We recently connected with Julie Russell and have shared our conversation below.

Julie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. What were some of the most unexpected problems you’ve faced in your career and how did you resolve those issues?

I have always wanted to be a singer! From my earliest memories as a young child, I can remember singing songs for anyone who would listen. At the age of four, I was singing solos in the church choir, and by the age of 10, I had landed my first paid studio session as a vocalist. My musical future looked bright. Little did I know how my dreams would be hijacked.

At the age of 24, some friends and I were driving to see a friend. I was seated in the back seat of the vehicle behind the driver. At one point, the driver got turned around and started to mistakenly exit the freeway. She attempted to correct her mistake, over-corrected, and ended up driving into the center divider of the freeway. We were all knocked unconscious. What I was to discover, when coming to, was that on impact of the car hitting the center divider, the head of my friend in the back seat with me made direct contact with my lower jaw bone, breaking it into two pieces (she sustained a concussion from it). In the days and weeks that followed, I underwent several surgeries which included having my jaw wired shut for 6 weeks to repair the fracture, having to have my mouth surgically opened to address a developed lockjaw, and one additional surgery on my jaw to address additional problems. I also discovered I had suffered a hearing loss in both ears from the accident.

In 1999, I was involved in another car accident, this time being rear ended at 60 mph while stopped at a red light on a metered freeway onramp. Besides other injuries, I suffered more injuries to my jaw, resulting in a significant malocclusion. It affected my speech, tearing/biting food, etc. In order to correct it, I underwent a complete facial reconstruction. The procedure involved removing a portion of my upper jaw bone and then refitting my facial bones together with permanent metal plates and screws. Another 6 weeks of limited mobility followed. Despite the facial structural change, permanent nerve damage to my upper palate, and mobility restrictions from the surgery, with lots of hard work, I continued to pursue music. I was afforded some great singing opportunities, even singing for the governor of Utah. I was healing well and still able to pursue my passion, despite all the physical setbacks.

In 2011, I felt inspired to start writing music. It was therapeutic for me. Music was the medium where I could tap into my passion and express the feelings surrounding the trials of the last decade. This same year, a couple of musician friends and I started a band together. I had always been a solo act, but loved these friends and knew it would be so fun playing music with them. I was a little apprehensive at first. It was a new genre of music that required very strong vocals, an open mouth, and precise enunciation. I worked hard to overcome the physical and emotional challenges I faced, and to work my jaw in order to produce a good sound. I continued to improve and the opportunities continued to arise. We played local and out of state gigs, filmed a music video, and recorded an EP of original music in 2017. We had begun to attract a small following. We began looking for ways to increase our exposure and talked about touring. I was having the time of my life. Performing on stage is like no other experience for me. It feels like it completes me somehow, like I have the full realization of knowing that this is what I was meant to do.

In 2017, I had, yet again, another motor vehicle accident, which significantly injured my neck. I was receiving chiropractic care three times a week for several months when my condition began getting worse. I was sent for an MRI, and the results revealed that I had bulging discs in my neck and had severe lateral and central cord stenosis (narrowing) of the spinal cord and nerve branches. I consulted with several neurosurgeons with the outcome being that I was “a spinal cord injury waiting to happen” and that I needed to have surgery. Because of the amount of cervical levels that were affected, I was told that I would have to be fused on 2-4 levels and that there was a 20% chance that I would never sing again. Temporary or permanent nerve damage was a potential, but due to the severity of my neck, not having the surgery was not an option.

It’s hard to explain how devastated I felt. It wasn’t simply the potential loss of something I loved, I felt like I would be losing a part of myself, a little piece of who I was. It was intensified by the fact that I had already had to overcome several injuries in regards to my face and voice. It felt unfair. I felt like I had already suffered enough. I’ll be honest, I had a pity party for a little while. Seeing its futility, I sprang into action. I got several opinions from neurosurgeons, just hoping that a doctor might provide another course of action for my neck. None were provided. I was preparing myself for the inevitable fact that I had a 1 in 5 chance of losing my ability to sing altogether.

At an appointment with my pain management physician, I was relaying the results of my MRI with him and the recommended course of action. During the course of the conversation, the physician shared that he had been in a similar situation a few years back and that after undergoing an unsuccessful surgery in the states, he started researching other options. He did two years of research and found an artificial disc that had been used in Europe, with great results, for close to 15 years. He located a surgeon who had experience with this specific disc (not available in the states), flew to the surgeon in Germany, underwent the procedure, and came back with fantastic results. Part of his reasoning for wanting this disc was that it did not require fusion. This was the alternative I was looking for.

In November of 2018, just a few weeks following an out of state gig with my band, I headed to Germany for a four level cervical disc replacement. Long story short, the surgery was a success,,,,,,, at least in terms of my neck. Unfortunately, with the required intubation necessary with surgery, my vocal cords were damaged. This significantly affected my voice – I couldn’t sustain a note, I lost range, I couldn’t stay on pitch. I had no control over my voice. My voice had no power, no style, no vibrato. I didn’t know what to do. My band was still gigging at the time, so I endured the shame and embarrassment of performing with a damaged voice. I was working so hard and not producing a good sound. It was crushing. I had hoped that my voice would remain unscathed with the surgery. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

I started working with a speech therapist and underwent vocal rehab for about a year. With the treatment, parts of my voice were getting better and stronger. The doctors had told me that I shouldn’t expect to see more vocal improvement a year after surgery. At that point, my voice had improved in a couple areas, but it also had been permanently changed by the surgery. Although my doctors told me not to expect more improvement, I was determined to reclaim my ability to sing.

Our band sang our last gig before covid happened at the end of 2019. We had plans to grow, change, improve. All that had to be put on hold with Covid. In the spring of 2021, my family started preparing for a move to Tennessee, with the news of my husband’s company’s headquarters relocating to Nashville. The move meant that I had to leave the band. I was grieving. I had been singing and playing music with these guys for several years. They were close friends. Plus, I wanted to keep rehabilitating my voice and take on new challenges. Going to a new place where I knew no one, especially with the lack of confidence I felt about my vocal ability since my injury, was scary and left me feeling like possibly, my years of singing were officially behind me.

One day in Nashville, just a few months after our move, I was reflecting on a comment one of my old band mates had said to me about potentially singing in our new location. When talking about my hesitation, he said “You’re going to have to put yourself out there Julie.” For whatever reason, that day, I felt the impulse to step out. I searched and found only one post that fit my qualifications. Long story short, I replied to the post, scheduled an audition, and ended up becoming a member of the band.

Just a few months ago, I started gigging with this band. I was so nervous the first time i performed with them….. I hadn’t really sung in so long, and i remembered how badly my voice had felt and sounded. I forgot some of the words to the first 4 songs. Initially, I just couldn’t calm my nerves. The more I sang, though, and the more I could hear my voice staying strong, the more confident I became. I started loosening up and I slowly started to lose myself in the joy of performing again. Even my husband said he was surprised at how strong my voice had sounded.

Today, I’m still gigging with this band. My voice has continued to improve, although I still have some vocal changes and difficulties since the injury. But, I am finding creative ways to work around the weaknesses. Some skills that I thought had been lost with the injury are reemerging. I don’t know if my voice will ever return to the state it was pre-injury, but having the ability and opportunity to use my gifts again is of great significance to me. Sometimes just the plain courage necessary to take a leap of faith can propel positive things to occur. One of my favorite quotes by Thomas Carlyle

“Permanence, perseverance, and persistence in spite of all obstacles, discouragements, and impossibilities: It is this, that in all things distinguishes the strong soul from the weak.”

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 background and context?

Music has always been a sort of extension of myself. I’ve been singing since the time I can remember, having very vivid memories of myself singing at the age of four. Although I knew it was not the entirety of my identity, I still recognized it as being one of my unique qualities that made me distinct and individual from others. It wasn’t just about being a musician, it was how music tapped into the depths of my being and how I communicated and expressed thoughts and feelings through it. It has always been a creative form of communication for me. From the time I was very young, I understood that I had a special way of expressing emotion through music. I was aware that my music had an impact on others, I never wanted to simply be an entertainer. I always wanted my music to possess a certain depth of the human spirit that tapped into and ignited the essences of others. I believe music is so powerful because it is such a nonthreatening medium of connection.

Over the years, I have taught piano and voice lessons and have thoroughly enjoyed helping my students to tap into their own talent, and to “find their voice.” Over the years, the numerous challenges and obstacles I have had to overcome in order to continue my musical pursuit has led me to branch out professionally into the transformational/life coaching world. I understand feeling stuck, fearful, overwhelmed by outside circumstances you have no control over. Besides the physical injuries I sustained and had to recover from, I understand feelings of inferiority or paralyzing fear as a result of abuse. I have personally walked through those same experiences. The education I have acquired for coaching simply enhances the ability I possess to relate to my clients
in situations that have adversely affected them (physical, mental, emotional). I know how grueling it is to continue to put yourself out there when life circumstances are stacked against you. My practice is about being my clients’ advocate and facilitating the internal work of them conquering their “demons,” getting stronger both mentally and physically, fearlessly pursuing their dreams and goals. The work my clients do is hard and intense, but coming down on the other side of that huge mountain they’ve climbed is personal success, empowerment, and an insatiable quest for life. My heart is filled, watching my clients forge their way to their dreams. Internal work like this is NOT for the faint of heart, but it is some of the most rewarding work one can do. I like
to think of this process as re-definition. Redefining yourself is quite different than the process of reinventing yourself. This process is not about changing your identity. This is the metamorphosis that takes place when life circumstances have oppressed you, and you intentionally choose to come face to face with your limitations and obstacles, identify your strengths and skill sets, and re-define the impact you will have on the world and in what arena. It is not abandoning self, but embracing the entirety of who you are and forging a new path to pursue passion, express creativity, and make connection with others.

The years of physical trauma that I have suffered from multiple car accidents should have prevented me from singing altogether. Despite the limitations from the vocal cord injury, most people would not be able to detect that I have endured physical injuries that have affected my jaw, hearing, face, and voice. The years of treatment for every injury I’ve sustained has been exhausting. There have been dark days where the discouragement felt like it would envelop me. But I had desire and a strong will to succeed (with a little sheer grit and determination too). The courage to pursue my goals enabled me to continue to put myself out there, creatively manage my limitations, and overcome fear, setbacks, and failure. This is what I am most proud of.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to let go of the idea that my artistic dream was going to play out exactly as I had envisioned it. My dream felt like a big present, wrapped in a box with a huge bow, that I was going to unpack sometime in the future and watch gloriously unfold. But, when life’s circumstances went spiraling out of control, not only did my “present” feel as though it had been crushed, but I thought I was going to have to completely abandon my dream. I have since learned to hold my dream loosely. I recognize my dream can change and grow with me, but also that I can approach the modified dream with equal passion and fervor.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist is that it is truly individualistic. Musical genre, expression, lyrics, instrumentation, and process, are all aspects over which an artist has control. Music, in many ways, is a very authentic reflection of the creator. That is another reason why music is so powerful…….. every artist, subsequently, will relate to a subset of the population. They will speak the same “language” as their fans and create that unique space where those like minded individuals have shared interest and connection. Music is diverse and binding simultaneously, and the artist has the power to engage and direct the energy in positive, healing ways.

Contact Info:

• Website: optimallivinglifecoaching.com
• Facebook: When You Were Bigger, VCR Band
• Youtube: “Bad Seed” Official video by When you were Bigger