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OLD GRANDPA DEBUTS
Ex-Manteca Idol contestant releases CD
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Jewel. James Taylor. Jack Johnson. Lucia Barragain?

The Manteca Idol alum – who just turned 10-years-old – has finished recording her first track that she penned exclusively by herself before heading into the studio of Mike Torres Jr. to lay down what had been something she was working on for months.

After impressing the judges in the Manteca Idol competition, Barragan focused on writing her own songs with the hope that she’ll one day be able to cut a full-length CD.

“It’s fun being inside of the studio,” Barragan said. “If I’m nervous and I mess up, I’ve always got another chance to get it right and that’s not something that you get to do when you’re performing live.

“But I just love singing – being up on stage and showing what you learn and having a great time just for fun.”

While songwriting is typically reserved for older musicians, Barragan routinely scribbles down notes whenever an idea pops into her head and shares it with her mother in order to fine tune the lyrics.

So far, she has stored away 10 songs that each differ greatly from the one before, and notes that she likes to think about what the music video would look like if the song were to ever reach that point on MTV or VH1.

“If I have an idea about something then I just put it all together,” Barragan said. “It’s fun to be able to come up with your music that expresses you and how you feel in a certain situation.”

Her success is partially attributed to vocal coach Greg Farbizio whom she met at the South County Idol competition early in the year. He offered her lessons on how to not only carry her tune but to make her songs studio ready.

Longtime local musician Mike Torres Jr. opened the doors to his personal recording studio for the youngster to come in and record “Old Grandpa” – the only song currently on her CD.

“It was a great experience, and it’s one that I’m looking forward to doing again,” Barragan said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

Copies of the single can be purchased on-line at independent music house CD Baby as well as Janis Music in Downtown Manteca – where a donation type system exists for people to purchase the track. The song is also available for $.99 on iTunes.