Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Heather Evans. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Heather, thanks for joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I’d always dreamed of doing music full time since I was a kid, BUT I felt society and people around me made me feel like doing music was more of a “hobby” and not a viable career. I listened to those voices that wanted to put me into a box to make themselves feel more comfortable, but I was dying to get out of it, and actually put the dreams in my head into reality! I realized quickly, I DON’T FIT IN BOXES, and that is a good thing!

I had major success in the TV and Film sphere when I was younger. I created a full length album by the time I was 17, and when I was 18, some of the songs on that album landed on MTV’s Laguna Beach and a teen show on Nickelodeon called South of Nowhere and later an Indie Film. I sold thousands of albums and got a following from it (you can still find fan made videos of my songs on youtube!). I realized at a young age you can make money from having your music on TV and Film which turns into reaching a wide audience, and selling albums. But I was young and starry-eyed and wasn’t thinking like a business woman. (I wanna kick her for not applying herself!!)

Fast forward to getting married, having 2 kids and 2 very complicated pregnancies that caused me to quit music for huge chunks of time. I sort of complied to the box of what I thought it meant to be married and be a mom. I didn’t know that it was okay to be an amazing mom and wife AND be a musician at the same time. I thought I had to sacrifice everything for them, but what really happened was I sacrificed myself. Through all of that inner wrestling, I never forgot that dream in the back of my head.

When my daughter was a year old when I decided to get back into doing music for TV and Film again. I recorded 3 songs with the best producer in Sacramento, where I was living at the time. I remembered the rules from before. I needed broadcast quality music, register each song to a performance rights organization, have lyrics, instrumentals, artwork and split sheets stored in one place to be able to pitch the songs to licensing companies that act as your representation to get your music to music supervisors, that pick the music for the TV Shows. I sent out probably 50 emails, got an eye twitch and heard back from ONE company.

That one company ended up getting my songs on So You Think You Can Dance, Disney’s Fairytale Weddings (now on Disney+), and 2 songs on Dancing with the Stars Jr.

I was getting loads of success through those 3 songs, but I needed to build my music catalog. I put my business cap on and made a plan called the 12 Songs in 12 Months project where I would write, record and release a song a month. It was an accountability thing for me.

ALL of the songs in the 12 Songs in 12 Months project were signed to multiple licensing companies!

Fast forward to where I am now, I’ve had songs on HUGE Netflix Shows like First Kill, Love is Blind (3 songs on that show!), I’ve had a HUGE Promo placement on NBC that ran for 2 weeks that my friends were calling me up saying “is that you singing on this promo?!” and a ton of other placements. AND to top all of that off, I am working with music supervisors and licensing agents to craft custom music to Indie Films, TV Series, Commercials and Podcasts.

I am SO GLAD I decided to chase this out of the box career. I am able to be a mom and work from home and create music that is featured in TV, Film and AD’s. It’s all possible if you work hard and have an intense focus!

Heather, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

At the heart of everything I am a Singer/Songwriter. That’s where it started for me when I was 12 years old, got a guitar and started turning my poetry into songs. I’ve used music to help me heal and in turn it’s helped other people heal as well. I think I’ve always been self aware that this music thing is bigger than myself and it’s a gift I was given not just for me, but to help other people too. I am REALLY passionate about sharing my story and playing live. If you see me in concert, I chat with the audience like a friend I’ve known all my life. I weave my story of overcoming self doubt, chronic illness, mental health and finding empowerment in my set. Each song acts as a monument of what I’ve been through and how I’ve overcome. It’s such a powerful experience to take an audience through that!

More than a singer/songwriter I am also a visionary and creative director of my music. I am the one that gets to make the creative decisions on how the music will look from an aesthetic lens, that helps tell a deeper story. From colors, to photo shoots, to music video shoots, I love being able to be part of the whole creative process. I’ve been doing photography and branding for other artists in my community as well, which has been a blast.

I LOVE supporting other artists who need help in areas of Branding and Business. Since I’ve walked through so much myself, I can now speak into the careers of other Indie artists and help them build a successful career. I have a Coaching business called DIY SYNC ARTIST where I host workshops on how to get your music on TV, Film and AD’s and do one on one mentoring to help artists have a sustainable career in music.

I also host a podcast called The Songwriter Circle that chats with artists about their songwriting story and process. I learn something every time I talk to someone!

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I think a story that illustrates resilience from my journey is just the fact I haven’t given up! haha!

**TRIGGER WARNINGS: Pregnancy loss and Pregnancy complications***

From a young age I KNEW I was suppose to do music. Life hasn’t really been supportive of that though.

I grew up in a traditional, Christian household that was pretty much like: You get married, have kids, serve your husband, make dinner every night, smile, and be happy or actually make sure everyone else is happy.

I was supposed to go to a recording school to learn about live sound and production, but I ended up getting engaged instead. I was on the track of what I thought “I was supposed to do”. I told myself, I’ll go to recording school after we get married and it’ll be great.

Well, my husband ended up going to further his education and as a good wife, I laid my dream aside for his dream. **Just so you know, my husband never asked me to do that, I just did it because I thought that’s what I was supposed to do! My husband is the kindest, sweetest man, and he had NO idea about my internal struggle!**

Creativity always finds a way though, so don’t worry!

I didn’t have a laptop or anything to work on my music so I recorded on a 4 track recorder that went to cassette tape. I took those cassette tape recordings to Rick May, the best producer in town and he was looked at it like “what do I with this?!” Luckily, he was super kind, and could hear the core of the songs through the cassette and could hear they were good. We made a plan to make an album called “For My Generation” that had an indie rock feel that was sooooo cool! I worked at Starbucks to fund the album and used my tips to pay Rick my producer.

In that time, I got pregnant and was so excited!! I was dreaming of the future and what it would look like with a babe in tow. I saw the heartbeat, made it to 12 weeks and started telling everyone I was pregnant, and a few weeks later, on Good Friday, I started having a miscarriage. Easter Sunday, I was in the ER with the worst pain of my life. I had no idea you could have a miscarriage that late in the game to be honest. I thought, once you get to 12 weeks, everything is certain and good. It was devastating for me and I had major complications during the miscarriage. I sunk into a major depression and the album I recorded, sat on the shelf because I was a mess emotionally. It still got on an indie film and radio play, but it didn’t go where I thought it would, because I couldn’t emotionally handle it.

8 months into that deep depression and my body healing from that crazy ordeal, I wrote some songs from the perspective of faith and loss to help me cope with what happened. I wrote “Songs For Healing” and it’s intended for parents who’ve lost children. I felt like my head was above water again and could see clearly. Music rescued me once again!

I got pregnant again and was hesitant to celebrate, but decided to love the little life inside of me no matter the outcome. I immediately got EXTREME nausea and vomiting and spent a ton of time in the hospital on IV’s because I couldn’t keep food or water down, like at all. I had Hyperemesis Gravidarum, a RARE complication that can happen in pregnancy that causes excessive nausea and vomiting. I had it my whole pregnancy with my son Trust. I finally made it to the finish line, but had severe complications during delivery where Trust almost died and I almost died and had extreme blood loss. I went home and came back to the hospital TWICE feeling like if I closed my eyes I wouldn’t wake up. Come to find out, I was in congestive heart and lung failure and the doctor said I probably wouldn’t make it through the night. I felt myself drifting. Luckily, I pulled through but it was a harrowing 9 days in the hospital!!

I wrestled with major PTSD and Depression after that (AS ONE WOULD). I was in counseling and started writing myself out of the woods of anxiety and depression. I got back in the studio and wrote my album “Out of the Woods”. I made an impactful music video, got to sing the national anthem when president Barak Obama was in town, was playing live again, got to open for Sixpense None the Richer and some other national acts and I felt like things were happening for my music again!

I got through that depression and PTSD through counseling and told my counselor “I feel completely healed up from everything that happened to me and I’m in a really good headspace!” only to find out a week later I was pregnant with my daughter Story! I can laugh about it now, but at the time, I felt like I was headed into another battle for my life. AND I WAS.

I had Hyperemesis Gravidarium AGAIN, but knew what to do this time! I got home care nurses, went in for IV’s weekly and had a great community support to help me through it. Story’s birth was beautiful and a lot easier and how it SHOULD BE which I was grateful for.

We ended up moving to California when Story was 5 months old, and I was scared because I didn’t know anyone and it was hard starting over in a new place. I decided I wasn’t going to work on music until Story was 1 year old so I could truly focus on her fully and heal up. I had more health struggles after having her so it was the right call.

I started dreaming again and created The Life EP, a 3 song EP about the time of life I was in. I made a music video for MOM LIFE and it went semi-viral all over the internet and the songs on the EP were used on multiple TV shows!

I guess I share all that to say: IT’S NEVER TOO LATE. I had several game over moments, but I never quit. I used the heartache and put it into my music and it makes it so much more impactful because of that!

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

THIS IS THE QUESTION THAT KEEPS ME UP AT NIGHT.

Honestly, I think society can best support artists and creatives by just acknowledging that we are VALUABLE to society. I think for so long because I haven’t fit into the “typical” 9-5 box, people can’t accept that music is a viable career. Now that I am successful people are starting to “get it” but they are still really confused by what I’m doing.

I often think about Vincent Van Gogh the now famous artist, but at the time, he struggled majorly, was questioned and not supported by his friends or family. He ended up trying to commit suicide and failed, but later died from the infection the attempt caused. Now, his work is recognized as the most profound and impactful of his time and has inspired so many artists after him. What if he was fully supported and wasn’t held back by people questioning him? What universe inside of him was untapped??!!

I think about that for myself and other creatives often. People ask us, “Oh you’re a musician? What else do you do?” and answering “That’s all I do” isn’t a valuable answer, breaks my heart.

Culture is shaped by music and art, but doesn’t value it or acknowledge it as valuable. It is viewed as a hobby, not a profession.

I would LOVE TO SEE artists be able to have the support of their communities, not be questioned, to be fully themselves and see what would happen. The boxes that we’ve tried to fit ourselves in are not big enough to hold our visions and dreams!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.heatherevansmusic.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/heatherevansmusic
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/heatherevansmusic
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/heatherevansmusic
• Other: www.instagram.com/diysyncartist

Image Credits
Mitchell Multimedia Brett Evans