Friday, Aug. 29, 2008

Singer’s big dreams match her big effort

By SANDRA ENGELLAND

Amanda Stansky is living a teenager’s dream of making a successful career as a singer-songwriter.

Earlier this spring, her song "Are You There?" was included on the MTV hit drama The Hills. MTV reserved the option to use another seven of her tunes for future episodes.

She co-wrote and sang the theme song for The Good Life, a reality show set to debut on NBC sometime this year.

In recent weeks, Amanda has been recording her second CD and has performed two shows, one on her birthday at the Dallas House of Blues.

Although she just turned 18, she is wise beyond her years in knowing that big dreams can come with big price tags. She spends long hours in the studio. Amanda doubled up on classes and went to summer school so she could graduate from Keller High School in May 2007, a year early. She is a prolific writer, creating several songs a week and spends much of her spare time contacting industry insiders and marketing her work.

"It’s too big a dream not to really go for it," Amanda said. "If I don’t give it my all, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life."

Meanwhile, her social life takes a back seat to working on her goal. Amanda said her friends are excited for her and pretty understanding about her lack of time to "just hang out."

Amanda’s recent success has been a long time in the making. She grew up in a musical family. Older brother Ryan, a drummer, now lives in New York. Her dad, Hyman Stansky, manages a state-of-the-art recording studio in northeast Keller. Harbor House Studios is at Cross Timbers Community Church.

Hyman Stansky toured and performed on the contemporary Christian music scene for many years before opening Harbor House Studios in 2001.

Amanda grew up singing: at age 5, singing harmonies with her parents in the car; at 7, making her debut at Arlington’s Johnnie High’s Country Music Review with her original song "When I Was a Kid;" at 11, singing at Southlake Town Square; and at 13, featured artist on Dish Network’s YMCtv (Your Music Channel Television).

In between there were lots of guitar lessons. She didn’t like the guitar for the first several years she played. After a while, it became part of her, "like breathing," she said. The guitar helped her write songs. Breedlove Guitar Company recently signed on as one of her sponsors.

"We could see she had a lot of talent; it just needed to be developed," Hyman Stansky said.

Beyond "making" her take guitar lessons, her parents didn’t push her into a musical career. Amanda has plenty of drive on her own.

"She is just really making things happen herself," Hyman Stansky said. "The music industry is it for her, and she’s pursuing it."

Amanda is enthusiastic about her music even after being at the recording studio until 2:30 a.m. the night before. The energetic blonde leans forward on the edge of her seat as she talks about the joy she gets from creating music.

"I’m really into the artistic side of music," she said. "I write all the music and all the words I perform."

She gushes over the adrenaline rush she gets from performing, but writing is even more essential.

She is always writing songs, taking the good and the bad that happens to her and around her as material. A few days ago, she wrote about a friend’s relationship issues. Last month, she wrote about having trouble sleeping.

"It’s almost like therapy. I get inspired by anything," she said.

Just before she graduated, her parents got divorced, and her mom moved to Australia. Amanda decided to spend some time living with her in Sydney.

Although she enjoyed much of her Australian experience, she also had some culture shock and felt isolated. She used that time to write more music and improve her craft. She worked with Australian music producers. She stayed up late to make calls to Los Angeles music industry people.

She went by herself to L.A. to talk with music professionals. At 17, she couldn’t rent a car or a hotel room. She stayed with friends and borrowed rides. She managed to get in touch with music supervisors at MTV and learned that her song would be on The Hills.

The self-reliance she learned in Australia and L.A. has helped. "It was so good for me," she said. "I grew up a lot."

After six months, she returned to North Texas with a renewed focus.

She looks at obstacles and sees opportunities. After an unsatisfying experience with a business manager she decided to take on that role herself, at least for a while. Now she knows what she needs as she looks for another manager.

Her combination of business savvy and creativity should serve her well as she is making her career in music, Hyman Stansky said.

As a father, he knows she might find herself in all sorts of challenging situations and encourages her to remain true to herself. "Be who you are where you are."

He thinks Amanda has a great chance for further success because of her work ethic.

"She’s got a dream, and she says there is no other option."

Local music producer Steve Rokks said Amanda keeps getting better and better.

"Amanda writes and writes and writes. When she gets in the studio or performs, you can tell that it’s personal. She’s emotionally attached to the music."