Michaela Anne

Classic country songwriter Michaela Anne has always known a nomad’s life. She spent her adolescence moving from city to city as the child of a military family and now spends her days on the road as a performing artist. Originally a jazz student,  Michaela crossed over to the country world after meeting bluegrass musician Michael Daves, who introduced her to the music of some of her biggest heroes. We chatted with the songstress about Lucinda Williams, children’s books and the idea of a life of movement.

You were originally a jazz student but switched genres after a run-in with bluegrass musician Michael Daves. How did you come to the decision to change over to the Americana/country world?

I had been singing country songs (along with many other styles) since I was a kid. People always told me my voice was best suited for country but I liked a lot of other stuff so I just never solely focused on the one genre. Around the time I met Michael Daves, I was feeling uninspired by jazz. I didn’t feel like I had a voice in that world, it didn’t feel natural or authentic to me and I honestly was really questioning my love for music (which is crazy). When I met Michael, he introduced me to music like the Louvin Brothers, Bill Monroe, Hazel Dickens, Ralph Stanley and I really studied those songs with him. The Louvin Brothers especially resonated with me in a way nothing else had for quite some time. From there I delved deeper into the music of Emmylou Harris, Bob Dylan, Townes Van Zandt, The Band, Patsy Cline, Neil Young, Loretta Lynn (I could go on forever…), and I felt like I was finally hearing songs and voices that spoke directly to my heart and soul. I really identified with songwriting that told stories and felt deep, real, relatable and emotion based. When I was really young, I asked my dad why he liked country music (he was and still is a huge country fan) and he told me because every song had a story. I laughed at him because I was an immature kid at the time but I basically came full circle and that was the exact reason I fell in love with it and how I found my voice.

Are there any songs you’ve released that you wish you could re-write or change?

Tunes that came out on my first record have evolved where I have arranged them differently to fit whatever band I’m playing with, so if I were to re-record that record I would probably do them differently. But once I finish a song after many edits, I kind of let the core of it live as it is. That approach could very well change though as I grow as a songwriter, we’ll see!

Who are your songwriting heroes?

There is a pretty long list but Lucinda Williams is one of the greatest songwriters for me. I could listen to her records forever. But of course Gillian Welch, John Prine, Bob Dylan, Loretta Lynn, Neil Young, Townes Van Zandt, Hank Williams, Lori McKenna…. I could go on for awhile.

When did you start writing songs?

Technically when I was 5. I started playing piano and wrote instrumental pieces. My first song was called “When Daddy Comes Home.” (My dad was a submarine captain in the Navy and would be out to sea for 6 months at a time). I didn’t start writing songs with lyrics until I was 18 though.

What’s the last song you wrote or started?

I have quite a few I’m working on right now but the one that feels most finished and that I’m excited about is called “Everything I Couldn’t Be”. I wrote it with my friend Dave Brainard and it’s a bit of a heartbreaker.

How do you go about writing songs?

I generally sit down with my guitar and just kind of start messing with chord progressions and melodies and hopefully something will strike me and it all kind of unfolds from there. Usually a chorus comes first and then I have to figure out what the verse needs to say which I can dwell on for quite awhile. If I feel stuck I change instruments, try the piano or just switching to electric guitar can change the feel. I try to give myself ‘assignments’ at times or challenges to make sure I’m always stretching myself to write songs that may not be at the tip of my tongue.

What is your approach to writing lyrics?

Lyrics don’t come as easily to me. I feel like I really have to sit on an idea and sort of free write for awhile until I understand what I’m trying to write about. So I often do that but I’ll generally start with a melody idea to have some context to start with.

What percentage of the songs you write are keepers?

Hmmm…this is tough because I have a hard time finishing songs if I don’t think they are keepers which I know goes against every songwriting 101 piece of advice: finish songs! So maybe 50% of them…

What sort of things inspire you to write?

I tend to be inspired by kind of heavier subject matter. Love, life, what we’re doing here on this earth, wanderlust, etc. I’m not exactly known for writing plain ol’ good time songs but I’m trying! But in general I’m inspired by what I know which is a life of movement as a military kid and maybe at the core a somewhat consistently feeling loneliness or constant questioning of things, so I think that is the underlying tone of a lot of my inspiration. Sad or melancholy songs just feel really good.

What’s a song on your album you’re particularly proud of and why?

I think “The Haunting” is one I’m particularly proud of. I used to censor myself a lot with songwriting because of worrying what people close to me might think, my family, my boyfriend etc. “The Haunting” is a tune where I wrote some pretty brutal lyrics and people often ask me if it’s a true story and I think sometimes feel concerned for me if it were true. In the past I would have been embarrassed by that or worried that someone (namely my boyfriend, now husband) would question what was going on. I’m proud that I wrote a song in the way I thought it should be written without any regard for what people might think.

What’s a lyric or verse from the album you’re a fan of?

“I fear that I won’t be the one they love, I fear that I won’t be here long enough, I fear a life of fear I know it’s tough” from “Ease My Mind”. I like it because I feel like it’s one of my most honest lyrics and also about something that was coming up a lot at the time. I was in my early 20s when I wrote it, right out of college. It was this time where a lot of conversations with friends and family were about how to succeed in life, what to do, chasing dreams or getting stable jobs, seeking acceptance or belonging, etc. but at the same time being tired of those topics with fears dominating my head space and wanting to be free of worry and fear.

Is it easier or harder to write songs, the more you write?

Both, if that’s possible. I think when I write a song I’m proud of I almost always have this fear of maybe that’s it. Maybe I’ll never write another song. But then you do write more songs that you like even better and I do believe they improve with the more work you put into them and experience you gain.

What’s a song of yours that’s really touched people?

“Is This What Mama Meant” seems to move people quite a bit. It’s about sticking it out with the one you love even when times get tough. My parents inspired the song and the fact that they have been together since they were 16 is pretty remarkable to me given the lifestyle they lived in the military. They’ve really taught me that things worth keeping take nurturing, endurance and not just running away from rough times which I think is an important lesson to learn at a young age.

Do you ever do any other kinds of writing?

I don’t actually, at least not right now, but I have this feeling I might end up writing children’s books in my life inspired by my cat. Just a hunch….

If you could co-write with anyone living or dead, who would it be?

Lucinda Williams, hands down.

Who do you consider an underrated songwriter?

I’d have to pick two. Alana Amram and Annie Lynch of Annie & the Beekeepers. Both are friends of mine but regardless of the friendship I just have incredible respect for their writing. Alana has a great talent of weaving these beautiful intricate stories where you feel like you’ve read a novel in her 3 minute song. Annie is a master of beautiful catchy melodies paired with seemingly simple lyrics that have much deeper meanings when you listen a little more carefully. “Light at the End” from her record My Bonneville is one of my favorites.

What do you consider to be the perfect song (written by somebody else), and why?

There are so many incredible songs out there so this is pretty impossible to answer but I’m recently obsessed with a song called “Me and Willie”. It was an unreleased, bonus track on the 2004 reissue of Emmylous Harris’ 1977 release Luxury Liner It’s written by a woman named Laurie Hyde-Smith. It’s beautiful and probably just very relatable for a touring musician like me and the majority of my friends who spend a lot of times in bars and on the road.