Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Chase
Hi Erin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My story is that I grew up in a small town in Montana – Arlee – listening to my dad play bluegrass music with his buddies in their group called The Mountain Poodle Band. I loved watching them perform and listening to them jam out at get togethers. So when I was just a kiddo I asked my dad if I could learn to play the fiddle. Of course my parents said yes but then immediately signed me up for classical violin lessons. Which honestly was a wonderful experience thanks to the way my teacher, a Missoula Symphony Orchestra violinist by the name of Suzanne Hartzell, incorporated fiddle tunes and folk music into my classical education. 18 years later during my college years at the University of Montana in Missoula I was splitting time between the University Symphony Orchestra and playing in my own indie alt-folk band Baba Ganoush. That led me to a love of songwriting and performance, which then took me to Berklee College of Music in Boston. That’s where I really honed my creativity and passion for music. I could write. I could play. I could collaborate. And now I spend my time living that big city life and teaching the next generation of songwriters while performing and writing my own material.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’ve had a lot of support on my journey, which is beautiful and I wouldn’t be here without it. I would say my biggest obstacle was my mental health when I was studying at Berklee. I developed really bad anxiety. I felt like an imposter. I lost my confidence and my joy. I really retreated into myself. It took me a long time to get it back. Once I did though, the time I had put into my studies and the way that I wrapped myself up in them finally paid off. And that was because I met people to share my music and my art with outside of that stressful high-stakes competitive music education system. They’re still some of my closest friends and collaborators. Wouldn’t be here without them.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I specialize in songwriting. That’s what I do. I teach it at Berklee College of Music where I’m an assistant professor. I teach everything from Lyric Writing to Songwriting to Performance Techniques and Professional Development courses. Outside of the classroom I’m a songwriter and performer under the name Erin Bonnie. An Americana folk-rock mama with style and presence to boot. I also have a new folk duo project I just launched with Beni Brosh called Two Lilies. We like to describe ourselves as Western grit meets East Coast attitude. Folk, Country, Rock, and Canadian Tuxedos. All denim all day baby! And then I also gig out as the fiddle player and background vocalist for New England country rock n roller Elisa Smith. So I have a lot of hats that I wear when it comes to music and creativity, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
How important it is to stay connected with the people who have known you the longest. When we hit isolation times my college friends started reconnecting on zoom once a month for catch ups and chit chats. And we’ve been much more connected since then. Checking in on each other. Texting. Calling. Keeping up with each others journeys and lives. And we’re all spread out across the US, so it’s not easy to just like swing by or have coffee. And it feels really good to maintain those connections in spite of that distance.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/erinbonniemusic
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinbonniemusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinbonniemusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/es119321
- Soundcloud: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1WdTLr0eBOz38qWLIjMmQ8
- Other: https://linktr.ee/twolilies
