L.A.rissa Narcotica

Larissa Chaney was a pretty ambitious toddler. “Ever since I was three years old, I told people that I was going to work with music and move to Los Angeles,” she laughs. “I was told by so many teachers that every kid changes their mind, and that my goals would change. But nope, I never did!”Remaining firm about that decision so early on has paid off very well for Larissa. After graduating from Full Sail University (Orlando) with a Recording Arts Associate’s Degree and an Entertainment Business Bachelor’s Degree, she relocated to (yep, you guessed it) L.A. and has found herself immersed in the music scene ever since, juggling a variety of roles and positions that utilize her passion, the skills she developed at Full Sail, and her naturally social personality.After years of experience as a drum ‘n’ bass artist under the name DJ Narcotica (so named because “her music is addictive”), Larissa understands both the business and the artist side of the music industry. That’s why she was asked to be the Creative Assistant Director for Westbay Recordings, the home label for Nathan Hayes (a.k.a. Atlantic Connection).In addition to her position at Westbay Recordings, Larissa is also a music programmer at Helio, a wireless phone company whose major markets include Japan, Korea, and parts of the west coast of the U.S. “What we do is sort of similar to iTunes, in that we do playlists and have downloads available through the phone service,” she explains. “It’s my job to seek out tons of new music all day, finding tunes that we want to add to our programming, and then putting out requests to secure the music.”“It’s very cool, because I kind of have to be a psychic and predict what songs will blow up on the charts before they really get exposed, and then add them to our rotation. I never thought that I would have a job that I’d look forward to, but life is awesome right now,” she laughs. “I love my job! It’s also a great job for me because I can scout out other artists in the electronic music scene and be able to network more for my own career.”With her own solo career continuing to flourish, spare time has become something of a rarity in Larissa’s life. “It’s extremely difficult to juggle all of it,” she admits. “But it’s so worth it. Sometimes personal things have to get pushed aside a little bit. For me, it’s all music all the time.” Larissa’s DJ gigs have taken her around the USA and beyond, including L.A., San Francisco, San Diego, Las Vegas, Atlanta, Nashville, Miami, Orlando, Caracas, Venezuela, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is also writing and producing her own electronic music, with over 30 tracks in the works for 08, along with a B2B sessions featuring MC XYZ dropping in late December 08. Check out www.myspace.com/djnarcotica for more info about tour dates and track listings.“It’s amazing to me that I’m doing what I always wanted to do ever since I was a little kid,” she quickly adds. “All I wanted to do was come out to L.A. and make music. For me to be able to make that dream come true is incredible. I’m living that dream every day.”Words by Jason Ferguson,Editor - fullsail.com,Platinum Creative

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