(Official?) Artist Statement
I write, perform & work in music because my fragile body contains so many emotions that spoken words alone cannot express. The great hope I have for a better future is matched only by the deep anguish I've experienced as I stubbornly crawled through the darker seasons of my life. This vast array of humanity is best communicated through melody married to poetry, performed with the deepest commitment and wildest abandon. I used to be detrimentally consumed with impressing others; obsessed with being the prettiest, the skinniest, the smartest, the most talented. I was blind to how significantly this hindered my art and thwarted my actual core goal in life: to live my authentic truth in such a way that others feel inspired to courageously embrace their truth as well. Now I conceptualize each song, each phrase, each music video from a place of honesty rather than competition.
As I have a background in dance and musical theatre, I can't write a new piece without simultaneously imagining how it translates to a visual medium. I am deeply intrigued by interdisciplinary arts of all kinds and strive to continue exploring other ways for music to be experienced; I am especially drawn to immersive performances that utilize all of our senses. This has inspired me to explore corners of my mind I never gave myself permission to enter before. I am writing more candidly about faith, identity, sexuality, social issues, love and loss. I am constantly evaluating which parts of myself are unique assets and which ideologies are holding me back. Sometimes we believe lies about ourselves and others because it's easier to understand the world when people fit naturally into little boxes. I'm now swimming through the scary, messy, overwhelming grey that spilled out of these boxes when I barely so much as whispered, "who's really there?"
When people experience my work, I hope they feel like their hardships are validated & they're not alone. Or perhaps if their own life has never gone down the paths that mine has, I hope that upon hearing my songs or watching one of my performances they feel challenged to realize that their perspective may have been limited or not fully inclusive of other realities. I do what I do so that anyone else out there still crippled by the pressure to be perfect might hear my songs and accept the invitation to step out of isolation & anxiety and into the freedom that only authenticity can bring. My music may not please everyone, but if I am raw and vulnerable, it will resonate profoundly with some, and at the very least be respected by the rest. Ultimately, I hope my art inspires courage and empathy.