Marina Verenikina

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Marina Verenikina
Birth name Marina Gennadievna Verenikina
Also known as Marina V
Born October 3, 1982(1982-10-03)
Origin Moscow, Russia
Genre(s) Pop, Acoustic
Occupation(s) Singer, Musician
Years active 1999–present
Website Marina V's Official Website

Marina Verenikina (also known as Marina V to her fans) is a Russian singer/musician. She was born in the Russian SFSR to a nuclear physicist father and a child psychologist mother.

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[edit] Life in Russia

Marina grew up singing and making up her own melodies even before she could talk. Sensing her musical talents, Marina's mother insisted that she take up formal musical education which she did for 8 years.

The time spent in the Soviet Regime music school was hard on Marina as she was not permitted to fully express her musical talents. At the age of 10, she decided to perform one of her original compositions for her piano teacher but was told that her music was 'simply nonsense'. She was upset at the teacher's comment as it made a lasting impression on her. She decided to suppress her musical talents, putting her songwriting on hold. She loathed attending the music classes and often skipped them. She pursued other interests including reading, skateboarding, torn jeans, karate, swimming and figure skating instead.

At the time, Russia was still under Communist rule and anything Western was considered contraband. The only music she was exposed to was Russian folk-songs and classical. Her life changed when she chanced upon the The Beatles. She began listening to their music and started playing their songs on the piano. This exposure to Western pop rekindled her interest in music.

At the age of 15, being a bright student, she enrolled in a national competition for a year-long scholarship to study in the U.S. and won, beating thousands of her Russian peers. That year made Marina realize that the American culture was more nurturing to individual creativity and she decided to move by herself to America - whatever it took. Her time in Springfield, Illinois was life-changing. She yearned to return to America.

When she returned to Russia, she found out that her mother was moving to Australia and that her year-long education in the USA did not count academically in Russia. She knew she needed to get back to America. She took on several jobs to help support her family, complete her high school education in Russia and make her return to the USA a reality.

[edit] Returning to America

Her dreams came true when she was 17. She left her family behind and set off by herself and returned to Springfield, the only place she knew in America. Life wasn't easy as she struggled through the hardships of being on her own in a new environment. She went through several bad relationships and other life-altering experiences and things did not appear to go her way. While studying at Illinois College, she found solace through her songwriting as she wove her experiences into her songs.

[edit] Marina's Music Career

Shortly after she turned 19, she met Nick Baker who became her soulmate and inspired her to take her musical talents seriously. She sold her pickup truck, bought a piano and began playing and singing her songs daily. She entered in her college's talent competition and sang her original composition 'Leaving', winning first prize. After getting praise from her fellow students on how much her song moved them, she decided to start recording her music and with pre-orders coming in from students and faculty members, she was able to finance the whole recording session and manufacture of her debut CD 'Let Me Dream'. Her first show in a little coffeehouse in Jacksonville, Illinois was filled to capacity.

She co-wrote songs with Nick Baker and they toured together playing to packed houses in and around Illinois. Nick, an accomplished guitarist in his own right, is a great inspiration to Marina and together they are a match made in heaven.

During a concert for their CD release 'LIFT', a lighting rig improperly attached to the ceiling collapsed just before they were to go on. If they had been onstage five minutes earlier, they would have been either injured or killed but with divine intervention, only some of their drumkit and guitarist's rig were damaged. At the time, the band members had just completed their sound check and were greeting their fans.

After exhausting their options in Illinois, both Marina and Nick decided to moved to Los Angeles, California where they are currently residing. Being virtually unknown in Los Angeles, both Marina and Nick took on any gigs they could find including playing at Borders and made one fan at a time. They began sending out hundreds of demos to anyone and everyone in the music industry.

Their first break came when they caught the attention of David Krebs, who has been instrumental in building the careers of Don McLean, Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Aerosmith, among others.

In the spring of 2004, Marina joined forces with Jack Douglas, whose discography ranges from John Lennon and George Harrison to Aerosmith.

Marina has received mentions from numerous print and online publications and was recently featured in Keyboard Magazine, which called her "one of the most promising singer/songwriters of the year". Marina has also been named as one of the HOT 100 UNSIGNED Artists by Music Connection Magazine and is a proud recipient of the ASCAP popular award three years running. She is officially endorsed by AUDIX microphones, PEAVEY products and YAMAHA digital pianos.

Despite her successes, Marina V is very approachable and can be seen on MySpace where she makes time to communicate with her fans. She loves camping & hiking in the wild, traveling, reading, learning Yoga, eating all kinds of international food and going to the opera, theater & the movies. She is described as a fun-loving girl with a passion for life. She's a determined girl who does not let any barriers or obstacles get in her way.

In 2006, she received her US Citizenship. Despite being an American now, she has not forgotten her family in Moscow whom she keeps in contact with and visits regularly. Not forgetting her roots, she includes a Russian track with each of her albums.

Marina continues to write, record and tour locally in the US and Europe while looking for an artist-friendly record label.

On January 15, 2008, Marina V will appear at the Kodak Theater for the North American Chinese New Year Festival.

The internet radio station KGRL featured her as their “Flower-Powered Artist” for May of 2008,[1] The feature includes an exclusive interview, a CD Review of Kismet, exclusive photos, and an on-demand high-definition video stream of the first KGRL FPA Live Sessions performance last April 2008.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • Let Me Dream (1999)
  • LIFT (2001)
  • Something Of My Own (2003)
  • Simple Magic (2005)
  • Marina V : Live at SoundMoves (2006)
  • Modern Fairytale (2008)

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Flower-Powered Artist - May 2008. KGRL. May 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2008.

[edit] References

[edit] External links