This post might be more relatable to song writers and artists, but I've had this weird relationship with my songs over the years. I started writing lyrics with backing at around 17 years old. Prior to that, I had written a couple instrumental tunes on piano. So, getting back to the point, for me, writing a song was a very quick process. Most of the time I'd pick up my guitar, start messing around with a picking pattern, put chords together that felt right and boom, laid the foundation. I'd say depending on the song, it would take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes. Then, the lyrics would flow instantly, another 5 minutes at most. And there were times everything would happen all at once. I was always a poet, from the age of 8 years old when I wrote my very first poem for a class project. So, words were my friends. And I would gather them up, put them together, connecting the dots. But later when I really dug into songwriting, I did not know what I was writing about. I remember writing a song and sharing it with a boyfriend I had in college and he specifically asked me, where did come from? I probably gave some generic answer because I was in love, scared to be honest in telling him I didn't know. I knew I felt something when I would sing the words, something that moved inside of me, deeply. But where did it come from? What the hell was I singing about? And why were people crying during my performances? I mean, I started doing open mics around 17 (Timmy T, if you're reading, I miss those days at the Heart of Oak Pub and the Candlewick!) and then I moved onto opening for bands and playing solo. I would be sitting on a stool, making eye contact with everyone while I sang and I would see the tears falling from women who were twice my age. I felt guilty. I didn't want to make people cry. I didn't understand a lot of things then. But I am starting to understand a lot now, in fact, I understood most of what I am relearning these days after Corey passed away. And there would also be songs that I wrote decades ago that feel like they are relatable to more recent events or experiences I was having later in life. Music comes from somewhere else, it comes through us and I think it can be a future story or a story that is connected to another's story because we are all made of the same stuff and we are all connected.
It makes me giggle when you look up the album, Introspection, whoever is describing it (probably AI, cringe), describes it as a folk album but it is clearly a mixture of jazz, soul, folk, funk and rock. Genre blending is so accepted these days but back then, I used to catch shit for it. I remember the announcer dude for Tin Angel telling me my audiences were confused because every time I came to perform there, my sound was different. I told him a true artist evolves and their music follows that evolution. He never booked me again! I cannot remember his name, but he was blind and I had a lot of compassion for him but I could see that he really didn't understand art, it was just a business to him. I went on to draw larger crowds and play bigger venues without his approval. Don't let anyone tell you that you CAN'T. Moby gets it. He repeatedly got backlash from the press and fans who just wanted him to sound the same, but people change. We're supposed to change.
Keep changing, growing, flowing and never let anyone tell you who you are. You are a unique and beautiful creature, embrace it!
If you relate this and want to reach out, you can email me at Krista@Kristaparrish.com. I welcome all perspectives.
This is another song from Introspection that I would like to re-record with my new voice. This is a song that brought a lot of emotion out of those who used to come to see me play. I was so young. I miss you all and will always carry the beautiful intimate times we shared through music.
"Where Am I Now"
Written by Krista Parrish
Album: Introspection
Songs written between 2000-2004