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Portraits Richard Seven

Rebecca Helmer / In songs, she dreams

Every career, especially in entertainment, has an arc. It starts with a dream, is paved by hard work, and pulled along by goals and good luck. Singer-songwriter Rebecca Helmer of Mountlake Terrace is just one of thousands of young artists in the Northwest trying to grab the brass ring.

The dream

"I grew up in a small town near Mount Rainier (Eatonville). I always dreamed of moving to the big city and doing something in entertainment since I was a girl. I always sang in the church and school choirs. My mother would give me piano lessons. She thought I was reading music, but I was playing by ear. I picked up my dad's guitar one day, played with some chords and built a passion for it.

"I never saw any way other than music since high school. During high school, you have a lot of emotions going on and I started expressing them through song. I modeled as a teenager, but that seemed empty to me."

The work

"I moved to Corvallis for a while — I was 20 — and found a studio where I could record an album for $25 an hour. My friends wanted my CD, and I wound up selling the couple thousand I printed.

"Some things have happened so quickly, but other things I feel should have happened yesterday. Although I'm just 25, I still feel like things should have happened at 20. Perhaps I was just naïve. You have to realize it's not easy — for anyone. You have to keep at it.

"You need a basket of songs and they have to be good. You have to train your voice, practice and then promote yourself. That's the hardest part."

The goals

"Eventually, I want to have my own record label and produce my music and help other struggling artists, since I know what they go through. I've been considering moving to L.A. in the future to help with contacts. Seattle is kind of hard. There is a great music scene for Nirvana-type music, but not so much mine. My music is primarily pop, but while trying to maintain intelligence. I write about love, going through life struggles, about a friend of mine who died. I write about carefree summer nights and get flirty sometimes."

To hear samples of Helmer's music, check out her Web site at www.rebeccahelmer.com.

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