Hey Katie, So excited to be chatting with you! What inspired you to pursue your career in music?
Thank you and it’s my pleasure! Music has always been a part of who I am, since a very young age. I’ve had the love of creating music and singing for as long as I can remember. So it’s been a passion of mine forever. High school was the time I started performing and recording the music I had been writing for years. It was then that I decided there was no other path for me than to pursue my passion.
Did you have a break out song that started things for you?
I feel like there’s been a song for each chapter of my songwriting life that’s sort of pivoted my career into different and new directions. I started out recording mainly solo acoustic albums and then moved into full band productions, first starting with home-based studios and then entering into professional studio spaces. When I did my first pro studio album, Next Ride Out, my song “A Love Without Chains” was a big key song in expressing my new sound to listeners. After that, the title track off my Follow Your Heart album was a break out song that painted the picture of the new genre I was dipping into—more country based. And then “Delightful” off my Rooted Clarity album was a big break out song for me, sonically with the string arrangements I had, as well as the music video I did to set the stage for the visual storytelling I was introducing for that stage of my career. Each album serves as a snapshot of my life, both professionally and personally, and there’s usually a particular song that acts as the break out point at each stage, sort of a symbol of my artistic evolution I think.
What’s the process you take to write one of your award winning songs?
I don’t necessarily have a single process for songwriting. I like to be pretty undisciplined when it comes to the creative process because whenever I try too hard, that’s when the road blocks appear. Typically though, I’ll either start with humming a melody or finding a chord progression on my guitar. I’ll know the idea is worth pursuing farther if I can’t stop singing it, or more so if I get an emotional response from it. For instance, I’ll play a chord progression that gives me goosebumps or sing a melody that gets me choked up. Then I know that the idea is worth diving into because there’s an authentic message in there awaiting to be discovered. That’s when it gets really fun. I’m in the driver’s seat, sure, but I let my intuition guide me. So sometimes a song ends up being a complete surprise, even to me. Those are usually the most successful songs I think because since I connect to them so strongly, other people will feel more connected to them as well.
What type of music are you leaning towards for your music career?
I don’t love labeling my music because I like to keep it open to interpretation. It’s the old fear of being pigeonholed as an artist. I like to just write whatever moves me and then let others sort of steer the descriptions of the genre. But I tend to stick to calling it Americana since that’s a nice wide umbrella of styles. There is folk influence and gospel tendencies sometimes. I’m sure my next album will even be something else.
What do you want your relationship to be like with your supporters?
This is such a sweet question because I really do love the way music creates relationship. It serves as a connection between the performer and the listener, an energy exchange back and forth. I think about how I feel when I listen to my favorite artists sing, and I feel connected to what they’re saying. I feel a part of something bigger than just me. So I would like that to be the relationship that supporters of my music feel with me. Just an authentic connection to something bigger. A connection to not feel alone. A genuine relationship of understanding.
What’s up next for you? A Full Album? A tour maybe?
A new album! I’m really proud of the latest songs I’ve written and can’t wait to bring them to life in the studio this year. It’s going to showcase some different sounds sonically, as well as my songwriting style because it’s evolved a lot in the past couple of years. I’m so excited to carry out the vision I’ve had for this album for a while now, you have no idea! It’s one of the scariest and best feelings in the world to take on a new creative project, but I’m so ready to embark on the adventure.
What is the best thing about your career in music?
The best part about music for me personally is the opportunity to connect with my spirituality through creativity. And then having a career in music allows me to share my creativity with others and experience that connection in a more public way, which is very healing and inspiring too. Writing music is like saying a prayer, and performing music is like going to church.
What is the biggest struggle you’ve faced as an artist?
How much time do you have? Just kidding. There’s obviously a lot of struggles involved being an independent artist because it’s sometimes tough to accomplish the type of exposure you need to get your music heard, let alone make a living from it. But that’s the nature of the beast, at least for now in this industry. At the end of the day though, the biggest struggle I’ve faced as an artist has had nothing to do with any outside circumstances, but my own fears holding me back. It’s a constant but evolving process of learning to get out of my own way.
Any last things you want to tell your supporters?
I’d like to say that if you’ve supported my musical journey, whether you listened to my music live or watched my music videos, or downloaded my albums, I really appreciate you backing up my dreams and my work. I put a lot of heart into my music and sometimes it can feel like, is anybody out there? So when someone tells me they watched one of my videos or streamed a song, it means a lot to me. It really does. So thank you!
Thank you for taking the time to do this interview with us 🙂
