We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Heather Rice a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Heather, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Right now I am working on an original concert based entirely on Damian Stamer’s abstract art and specifically his series called “Ruminations” currently on display at the Gibbes Museum in Charleston, SC. I have been commissioned by Charleston Jazz to write songs inspired by this art and it’s been such a rewarding and meaningful process. Damian Stamer’s work centers around Southern Gothic structures and his abstract art really brings out the magic and story of these historic and often forgotten places. My mother’s side hails from just such a place in Castleberry, AL so this subject is close to home. I’ve been really enjoying telling the stories that I see in Stamer’s paintings and relating them to my own family history.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I started singing at an early age and had a keen memory for lyrics even at 3 years old. Around 6 I started learning the piano so by the time I 16 I was ready to start writing my own original songs, sightread through books of music and learn them. People started asking me to perform publicly and my career began with the local Jazz orchestra. Since my musical education started early I had an affinity for learning old music from theater books and old Jazz fake books gotten at garage sales and the like. For songs I was like a sponge and wanted to learn and memorize as many as I could. When I found one I loved, I played it on repeat obsessively for hours. I had a real passion for songs and stories and I still do. I think when someone loves something so much that they just can’t help but do it (almost too much) they tend to get really good at it really fast and that kind of momentum feeds the passion of it which leads to joy in the giving of what one has made or worked for. I had a LOT of joy when working on music and also when I’m making it for others. I think it might be infectious. It’s been wonderful to know my “dharma” all this time, but I have also felt the pressure of my “potential” and that has often stifled my creativity. So my mission now is to focus on the JOY of making music and also help others to shed the pressure of perfection and potential so they can get into the groove of making beautiful art.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

In 2019 I was dissatisfied with my original music output. I felt like the most special part about my work was my songwriting and nobody knew that and I still didn’t know how to record my own music. So in 2020, as a mother of a 2 year old with no childcare mind you, I decided it was now or never. I set up a home studio with the last of my business funds (not comprehending that it would be years before my performance industry would recover and offer more work) , learned how to mic my baby grand, learned how to engineer my own instruments, do a rough mix etc. I stayed up late almost every night and developed my first self produced album. But I knew it wasn’t enough because people need a visual these days to consume music. So I went away for a weekend with my camera by myself and shot my own music video in two days in a little camper. Then I had to learn how to edit video… which I did. None of these things are that challenging, but the fact that I was a full time mom during the pandemic did make these things almost impossible so I’m pretty proud of the fact that I pressed through it, with the support of my husband. The next few years weren’t less challenging as we suffered a miscariage, I was hit by a car, and then we had a very complicated pregnancy that took a whole team of MFM’s to deliver my daughter safely earthside. But you know, I never stopped creating that whole time. Maybe I took a week off here and there, but in all the chaos of the last few years my focus never waivered. It was good to have a constant in the chaos and an outlet to process it all. I was so grateful to finally have technical independence and unbridled creative wings.. After the mass output of the last few years I have slowed down a bit to allow for concerts and travel and cherishing these sweet little kids I get to mother every day.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a recording artist is that there is a song EVERYWHERE. I am encouraged during big and even mundane life moments to tell that story. Every moment in life is precious and I see life in that way.   

Contact Info:

• Website: https://iamheatherrice.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iamheatherricemusic/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/HFSongstress
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamheatherrice
• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5nGxOOhjpHu0kUvp31uupp

Image Credits
Kirsten Ciotti