The Things That Bind Us
I have had a lot of cool experiences in my musical life. I’ve sung at Carnegie Hall three times and had a #1 song on the radio. I’ve recorded a duet with Kenny Loggins and I’ve gotten fan letters (well, emails, technically). And I don’t take any of that lightly, because for the majority of people who pursue a career in music, they will likely not achieve any of those things, statistically speaking.
But each of those things, in and of themselves, has been tempered by years of rejection and tears that could fill an ocean. And the truth is those experiences were only as meaningful as the people I shared them with at the time, and any good that might have come out of them for anyone other than me.
For all the years I have spent in the music business, my ultimate conclusion is that music is my spiritual calling and its importance lies in touching other human souls and keeping a roof over my head.
I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve worn many hats, so I feel very qualified to tell you that forming a band, on a good day, can best be described as a very bad idea. With certainty, I can tell you that 99% of bands are destined to disband from their first day together.
Enter The Inspire Project.
Here we are – 3 women over 50, and I am not shying away from saying that, just as I am not shying away from forming a band at this juncture in my life. I think we best serve the world by being who we are and by owning that, too.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to this, as I’m sure Tanya and Lorraine have, because when you enter into a venture having had the benefit of experience, you know to weigh the pros and cons.
I can tell you that we’ve worked with each other musically, on and off, for the past 25 years, but that is an entirely different animal than being “a band.”
Me, I’ve never been in a band. I’ve hired musicians to play for and with me. But that, too, is not the same thing. A solo act is autonomous. A band is a collaboration, much like the legislative branch of government.
So why this band and why now?
I can only speak for myself. On levels greater than music, this band has something to offer each other and the world. Harmony comes in many forms, as do peace and transformation, and we are a microcosm of that.
Musically speaking, we are stylistically diverse and compatible. Vocally speaking, we are sonically diverse and compatible. Spiritually speaking, we are diverse and compatible. See a theme here?
We are diverse and inclusive and compatible, much like we’d love the world to be.
What we bring to the table is something bigger than music. It is what binds us.
For all that we have shared musically over the years, we have shared more personally. We have each lost a parent and stood by each other through it. We have loved and lost, (and one of us has even loved and married!). We’ve talked politics, religion, AND money. I don’t think there is a subject that’s taboo with us. We have shared triumphs, sure, and we have also shared utter heartbreak.
I tell you this, because when a band is fighting over petty nonsense, which bands inevitably do, the things I just mentioned weigh into the equation. They jolt us back not only to what matters, but to kindness.
This band isn’t only a chance to have the joy of making music together, it is a safe space to push each other’s buttons, work through our (pardon the expression) shit, and grow into more of who we are and can be at our very best. I’ll grant you this is not for the faint of heart. But it is for The Inspire Project.
And the beauty of this happening at this stage of our lives is that we are too exhausted to chase what doesn’t matter or belong to us, so we are consciously deciding how we want to build and create what does.
We have big visions for The Inspire Project, though we cannot articulate every single one of them yet. We know that love is our bottom line, hope is often born of our greatest pain, and what binds us is of greater value than merely being “a band.”
All that being said, this band – The Inspire Project, is a heck of a lot of fun and a joy-filled love-fest that we hope you will be a part of!!