My Sacred Online Space
My relationship with content creation was one born out of necessity.
To date myself, I started sharing my music online back when Myspace was still a thing. I remember how unbelievably nervous I felt when I clicked publish on my first demo. It wasn’t a “radio-ready” track. It was live-recorded so that I had something to take with me to a music camp because I couldn’t safely transport my guitar on the plane.
I published blogs on my Myspace, shared my first live performance date, and connected with friends. I fell in love with a space that allowed me to share my music without the need for a major label. It was incredible when people listened. For so long, I was creating in isolation and LOVED the feeling of finally connecting with others through art. It felt like a sacred online space, though one I always tried to use with a lot of caution.
Then came facebook. I resisted facebook for the first couple of years. Being a teenager at the time, I eventually caved to peer pressure. Even so, I refused to share a profile picture for a long time. I remember one of my friends took my first profile picture and tagged me in it. Underneath, another mutual friend wrote, “Yes, tell her to put this as her profile picture. She NEEDS one.” Ironically, the image was only half of my face.
You can literally spot my boss in the background.
In my early 20’s, I remember the start of instagram. With a history of being a graphic design nerd, I was excited by every cheesy filter. Sometimes a sunset needed no introduction and it was nice to see a space for when words failed you. I didn’t have a smartphone at the time, so I had to wait a while to jump on the instagram train. Once I was able to join, it had already rapidly started changing (due to selling to facebook.)
Twitter, TikTok, Tumblr - I’ve seen so many online platforms begin. I’ve seen some crumble. I’ve contributed content. I’ve deleted my accounts. I’ve started new ones. As someone born in the 1990s, none of this is new to me.
It’s why I know that I can’t count on any of them to be there in the end. This website and my email list, that I have painstakingly built over the years, is the most reliable platform I have.
It’s my space to deep dive. To be honest, it has always felt cozier to me than that of social media.
I didn’t want to be a “content creator,” just a writer and a musician, sharing my work with the world.
Thanks for being here and reading along!
Things I’m Loving Right Now:
Monin syrups and Ripple half-and-half creamer = the best at-home coffee I’ve ever made.
Bullet journaling. I started doing Ryder Carroll's method at the start of this year and have been LOVING it.
Learning more and more about music production! One of my biggest goals is to self-produce this year.
Sincerely,
Louise
5 Ways to Overcome Blank Page Syndrome
Originally published on Psychology Today. Eric Maisel’s “Creativity Coaches on Creativity.”
Some creatives find a blank space obsessively magnetic. Picasso, for one, could hardly pass a blank canvas in his studio without compulsively needing to stop and fill it. Other creatives find the blank page or blank canvas the exact opposite of magnetic. It daunts them; it even terrorizes them. In today’s post, creativity coach Louise Warren explores this theme.
Louise explained:
If you have ever endeavored to create something, then you have probably encountered the dreaded blank page. It can be the stuff of nightmares for ambitious artists who long to bring their big visions to life. Though it can trigger an immediate sense of anxiety and frustration, part of our work as artists is to learn how to coax ourselves through these kinds of blocks. Here are a few easy tips to get you started.
1. Give yourself permission to do imperfect work
Oftentimes, we have an expectation that our art should come out of us fully formed. We don’t consider that all the art we admire had to have practice sessions or multiple edits before we got to experience it. In creating, we learn by doing. It’s a numbers game. We deserve to give ourselves as many chances to manifest our vision as possible. Pretend you are playing two roles as an artist. There is the creator whose goal is just to fill the page. Then there is the editor, who will go back and craft and strategize about how to improve it. Set a 10-minute timer and let the creator take charge.
2. Move your body
When I feel mentally stuck on an idea, sometimes the easiest way to combat it is to literally move. Our minds and our bodies are connected; when we move our bodies, we can energize our minds as well. Throw on your favorite song and dance, go for a walk, or even just get out of the house by going for a drive. Physically shifting our perspective can help us clean out the inner cobwebs.
3. Talk about your idea with a friend
This can be a scary concept if you like to work on an idea for some time alone before sharing it, but it can also help you gain powerful insights. Having to explain your idea to a friend can help you see blind spots that you wouldn’t have noticed otherwise. It can peel away the complicated layering and force us to get down to the basic concept that we are working on. Being disconnected from this root concept may be the very thing keeping us in blank page syndrome. Not to mention that a good conversation with a friend can go a long way in offering much-needed support!
4. Move on to a different section or a new piece
As a songwriter, I often use this trick. If I get stuck on a verse, I will work on the chorus. If I’m working on a melody that is just stalling, I will record and save my work, and then take a break from it altogether. Many times, I will figure out just what it needs as I’m pouring my cup of coffee the next morning. No matter what your medium is, sometimes we just need to take the pressure off and come back to it later. It’s amazing how many more ideas we can call in this way.
5. Use all of your available resources
It is truly an amazing time to be an artist. We have more supportive resources at our fingertips now than ever before. We can research at our local library or from the comfort of home. We have endless ideas available on Pinterest. There are rhyming dictionaries, masterclasses from our favorite artists, and free software online that we can use for inspiration. If you find yourself stuck, make sure you are taking a survey of all of your available tools and putting them to good use.
Happy Halloween!
Hello there!
It has been a few months since I last popped in here and honestly, a lot has changed (for the better). I took most of the summer off from playing out. I worked as a cashier (and barista in training) and have been working hard to launch my creativity coaching business (Rare Gem Creatives) to help other creatives who are struggling to navigate this crazy existence.
It turned out to be exactly what I needed. I read one time that Bob Dylan stepped away from his art and holed himself up in a cabin and ended up writing more than ever. I’ve always wanted to do this - especially over the last couple of years. I had a feeling that stepping back and gaining perspective would do the same for me.
Songwriting has always been the way I show up in this world. Whenever I’m not writing as much, I know it’s a sign I need to make more time for myself.
So that’s what I did! And I’m excited to say, I’ve been feeling truly at home in myself again, ready to start breathing life into my next project, and show up re-energized on my shows.
But for today, I plan to curl up with Hocus Pocus, Halloweentown, and pumpkin spice everything…
Until next time…. I leave you with my VERY appropriate song, “Haunted”
Love you guys!
Louise
I had to step away...
This past month, I did something that caused me great anxiety and self-doubt. I took a month off of performing. If my calculations are correct, this is the first month I’ve taken off in YEARS of playing. It’s no secret that I’m a gig junkie and feel at home on stage (always have).
That’s why when I noticed the signs of burn out, I got very scared. I didn’t want it to mean that I didn’t love doing music anymore - and it didn’t. But what it DID mean was that I needed to take a break. I needed to go soak up some inspiration, live life for a bit, and get back to my writing.
That’s been the goal and mission of the month. I’ve been changing the way I choose to share. I kicked off my brand new Patreon community. And I plan to share more of what I’ve been up to, my songwriting and creative process, and never-before-heard demos.
It’s not easy to step away from something I love but I know it won’t be for long. This month, I’m headed back into the studio AND back to Macon for a show with my fellow songwriters at the Society Garden (a new venue for me!). If you’re in Macon on the 29th, check my ‘live’ page for all of the details so we can hang!
Because I took some time, I feel rejuvenated and ready to create in a new and exciting way for you all again… Thank you for being along for the ride.
Stay tuned like my guitar! ;)
Love,
Louise
My Story of Surrender
Originally published in Macon’s The 11th Hour. March 2019.
“Surrender” might seem like a strange title to give my new EP release. You may find yourself visualizing white flags. But to me, it fits perfectly. “Surrender”encapsulates the lessons I’ve lived through over the past few years of my life, navigating the excitement and joy of love and the deepest pain of loss.
It seems to work this way every time. When I set forth a concept for a project, I experience and embody that lesson throughout every stage of the creative process. My first album, Lavender Sound, was all about becoming. Every song was written in the time period from my late teens to early twenties and inspired by a moment that transformed me. I gathered each piece, each lesson and created the person you see before you.
“Surrender” has been about unbecoming, if you will. Through this project, I had to learn to let all that was unnecessary fall away. I released the false sense of control I have on life’s twists and turns. I surrendered passionately to the moment. I learned with my whole heart that this moment is truly all that we have.
I first learned about true surrender while volunteering at the Children’s Hospital through an organization called Songs For Kids. For six years, I knocked on doors, stood by beds, and sang to the sweetest children and their family members. I’d put on my pirate voice for the Spongebob Squarepants theme song. I would dance my heart out while singing “Shake It Off”. And sometimes, if the situation got desperate enough, I would whip out my rendition of “What Does the Fox Say?”, which seemed to break a smile in even the most critical kid I encountered. Sometimes, I would just come in and sing a song. Other times, I would stay and chat for a while. It was always guided by the people I served and what their needs were. My ego and need to look cool or fit in definitely had to sit outside.
It was my experience doing this kind of work that led me to the Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation and their Singer/Songwriter competition. As a musician, I’m always looking for opportunities to share my songs. As a person, I’m always looking for a chance to grow and give back to others when I can. Music 4 Macy (an offshoot of the foundation) provided me with an opportunity to do both. Most songwriting competitions require a fee for entry but not all of them use the money for pediatric cancer research. It was a no brainer to enter, even if I never made it to semi-finals.
When I did, it just doubled my excitement. Another opportunity to play. Another opportunity to connect with songwriters like myself. Another opportunity to give back in whatever way I could.
On the day of the finals, we had a full itinerary of workshops from people like Steve Rawls to vocal instructor, Mama Jan. Music 4 Macy wanted all of us to grow and they made a point of investing in us. When I actually won the competition (and the recording time at Real 2 Reel Studios), I already felt like I had been winning all day long.
One of my biggest memories of the night was hearing Macy’s family speak about her life. My father, who was one of my biggest supporters and one of my best friends, had unexpectedly passed the year prior. I recognized their grief and the overwhelming love they felt for Macy. I committed strongly in that moment to help any way that I could.
So, we began! I got to share the stage with Chuck Leavell and Edwin McCain for the foundation’s annual fundraising galas. I spent time drinking coffee and playing from my songwriting notebooks to my producers Michael Bateman and Jonathan Beckner while we debated which songs should make the cut. We spent a whirlwind of a week in the studio with the insane talent of Yoel b’nah Yehuda, Jason Pomar, and Nathan Lathouse who brought so much life to my music and pure joy to the process. Later on, Jason Fowler and David Jordan added their own magical touches which had me grinning from ear to ear as I listened back to the masters. Michael and Jonathan made Real 2 Reel studios feel like home to me. They pushed me vocally and musically. When it came time to record “Reach”, a song I wrote only three months after losing my father, they made me feel safe enough to go there, to surrender to the well of emotion inside of me. When our week was done, I felt like I had learned a year’s worth in that short amount of time. We passed it off to the safe hands of Steve Rawls for mixing and mastering. And it was done.
The first track is a love letter to the families I worked with at the Children’s Hospital. The second track, a love letter to a person who once kissed me on a moonlit night.
The third song is for my Dad - the man who carried my equipment, bragged to strangers about my songwriting, made me coffee in the morning, and taught me to value myself. I still reach for him and honestly, I always will.
I once heard that writing songs could be a bit like having kids. You bring them to life. Then in recording, you watch them grow and raise them right. In sharing and releasing them, I send them off into the world to live a life of their own.
So, here they are. I surrender them to you.
The Secret to Life
I have a story to tell.
6 years ago. That was the first time I stepped foot in a Children’s Hospital, my red guitar in tow, and unsure of what to expect.
A few months earlier, I approached the head of Songs For Kids, based in Atlanta, after singing at a benefit concert. I sang, I donated, I bought the t-shirt but I wanted to do more. They just happened to need a volunteer in Macon, my hometown.
So here I was. Singing Taylor Swift, Zac Brown Band, and even the Spongebob theme song for whoever voted “yes” to a musical stranger.
It was within those walls that I learned how to focus my music as a tool of pure love. I learned to ignore my bad hair days, my missed lyrics, and off notes. When I entered their room, it was all about THEM, not me.
If they weren’t feeling it? That was okay. I was there to serve their need for rest and quiet not my need to be heard.
And yet, they did hear me. I developed unspeakably beautiful friendships within minutes. I never thought that possible before.
Oftentimes, I would think myself there to cheer these kids and their families up, but then THEY would cheer ME up.
“Has anyone ever told you that you should audition for American Idol?” I beamed. Especially my first day back after the sudden and painful loss of my father, who was one of my biggest supporters. He believed in me and now my grief was comforted by THEIR belief.
It wasn’t long before I realized that I wasn’t just singing to the kids. The parents needed it too. They needed to escape long days, attempting comfort in hospital chairs, and worrying. Sometimes it was because they needed to sing along to Michael Jackson tunes. Sometimes it was because they needed to run and get a saving cup of coffee and be where they could express their stress fully.
I was there for them.
Out of a strong commitment to their privacy, I can’t tell specifics about the children I met. But I can tell you they I met kids who told me I wasn’t any good (until I play “What Does the Fox Say” and totally won them over!). I met kids who wanted me to stay for hours and pulled up all of their favorite songs on youtube in order to teach them to me quick enough to sing them on my guitar.
I’ve met kids who recovered. I’ve met kids who didn’t.
There is no way around it, your heart gets attached and though I don’t know them beyond these walls, my heart has broken for them.
Then it beats with more determination to be a part of their journey and hopefully, their cure.
That’s why I didn’t think twice when I saw Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation was holding a songwriting competition. I saw the beautiful intersection of my passions once more. I didn’t even care if I won, I knew my entry money was going towards a good cause.
When I won, there was a song I knew that would be the perfect fit to record and it’s about my time in the Children’s Hospital. It’s FOR these families and their beautiful children. It’s FOR the child life specialist, the nurses, and the doctors. It’s FOR them.
Because they know the secret to life. Maybe you do too…
Love,
Louise
Lvl to the Room reviews "This Could Be Love"
"There’s a certain raw talent that filters through Louise Warren. Her voice sounds like the long lines of a pen as its letters loop through tender words and unrefined penmanship. “This Could Be Love” is a written message on the back of a postcard. Warren’s talent is like letter-reading because sending a letter is the next best thing to showing up personally at someone’s door. That’s the intimate approach she’s able to capture with this single." -Hope Ankney
A HUGE thank you to Hope Ankney and the Lvl to the Room for covering my lyric video of "This Could Be Love"! Click the title above to give it a read!
Love,
Louise
"This Could Be Love" Lyric Video Released!
It's here guys!! My beautifully talented friend at Celestial PR has brought to life my song, "This Could Be Love". I hope you go check it out and sing a long with me!
Love,
Louise
Bragg Jam 2018
Catch Louise's performance at Gallery West at 4:30pm!
Buy tickets here: http://www.braggjam.org
"Christmas Memories" featured on Savvage Media!
"Sometimes you're looking forward to spending Christmas with someone, but unfortunately you can't. All you have are memories, whether good or bad. Singer/songwriter, Louise Warren, brings us a lovely Christmas original, with lyrics "but I won't make a cameo in your Christmas memories." I love Louise's voice, definitely looking forward to more from her!"
-Nicole Juliette Hetlyn
Concert Crap Interview
Concert Crap: Your gearing up to release your new song “In The Dark”, can you talk about the creation of and the meaning behind the song?
Louise Warren: I recorded this song with my friend, Sean Williams – who is a brilliant indie musician under the name Sean Solo. It was one of my favorite studio environments. We were literally in his basement, shoes off, and laughing the whole time. As we were working on “In the Dark”, his little sister (who I adore) came downstairs to listen. She got this spark in her eyes and went over to the light switch and cut it off. Sean was nervous I would mind but we left it that way the rest of the session. We just had a lot of fun making my album, Lavender Sound. That is my greatest desire for any creative process- that I enjoy the journey of it.
The song “In the Dark” was written during a time where my life held a lot of uncertainty. I was in that place where your heart is a bit too raw from putting it in the wrong hands. It was my way of sorting through the emotional wreckage after someone disappoints you. Every song on Lavender Sound has an almost zen-like theme of acceptance to it. “In the Dark” is me making peace with the unknown of love and the unknown of life. When I say “My songs are somewhere all written down – but I don’t wanna know them”, I mean to say if my future is planned, I’d rather go in blind so I can appreciate where I am now. The second you know the end of the story, it changes how you read all of the individual chapters.
CC: I was reading your bio and it sounds like you’ve been playing / writing music since you were young, which is really awesome! Did you get into music on your own or do you have a musical family?
LW: Thank you so much! 🙂
Well, my entirely family loves music but not all of us are music creators. I grew up with my lullabies being songs my mom made up for me because she got tired of singing the “real” ones. She would never claim being a writer but that’s exactly what she is. I was writing from a very early age and I strongly believe that’s at least partly due to the fact that I watched and listened to someone doing it. I would spend hours outside swinging and writing songs – very much in my head but loving every second of it.
My Dad played guitar very well but didn’t pick it back up until I started learning at 14. At that point, we were both hooked and listening through each other’s doors for what the other was writing or working on. He started writing instrumentals during this time that were jazzy and amazing!
When I started performing live, my entire family came along. A fact that didn’t give me the “rockstar” glow but made me feel incredibly luck, loved and supported. My family can make my entire day by coming to a gig.
CC: Who are some people that influence your music?
LW: Well both of my parents took it upon themselves to expose me to good music. My Dad ensured I knew Steve Vai and my mom lit up every time an Elvis song came on.
My greatest influences change all the time depending on the sound I’m going for but I always love Arctic Monkeys, The Beatles, Fiona Apple, and Jason Isbell.
CC: What does it mean to you to be able to share your music with people across the country?
LW: When I write a song, it’s like a spark is lit inside of me that illuminates everything. It’s as though I am taking a step back and looking at everything from an eagle eye perspective. I still FEEL it like I’m in it but I gain clarity.
When I share that, it’s like looking up and that spark is lit for everyone else. They are all around me holding their candle too saying “yes, we are all human and in this together”. Even if it’s just one person, it’s like we are seeing each other in the raw truth of our experiences and feelings. So it means connection and acceptance.
CC: What are some bands or artists that you’ve been listening to lately?
LW: Ben Folds because I got to see him live in Macon and he is just pure genius. Rag’n’Bone Man because I love soulful voices. Also been revisiting lots of Civil Wars and Joni Mitchell lately.
CC: Any plans for the rest of 2017?
LW: I’m recording an EP with Reel 2 Reel Studios for the Macy Easom Cancer Research Foundation. I won their Music 4 Macy Songwriting Competition last year and I’m SO excited to get back in the studio.
I’m also planning a lot of visits singing at the Children’s Hospital in Macon as part of the Songs 4 Kids.
After the holidays, it will be a lot of gigging for my debut full-length, Lavender Sound.
Watch the music video for “In The Dark“
–
Post and interview by Madeline Cronin
Savvage Media Interview
By: Nicole Juliette Hetlyn
“MUSIC IS MY MORNING COFFEE, THERAPIST, AND BEST FRIEND.” - LOUISE WARREN
You are no stranger to songwriting, you have been doing this for several years. When did you realize that this was something that you truly wanted to pursue? What’s your typical songwriting process like?
My favorite thing to do as a child was to swing on the playground and write music. I would sing other people's songs until I ran out of them and then would write one of my own. My inner world was very much my version of play.
I'm usually a melody first person. To me, it's the foundation of the song. The lyrics are what make a house a home, but it cannot exist without the melody first. I might sit down with my guitar and sing a few notes or sometimes even wake to an idea. Once I have the idea, I almost always write it in the order that you hear it. A goal of mine is to learn how to break that process, though, and start with lyrics first!
You just released a lyric video for “In The Dark.” We love this song! What was your inspiration behind writing this song?
Thank you so much! The song was inspired by the role 'the unknown' played in my life during my early twenties, particularly in love. I had reached a point, like most people do in dating, where I was fed up. What I wanted was to know what would happen, not even just with the person I was speaking to in the song but on a greater scale - that I would live the life I wanted to. This song was my way of coming to terms with not knowing and looking my fears dead in the eye.
In July, you released your debut album, Lavender Sound. What is the overall concept/theme of this album?
Scent is a huge trigger for memory, and so is music. When I wrote Lavender Sound, I was making peace with the broken pieces of my past and choosing to use those pieces to form a more beautiful present- like a mosaic. It was me processing what I didn't receive from a situation - that partner or opportunity- and choosing to look at my life for the lessons learned. I found intense joy in who I was becoming and what I was creating. Lavender essential oils have always been wonderfully calming to me. It was the best way, alongside songwriting, to self soothe during a period of tremendous transformation! Now, both these songs and that scent, hold so much more meaning.
As a young artist, you have already shared the stage with some very astonishing artists (Chuck Leavell or Rolling Stones, Jimmy Hall, Shawn Mullins). If you could tour with any artist, who would you tour with?
Arctic Monkeys! They have been one of my favorite bands since I was 16 years old for the sheer poetry of Alex Turner's lyrics and for not taking the easy way out, musically. They are all really creative! I would probably bug them with how many songwriting questions I asked.
What is something that you want your audience to know about you as an artist? When people leave your show, what message do you want them to go away with knowing?
I think more than anything I want to create a safe space to bear my soul and to allow them to bear theirs. Life can be lived walking around with the weight of what we feel, but there is lightness in expressing and releasing it. Sharing that experience reminds us that we are all human and in this together.
You will be part of the Women with Purpose Festival. Can you tell us more about this?
I was approached by a fellow female musician in Macon, SaVana Cameron. She wanted to create a show that put a spotlight on all the music-making women in our area, while also doing something good to benefit our local Crisis Line and Safe house that helps victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault. I was ALL on board for this. I know so many people who have experienced abuse, and have not known where to turn to.
Now in its second year, Wesleyan College, where SaVana is a student, has decided to take it under its wing and hold the performance at the school. Tickets are $10 general admission and can be purchased the day of the performance.
What will 2018 have in store for you?
I have a few shows planned in the Macon and Atlanta areas. A huge chunk of my energy is going to be put into working on my upcoming album and booking tour dates for 2018. It's an exciting and busy time!
I also love spending time, especially while not so busy, at the Children's Hospital singing with Songs For Kids. It's one of my favorite things to be a part of!
Kill the Music Interview
Interview: Louise Warren
We caught up with singer/songwriter Louise Warren to talk about her inspirations and taking ownership of her dreams. This Georgian peach has recently released her debut album Lavender Sound and today is releasing a lyric video for her song "In The Dark", check out the video below her interview!
When did you first know you wanted to be a musician?
It was definitely before I started elementary school. My mom loves to tell people this story about when I was 3 or 4 and she apparently wanted me to clean up. I was swinging my legs off the side of a chest of drawers and singing for everyone. My response to her was something along the lines of “music is my life”. I don’t know what the true goal was in that specific moment (probably to avoid chores), but I knew early on that it was my favorite thing to do - especially when I started songwriting.
Who are artists that have inspired your music most?
I’m very melody centered. It’s the first thing I’m drawn to. I grew up listening to a lot of music that my parents grew up with -The Supremes, The Beach Boys, and Elvis. I soaked up every single album by The Beatles.
As a teenager, Arctic Monkeys and Fiona Apple really changed my world because their lyrics are just pure poetry.
How does your debut album Lavender Sound reflect who you are both as a person and an artist?
The entire concept of Lavender Sound is about taking the moments that could potentially break you and using those pieces to form a beautiful mosaic. The moment I declared that idea about the album, an entire sequence of events took place in my experience to make it so. The past 7 years have been a lot of intense growth for me. I lost people I loved and had so many false startups to this project that I was fearful that it would never happen.
As an artist, it meant declaring my commitment over and over to this album and taking ownership of my dreams. I was never going to quit trying to create it, even if I was 90 years old! Though, I’m grateful it happened now!
Lavender Sound is my coming-of-age story but more than that it was learning how to claim my worth. Whether I realized it or not, I was creating who I wanted to be alongside the music. That inner work is at the core of this project.
The lyric video for “In The Dark” is being released Friday, October 13th. What does this song mean to you?
In the Dark is about accepting that we cannot know what is coming next - in our relationships or in our lives. I’ve always considered what it would be like if we knew the future before it happened. When I was in my early twenties, it seemed like an appealing concept to me because there was a lot of uncertainty in my life, especially in love. But I came to the conclusion, through writing this song, that even with the potential for heartache and loss, I’d rather not know. The suspense is hard. Even now, I look up spoilers for Game of Thrones because I struggle with cliffhangers! But truthfully, we would make different choices if we knew the ending and then the ending might change and what we learned from it might change. It makes it increasingly important to cherish the journey - even if it means sitting with the hard stuff.
What’s your most proud accomplishment from this year?
Finally releasing this album! It has been a lifelong dream of mine - something I’ve excitedly planned for since I was a kid. I’d study liner notes and cover art and dreamed about what my first one would look like.
The experience truly went above and beyond my imagination. Sean Williams (Egil Studios) worked tirelessly on every track to get it where I wanted it and the art that Casie Trace drew for the cover reflected the dreaminess of it. My childhood self is literally doing backflips right now.
What goals do you still have for the rest of the year?
I have a few shows in Atlanta and Macon closing out the end of this year then I’m laying low until after the holidays. I love wrapping up every year volunteering at the Children’s Hospital (in Macon) singing with Songs For Kids.
There may also be another record very much in the works! I’m a recording addict now!
The Story Behind... Lavender Sound
I would’ve never written Lavender Sound if it weren’t for a no-good, very bad day and the loving response of my extremely sweet mom.
I would’ve never written Lavender Sound if it weren’t for a no-good, very bad day and the loving response of my extremely sweet mom.
I was feeling stressed and stuck watching experiences with life and relationships repeat so I turned to a bit of talk therapy with my mom (who is also named Louise- she just goes by Lou). She cleverly asked me, “What do you need?” To which I answered, “I wish I could just build a fort and watch movies and be a kid again.”
She had one of her glowingly simple but wise moments and replied, “So, let’s do it.” (She had the same response when I said I wanted to go to Berklee Music School for a summer). We grabbed chairs, blankets, and pillows. Now, bare in mind I was about 20 years old…But my mom still, without question, helped me map out the perfect place to build this fortress of solitude and comfort. I put on A Walk in the Clouds and she gave me one of those hugs that only a mom could as I settled in for the night.
Yes, I totally slept in my fort.
But when the movie was over…I felt that familiar itch. I picked up my guitar (my songwriting book was right on top of my case, at the ready for when inspiration moments would strike.) The beginning chords were what the movie felt like to me. I felt like they were floating, dreamy, and nostalgic.
Nostalgic…that was the word.
As I wrote out what the past with this person FELT like to me, I realized I was making peace with more than just those experiences but the woman I was becoming because of them. It made me realize that it was worth the heartache. Hence the line, “Learning of me was heaven sent.” The lessons were a true blessing.
I did eventually go to sleep and when I woke up I played my new song for both of my parents. It is still to date one of the best reactions I’ve ever gotten from anyone after writing a song.
I credit it all to my pillow fort and the magic of being a child even if you’re 20!!! :)
Love,
LW <3