Aspiring performer: Dover High student travels to Nashville to record her original songs
DOVER TOWNSHIP ‒ Kami Huff's journey to become a recording artist has taken her to venues around east central Ohio and a recording studio in Nashville.
The aspiring singer/songwriter recorded four of her original songs in August at Omni Sound Studios in Nashville with a group of professional musicians.
"It was an amazing experience," said Huff, 17, a junior at Dover High School. "I got to work with guys that have been in the industry for so long. It was amazing to watch them take songs I had just written, just me and my keyboard here in a little town in Ohio, and make it into something that sounded like a Taylor Swift song. It was really awesome.
"It was unlike anything else I had ever done before. I was expecting it to be a great experience, but just getting to be in that room with guys who had worked with such popular musicians like Dolly Parton."
It was also a little bit intimidating.
"I was just thinking, oh no, I don't want to mess up my own songs that I've written. But they really made it super fun. If I made any mistakes, they were very easy going, and they were like, OK, let's just do it again. They made it a great experience. My parents said it was well worth the money," Huff said.
She has also been performing her songs locally at places like Raven's Glenn Winery near West Lafayette, Han's Place in Sugarcreek, School House Winery in Dover, Winetageous in Sugarcreek, and the Barrel Room in North Canton.
Huff's music can be found on Spotify, Pandora and YouTube.
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A lifelong interest in music
Music has been a part of Huff's life since she started learning to play piano at age 3. She wrote her first song, "Typical Girl," when she was 13. It was also the first single that she released.
"Middle school wasn't easy for me," she recalled. "I went through some bullying, some not-so-nice girls, the typical things middle school girls go through. I realized that I loved to write and I also loved music and playing the piano.
"I wrote a poem for one of my classes. The prompt was, write about how you are true to yourself. I wrote this poem called Typical Girl about how I'm not a typical girl and I'm unique in my own way. I sat down by the piano one day, and I was like, I can see somebody singing this. So, I just played around with chords and before I knew it, I had expanded on the little poem I wrote, and I had a full song."
Her musical influences
Her songs cover a wide range of topics, from Christianity and faith to songs about love and heartbreak.
She cites Ed Sheeran, the English singer/songwriter, as one of her influences. "I really love his storytelling that he does in all of his songs. So I kind of mimicked some of my songwriting based off of him, but I'm also a fan of Anne Marie and Ruth B., who are fellow female songwriters like myself."
She writes most of her songs by herself, but she has collaborated with musician Tony Black, including one of her songs, "The Good Side of Goodbye." He reached out to her on social media and started talking to Huff and her parents, introducing her to things in the songwriting world she didn't know.
Huff is a member of the Nashville Songwriters Association International and has done workshops with other songwriters through that organization.
Work as a performer
Her performing career began when she started working with Eric Brooke, a Canton-area musician she met at a restaurant. He has allowed her to perform with him at several of his gigs.
"Kami is a natural, gifted songwriter," Brooke said. "Her lyrical content is far beyond her years. In the studio, she learned the recording process very quickly. Focused, driven, easy to work with and a great disposition, I have no doubt she will succeed in whatever she chooses."
The staff at Dover High School has been supportive of Huff and her music career, allowing her to film music videos for "Typical Girl" and "Fairytale Story" at the school.
"I felt like a celebrity that day. It was really, really magical," she said of making the videos.
Where her music can be found
Her music can be found on any musical platform, such as Spotify, Pandora and YouTube under Kami Huff.
Once she graduates, Huff plans on going to college, but she isn't sure what she will study. She has an interest in studying studio music production, but she is considering healthcare as a profession.
Regardless of what she does in the future, Huff said, "I will make music for the rest of my life."
Reach Jon at 330-364-8415 or at jon.baker@timesreporter.com.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Dover High student Kami Huff works to become recording artist
