Star Factory

Dallas Observer : " At Septien Vocal Studio, anyone can make it in music. But you've got to be cute. And a million bucks would help too. By Andrea Grimes Caroline Dingwall has her game face on. Perched before the piano in a mirrored practice room, the 12-year-old's intent gaze hides her inexperience as a performer. She stretches her fingers gently across the keys, playing the opening notes to John Lennon's 'Imagine.' You'd be forgiven if you suppress a cringe: Bubbly pre-teens simply were not meant to sing about having no possessions, no need for greed or hunger and no religion too. But amazingly, as Caroline churns through the plodding chords, the song comes to life. The yellow-blond girl closes her eyes while she sings and instinctively makes eye contact when emphasizing key phrases. She shakes her head slightly at the chorus. Watching her, you'd believe this little girl could tell you, in all seriousness, that you may say she's a dreamer, but she's not the only one. Across the room, her vocal coach, Linda Septien, smiles approvingly. Caroline has successfully 'sold' the song. It's a skill she's honed during more than a year and a half of intensive training at the Septien Vocal Studio in Addison, where she's learned the elements of commercial pop performance: using delicate vocal inflections and slipping in timed gestures to turn every song into a show. Does Caroline think she'll make it big? 'Of course I do. There's no doubt,' she says. And mentor Linda Septien stands behind her product. She's spent the past six years developing a 'master class' vocal performance and artist development program for kids like Caroline--an exclusive star factory where, each year, 15 kids ages 9 to 17 will learn to sing, dance, play instruments and perform anywhere that will have them. Placing these raw talents on her assembly line, Septien, a classically trained singer, molds and shapes them into marketable musical product. She claims 100 percent success in getting her master-class students signed to song-publishing contracts or development deals, and her young charges--such as 13-year-old Paige Velasquez--routinely blow away the competition in local talent showcases. 'If you had somebody all day long telling you how to be onstage,' says Septien, in her Louisiana-infused accent, 'how to sing, how to songwrite...you'd be pretty good too.' Reclining in front of tens of thousands of dollars worth of vocal recording equipment in her Addison studio, she laughs a little. 'You'd be pretty dumb if you weren't.' Septien will tell you, in fact, that anyone can make it in music. All it takes is a million dollars. And she ought to know. She spent years grooming Jessica Simpson for stardom, teaching her voice lessons and corraling investors to fund her promotion. After Ryan Cabrera trained in her program, Septien sent him to Jessica's father and manager, Joe Simpson, who turned him into an overnight success. Septien's program is geared toward commercial success any way you can get it, no apologies offered. Her students value Septien for her honesty, her acknowledgment that music is a business; they're here to make it big, not toil for years in basement bands. She's comfortable talking about the flaws of former students Ashlee and Jessica Simpson. Ashlee, she says, 'can't sing.' And Jessica, she adds, shouldn't have gone for the sexy look to sell more records. Septien also acknowledges that parents need a significant amount of money to keep their kids in her master class, which can cost up to $1,500 a month."