How did growing up in the Hudson Valley influence your music and the stories you tell
through your songs?
I grew up tucked in the woods outside of Woodstock, NY a few miles down from an historic artist
colony and the homes of many artists and musicians. There are many overgrown logging trails
and foot trails and rock boundary walls, glimpses of the past held in the forest. I think a lot about
the people that walked this land before me and the stories they told. This area holds a lot of
magic and safety for creation, and has for a long time.
My dad taught me to play guitar, fingerpick and harmonize, and the first songs he taught me
were classic folk songs. Folk writers, but really all song writers are storytellers, and I am always
thinking about what story I want to tell, or really what story the song wants to tell, as I feel each
song has a life and little spirit of its own.
What inspired you to become a singer-songwriter, and how did you start your journey
in music?
I started my journey in music with my family, learning guitar from my dad and piano from my
grandmother, so I’ve been around singing and music for as long as I can remember. But I didn't
write songs until recently. At some point I got it in my head that if I wasn't singing originals, the
music wasn't worth playing, and I actually stopped playing music for many years. Then one day
I heard someone perform a set of covers and was super moved by their versions of the music. I
realized that we rarely get to hear our favorite songs performed by the artists who wrote them.
Music stays alive because of covers and the musicians who sing them and bring them back to
the stage and to audiences.
After this experience I started playing music again, learning new covers and singing old
favorites. As I started playing and paying attention to music again, something new happened. I
noticed little tunes and phrases coming into my mind. Old me would have shut them out not
believing they were worth anything, but the new me started saying yes to everything, and jotting
down or recording just about every little idea that came to mind. The more I allowed the gates to
open, the more that came through, until full songs started popping into being.
I encourage all creatives to say yes to themselves. I blocked my own creativity for so long not
believing in my own story. Do it for yourself and if others listen, it’s a bonus.
Your music is influenced by folk traditions. How does this come through in your work,
especially in your new single, ‘See Me’?
I think a lot of my music, including See Me, is simple and honest, as is a lot of folk music. I am
often telling a story without too many frills. 'See Me' is a straightforward tune about someone
questioning if it is safe to open their heart.
What was the inspiration behind ‘See Me,’ and what message or feeling do you hope
listeners take away from it?
See Me is about someone asking themselves if they are safe to open their heart with a new
person in their life. I want listeners to remember they aren’t alone if they feel vulnerable and
scared to put their heart out into the world, in whatever capacity that means. And I hope people
feel inspired both to protect themselves when they need that support, and to have the bravery to
allow their hearts to open and get vulnerable again, no matter how scary it is. To fall and begin
again, stronger each time.
‘See Me’ blends folk, pop, and rock elements. How did you decide on this mix of sounds
for the song?
I knew how I wanted this song to be produced as soon as it was written. I have always heard it as a little pop-rock song and have been waiting not-so-patiently to hear the vision come to the speakers. The 90’s guitar and drums feel of Eagle Eye Chery’s ‘Save Tonight’ came to mind when I first wrote it and ended up carrying that concept through as we moved into the recording studio.
Your songs often reflect personal experiences. How do you balance being personal with
making your music relatable to others?
I think if we are vulnerable and honest we are bound to be relatable, because so many emotions like heartbreak and its nuances have been experienced by everyone in some capacity, I expect. I usually start writing because there is an emotion or an idea that is stuck that I need to work out. Even though it feels very personal at the time, my guess is that I am not the only person who has experienced something similar, so if I tell it straight from heart my hope is that others can connect with that gut emotion as well.
Now that ‘See Me’ is out, what can your fans expect next from you? Are there any
upcoming projects or new music in the works?
See Me is the first single off my upcoming album, La Bandida Rosa, set for release in Spring. I’ll have a couple more singles dropping before then and I'm so excited to share this new sound, which has a bit more rock elements infused in it than in my last album.
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