We were lucky to catch up with Breanna Elaine recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Breanna, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
My latest project, “Where the snakes live” is a single and music video honoring my late friend Jeremy who died of an opioid overdose. I have partnered with a local non profit, Turning Point Center in Rutland Vermont to raise awareness of their mission and donate a percentage of the proceeds from the project to their organization. Turning Point is a safe place for people in recovery to get resources to help them in their journey to live a healthy, addiction free life.
My friend Jeremy was 35 years old when he died of an opioid overdose. It was a shock to all of us. This was the closest friend of mine who has ever passed away and the grieving process led me to write songs about my pain and heartache. I sat with this song for a few years before I was ready to share it. Scared that people would think it’s too dark or wouldn’t understand the message. Music and art for me isn’t about creating what I think people will like, or what may be deemed palatable to the general public. It’s about pure, authentic expression. It’s an honest reflection of life and the human experience and that includes the full spectrum of emotions that we all feel.
I recorded the song on my phone and listened to it over and over again. Pulled out my acoustic guitar and played it countless times alone in my bedroom. I started to visualize a story line and see images dancing in my mind that I collected and used to write the music video. I started to think about how to really honor Jeremy. I wanted to add bigger meaning to this project and use my platform to make a difference.
There have been so many friends from back home that have passed away much before their time. Everyone is affected or knows someone who has been affected by this epidemic. Oftentimes we feel powerless as just one person trying to make a difference and I fought with this feeling for a while. Eventually I realized that Jeremy would be proud of me for this. As odd as I feel saying this, I wanted something positive or helpful to come from his death. I didn’t want to feel like he died for nothing and I needed him to be remembered and to show him that I do care. That he’s making a difference even though he’s no longer on this plain.
There have been many times where I screamed out loud to Jeremy after his death, angry that he would leave us. Angry that he could have made such a terrible mistake. But even worse I thought of how alone he must have felt during that time and how as one of his best friends I wasn’t there to help him.
It’s our time to step up and show those who need our help how much we love them before it’s too late. It’s our time to support our brothers and sisters in need. Anyone can fall victim to drug use or addiction. We all know that this life can be hard and that people are looking for ways to cope. We all make mistakes and we all deserve a second chance at life. We all deserve love, compassion and support from others no matter where we are in our lives. It’s our job as human beings to care for each other.
I hope this project reminds everyone of that and helps us uncover our power to support others with love, compassion and understanding.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My name is Breanna Elaine and I have been a singer/songwriter for most of my life. It’s been my biggest dream since childhood to be a singer. I first started writing poetry around 3rd grade and when those poems met my love for singing, I was writing songs. Around this time I was also learning violin and played bass guitar in a youth group band in Brattleboro Vermont where I was born. It was around age 12 that I picked up my mothers old guitar and taught myself how to play. Since then I have been writing my own songs with guitar and vocals. I couldn’t stop writing if I wanted to, It’s what I was made for.
For most of my teen years I played alone in my bedroom, sometimes writing multiple songs a day. I eventually got up my courage to play some open mics and had a few bands that I would play out with. For awhile I went through the motions of what I thought I should do. I got a day job as an LNA and I worked at that for 8 years but I knew what I needed to do and I felt that I was wasting time when I should be following the call- the call of music.
In my mind I heard a little voice that kept saying to me “focus on the music” I ignored it for quite awhile thinking that it was unrealistic for me. All this time I was playing a few local shows here and there but I knew that this special gift I have was meant to be more than just a hobby.
I came to a crossroads that led me to making one of the best decisions of my life. I was so unhappy, forcing myself to live against my truth because I thought that’s what I needed to do to survive or make it in this society. I left my bad relationship, moved into my own place, quit my day job and decided I was now a full time musician. I threw myself into my work and obsessed over booking shows so I never had to go back to that job again.
1 Year later I released my debut album “seedlings” and 2 years later my career as a full time musician is better than ever. My only regret is that I didn’t fully follow my dreams sooner. I play multiple shows a week at anywhere I can- bars, restaurants, special events, you name it. I’ve been driving all over Vermont, New York and New Hampshire. This past summer I booked myself a few tours out to Maine & Portsmouth NH. I even booked my first overnight festival in Pennsylvania. I am currently planning more summer tours and working on new material with the Breanna Elaine Band.
My latest project that I’m working on is the best yet. I’m launching a crowdfunding campaign for “Where the snakes live”, an original song and music video I’m creating to honor my late friend Jeremy who died of an opioid overdose. I am using this project to raise awareness of the drug epidemic and shine a spotlight on Turning Point Center in Rutland VT, a non profit that helps people in recovery.
I am beyond inspired and so grateful to be here sharing my gift and making a difference in the ways I am called to. You can find me on social media at Breanna Elaine Music or on my website at breannaelaine.com where I post all about my adventures as a musician as well as my list of upcoming music gigs!
If you’ve gotten this far, I want to thank you for supporting musicians like me and the projects I’m trying to make a difference with. It’s people like you that make this all possible for us small town- big dream artists.
Talk soon,
Breanna
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
As a solo performing self made artist I’ve had to be resilient at every turn. After I quit my day job I had to figure out how to do so many things that I never really thought I’d have to do. I learned all about recording in the studio, made my own website, created my own press kit for booking shows, became a model for promotional photoshoots, had to be a graphic designer of sorts creating posters and social media posts, and became a small business expert, I’ve done it all. It’s pure drive for this dream that has allowed me to sit in front of this computer for 15 hour days. Pure obsessive passion that has driven me to this point. The pressure I feel to pursue and create this career is almost unearthly. It’s an obligation to myself and the universe that cannot be stifled or ignored or pushed to the side. I have struggled through homelessness, abusive relationships, overcoming trauma and limiting beliefs, life as a single mother, poverty, you name it. Against all odds I am here doing what I am meant to do and inspiring others to follow their call as well. The music industry can be a magical fulfilling experience but it can also be a crushing weight as an artist putting yourself out there time and time again only to show up at another restaurant to play background music where it seems no one is listening. There were a few times where I almost gave up but the pain of not doing what I love outweighs the pain of keeping on. Some days it feels like I’ve done all I can do and that I’ve yet to reap the benefits or I’m not yet where I want to be but I look back at all of the work I’ve done and I choose to love and support myself through it. I sometimes have a feeling that I’ve reached some kind of ceiling and that I’m pushing with all of my might to break through to that next level. A bigger stage, a bigger audience. higher pay. At the end of the day I know that giving up is not an option and I trust that what is meant for me will be. Writing & sharing this music is a divine healing experience for me that I feel obligated to share with others. There is a high that is felt on the good days that is like nothing else. The feeling of being in flow with your purpose & being right there where you’re supposed to be. I have trust in the universe and know that I am supported, loved and I am doing exactly what I am supposed to do. This feeling is what keeps me going.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
As an artist I never thought much about what other people would think about my work. I never write with plans to share the piece with others. I just create because it’s what I do. I have an understanding that trying to create from a place of pleasing others doesn’t actually please them. Creating art from the most authentic place possible is what everyone needs, including myself. Since I’ve been playing at so many different types of venues, there are unspoken rules about what may be appropriate or not. Many times I play in places where there are families and children and so I try to make my art digestible for everyone or only play the nice songs. There is a time and place for everything of course but I’ve learned to loosen the reins a bit. I was scared that my social reputation as a musician would be soiled if I started putting out different types of music. If I really released all that I’ve been holding in. Dinner music is great and I’ve written so many beautiful songs that would be suitable for that type of environment. BUT- it’s also my responsibility as an artist to communicate authentically and without holding back. After going out on a limb and testing some songs that I was afraid to play in public, I saw that my honesty was well received. I realize that my job as an artist is not to create what I think people will like, but to mirror what it’s like for me to have this human experience. Unfiltered, all pieces of it. I want it to liberate all of us & let us know that we are not alone and that we don’t have to be run by that collective societal pressure of what we think is acceptable for us. We are all in this together and we can welcome the good, bad & the ugly of ourselves and our lives without shame, but instead with freedom and connection. We all suffer and struggle at times. We can be there for each other by allowing those feelings & creative expressions instead of labeling them as bad. We can connect and heal in what it feels like to be human.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.breannaelaine.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breannaelainemusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breannaelaineVT
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvYRFjJExrkfTOaSxRim1YA
- Other: Pre launch page for indigogo crowdfunding campaign “where the snakes live” https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/where-the-snakes-live-project/coming_soon
Image Credits
(snake photo shoot) Pine fox photo, Martin Vanburen other- Matthew Gustafson