When Women Rock : The Rock Star in Red Boots
Payton Rose Velligan is a 21-year-old multi-instrumentalist and performer born and raised just outside of Charlotte, NC. Specializing in vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar, bass guitar, and occasionally a bit of tambourine, she is versatile and happy to fill any position on stage. Recognized at the national level as a high schooler by associations such as the GRAMMY foundation and Honors Performance Series, Payton has had many opportunities to perform on stages across the country, from small town bars to Carnegie Hall.
A public performer since the age of five, Payton took her first professional steps at the age of fifteen as a founding member of the band Irrashional, an original group out of Charlotte which sought to revive the iconic glory of 70s rock-n-roll. The band released two original EPs, Closer Than You Think (2018) and Beyond (2019), which feature Payton on vocals and bass guitar. In 2019, during her first month of college, Payton joined forces with Tommy DeCarlo, the singer of the legendary rock band Boston (since 2007). She has been thrilled to be the keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist of DECARLO for three years.
Payton is currently on tour with Tommy DeCarlo, performing the Music of Boston, and with Rudy Cardenas of American Idol, performing the Music of Journey. She is excited to be sharing some of her favorite music with audiences all over the globe!
Payton is currently a student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, majoring in Music (surprise!) and minoring in Arts Administration. She is expanding her study of piano in college and spends her weekends traveling and playing shows.
When not practicing or performing, Payton enjoys spending her time reading anything - from classical literature to sci-fi novels to biographies to Shakespeare’s dramas. She also loves spending time with her family, her dog Cookie, and all the wonderful people she has befriended through music.
paytonrosemusic.com
@paytonrosemusic on Instagram and Facebook
www.marlanasemenza.com
Audio : Ariza Music Productions
Transcription : Vision In Word
Marlana
I just met a star. That's what I thought when I first met Payton Rose Velligan and saw her perform. She sings, plays piano, keyboards, guitar, bass and occasionally a bit of tambourine and kills the stage in her red boots. A public performer since the age of five, she took her first professional steps at the age of 15. And at 21 is currently on tour with Tommy DeCarlo and Rudy Cardenas while still finishing up her music major at UNC. Believe me when I tell you this girl is the total package and I'm honored to know her. Welcome, Peyton.
Payton
Thank you so much for that. That was so kind.
Marlana
Well, so tell us how did you get into music in the first place?
Payton
Like any little kid, I mean, I love to mess around with the piano. And my parents were very musical. There was always music playing in our house on the stereo. My mom played piano, I mean, just singing, dancing. I had a very musical upbringing. So, I loved music since an early age. You know, I started taking piano lessons when I was five or six. And I never wanted to live my life without music in it. So that's kind of how it all started. And it just grew and grew from there. Definitely.
Marlana
So, you play a lot of different instruments. Was that just out of curiosity that you kept picking them up? Or at a necessity? Or what?
Payton
A little bit of both? I guess definitely curiosity is a good way to put it and just in love and wanting to emulate some of my heroes, probably because like I said, I started out with piano. And then I picked up the guitar when I was 13. Because my dad, he played, and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. And you know, I wanted to be like Jimmy Page or John Lennon. And I wanted to play, and I did pick up the bass as a necessity. Ironically, it might be my favorite instrument now. But I was in a four-piece band in high school. And our bass player went off to college. We were all sad. And we needed a bass player. So, I thought I’d try it. And I ended up absolutely loving it.
So, we became a trio. And singing. I mean, I've just always loved to sing. And I had to find my confidence in singing, especially in front of other people. That was not something that came naturally it was playing in front of other people, but I always loved to do it.
Marlana
So how did you find your confidence? Because believe me when you get on stage now, you own it.
Payton
Oh, thank you!
Marlana
So, where'd that come from?
Payton
It took a while. I actually owe a lot to my amazing, amazing teachers that I've had throughout the years. I would not be on stage, especially if it weren't for my guitar teacher. His name is Carl Gunther. And I started taking lessons from him when I was probably 14 or 15. And he really gave me the push that I needed to go out of my comfort zone. And that was something I struggled with, stepping out of that, my little tiny box that I felt comfortable in. I think I was taking lessons from him for about two weeks only. And he had taught me the guitar solo to purple haze by Jimi Hendrix, which I never even thought I could play guitar solo at that point. And he said, ‘Hey, we're having a little concert at this pizza place nearby and I want you to come out and play’ and I didn't even know the whole song. And, you know, he just got me up on stage. And he played drums behind me, and we had a friend jump up on bass and I just did it and I was terrified.
There's a video of me out there somewhere. My hair is just completely covering my face intentionally that way. And I did not like it. I was so embarrassed. But afterwards, the song ended, and I just felt this amazing. I just felt so good. I loved it. It was like I definitely noticed at that moment that it wasn't as scary as I thought it was. And you know people, I mean I made mistakes; people didn't care. You know, everybody was just there to have fun and it's really that simple. Every time I go up on stage, I think to myself, I'm here to have fun. I always have fun. And the crowd is here to have fun. They don't come to a rock concert, expecting perfection, they just want to have a good time. And that's what we do. We have a good time. And it's always fun, and it's never perfect. And that is totally okay.
Marlana
So now when you get on stage, what does it feel like?
Payton
It feels energizing. And it's always a thrill. Seeing the crowd for the first time, you know, we go out in the soundcheck, and all the seats are empty. You know, there's a lot of reverberation, and nobody's soaking up that sound yet. And then we don't go on stage again until the place is full. And that is always..I think I'm immediately struck with just so much gratitude that people are coming to hear us and maybe a little bit of surprise, sometimes that, you know, people are there to see us and are so excited about it.
But yeah, I'm always very thankful to see a crowd so excited when we walk out on stage, but definitely energizing some days. You know, I can't wait to go out there and I'm just bouncing off the walls and some days, I'm like, I could really use a nap. But as soon as I go out there, it always feels the same. I mean, I feel amazing.
Marlana
You did something that not a lot of people have done. You've actually played at Carnegie Hall. Tell us about that.
Payton
Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I have. I've sang at Carnegie Hall. And that was just one of the amazing experiences I've had. I had as a high schooler actually. I auditioned for something called The Honors Performance Series. A program for students, and singers to take the trip up to New York and be in a choir with people from literally around the globe, all across the US. And yeah, other countries as well. And we all came together in New York and rehearsed for a few days. And then we had the big show at Carnegie Hall. And that was one of the most beautiful spaces I have ever been in. I have dreams in Carnegie Hall to this day, like where I'm just walking around. It is so dreamlike. I mean, it's an ethereal, it's really amazing. So yeah, so I keep saying the word amazing a lot because that's kind of how I feel like everything is looking back at it, it's almost hard to believe that it happened and that I was actually there. And it was a great memory, I met a lot of I was in the women's choir. So, a lot of ladies who were just amazing singers and pushed me to be better.
I learned a lot about harmonizing with others. And I was an alto. And you know, that's it's, it was hard for me to be in the middle of all these voices. And definitely helped me train my ear a little bit. And you know, Carnegie Hall is built to be perfect acoustics. So going in there, you know, when you start singing, I tried to soak up every second of hearing, you know, the choir that I was a part of. Just hearing that sound. It's like nothing you've ever heard until you actually go there. It was really cool.
Marlana
And you know, that's one thing that always strikes me about watching you in any performance I've either seen on tape or live is you soak everything up, which is such a good thing because there's so many people that just aren't present in their life. And to see that you just want to take it all in and love every moment of it. And that's so nice to see. Now, you're only in your first month of college when you joined forces with Tommy DeCarlo. So how did that happen?
Payton
Yeah, that was a crazy time in my life.
Marlana
And also, for anybody who has, you know, kind of been under a rock, tell us who Tommy DeCarlo is.
Payton
Yes, Tommy DeCarlo is the current lead singer of the band Boston. So… ‘More Than a Feeling’, ‘Peace of Mind’… All those hits came from Boston and yeah, he's, he's currently singing with them. So, I've had the absolute honor of sharing the stage with him for about three years now. And yeah, as you said, I did join the band right after I started my freshman year. I met them over the summer after I graduated high school. And, you know, we're all in Charlotte. Well, current Charlotte residents. And so, of course, through the music scene, you know, you meet people, and I always knew ‘Okay, the singer of Boston is here’, but like, I've never been able to catch a show. And I've been a huge fan Boston, you know, all throughout high school and everything.
So, I finally got to go to show. And to my surprise, they are looking for a keyboardist and a guitarist. And this is the first time I got to talk to Tommy Sr., we call him because there's a Tommy Jr. He pulled me aside at one of their shows, and he was like, ‘how are you on the keyboard?’ And this was out of the blue, like, he had actually invited me to sing a song with them. I think I did a Journey song ‘Separate Ways’ with them. And so, I was like, ‘Oh, that was so fun’. And what a cool experience to sing with them. And, you know, I’ll remember this forever, you know, whatever. But I will. The he pulled me aside and I carried on keyboards. I mean, I've played for a long time, and I'm studying in college. But in that moment, I had like, no idea. I was like, I don't know, because he's really good on the keyboards anyways. So, they invited me to play, sit in a couple more shows with them. And then I got the big invitation to join their band. And I actually play guitar as well. So, they needed a second guitarist. So, I was able to kind of fill both those roles. And learning all the Boston songs was so much fun. It is such great music. So well written in very genius composing, and all the guitar harmonies and keyboard organ parts are brilliant. So that was a fun project to take on, but a little bit stressful going into college as well as a bunch of new things all at once.,
Marlana
So, what's the road like been like for you at 21 years old?
Payton
It's so much fun. I love it. I love it. I mean, a year ago, two years ago, if you asked me, you know, do you think you'd be on the road? You know, with whoever I would say, ‘You kidding me? Like, that would be amazing.’ But I mean, I never expected to be here. It's definitely the time of my life. I love it. We have an amazing band and amazing crew. And so, everybody being on the road together is just fun. It is really cool. It's really fulfilling to be able to go out to different cities and see, you know, we're in the a few new places for the first time. And we see crowds coming out and loving the show. And it's just really cool to be able to share this music with so many people and new faces and make new friends.
I try my best to be able to go out and talk to some people after the show and make new friends and I love that part of it so much. And now I have friends across the country and that is definitely the coolest thing to take away from all this, is just meeting new people and, and definitely all the great memories I love. You know, on our days off, we try to go out and see the cities. We're in Dallas right now. So, we did a few historical things yesterday and had some barbecue, which was fantastic. And you know, we just tried to explore it and take it all in. There's so many cool things to see. And all the places we've been, and I love to explore so it's definitely a dream come true for me. And I'm just so insanely grateful to be here definitely.
Marlana
So how do you then juggle ‘Rockstar’ Peyton and ‘student’ Peyton?
Payton
Well, I don't know if I think of myself as ‘Rockstar’ Peyton. I guess I'm just Payton. Realistically, it's definitely taking a little bit of hard work and discipline and you know, doing some reading and homework at soundcheck and stuff like that, and, you know, on the bus or van going back and forth on the plane. I mean, it really is just a matter of doing it. But, you know, I'm studying music and school and arts administration. And so, it really kind of ties into exactly what I'm doing right now. And so, you know, I'm grateful to be receiving that education and being able to put it into practice right now with my work. And so, it's, it's not easy, but it's 100% 110% worth it. And so, like on the job training. Yeah, I have to give a shout out to my professors to at UNCG. I've had so many really great professors and who have been really understanding and supportive of me being in in music and doing this, and I'll tell them the beginning of the semester, ‘hey, I might be missing class sometimes. And I'll do whatever I can to make up the work or whatever.’ And, you know, can you record your lecture or whatever, and they have been so accommodating and just really supportive. So, I owe a lot of them as well.
Marlana
So, you play primarily with an all-male band. But recently, you and I met when you got to play with an all-female band at Rock and Roll fantasy camp. So how was it different playing with all men versus all women?
Payton
I love my guys, I love them. I've played with so many fantastic guys throughout my career. So for, in playing at the Women's Camp, but with our band, Hello, Cleavage…We were, we had so much fun, it was definitely different. I think, well, first of all, we had all just met each other. So, you know, that was one thing too. And I feel like we kind of created a bond really quickly. And maybe that was because we were all women, and we were all sharing this experience. And I think we just had never had that opportunity. We'd all been in bands, but never with women. So, the fact that we were all there, and we could share our experiences and kind of relate over certain things. And we find, you know, somebody would be telling a story, and we’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh’, I guess like, ‘you get it, I get it’, you know, like, we feel the same way about this.
And it was really cool. You know, it was a very supportive environment, everybody was there to kind of lift each other up it. There wasn't a sense of real competition between anybody, it was just, you know, we want to help each other. And we were all there to share this, you know, once in a lifetime experience. And so, you know, everybody was just grateful to be there. So it was great.
Marlana
What do you take away from that experience?
Payton
Wow! Definitely! Well, a lot of things. I feel empowered. I definitely. I mean, I don't know if this sounds cheesy, but like, I feel like I can do anything. And I really do. It was really cool to see women of all ages there at the camp. I'm 21 and there was, I think some ladies in their 70s were there who were still totally rocking out and just killing it. Seeing Nancy Wilson, seeing you know, Kathy Valentine, all these women who have been doing it for so long, really gave me confidence and empowered me that I feel like I'm on the right path.
Sometimes I feel like, I feel anxious, or I feel this pressure. Because, you know, you’ve got to do everything while you're still young, or oh, now, you know, before you're a certain age, you know, you have to have made it or else it's not going to happen for you. And usually that happens when you're, you know, in your 20’s. People are kind of, nudging you to make it or find something else to do. Because once you've hit a certain age if I don't know, people aren’t going to be interested, especially I feel like women have that pressure and men maybe don't as much. And so anyway, so seeing women of all ages..I was with ladies younger than me and, you know, all ages, just kind of proving that wrong, you know, and saying ‘no’, like, you can be any age and still rock it out and still sound amazing, still have so much energy and so much passion for music. It just made me really happy. And I know that I can do this for my whole life, which is exactly what I want to do. So, I have full confidence in that now.
Marlana
Well actually, let me ask you this first. Do you think that there needs to be more women in music? More women in rock?
Payton
Sure, yeah, totally. I mean, I say ‘yes’. If there's any women out there who think rock is not for them, or they're being held back, like, you know, do it. Like this is 100% a women's game like, you know. I think that people like the ladies, we met, Nancy Wilson and you know, Melissa Etheridge, definitely broke so many barriers down for women. And so, you know, hearing their stories totally made me emotional because I owe so much to them for you know, sticking up for themselves in a lot of ways. When they had to, but yeah, I think more women should be doing this if they want to. I mean, I think women should be doing whatever they want to do, and nobody should be holding them back at all. And I've been very blessed in as being a rock musician. Being in this game.
I work with a lot of men, a lot of guys, and they're amazing, our band is incredible. Our crew is incredible. They're respectful, they're supportive, we all lift each other up. It doesn't matter that I'm the only girl, they don't treat me like that. And it's so nice. I don't really have that thought, like, ‘Oh, I'm just the girl’, you know, like,’ nobody listens to me’. I mean, no, I think it's about mutual respect, and presenting yourself . If you want people to respect you, as a woman, like you have to be respectful to everybody else, and surround yourself with good people. And, yeah, you can definitely do this.
Marlana
So then how do you create your opportunities?
Payton
How do I create my opportunities? There's been opportunities that have been given to me that I, first of all, just want to say ‘thanks’, I'm grateful for those. But I think it's also about networking, and you know, meeting the right people and keeping up with them, giving of your time, your talents and your energy for others. Even maybe not expecting things in return, always doing things for others. And, you know, just putting yourself out there. You know, even when maybe you're a little bit nervous to do so. That was definitely what gave me my first push, and just connecting with people over things that you're interested in, making friendships.
I didn't even go into music in the first place expecting to do this, I did my first gig because I thought it was going to be fun. And, you know, I formed my first band. Well, I didn't form it, but I joined it with the intention of just having fun in the basement, like, you know, we really didn't expect to perform and be on the big stage or anything, and then a lot has come out of it. So, I think just always, like, your main reason for doing it is because you're passionate about it, and that you love it, not because you want to get something out of it, or a certain opportunity. And I feel like that's when the greatest things have come to me. And it was a surprise. It was just because I made a connection with somebody over something that was just fun, or, we were just passionate about. And so yeah, I guess that's, that's what's worked for me.
Marlana
I have to say, as somebody who obviously has met you, has seen you perform. For me, I think it's easy to want to help you and easy to want to help you create experiences and opportunities because you're immensely talented, but you are also just a great human. So, you know, you want to see people like you rise up and people like you shine.
Payton
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Marlana
So, what are your dreams? Where do you hope to go from here?
Payton
My dreams? I have a lot of them. Well, really where I hope to go is just to keep keeping doing what I'm doing. I love what I'm doing. I love playing music, I love performing. Definitely some of my goals are to write more music, and to release it and I've done a little bit of that throughout my little career. And it's one of my favorite things to do. So, to write more music, to collaborate with other musicians and kind of get my own voice out there. But if I can, if I can be a performing, you know, original music for the rest of my life, I would be super happy. That's all I want to do.
Marlana
Is it easier for you to write songs alone or easier for you to collaborate?
Payton
That's an interesting question. I think it's easier for me to finish songs when I'm collaborating with somebody. I think that's the hardest part for me, actually, is finishing a song because it's so easy to just be laying around and come up with some riffs so it sounds cool or come up with a few lines of something that's, you know poetry or lyrics or whatever, but finishing it is where I need help.
I've had some amazing collaborators in my career and in high school, and my band Irrashional, we, there was four of us. And also, then we turned into a trio, we had a great time writing with each other, we released two EPs, and I definitely needed the support of my bandmates too to, you know, do that whole process. And also to talking about confidence and growing that, I mean, when I started thinking about the idea of songwriting, not even songwriting, just thinking about it, I was nervous to be that vulnerable in front of somebody, like, I wrote this, and I hope you like it, you know. And, and whatever you're singing about, you know, it's usually pretty personal or whatever.
I was very terrified to do that. So, my bandmates purely there to kind of support and kind of validate, you know, some ideas and saying, yeah, like, you know, whether it was good or not, like, it's, ‘I'm glad you shared it with me’. And that was everything for me. So, I owe them a lot for that. And, yeah, it's always fun to have somebody to throw around ideas with and to kind of push each other when you need it.
Marlana
I want to say it was Janet Robin and I were talking about it. And we were saying that when you are any kind of creative, and you produce something that's like a piece of you, and when you share it with people, and get feedback and things like that, that's like your child that you're, you’re kind of protective of and, you know, are the bullies going to try and beat up on it? Or, you know, is everybody going to love on it? Or what?
Payton
Yeah, that's definitely the case. You know, it's always a little bit nerve wracking and exciting, sharing something with somebody for the first time, but I think you have to be confident in your own abilities that the things you're coming up with aren't silly, you know, this is your art. And this is something that you care about. And so, sharing it with somebody, if somebody's gonna laugh at it just don't, they're not going to first of all, but, you know, you shouldn't really worry about those people that might bring you down. There's some 100 people out there who are gonna lift you up for it. But that was something I had to discover for myself. And I'm glad that I had people that helped me do that.
Marlana
So, what would you say to the five-year-old or the 15-year-old who is looking to do what you're doing?
Payton
Well, I'm glad actually, sometimes I do see little, little, little, little girls in the crowd, little 10-year-old girls, and I, that's my favorite thing ever. When I see little girls in the crowd that come up to me after the show and say they want to be a rock star. I mean, see, I just, I have two words, ‘do it’. ‘Do it’. Like if that's what you want to, do it. And I don't want them to have any other ideas in their head besides do it if that's what you really want to do. I'm kind of an indecisive person. By nature, I take a long time to think about things before I actually do them. And I think that there's been a lot of times where I've done that, and I've spent weeks or months thinking, Gosh, I really want to do that. But I don't know, I'm too scared. Like is it gonna work? Is going to be whatever?
I finally do. It takes me, however long and then I'm like, ‘Man, I just wasted three months worrying about it’. And when I probably should have just said, you know, ‘if this is something you feel passionate about, and something that you feel is right, then just do it’. And, and with music, I think it's really like that if you have a curiosity, explore it. You know, if you think the guitar is cool, just try it, you know, and nothing bad is gonna happen. And something really cool could happen. So definitely explore your passions and your curiosities, especially when you're young. I mean, I was thankful that I was homeschooled throughout most of my education, and since fourth grade, so I graduated high school and I was home schooled,
That gave me a ton of freedom. I mean, I owe my parents everything, I mean, they're the best. But that gave me the freedom to explore a lot of things, a lot of things I tried. I tried a lot of things…sports, music, dance. Music is the one that really stuck. But you know, I hope I wish that everybody has that opportunity to explore their passions and creativities and if I can do that, for somebody to help them do that, you know, that would be my joy
Marlana
Alright Peyton, I just have four final questions for you, and one of them you may have just touched on, but what's the best piece of advice you were ever given?
Payton
I've been given a lot. I like this one…write the music that you want to hear on the radio.
Marlana
Share with us one thing on your bucket list.
Payton
Write, record and release a full-length album that's all original.
Marlana
Any dream collaborations?
Payton
Collaborations feel like I'm living them right now with the DeCarlo. But, Jimmy Page.
Marlana
Okay, so Jimmy Page if you're listening… When the toy companies finally get around to making an action figure of you, what two accessories will it come with?
Payton
Red boots, and a Fender Jazz Bass.
Marlana
Love it. And last one how do people find you?
Payton
You can find me on Instagram and Facebook, Payton Rose Music and my website is paytonrosemusic.com.
Marlana
Love it and you know; I look forward to watching your star burn really bright.
Payton
Thank you, Marlana. Thank you for everything and all the support and love you've shown me. Thank you so much for having me today.
Marlana
Well, thank you.