Alexandria, VA--

PM: Good morning Van. How are you doing today?

VH: I am doing great. Actually I am traveling right now for my concert this evening.

PM: Cool, we are looking forward to your show. Thus far you have had much success with your new CD “On The Jungle Floor”. How does it feel to be honored in such a way musically to be compared with such great artist like Prince and Curtis Mayfield they are the superstars in the industry how does that comparison feel to you?

VH: I really don’t pay that much attention to it. I learned early on there is good criticism and bad criticism and it can make you pay too much attention to one particular thing and I’m trying to be just a well rounded artist which for me includes it all, from my relationships with people who like my music to my songwriting, my musical abilities or just as a leader of a band.

PM: Did you always want to be a singer, songwriter. Was this a path you took from the start or did this lead from somewhere else?

VH: I cannot remember not wanting to make music it’s always been inside of me. Early on my Mom really would have preferred me to go down the legal road as far as law or I think she would even had been o.k. with me being a basketball player because the music was always a little shaky and until I paid my first bill with it she was not satisfied.

PM: Well you know that’s just a mom looking out for her son but I am quite sure she is very happy now with the decision you have made as an artist and so are many of your fans. You are so different musically from so many of the artist out there. Because you are not a rapper per se how do you continue to keep this fresh approach to your music and continue to create songs that have meaning such as your song “Character” how did you come up with the lyrics for that particular song.

VH: It was actually interested how I came up with those lyrics. Another artist inspired me, I won’t say her name, but she is a singer and things were going really well for her and all of a sudden her life just began to unravel and it unraveled in front of the public and the media and for some reason this inspired me to write something to her and that’s where the lyrics came from.

PM: Wow, that’s really great. Did this particular artist realize this song “Character” was written for her and did it help her to overcome what she was going through at the time?

VH: I have no idea because I never met her.

PM: Well I am quite sure that the lyric’s to this particular song has helped a number of your fans out there to reexamined themselves and it may have also helped them to realize what is important in life. What inspiration would you give to some of the other younger artist that are out there who have not found immediate success in the music business because they are not necessarily rappers which is a huge business. What would you tell them?

VH: I would tell them to watch me and just do it, because I have no fear and fortunately I am in a situation where I am surrounded by people who understand what it is that I am about and even if they don’t understand me completely they understand that it’s something I believe in so they support me in that they trust me that I am not going to go out here and disrespect anybody just for the sake of being disrespectful and that I am going to be about my business which is about selling art and that to me is what’s most important for the cultural because I don’t see a balance anymore. I don’t have any problems with people selling entertainment, but it seems to be all entertainment now, there’s no substance and I just want to be a part of the substance that’s on the shelf along with everything else. I do understand that I’m a product at this point but I want to be a product that is about art.

PM: How old were you when you starting playing instruments?

VH: I was seven years old when I started playing drums. I picked up the sax a year later and then went on to keyboards.

PM: Tell me a little about your relationship with your manager, mentor, and friend Randy Jackson from American Idol?

VH: Randy and I have a great relationship. He is a true friend and mentor to me and I trust him. He believes in me we have a great friendship and I believe in him as much as he believes in me. Randy never told me anything that was not true regarding this business and he always does what he says he is going to do, he is an honorable man and a true friend.

PM: On behalf of your fans, Pointed Magazine would like to thank you again for taking the time to be up front, close, and personal with us.