Songwriters | THERESA MAE FUNK

Eileen Brunetto, my dear friend and Vermont based author, recently invited me to tag along on a blog tour that her fellow Goddard College MFA classmate, Tamryn Spruill recently initiated. I’ve not yet met Tamryn but in accepting Eileen’s encouragement to participate in this tour, believe that a cosmic door has been opened, and that a personal interaction with Tamryn in the near future will likely occur. I’ll reserve my opinions and experiences with manifestation for another time. The purpose of this blog post is to answer the four questions that Tamryn is interested in having answered:

1) What are you working on?
Aside from my weekly blog posts, I’ve been writing new songs and re-working those that were recorded in 1996 with Full Moon Heart, a Vermont based acoustic quartet from the Mad River Valley. Picture Postcard Lullaby is the current working title for the collection of songs that I hope to record live at a few historic Sacramento locations for independent release in 2015.

2) How does your work differ from others’ in the same genre?
How my work differs from other writers or artists isn’t something I give much thought to because it makes me feel like I’m comparing myself to other artists. But for the sake of answering Tamryn’s question, I think that my work differs from others in the essence of the story, the authenticity in the sharing of an emotion.

3) Why do you write what you do?
I write in response to the emotions I feel in reaction to what I see, read, or have experienced.

4) How does your writing process work?
I take a walk with my dog along the American River every morning before I write or make art. There is something about physically moving through space that conjures up all sorts of ideas that I can then take back to my studio and translate into words or sketches. Other times, an idea presents itself and a song can be written in a span of 20 minutes. That is the most amazing process to experience, and I am so very grateful that I allow myself to be open enough to surrender to the muse.

Full Moon Heart was an acoustic quartet that was formed as a result of a weekly music jam in Waitsfield, Vermont. There were some gifted musicians that used to come to my band mate’s woodworking shop, and I am very fortunate to have had the chance to have created music with them. The jam sessions were very casual and relatively small in the beginning; a few guitars, mandolin, upright bass, banjo, and on special occasion, a drummer and tin whistle player. Eventually, the jam got quite large, and a few of us decided to regroup so that the original songs that I and another band mate were writing could be further developed.

From those sessions, a weekend gig at a local tavern manifested, followed by open mic nights and various other musical festivals in and around the state. It was at the Falcon Ridge Folk Festival in 1995 that I first heard Peter Mulvey play, and I have been a fan of his music ever since. I used to be able to see his shows when he would come to Vermont, but have not seen him perform in over two years.

Peter is playing in Berkley, California this Saturday, October 19th at the Freight and Salvage but I am, regrettably, not going to be able to make it, and neither will Full Moon Heart. Instead of making a solo, 4 hour round trip drive to catch his show, I’ll buy his latest CD to add to my collection. He is a remarkable musician, storyteller, and philanthropist. Give him a listen if you get the chance. Better yet, watch and hear him play his magic in a live show whenever he’s in a town near you.
http://www.petermulvey.com