All Her Muses

Since I last wrote to you, that seems to be a major theme. But then I remembered where All Her Muses started, and then remembered it's been a cornerstone all along. In 2014, when we were still a cover band, I would only sing the songs that pierced and comforted me the most. We were practicing Anais Mitchell's "Changer" which I had been life-lining to for a while. It described the loss and complete disconnection I felt from a person I loved so deeply. I was in Grey's living room, it was sunny. I was doing OK and when I got to the lines: 

​​​ I'm watching the birds fly by 

I'm watching the highways cross 

Speaking of loving you, I do 

My voice cracked and caught and I didn't know what I was doing, at all. Every singer knows that you can't truly sob and sing. Snot is not good for pitch or phrasing. Start doing that on stage and you're fucked. Which is why rehearsals are important. 

Anais's song is so unbelievably wise. It's suspended in both grief and happiness. It's reconciling with itself -- I'm telling you stranger to stranger (changer to changer). Because you don't always get to say goodbye in the ways you'd like to. 

This is the part where I tell you so much has changed in the last 5 weeks. We released our second single, Instinct (featuring Bitch). I finished mixing and mastering the album and we finished the chapter of All Her Muses in its original form. I wasn't intending to finish this album for the reasons I started it: with a breakup. I lost my best friend and music partner, which isn't the same as losing a lover. I'd argue it's worse. But here we are. In the last 5 weeks, I've formed a new band for our album release show, new skill-set(s), and recommitted myself to this project in ways I didn't think I needed. In some ways, I had become the stranger in my own band, and now I'm the changer of it. I couldn't make up these parallels if I tried... 

Our only live album release show on will be on May 12 at Slash Run DC with Seamstresses and Emily Henry. Emily sings some amazing harmonies on two tracks of this LP. 

 It will be live-streamed so if you are not local or do not feel safe attending (masks and vax card required) you can still catch it. You can also make a donation on Venmo so that I can figure out what the next chapter of All Her Muses is. I promise that after a brief hiatus, more accessible, virtual, creative events are coming. 

Below are the lyrics and a link to Anais's  song -- she is such a muse to me. 

Speaking of loving you, I do, 

Natalie 

 

CHANGER 

If I can't keep it 

At least let me call it by name 

That was called falling 

This is called pain 

It's called love, what I'm losing 

I know love is a stranger 

I know that changes come 

I know love is a changer 

I'm gonna go quietly 

You don't have to tell me to 

Just let me lie here a little longer 

Next to you 

I'm not trying to bother you 

I'm just trying to breathe you in 

And then I will leave you there 

Where you are sleeping 

But speaking of loving you, I do 

I'm telling you stranger to stranger 

Whatever changes come to you 

I'm telling you changer to changer 

Morning has stolen your shadow from me 

But I hold its shape in my mind 

It's the shape of your back when you turned it on me 

One last time 

Out in the waking world 

Nobody understands 

Exactly how light it is 

Exactly how free I am 

One minute I'm laughing 

And the next one I'm lost 

I'm watching the birds fly by 

I'm watching the highways cross 

Speaking of loving you, I do 

I'm telling you stranger to stranger 

Whatever changes come to you 

I'm telling you changer to changer 

If I can't keep it, at least let me call it by name

This is our first update in a while. Thank you for your continued support of All Her Muses! In fact, this is the first email to those of you who signed up to our mailing list when we launched our website last summer – and when we released our first single, Cobblestones. We promised we wouldn't flood your inbox, so please forgive this longer note ahead. I figured I should start with a bit of an origin story and then let you know about our upcoming events.

When I first heard the song “Love or Money” by Joni Mitchell I didn't understand most of the lyrics. In fact, I used a dictionary. But I knew the feeling of it: rejection, desperation, war, and unrequited love. I was 8 years old. I wanted to be like her and already knew I would fail, and somehow was more accepting of failure then than I am now.

I was a choir girl long before I was a poet. Not a soloist, but a solid understudy; a strong alto with a decent ear. 

I gave up singing somewhere in the early '90s when I realized that as someone with a physical disability who had trouble playing any instrument, I wasn't going to make it very far. There's always someone (make that millions of people) more talented (with or without a disability) and I was deeply immersed and anchored in my holy trinity of Joni Mitchell and Tori Amos and Ani DiFranco. How could I compare? So, I started writing poetry, both as a means of giving up and to see how close I could get.

That's how I met Grey. I opened for his band, The Grey A as a spoken word artist in 2013. I was reeling from a breakup, and my poetry and mood were saturated with that loss (and in some moments are still informed by that). I was miserable, desperate, in need of a new friend; someone with a better ear.

Grey showed up when I was at my absolute worst and wanted to help pull me out. I needed something to do, or at the very least a distraction. The only thing I hadn't tried was what I already knew: music had never hurt me, hence the start All Her Muses as a cover band.

It never occurred to me to branch out to writing my own songs until Grey encouraged it. The bar was far too high -- it still is. Grey's talent (both as a musician and composer) and compassion were my safety net. Poetry is still my strongest muscle. Writing lyrics is a whole other genre. I don't think either of us expected that exercise to lead us here.

We didn't think that it would take 7 years to put Not Speaking in Metaphor in your hands, but that's a whole other story.

I still don't play an instrument. I write, I revise, I greenlight harmonies and/or riffs. I reference from my tiny card catalog of singer-songwriters. I criticize almost everything, except them. I'm not a musician like Grey is.

But I do love a captive audience and a microphone. The storytelling of music. The empathy and connection people feel when they hear it. I love a good bridge slightly more than poetry (sorry not sorry). I guess this proves that your first love is more powerful than a 25-year relationship, even if they both involve a pen. Which is why we're about to release this record on May 12, 2022. 

Our second single, Instinct, will be released on April 1st, and is available for pre-order. This song features Bitch, who has definitely been a muse of mine for the last 20 years. She's a fantastic poet/musician and we've shared many stages before. Her support of my voice in either genre has been unyielding, and I feel the same about her work. I couldn't imagine a better feminist fit for this track. 

“Instinct” ties back to "Polly" by Nirvana, a song AHM almost covered. I've always thought about Polly and wondered what she would say now. I hope I answered / honored her in our song.

Bitch also has a new record out called Bitchcraft and is performing at Songbyrd on April 17^th, and I couldn't be more excited!

All Her Muses also has some upcoming shows: April 23rd in Ashburn, VA at the House Concert: Songwriter Showcase (get tickets here) and at Slash Run on May 12th to celebrate our album release. 

Thank you for all your support getting us to this point – we can’t for you to hear the full record. 

With love, 

Natalie

Statement of Accessibility: 

All Her Muses committed to accessibility by live streaming all of our in-person shows because we believe people with disabilities should always have access to live music – pandemic or not. 

As a band, we will be not participating shows in venues that are not ADA compliant. Whenever possible, we will strive to ensure that the stages we perform on are wheelchair accessible, or we will work with the venue to modify the space so that it meets these requirements.  We also recognize that no one is perfect in their ability to handle all access needs, but we will strive to do better for not only for the safety and freedom our disabled bandmates – but because other people with disabilities also have the need and the right to attend shows where the environment is inclusive for them to fully enjoy the event. Our live streams will be captioned, and the lyrics will be made available online.