I would like to take the opportunity to introduce you to a very talented singer named Celeste Harrell from the Windy City, whose sultry, strong, emotional, and enchanting voice will simply blow you away. The philosophy of this creative musical genius is quite simple, “Music brings diversity to life & bridges the gap to connect so many people, much like a smile.” Whether she is on stage singing an Old Negro Spiritual such as “Wade in the Water” or paying homage to Farris Dionne with her rendition of “Hopeless,” her soothing melodic heartfelt voice always moves you in a very special way.

Vocalist Celeste Harrell has been performing for as long as she can remember. Exposed to a variety of music styles from a young age, this native of Chicago learned to appreciate many styles of stage performance and all genres of music. A Graduate from the Illinois Theatre of Acting and Columbia College of Performing Arts in Chicago, Celeste’s singing and acting career began to blossom. While she was acting in small plays it allowed her to find her hidden talents and refine the magic behind her musical vocal performance. She let her talents and abilities flow as she began her professional singing career as a backup vocalist for her sister’s bands, The Diva Project and Les Girls. Opportunity struck one evening when Celeste was led to the front of the stage as a stand-in for another lead vocalist. Warmly accepted by the audience, she began her extensive music career as a lead singer.

To date, Celeste has performed in over 100 establishments in and around Chicago. From casinos, private & corporate parties, weddings and showcases to working with many of the best bands and orchestras of Chicago along with her former live band “The Rhythm Section”, and a host of countless fundraisers, she has done it all. By becoming involved with the March of Dimes, Easter Seals, and various AIDS research organizations; she discovered the sheer magic of performance charity benefits. In 2001, Celeste completed a 3 year project recording, touring & performing with Latin artist, Petra Luna. A nationally released self-titled CD was produced on Novo Records and is currently available at Best Buy and Tower Records.

Celeste supports the arts in many ways. Through live vocal performance, professional voice instruction, & music conferences featuring the best of teachers and producers in the world, she relentlessly pursues music education. The Chicago Lyric Opera House of Chicago can count on Celeste to attend their benefits along with catching several shows a year. This is one of the many ways Celeste supports music. As a member of the National Association of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), Celeste has attended the past six Grammy Award ceremonies and in August 2002, Celeste was chosen to become co-director & producer of the nation’s longest-running singer’s songfest, Chick Singer Night Chicago, now in its 18th year and currently in eleven national major cities.
So it is with great pleasure that I introduce you to Celeste Harrell, whose creative soul is as multifaceted as a diamond.

Andrew: No great journey toward our desired destination in life is accomplished solely by ourselves, so talk a bit about the people in your life who have and continue to support you throughout your blossoming young musical career as you continue to make your indelible mark on the sands of time.

Celeste: Believe it or not, my music career is not so young. I have been in the music business for over ten years already. Times goes by fast when you’re doing something you love. For me, music has always been the soundtrack to my life. Any pivotal point in my life, I have a song or group of songs that represent that time in my life. I have the best support system – my husband Steve and much of my family and friends encourage and support me in unimaginable ways. They mean the world to me.

Andrew: When did you know that you wanted to pursue a career in music, and that you also had the requisite internal motivation, drive and raw musical talent to succeed in this competitive industry?

Celeste: I have always been quite shy and I was a very shy child. I did have a voice that was noticed in the choir while in elementary school. My mother observed that I was a little musically inclined too and she encouraged me to play violin as well. Due to her pushing, I played violin for ten years! After graduating high school, I was asked to substitute one evening for a singer that was ill one night. The audience loved my voice and this began my professional singing career. The audience, fans, and my mother inspired me to carry on. It was unlikely for me to become a vocalist starting out as such a shy child.

Andrew: What experience do you value more and attain more personal satisfaction from as an artist: the creative process of making a song that begins with ideas in your mind and carries over to the collaboration with other talented creative-minded people in the studio OR performing the finished product at one of your live intimate shows and seeing the crowd’s positive reaction to and appreciation for your musical creations?

Celeste: The process of creating in general and every aspect leading up to the completion of creating anything artistic is what I value much more than anything else. Although I enjoy performing, I have always loved being behind the scenes processing ideas in my mind and trying to bring them to light. Positive reaction from a crowd feeds my aspiration.

Andrew: Who are some of the musical legends that greatly influenced you growing up, and who you also admired both for their extraordinary musical abilities and the way they carried themselves in the public throughout their careers?

Celeste: Great question! There are many but one stands out for me right now. I think the career of Lena Horne is remarkable. She has had a spectacular career and is a legend in the entertainment industry. She made a name for herself as an artist, an actress, and a dancer at a time when racial discrimination and her own broken family life could have broken her. She has always had a class about her that I thought was tops. Many people have never heard her voice but it is dreamy to say the least. Bands like U2 and rap artists like Tupac releasing socially responsible thinking and truthful music has always been refreshing to me. Looking into these artists lives from the beginning opens your eyes to where some of their nature in their songs comes from.

Andrew: Who are some of the contemporary musicians that you admire the most and would love to have the opportunity to collaborate with on a musical composition?

Celeste: I like those out of the box artists! Pharrell is phenomenal. Beck and Timberland are brilliant. Evanescence is deep. To collaborate with any of these artists would be a dream for me.

Andrew: Talk about the musical environment that you consciously chose to immerse yourself in that helped foster the development of your fundamental musical skills such as the self-examination of your strengths and individuality, creating improvisational music, and writing/performance techniques; shaping your musical competence and helping you discover your unique voice that your fans are blessed with in your musical creations?

Celeste: The musical environment was somewhat chosen for me brought on by opportunities that were presented to me. The development of my skills as a singer began in small plays when I was a child. Growing up, there was always various and different music being played in our home introducing me to a myriad of styles and music of different eras. I began performing in supper clubs and simple lounges where the toughest crowds taught me a lot about the world and about my craft. Through performing live with many bands and recording in the studio while taking voice lessons to learn proper breathing techniques and projection, I learned a lot. I am legal guardian to my teenage niece. When Janniece was little, I would sing to her and when she was too little to talk, she would hum. When she began singing along with me or echoing me, I was elated as we bonded. My formal education was taught to me by stepping in with both feet and learning the basics while expanding on the knowledge from experience as best I can. I have never stopped learning....



Andrew: You’ve been involved with a lot of charitable organizations such as March of Dimes, Easter Seals and other Aids research organizations, so talk a bit about the important role that music plays in bringing more awareness to the important causes of these organizations.

Celeste: Music is a universal language; much like a smile. Music connects everything for me. Although my involvement with these charitable organizations was not first associated with music, it has become something of a dream for me to produce for the sake of benefiting many organizations such as these. I have performed at their benefits and for their benefit out of pure altruism.

Andrew: You were recently selected to become the co-director and producer of Chick Singer Night Chicago, so tell our audience a bit about this singer songfest, and how you plan to contribute to its continued evolution and success in your new role.

Celeste: Chick Singer Night is special to me. When I was very young, it was introduced to me and at the time, I didn’t know the people running it nor how it worked but I knew it was fabulous. When I was chosen, my idea was exactly as their philosophy. I hope to continue to encourage more artists to grace our stage and to showcase their talents as musicians and vocalists while providing a safe supportive environment for them to perform in. I would love to make Chick Singer Night a haven for singers that have either never performed or those that think they cannot perform bringing them out of their shells and into a nurturing atmosphere.

Andrew: With the emergence of Online Independent Music Labels such as Magnatunes that are capable of selling there own music online, and can market/promote music primarily through the internet medium via the assistance of the burgeoning online communication networks such as myspace.com, do you think that the major record labels in the world will eventually cease to be the gatekeepers to musicians seeking lucrative sales and worldwide acclaim?

Celeste: The way I see it, the major record labels have been affected by the marketing and promoting of music through the internet method. I do not believe major record labels will eventually cease but they will pay attention and listen to the artists and perhaps relinquish the strong hold control many record labels have on their artists. Many artists have been known to sell their tapes and CD’s from the trunks of their cars in order to get their music heard. The internet is just another medium on an electronic level to do the same thing.

Andrew: Do you believe that exceptional musical talent (as oppose to musical skills and techniques) is something that some people are born with, or is it something that could be nurtured through education and years of training?

Celeste: I believe that some talent is innate. Some people are born with that special inclination to pick up instruments with ease while others can practice for many years and only become average. Kids that play Suzuki violin are perfect examples of the inborn and instructive talent some people have. I am not sure that talent in general can be taught however; nurturing any skill can enhance it.

Andrew: Where does your inspiration to write your songs come from?

Celeste: Life. Experiences.

Andrew: What do you think of the Indie Music scene in Chicago in 2006? Is it thriving with a great pool of multi-talented musicians that have venues to perform at and adequate support from their fellow musicians, or is it overcrowded with promising talent seeking stardom and filled with a ‘every man for himself’ mentality’, or is it a bit of both?

Celeste: The Indie Music scene in Chicago is still very underground with some sophisticated media. You see the marketing stickers on phone booths and on the sides of trucks along with the free publications that have bands’ performance schedules and festivals all over Chicagoland. Truly, it makes my city that Midwestern beautiful place where we have the best of both worlds; big city lifestyle and hard working artists. Just the architecture of our buildings and our Lake Michigan tells a story. Chicago is romantic, we have all four seasons, and we are the sister city of Paris!

Andrew: Do you think that the use of technology within the music industry today is a double-edged sword? (Costing Record Labels billions of dollars via internet piracy from P2P file sharing software, but still empowering indie musicians by providing them with another avenue to sell their music, and market and promote themselves).

Celeste: I knew that internet piracy would be an issue back when the internet was first introduced to me. There were not as many limitations on the internet in the beginning and there were only a few search engines. Now, the music industry is different. Some artists are known as internet stars while others are enjoying the convenience of the internet while fighting the internet loopholes due to Napster and file sharing in general. With the economy the way it is for middle class people, I do understand why many people download illegally. They simply cannot afford to buy every album a group has just for a few good songs. I believe that file sharing is hurting business in one way and helping the musician in another way by getting their music heard. It makes you wonder why musicians make music in the first place, to share it with the world or to make money from it. I would like both. It IS a double edged sword.

Andrew: How would you define the attainment of musical success in the industry? [Is it a personal achievement and journey defined by you in accordance with the benchmark that you set, is it just making the best music possible that inspires as many people as possible even if it is just one person, or is it defined by the amount of international acclaim you attain and the number of money earned from the sale of your music? Is it a combination of all three?]

Celeste: International acclaim has never been my goal. I would like to make the best music possible to inspire as many people as possible. Once I was singing at a place on a slow night and I sang a song by Sarah McLachlan that resonated with one of my fans in particular that evening. He was arguing with his fiancé and the song I sang made him so grateful of his life and where he was at that moment that he had to come up with tears in his eyes to tell me thank you. This made me feel like a million bucks. A couple months later while I was performing, he had already made his fiancé his wife and they both thanked me for singing that very same song. That was special to me and for me felt like success. It is a journey defined by me!

Andrew: I’m going to say a few words and tell me what immediately comes to your mind.
It’s a New Dawn, It’s a New Day, It’s a New LIfe

Celeste: I’m feeling very good. =)

Andrew: Change

Celeste: Slowly please

Andrew: Wade in the Water

Celeste: I love water and I live like water, free flowing.

Andrew: The Journey

Celeste: The most fun part of the ride of life.

Andrew: The Ends don’t Justify the Means

Celeste: It never really ends, does it?

Andrew: The Destination

Celeste: Where do we go next?

Andrew: Education

Celeste: Important on so many levels - academic and life experience.

Andrew: What is your favourite word?

Celeste: Perhaps....I like it better than IF

Andrew: What is your least favourite word?

Celeste: It has to be two words “Same - difference”

Andrew: What is your favourite word to curse with?

Celeste: I try not to curse but when I do, I will drop the F bomb!

Andrew: What is your favourite part of the human anatomy?

Celeste: The eyes......

Andrew: For all of our readers who will hear some of your songs, read the interview, and become instant fans; tell them where they can learn more about you, your music and your production. Tell everyone your website addresses?

Celeste: You can find just about everything Celeste at: http://www.celesteharrell.com or you can put my name in a search engine and see what comes up. That can get interesting!

Andrew: Do you have any upcoming live performances and/or albums that you want to tell our readers about?

Celeste: I am featured on a CD of an up and coming artist named Lawrence Welton. We did a song called Autumn Love. Please do check it out on:
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/welton We have several Chick Singer Night show’s a year in Chicago. Check us out at: http://www.chicksingernight.com You can try all natural Awareness products through my website at: http://www.awareness4life.com sold in Canada and the United States.

Andrew: Thank you very much Celeste for doing this interview with Pulp Magazine and I, and for blessing the world with your truly unique and enchanting voice! It was truly a pleasure for us and our readers to learn more about you! We are loving your musical voice and look forward to seeing you perform, and seeing your promising musical career reach new and exciting horizons. We wish you all of the best in your future endeavours and would love to have you back anytime.
Celeste: It would be my pleasure to work with you again. I thank you for having me and I truly appreciate your style of writing as well as your reflective questions. Your questions allowed me the opportunity to examine my career as a whole and speak about it so candidly and naturally. It will hopefully let your viewers get to know me outside of my talents and more about my persona.

Celeste: I thank you immensely for this opportunity and for welcoming me into your beautiful circle of talent from the features in your magazine to the candid interviews of the people featured in your magazine. Best of luck, love and success to Pulp Magazine. Much Love, C ~

Check out more of Celeste in our modeling section. Click here.