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Vanessa Carlton
Vanessa Carlton
LA 2002
When did you start making music?
I started playing piano when I was two-and-a-half years old. My mom is a pianist and she taught me.
When did you leave home?
I left home when I was 14. I moved to New York City to study ballet, because I wanted to be a ballet dancer. I was accepted by The School of American Ballet, but by the time I was 15, I became very uncomfortable seeing myself only as a dancer. That’s when I started writing songs. I still dance, though.
When was your first professional performance?
I played downtown NYC when I was 18 at The Bitter End. It was really scary. The first time I ever played for anyone—the first time I played one of my songs, was for two really close friends of mine. I made them face away from me and they weren’t allowed to look at me. For me to play in front of a crowd was—interesting.