Blanca talks Winter Jam, Who I Am EP and going solo
March 18, 2015
This year’s Winter Jam Tour Spectacular features many artists who’ve graced the Winter Jam stage before. One of them- Blanca- may be back on the tour but it’s a different story this time around.
Oh my goodness, it’s been amazing,” says Blanca. “I love Winter Jam so much. The people, it feels like a family and it’s just a great platform to share your music from, so I feel really grateful to be a part of it.”
Blanca was part of Winter Jam three years ago as a member of Group 1 Crew. The band also played winter jam seven years ago and it was one of the first tours they ever did. So how is it different this time around?
Well, Blanca is now a solo artists, having released her solo debut EP- Who I Am this last January and this is one of her first major solo tours.
So what are some of the differences between Winter Jam with Group 1 Crew and Winter Jam as a solo artist?
“The obvious is…especially on Winter Jam, it’s a huge stage and so many people and it could be a bit intimidating when you first look at it and I’m so used to having the guys and being able to share the load, for lack of a better term,” explains Blanca. “You feel really vulnerable just going out there by yourself, and when it’s great, it’s great by yourself, and when it’s bad, it’s bad by yourself so it’s always that hard pill sometimes to swallow when you’re like “We’re in this together as a team!”
“But my husband is a big support, and he’s not on this tour with me right now but I know in the future he’ll be out and that makes it better when you have someone out there doing life with you on the road, makes it still feel like family, you know?”
Blanca spent the first 10 years of her career with Group 1 Crew before finally breaking off on her own and going solo. But why after 10 years? What made that the right time and how did it feel when she finally did it?
“It is so surreal. I don’t think people know this but this is something that I’ve dreamed about for such a long time,” explains Blanca. “I didn’t know how it was going to all come together, or what it would look like. Group 1 was such a blessing, I met them when I was like 16, 17 years old and they quickly became family for me and I learned so much, but I think now the place that I’m at in my life, I’m a new mom and I’m married and it’s just been a new season that the Lord has for me and so it’s really cool to be able to walk into exactly where you need to be and it’s also been a very stretching process because you’re learning so much about yourself.”
Just being out on her own, Blanca says, writing her own songs, putting her heart out on the line makes it seem even more real. “Who I Am,” the lead single of fthe album had a lot to do with that self-discovery and telling God “Okay, Lord, this is what you’re speaking through me and this is the real me that I’m giving people.”
So, you may ask, what prompted the solo endeavor and what made her actually decide to pull the trigger on it and make it happen?
“It’s like anything in life where you know you want to do something but there’s no way you’ll actually jump out and actually do it,” elaborates Blanca. “I compare it a lot to when my husband and I would talk about having a baby.
“It’s like, we know we want a family so it’s one of those things that you just gotta step out and do it. But that was the big thing for me. I ended up pregnant and, little did I know that changes your whole world around. It completely just gives you such a new perspective on life. And I remember just being pregnant crazy emotions and just thinking about the future and how it’s no longer going to be about you. Cause you go through that a bit, but it’s really different with a baby. Life just becomes about what’s going to happen with your family and this little guy,” says Blanca.
She asked herself a lot of the hard questions and then her and her husband had a lot of sit down talks.
“There were a lot of tears and I love Group 1 Crew and it’s not that my heart isn’t there but I don’t know where I see myself five years from now,” says Blanca. “Am I doing everything that I really want to do? Some of these things that God is putting in my heart, am I going to go for it, or am I going stay inside of these comfort zones that I’ve been in for the last 10 years of my life? Like, let’s just go for it and talk to the other members and see if this is where their heart is at. So that was kind of the fire starter,” says Blanca.
Blanca released Who I Am in January and her full-length solo debut is set for a May release via Word Records. You can catch her on the Winter Jam Tour Spectacular, which runs through the rest of March.
Stream the interview in its entirety below: