Heatherlyn: Creating Her Own American Dream. Nov. 2nd 2011. Performer Magazine, Page  18                                          Posted by Andrew Lapham Fersch

Where did you start with music, where are you now, and where do you hope your music might bring you?

I have memories of singing from every season of my life. I recall singing publically in front of others in church when I was a small girl and then I sang in school too. I have a vivid memory from when I was pretty young, under 10, I’d say. A lady came up to me after I sang somewhere and she asked if I’d ever recorded a tape. Hehe. A tape. Recording was something I always wanted to do too – recording, performing, traveling. It was always inside of me, a dream to simply BE a “singer”. Though I had other ideas cross my mind, singing is all I ever wanted to do really, truly, deeply.

I have some fun memories of trying my hand at song-writing as a preteen, wrote a song for a friend of mine and a song about butterflies, cause I was hanging out with my aunt and she really likes butterflies. The best is recalling singing in my Grandma’s kitchen pretending my toothbrush was a microphone and belting out a little ditty that I’d just made up about toothpaste.

I never stopped making music but their were things in my life and in my thinking that made me wonder is I was just perhaps like anyone else who just wants to be famous or something. It seemed selfish and impossible.

I gave up my dream at some point in college.

It was a couple years later when I realized that making music and a deeper dream to make more had been a significant part of me and had called to me my entire life. I had a good gig, working with youth, doing music and arts. Pretty fun. But couldn’t shake this deep, deep desire, a sense that this would never leave me alone if I didn’t at least give it my very best shot. I was 25, had been married a couple years, lived in a suburb where it seemed like everyone my age was either buying a house or having a baby – beautiful, wonderful things – but I had like an epiphany, incredible clarity that if I went down that road, without seeing what could happen with music and this unquenchable thirst to share music with people beyond my own work, even my own city or country…I just KNEW that if I went ahead and had babies and got tied down by a mortgage.. I would most certainly regret it not listening to this constant voice in my own heart.

I had to make a change. My husband supported me. So the first big risk we took to head in this direction was for me to work part time and then using the other time in my life to discover what it meant for me to be an artist, a song-writer, even grow as a performer. What would this look like for my life? I began to sing in coffee shops and house concerts, small gatherings of friends inviting friends and neighbors to enjoy music in their living rooms.

I gradually got some freelance hired gigs, worked on and released the first album with a very low budget and the help of friends. After three years of discovering, learning, creating and growing, there came a point when I needed to make myself more available to the networks that we had been developing around the country. We took our second big risk. I had no supplemental job at all.

Eventually, Jason, who has shared this dream with me, came on board with ‘Heatherlyn Music’ full time as well. “Full time” is a silly term here. Really, it’s our full-life vocation. We live, eat, sleep, breathe this stuff and all that we need to do to simply share the gift we believe we’re meant to share for the benefit of whomever connects. This currently seems to be the best thing we have to offer to enrich the world around us.

Did you always know music would be such a huge part of your life?

Yeah, for sure.

You say that you “hope to inspire and encourage your audience to live fully alive – authentically, freely sharing their own voice and gifts on behalf of others..(and hope to) share the hope that these stories will build community, cultivate understanding, compassion and respect among audience members of various walks of life, for all human kind and all creation.” What does that look like in practice?

Yeah, I think it is a part of who I am, when I’m keepin’ it real, sharing my story and inviting people to consider believing in the dream that’s inside of them, they might open themselves to greater possibilities rather then be confined by outside expectations. I’d like to think this is what they mean, at least some of the time, when people say they have been “inspired”.

We see people from literally all walks of life and backgrounds connect with the music. They find themselves together with us in the same space, enjoying and resonating with the same songs though there might be nearly nothing else that would bring them together.

For example, we spent a few days as artist-in-residence in Bethel, Alaska last February. I got to sing with and for some kids at a local non-profit, at a public school assembly and on the local NPR affiliate. The family-friendly concert was the following weekend at the Cultural Arts Center. Everyone came, this incredibly diverse place in which Caucasians are in the minority.

We ended up having large sheets of butcher paper around the stage with crayons and markers and we welcomed all the kids to co-create huge murals during the concert. What we heard from a few people is that they saw parents of these children, who didn’t normally hang out in the same circles, parents who saw their children interacting and so began to engage in conversation during the intermission and after the concert. Very cool and completely uncontrived.

I hope that as I share stories of people we encounter, whether from a rich suburb of Phoenix or a tent city in Seattle, those listening might see themselves in the other and their shared humanity; maybe even allow that to inform other aspects of their lives and their thinking when it comes to creed, culture, class. All these things certainly might be defining but they don’t have to be dividing.

You do a lot of work for charity organizations; could you talk about this? How integral is that to you as a person and as a musician?

Non-profit organizations frequently call upon us to contribute music to their events as they feel it helps convey the heart of their work. I’ve tended to be drawn to writing about social issues and injustices, but not only what’s broken in our world; I also write about what our world may become. I’m super intentional about that. It never seems very helpful to just agitate, point out something that sucks and leave it at that. I think that ends up being a dead end, leading only to a paralysis of despair. People do generally care but easily tend to give themselves over the busy-ness of life and that timeless shoulder-shrug: “Well, what can I do?”. So I say, well that’s a great question, let’s consider that. My hope is that my music will both delight in what’s beautiful in life and the world and then also invite folks to consider what’s messed up about it but with a sense of hopeful responsibility. There are so many who could use the power of their voice or their resources to be the change they want to see in the world. I try to connect them to that power within themselves and to a greater imagination for their part in the local and global community.

What are you most proud of being a part of?

Youthrive is the Midwest regional affiliate of the international PeaceJam. Through them, we’ve been honored with the opportunity to bring music and a message of peace-making and hopefulness to young men at a correction facility in southern Minnesota. They’ve invited us to team up with them on a variety of legislative summits, even sharing the stage with Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and elected officials.

What cause are you most passionate about? (Difficult to choose one probably, but if you had to).

Through Youthrive, we’ve connected with a couple of summits on ending and preventing violence. The repercussions of violence that my own mom has experienced at various times in her life have had a deeply significant impact upon me.

So, even though it is difficult to say what organization I’d be most proud to partner with or what cause I’m most passionate about; I can say that when I’m called upon to deliver a song and part of my story to an audience that is actively working and collaborating to heal lives and communities, to prevent violence and especially, sexual violence, my whole being shows up in an entirely different way. It takes a lot of energy and emotional strength.

Can you talk about Storydwelling? Where the idea came from, what it was all about, etc.?

The word itself came to me during a walk along the Columbia River in Portland, OR when was thinking about the various people we’d been encountering in different parts of the country over the previous few months, stories we heard and times when we felt we were entering and experiencing people’s stories with them while we shared time with them, whether for an hour over coffee or for a few days as they hosted us in their home. We received the warm welcome of people from across a wide spectrum of socio-economics, culture and politics and recognized the humanity in each one. Though our minds never changed and our own truth never changed, our hearts were more open to love as we could begin to see how their experiences in life shaped the way they saw the world around them now.

I define “Storydwelling” as cultivating a compassionate and courageous curiosity for one another, deeply listening and authentically sharing our stories of life. I think it’s about intention and presence, being willing to ask ourselves what has shaped our own perspective and being willing to take the time to meet another’s even seeming absurdities with a kind curiosity rather than judgment based on surface layers and stereotypes. It’s saying “no” to fear and isolation from “those people” and recognizing that we are indeed in this together, whether we realize it or not and whether we like it or not. Political parroting is never helpful. Asking sincere questions and showing a willingness to listen is.

I like to say that “Storydwelling” is music and it’s movement. It’s an album and it’s action, a way to groove and a way to be. The album is a collection of songs that share some of my story, reflect some of our hared human story and songs that hopefully inspire imagination for the new chapters in history that we are writing together here and now and into tomorrow. I hope it might have the honor of being a soundtrack for personal, relational and communal reconciliation.

What does your songwriting process look like?

My strengths in songwriting are lyrics and melody. I feel that of all aspects of the artist I am, I am first a singer and then a poet. The songs I write tend to begin with an idea, a story or a concept. Then I brainstorm and write tons of stuff, word lists, rhymes. I consider the different voices in a story and which one I want to use, which perspective or character I want to take on in the song.

I think some great songs are great because they come from a perspective that most people can relate too. And other songs are brilliant because they accomplish the exact opposite: They come at a familiar topic from a different angle.

So I tend to begin with carefully crafted words and poetry and then I pick up my guitar or go to a keyboard to try out a variety of chords progressions. Usually, by the time I’ve gotten the lyrics worked out, I have a general idea of the vibe I’m going for. I either hear a cadence in my writing that lends itself naturally to a style or I try out a couple to see how they feel, kinda like trying on an outfit to see if it complements your figure and works with how you are wanting to express yourself.

Then I simply sing the lyrics, sometimes with chords, sometimes not.

And it’s never exactly the same. Sometimes the melody and lyrics come to me simultaneously and I either save it in my phone’s voice memos to revisit it and refine it later or I go immediately to an instrument to see what chords fit the melody I’m hearing in my head. The the different parts of the song (words, melody, harmonies) usually interplay a little and shape each other.

How is your husband/collaborator (Jason) involved in this process/and in the creation of music?

Jason is a partner in everything, I’d say, except for the actual music-making. He grew up around audio and lighting gear, learning to operate stuff as a kid, really, and grew into what I call an exceptional “curator of space and experience.” He helps with managing all the finer details of the independent business of this work. He drives a whole lot when we’re on the road and he highly values the relationships in our networks, which is extremely important as independent freelancers. He’s an absolute rock when I’m over-tired, under-paid and working my ass off, feeling like I can’t catch a break. He’s just *with* me in the most challenging times and reminds me of who I am and why we are doing this. He helps me refocus on what’s most important and on what is working and going well. I don’t know if I could’ve taken all these risks or grown so much as an artist without his constant willingness to do whatever it takes or his undying belief in me.

Do you have any favorites for instruments? Or gear for recording/performing?

My faithful Taylor 312ce acoustic guitar is with me at every gig. Sometimes for writing, I also enjoy my Baby Taylor as its smaller size fits me perfectly. It actually has incredibly warm resonance for it’s small body. I’m madly in love with my sunburst Telecaster. It’s so sweet with custom hum-bucker pickups and an F hole that adds a nice warmth. I’ve just barely begun to perform with an electric guitar, but the new album is leading me more and more in that direction. As we involve the band more, I’d like to grow into playing more rhythm electric guitar LIVE. We used a lot of earthy, vibey instruments and some vintage effects on the STORYDWELLING album. You hear a lot of wood in it.

Your voice is definitely the most powerful instrument worked with in your music, what sort of training have you had? What does your “practice” look like? And how has it changed?

Well, thank you. It’s certainly is the instrument that I know best and is most a part of me – the one that I’ve been using and expressing with the longest.

I started out as a vocal performance major in college but I just found the approach too confining for my style. A couple years of vocal training truly helped me learn how to sing for the long-hull, making the most of what I’ve got without over-doing it; but a lot of the formal training made me too tense, so I ended up studying Theology, something more philosophical.

It wasn’t until I realized I needed to find my own voice that I discovered I’ve got a more soulful thing going on. “Soul” is not something that can be taught. It’s more caught or evolves out of struggle and wonder.

As far as practice, some of my most liberated moments of warming up have included singing along with Jason Mraz and Ella Fitzgerald – channeled via YouTube and iTunes, usually.

So then what is next?

When we consider the road ahead, there are many dreams and plans, but ultimately it’s about the journey, more than a particular destination. In many ways, we simply seek to grow deeper and wider with more of what we’ve been already been doing.

We are perpetually establishing stronger connections around the country and the world as we seek to head out on the road more and more. We look forward to doing more gigs with the band and also look forward to growing into artist-in-residencies that will benefit schools, encouraging young people through arts to surface, honor and amplify their own voices and the voices of their peers. We are excited about our first official music video that will be released within the next several months. I’m thrilled to get back into more song-writing since the STORYDWELLING album is getting out there now, and we have begun talking about a Christmas EP and what that might look like for a 2012 or 2013 release.

I believe the coming year will be a significant time of growth for me personally as a song-writer and performer. I’m very open and looking forward to that. I seek to continue along a true and authentic less-trodden path and be ever more fearless to share the gift that’s been entrusted to see folks be inspired to live soulfully, deeply rooted in love and rockin’ their world with goodness.