Tell Us about:

Your latest single you have released:

Ignorance is violence  is a call to action for all of us to recognize the harm that our ignorance has caused to our planet, and work to overcome it.

 Summer, 2021, my partner and I spent three months traveling the western United States in our van, connecting to the earth while witnessing first hand, the effects of global warming. Fires engulfed the Pacific northwest, temperatures reached all-time highs as smoke filled the air and followed us along our travels, spreading from Oregon all the way to South Dakota. We didn’t see a blue sky for two months, we were devastated and greatly impacted by the reality of how our ignorance over the past century had created the situation we are in. 

We shared a dialogue around the topic during our road trip that transpired into a co-write and this song was born. 

Recorded at 4th street studios in Santa Monica, produced by Chad Schlosser and Micheal Johnson. I couldn’t be more pleased with the production of this song. It drives, reflecting the urgency of the matter and then opens up with the haunting chorus “Ignorance is Violence”. Incorporating children’s voices in the chorus, thanks to the Seattle children choir, brings in the feeling of “hope” for the future.  

It also features Adam MacDougall on hammond.

Your first single and how you felt when it was released:

“Wings”. I felt so supported and loved by the positive response from fans and a sense of freedom. The process that goes into the creation of a song and then letting it go is like having a child. You raise it the best you can and then it grows up and becomes its own being out in the world. All of my little song babies are growing up and having an adventure and I am proud and honored to be on this journey with them.  

Your favorite song that you have created that is an album track:

The song I feel the deepest connection to is  “Be Here”. I love the evolution of this song.  

I first wrote it on my Merlin dulcimer while I was walking the “Camino de Santiago”, a 500 mile trek through Spain, summer of 2019. It then found its true voice on the piano in 2022, taking on a bluesy feel in production. 

It’s a simple song but the words echo and remain a staple in my everyday life. “Just gonna be here, let the wind blow through my soul”, a reminder to be present. 

Your favorite song to play live:

 “Be Brave”. A guitar song that always empowers me whenever I share it. I feel we all can relate to moments in our lives where we need to be brave and know that we belong. 

The song that was the longest to write and why?

“ Pacific Northwest”. This song was already written back in 2017, while I was on a PNW tour. When I met my Partner in 2019, we took a trip up the Pacific Northwest and felt inspired to add another verse. We kept changing it up throughout our travels until we visited the Umpqua Hot Springs in Oregon, summer of 2021, where the song found its completion. 

Your most emotional track:

“Choose You”.  My personal journey through mental health.

It was the love of my partner Brandon Sudweeks that brought me back to life. No one can do the healing for you, “you’ve got to choose you” and do the work, but you don’t need to do it alone.

The best lyric you have ever written:

 They are yet to come. (smile)

Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show:

Like I’m home in my element. 

The hardest track to play live:

 “Step into Love” I play piano on this song but the vocals are so dynamic I’d prefer to just focus on singing over playing and singing. It is a song I know will never be played the same way twice at a live performance and that makes it exciting.  

Essential items you always take on tour with you?

A capo

Rosemary essential oil

Palo Santo (to light and ground me) 

Extra batteries 

An open heart

Describe your fans in three words:

Loyal,adventurous,philosophical

A song by another artist or band you wish you had written:

“She Burns” by Foy Vance. Everything about this song.

What we can look forward to from your band this year:

More music releases and an epic video of my two week,160 mile hike along the John Muir Trail this summer.