The evolution of an artist.
Evolution: the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form.
Synonyms: growth, expansion, revision, transformation
Artist: a person who is called to create, and for whom this calling has to start somewhere.
RISE
January 2017
What an honor it was to have Child Be Free selected for an art exhibit at Core Gallery in Pioneer Square! Listen to the song here.
The show was themed around trauma and healing. I dedicated my participation to my mother who died suddenly at the age of 52 - January 2017 marks the 10 year anniversary of her death.
A big thank you to Andrea Taylor for putting together this meaningful exhibit and for giving me the opportunity to "come out" as a singer/songwriter!
Before the show I reached out to a few friends and asked them to share with me what their experience of healing from trauma feels like. I read their words before my live performance of Child Be Free at the Opening Reception.
Here are a few selections:
My trauma is a volcano that erupted suddenly and violently, disrupting every piece of my being, touching every piece of my life. The lava leaves behind ashes that make it hard to breathe. Ashes that create dark and scary spaces. Ashes that singe my soul. And of course, just as new cities are born and new forests appear, new things will grow in my life and eventually my open wounds will turn to scars that will fade over time. But the ashes...they're forever a part of the earth, and the trauma…is forever residing within me.
It’s as if someone has given you permission to float on your back in the water like a starfish. You can float anywhere you would like to go. Slowly letting go of the need to control – everything. Being open and willing to accept what happened and change how you deal with it.
The injury is like something is stuck and painful that keeps you in a certain shape as a person and in certain patterns in your life. Healing isn’t getting rid of the injury, the scar will always be there, but with healing your relationship to that place transforms. So it’s not something so hard and crusted over and impermeable. With healing comes this softness. It looks different when you look at it and it feels different when you feel it. You integrate it into who you are.
The hardened gray sludge around my heart begins to soften and fall away. Light begins to peek out from behind the cracks. Vibrations, big and small, seem to aid the process, literally shaking the trauma from my body. And once that is done, I am left with a beautifully blank canvas where I am invited to draw a new life, if that is what I seek. And slowly, but surely, I begin.
I also asked my cousin, Molly DeNoir, to create a visual piece to accompany the song, which is what you'll see on the front page of this website. Thank you Molly!
SOIRÉE FOR SONGWRITERS
November 2016
The first of what I hope will be many songwriter gatherings in my home. Now that I have a piano, it needs to be played!
FRANCE
July 2016
A month of songwriting in France. And two open mics, which means the first time playing guitar in public. :)
MADE OF STORIES
October 2015 - listen here
Josh Schramm – Guitar, Backing Vocals
Sugar McGuinn – Bass
Jeff Hayes – Drums
Kevin Suggs – Sound Engineer
Thank goodness for my bandmates. I show up with vocals, lyrics, chords, and a song structure for Made of Stories, and they do all the rest! Pretty sweet deal if you ask me. We all play in the Modern Relics, a 10-piece country soul band based in Seattle.
Links:
love me with NO REASON
December 2014 - listen here
It was such a joy to work with Sarah McGuinn on my very first original song, Love Me With No Reason. Sarah and I met in 2003 and never would I have guessed that we would share the stage as many times as we have, and more, become the great friends that we are today. We met at a coffee shop in the U. District, right before my audition to become the backup singer for Fading Collection. Needless to say, the audition went well, but they weren’t convinced that I actually wanted the job. Later they would find out that the “too cool” vibe I gave off during my audition was really an attempt to prove to them that I was a VERY mature 22 year old…they were all in their early 30’s. Thankfully my singing spoke for itself and I got the job. Fading Collection played live around Seattle with me as their backup singer for eight years, and although you don't see us out and about currently, a new record is in the works...stay tuned.
To get moving on the collaboration, I sent Sarah three different songs so that she could choose the one that intrigued her the most. As a new and vulnerable songwriter, the fact that there was one that she liked was already a huge success! I provided the lyrics, melodies, harmonies and chords, and Sarah did the rest. It was a simple process, really. We recorded the vocals to a guitar track and then Sarah worked her producer magic. To me, Sarah took my understated singer/songwriter ballad and made it into a real live song.
Check out Sarah's current projects:
OPEN MIC #1
August 2014
Love Me With No Reason had it's first debut as "Dreamland" at Chaco Canyon. Unsure of how to break into the open mic scene, I signed up on the spot when I saw a flyer posted at my favorite café. I figured it would comfort me to play in a familiar environment for my favorite baristas. What was I thinking?!? How much easier it would have been to find a hole in the wall place where I could be anonymous! Even though I've been singing for years, singing my own words was a different story. I'm not sure who was more nervous, me or Shannon, but we survived, even without
the chord chart we forgot to bring up with us. We made it through, and regardless of how it sounded, I'm proud. Until next time.
