That Hapa Chick: Amplified Tour: Jasmine Character Interview

I have the wonderful honor of hosting a portion of the Amplified tour today! I REALLY enjoyed this book and I'm so glad that I get to share some of its wonderfulness with you. Here's an interview with the main character Jasmine herself!

Thanks for taking the time to do this interview Jasmine! Let's start off with a few easy questions: Favorite color, animal, and food?

Hmmm... purple, dolphins, and pizza.

Great choices! I love pizza too. Then again, who doesn't love pizza? Anyway I know you love music, so tell me what bands/musicians inspire you the most?

Classic rock, for sure. David Gilmour's guitar work in Pink Floyd has always been a huge inspiration to me. He wasn't afraid to pusht the envelope and do something different from what everyone else was doing back then, you know? I love guitarists who aren't afraid to break the rules. guitarists who put country riffs in the middle of a punk song, for example.

I'm inspired by female guitarists who hold their own, especially back in the day - like Nancy Wilson. she was and still is brilliant. I've also got a special place in my heart for Donita Sparks of L7. That chick is fearless. I mean, she threw her used tampon at a rowdy crowd. who does that?

Who indeed! That sounds pretty kick ass. So do you play any other instruments besides guitar?

No, I fell in love with guitar and never really considered playing anything else. But I'm not against trying something new.

It must be cool to be the lead guitarists of a great band like C-Side. What's the best thing about being in the band? What's the worst thing?

Best thing: Those moments we're playing together and magic happens. It's like we're all completely in tune ith each other and we just feed off of each other's energy. I can't even really describe how that feels...other than it's a buzz like nothing else.

Worst thing: When you make a mistake onstage, you take everyone down with you. It's a lot of pressure.

I can imagine! You definitely have a lot of guts to put it all out there like that. Tell us, if you weren't dating Sean, what would your dream boyfriend be like?

Are me and Sean dating? I don't even know what we are... But my dream boyfriend would be honest, smart, completely supportive of my music, funny, and an amazing kisser. Emphasis on the amazing kisser part.

Well I've never been kissed so I wouldn't know about that but I'll take your word for it. Living in Santa Cruz has gotta be pretty sweet. What's your favorite thing to do there?

I live across the street from the Pacific Ocean... literally. So, I spend a lot of time sitting on the cliffs and playing guitar or closing my eyes and just listening to the ocean. I don't think about anything in particular. I just take in everything around me.

The ocean is amazing! I would probably just sit and listen to the waves too. I know that you struggled a bit when you first started playing live shows with C-Side. Any advice to newcomers to the performing scene?

The advice Veta gave me is so true - keep going, no matter what. If you stop to dwell on who might be laughing at you or a mistake you made, chances are you'll dig yourself a deeper hole. Close your eyes and pretend you're playing somewhere you feel 'safe', if you have to.

That is some awesome advice! So now that you've made it big with C-Side do you have any other goals that you want to accomplish? Sign to a label? Go to school maybe?

Well, we're about to go on tour and I'm simultaneously terrified and ecstatic about it. I think it's going to test me...in a lot of ways. I'm planning on going to school in another. Maybe major in music. I'd like to be a music teacher one day.

Those are some great aspirations. Good luck with everything Jasmine and thanks for doing this interview!

Amplified is an AWESOME book and you should really give it a read! You can read my review of it here and check it out on GoodReads here.

Julia :)