’ll put chords to it and
when I’m writing with Al Orlo, my guitar player, he and I will write sort of at the same time. We’ll start with
a sketch and then he'll fill in chords and I’ll fill in chords and we both write the lyrics. I write differently
with different people.