Musings of the Artist: (Honest) Conversations with Montse Andrée

Hollis Wong-Wear is a songwriter, musician, speaker, and community advocate based in Los Angeles. She is the lead vocalist of the electronic R&B trio The Flavr Blue, and was GRAMMY nominated for Album of the Year for her vocal performance of “White Walls” on The Heist by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis.

In this episode, Hollis shares why her intention of creating real impact through her art is so important to her, and tells her story of how spoken word poetry is where she first honed her storytelling skills.

Hollis shares a time in her life when perceptively everything looked good but on the inside she felt really down on herself. She tells us what helped her through that time and I think it’s so important to hear - not only because we all need to be reminded that perception is not reality but also because she shares really practical advice on how to get through those times we feel empty inside.

We talk about the collaborative and powerful relationship of mentorship, and a lot more!

Hollis also shares some of her favorites - a person, place, food, and book!

Where to find Hollis:

Instagram

Twitter

Website

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music by Heather Maloney.

Liza Anne is a songwriter and musician based in Nashville, TN.

Her latest album is titled “Fine But Dying” and I love how raw and honest every song on that album is. In this episode, we talk a lot about mental health. She explains the duality of being introverted but also wanting to being around people. I really loved how she says getting older is “an eternal homecoming”, and how she describes what small talk feels like (as if everyone is "playing a part”).

Liza shares how she gets through life’s challenging times: whether just a moment or day, or much longer. We talk about the importance of finding a good therapist (go on a few blind dates with therapists until you find the right one!), and you’ll hear her talk about what the women in her life have meant to her.

She also talks about her love for Sex and the City, favorite album, favorite song, city, memory/feeling and more!

Where to find Liza Anne:

Instagram

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music by Heather Maloney.

Tom Renaud is a member of Lord Huron, based in Los Angeles, CA. He’s also one of my dear friends!

In the episode, he tells us how Lord Huron came to be, about curating a taco with his band, and his love of food, cooking, and travel. He also speaks about the post-tour come down that inevitably happens as a touring musician, what he does to manage stress on the road, and the one thing that clears his head. Tom has been a good friend of mine for years and I can tell you he is one of the kindest people I know. While interviewing him for this podcast, I actually learned some new things about him! I’m excited for you to get to know him a bit.

Tom also shares his favorite podcast, album(s), place, and more!

Where to find Tom:

Tom on Instagram

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music by Heather Maloney.

Heather Maloney is a singer-songwriter based in Northampton, MA. She sings the theme song for this podcast! She is also my best friend. So, you'll have get through a bit of of us giggling and gushing, but it's worth it to hear her beautiful story - I promise!

In this episode, Heather shares how going through a bout of depression led her to spending three years at a silent meditation retreat center and how meditation changed her life. I love the simple but profound mantra that came to her during that time: “If your heart is aching, let it ache.” We also talk about the power of female friendship and being mirrors to each other, long-distance friendships, being highly sensitive which she so perfectly describes as an “overload of information”, and about being independent in romantic relationships. Oh, and as I knew we would, we talk about our deep love for Joni Mitchell, and a whole lot more.

Heather also shares her favorite book, album, podcast and more! This is a particularly special episode to me. I hope it feels like something special to you, too!

Where to find Heather:

Website

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring, and recorded at The Music District, in Fort Collins, CO.

Theme song by Heather Maloney.

Catherine (“Cat”) Russell. Backup singer/collaborator to David Bowie, Steely Dan, Jackson Browne, Paul Simon, Dolly Parton (and many more!), and her legendary father (the late Luis Russell) was Louis Armstrong’s musical director. She is also an incredible Jazz Musician - her sixth album, Harlem On My Mind, received a Grammy Nomination.

As you can imagine, Cat has incredibly dazzling stories to share, and you’ll hear some of them on this episode. For example what it was like to sing duets with David Bowie night after night, why singing with Dolly Parton - who she describes as the “sweetest, most real person” is one of her all-time favorite experiences, and what Louis Armstrong meant to her. She also talks about singing with Steely Dan (she’s been working with them over the last 25 years and counting), Paul Simon, her dear friend Cindy Lauper, and more. She has an incredibly rich musical background and you’ll love to hear these stories. But to me, she is the person who taught me how to sing the Blues, who helped me move through my first real heartbreak, and the woman who continues to mentor and care for me through life’s challenges and joys. She’s still one of my all-time favorite people to sit down with over a cup of tea to talk about music, men, work, friendship, LIFE. As you’ll hear in the interview, she talks about being honest with her feelings, about emotional learnings, the things no one teaches us about it school - and how list writing helps when her mind is racing.

Because Catherine has taught me so much about life and music I thought it was fitting to have her as our first artist in the “mentor series” of this podcast. I love her to pieces, and know you will, too!

Where to find Catherine:

Website

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music by Heather Maloney.

Podcast Webpage: montseandree.com/podcast and Instagram.

Sam Outlaw is a singer-songwriter from Southern California who is currently based in Nashville, TN.

I’ve known Sam for a few years and I have always appreciated his unfiltered honesty about moving through life’s challenges. In this episode, we talk in depth about mental health. Sam describes what going through a season of depression and panic attacks really feels like, and how he has gotten through it. He also talks about the moment he left his high-paying job to pursue the dream that kept tugging at him, and what it’s been like sharing the stage and opening for Kacey Musgraves and Sheryl Crow, among others.

Sam also shares a musical idol of his, a favorite song, place, book, podcast and more!

Where to find Sam:

Website

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music by Heather Maloney.

Podcast Webpage: montseandree.com/podcast

Dessa is a rapper, singer, and essayist. She has landed on the Billboard Top 200 as a solo artist, as a member of the Doomtree collective, and as a contributor to The Hamilton Mixtape. As an author, her memoir-in-essays entitled My Own Devices: True Stories from the Road on Music, Science, and Senseless Love was published in September 2018 by Dutton Books.

In this episode, Dessa talks about making her living in the language arts, how slam poetry led her to Doomtree, and the difference between telling her story in song form vs. book form. She also speaks about the the unique type of heartbreak that followed after falling in love with her bandmate, post-tour depression, and the un-glamorous parts of being on the road (the reality behind the pretty Instagram photos that you don’t always see).

Dessa also shares a favorite memory, book, place, podcast and more!

Where to find Dessa:

Twitter

Facebook

Instagram

Website

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music by Heather Maloney

Podcast Webpage: montseandree.com/podcast

Steve Varney is the guitarist for Gregory Alan Isakov and leader of Kid Reverie, a rock band out of Denver, CO.

In this episode, Steve talks about what it’s like being a touring dad (and how technology helps!), emotional rebuilding, turning towards music during the hardest times, touring with his best friend and neighbor Gregory Alan Isakov, and about his stutter which he describes as an “uncontrollable vulnerability.”

Steve also shares his favorite song, album, book and more!

Where to find Steve:

Instagram

Website

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music by Heather Maloney.

Podcast Webpage: montseandree.com/podcast

Anna Tivel is a singer, songwriter, and poet based in Portland, OR. Her fourth full-length album is due out Spring 2019.

In this episode, Anna talks about how she stumbled into songwriting, on being sensitive, linguistics, finding comfort in books and music, the lost art of handwritten letters, and a what kind of people are her greatest teachers.

Anna also shares a favorite memory, book, song and record.

Where to find Anna:

Instagram

Facebook

Spotify

Website

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring and recorded at 25th Street Recording Studio in Oakland, CA.

Theme music by Heather Maloney.

Podcast Website: montseandree.com/podcast

Garrett, aka G.Love and his band just celebrated their 25th year as touring artists with over 15 records released. In this episode, Garrett talks about his journey in the music business, and shares his pre-show ritual which is quite beautiful. I really appreciated how open Garrett is about his own vulnerabilities - about going through lonely times, and about still being nervous and struggling with the “I hope they like us” feeling, which shows that no matter how successful you are, that feeling doesn’t really go away.

You can catch him on tour now: www.philadelphonic.com/tour

Where to find G. Love

Instagram

This episode was audio produced by Aaron Moring.

Theme music is by Heather Maloney.

Podcast website: montseandree.com/podcast