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As the youngest of five children, born into a very religious family in Tuscon, Ariz., Sheffield recalls how she felt she was the odd man out. I just feel like I was the gay daughter or something, says Sheffield. Despite (or because of) feeling like she didn't belong, Sheffield developed an unbridled passion for music and acting at a young age, all the while learning how to hustle. I was like 14 or 15, and there was a program at school where you could volunteer somewhere and get school credit, and so the [Rialto] theatre was a nonprofit, and it was one of the oldest theaters in Tuscon.
Unabashedly, Sheffield recalls her so-cal
As the youngest of five children, born into a very religious family in Tuscon, Ariz., Sheffield recalls how she felt she was the odd man out. I just feel like I was the gay daughter or something, says Sheffield. Despite (or because of) feeling like she didn't belong, Sheffield developed an unbridled passion for music and acting at a young age, all the while learning how to hustle. I was like 14 or 15, and there was a program at school where you could volunteer somewhere and get school credit, and so the [Rialto] theatre was a nonprofit, and it was one of the oldest theaters in Tuscon.
Unabashedly, Sheffield recalls her so-called scam. The school district would pay me to work at the nonprofit ... I was getting school credit, I was getting paid and the people at the Theatre Rialto would sign off on my hours whether or not I actually worked them, and then the promoters would pay me to run for all the bands, and the owners loved me because I wouldn't drink, says Sheffiled. It was like I was leading a double life because I would go to church and go to seminary and I would go to all this stuff, but then I would work the shows and I would work downtown. Sheffield soon became involved in a local nonprofit at a small club behind the Rialto called SKRAPPY'S. Sheffield quickly garnered a solid position booking DJs, hosting b-boy events and learning the business. My old boss was a Hells Angel, so he was very counter-culture," says Sheffield. "It kinda taught me that show business is just about doing it, and it's not about going to Yale and getting a theatre degree or like playing guitar for 10 years to play a song. It's very right place, right time, hard work, being there, doing it, engaging.
When she was 17, her mother had a vision from the prophet and she didn't like the road I was going down, so I left, explains Sheffield. Waiting until she was legally an adult at the age of 18, Sheffield, like so many other starry-eyed nubile youths, made the trek to Los Angeles. Things didn't quite pan out for Sheffield (at first) when within months of moving to the city, she found herself living in her car with almost nothing to her name. I was just [at the] bottom of the barrel, and I was like, you know, couch-hopping with friends in Echo Park, and I kinda gave up on the whole religion thing, and was like, You know what? Fuck this.'
After a false start with Elliot Smith's drummer, who actually stole Sheffield's amp and guitar, she met Nico Chiotellis, with whom she began the band La Rev. Gritty, and filled with angst, Sheffield describes her sound as super emotive dark songs that meant a lot to me. La Rev was doing something right, and soon Max Martin (of Britney Spears fame) took a special interest in Sheffield. Unfortunately, the relationship didn't work out; they wanted to turn Sheffield into pop rock, which the outspoken songstress would have absolutely none of ” something she came to regret. Sheffield explains, all the songs they wanted me to sing were on Pink's album, and they ended up being number one singles and I was like, You fucking idiot!' I should have just sang the fucking songs.
Sheffield continued to pursue a solo career, and as a result, La Rev understandably fell apart. She soldiered on, meanwhile landing a small part in Street Dreams and the cult classic The Girls and Boys Guide to Getting Down. About a year and half later, Sheffield snagged a spot on True Blood and on the music front, worked with the electronic dance demigod Tisto. The success of both ventures started to pave the way into the limelight for the young starlet. Yeah, that's how life is, says Sheffiled philosophically. You never know.
I guess that's my big lesson: Just say yes' and hope for the best, Sheffield continues while explaining how a particular song from La Rev was Tisto-ized and subsequently launched her infatuation with electronic music.
Right around this time, Sheffield was booking talent with a friend for the La Boum parties in Hollywood when she was stuck with a particular notion that catapulted her career in a new direction. Instead of paying DJs, we were like, Fuck it, let's just learn how to DJ,' says Sheffield. And so, basically, once we started DJing, I started getting booked for all these DJ gigs and getting good money.
DJing proved to be a lucrative field for Sheffield and while it wasn't her first choice, it was easier to get booked. It is easier to get me booked as a DJ then it is to get me singing in clubs as a live act, says Sheffield. So, you can trick them, and you DJ, and you sing while you DJ. It's a whole scam to trick people. While tricking people and innocent scams are Sheffield's pastimes, the talented artist has now set her sights on songwriting. I have a publisher, and so I'm writing like five days a week, with like [the] top songwriters in the world, says Sheffield. I mean, I feel confident in songwriting and [as a] lyricist, another occupation to add to her already impressive resume.
Regardless of her ability to juggle her many musical hats, Sheffield maintains that her true passion resides in performing electronic music.
There aren't very many girls [in electronic music] and most of the electronic singers ” they're usually studio session people, says Sheffield. So, I feel like my niche genre ” where I am going to go in and just kill ” is like the electronic girl singer, and like I want to even bring the electronic music to mainstream, and make it so it's not just like one hook that's on repeat, it's like a pop-structured song. With this mantra in mind, Sheffield has set out to become a household name and people are starting to take notice.
Cydney has performed along side Tiësto, Paul Wall, Cali Swag District, Jermain Dapri, Dr Hollywood, DJ Skee, Lil Jon, Ice Cube, Steve Akoi, DJ Quik, Deadmau5, Afrojack, Dadalife, Felix Cartel and Skrillex.
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