We recently connected with Meg Lauren and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Meg, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

In some ways I’ve been pointed towards being a professional creative my whole life. I grew up watching my dad perform and teach music. My mom is also musically inclined though she was a teacher then a librarian by trade but our house was always very musical. I would say, though that my current career as a professional singer-songwriter blossomed out of the sudden loss of my older brother, Luke.

Luke was a Wildland Firefighter, a Smokejumper. He was killed while fighting a fire in the Southern Warner Wilderness in Northern California in June of 2013. I think the whole trajectory of my life changed after that. I was in school for music education and thought I’d become a teacher. I’d only ever written two songs at that point, both for school related projects. I was barely a guitar player and had never been paid to play the instrument in front of anyone.

In the wake of my brother’s death the only place I felt remotely comfortable was around my family and friends of my brother. Luke played guitar and shared in this with my dad as well as his close friends who he would jam with regularly. To remember him and wade through our grief, we began to play together. At some point we were asked to play at a benefit event for the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, an organization that helps families who have lost firefighters in the line of duty. My dad, two of my brothers friends, and I played songs that my brother loved and used to play himself. I don’t think we were paid but I believe this was my first real gig.

I don’t remember any deciding moment where my dad and I decided to form a band and play together regularly but we did after that. I made my first dollar as a professional musician and I was so proud to share the stage with my dad. We were soon joined by a family friend and long-time bandmate of my dad to form a trio. We played restaurants and bars together, we worked on songs and my ability as a guitar player grew. We were able to spend a lot of time together working on our craft.

Lastly, and most importantly, I found my songwriting voice. I began to write, of course, about grief and the loss of my brother. I wrote the first song I was ever proud to write and a whole new world opened up. I never believed I could be a songwriter before that. I thought there was some magic in it that I could never touch, that I was not creative or good enough to do it. I could study music and replicate the creations of others but to make something of my own seemed out of reach. Songwriting and the connection to my dad that formed through playing together is the best gift my brother could’ve ever given me. It’s the thing I’m most proud of in my life. In the immediate aftermath, I could’ve never imagined that something so dear to me could’ve come from the darkest moment in my life but music and art does that. It creates a light in the deepest, darkest of places. It is my life source now and my way to call out to him whenever I want to. I hope he can hear me.

Meg, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am a singer-songwriter and performer in Austin, Texas. I also teach guitar and voice lessons locally. Most often I perform solo, with guitar, voice and percussive elements. I’ve also been a member of a couple of different bands and have performed as a duo act with different artists in the area as well. I handle all my own booking and promotion which I find to be the most difficult part of being a professional musician. My sets include a variety of original songs I’ve written over the last 10 years as well as covers of songs I grew up listening to.

I studied classical vocal performance in college but nothing prepares you for being a gigging musician! However, I love music theory and enjoyed participating in choirs and all the other opportunities I had access to during my college career. I spent some time performing in North-Eastern California near the small town where I’m from and the surrounding communities. During that time I played as a member of a trio act, The Sheehys, which included my father Doug Sheehy and bass player, John Tew.

From there I took a big leap and moved to Austin 5 years ago to further pursue music at the higher level you can only find in this city. I’ve frequented open mics where I’ve been able to meet talented musicians who have become bandmates and collaborators. I’m grateful to call myself a member of the Austin music community where there is so much support for one another and inspiration from the different levels of talented people that make the pilgrimage here to be a part of it.

My brand and style centers around 60’s and 70’s rock, pop, and folk. I’m also inspired by more traditional folk songs and ballads (think Appalachian folk music) where storytelling was the main focus. I often create songs around characters I’ve read about or imagined up myself but I also write about my own life experiences and have some deeply personal songs that I hope resonate with my audience. Another of my most defining characteristics is my vocal style. I draw on my classical training as well as inspiration from artists I admire like Bonnie Raitt, Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell and Alison Krauss. I’m also inspired by Motown artists and the pop melodies I grew up listening to in the 90’s and early 2000’s. I love variety in my song writing and I think each of my songs encompasses a different feel. I hope to never get cornered into one particular style but keep evolving and changing with the song of the moment.

I’m currently working on recording my first solo EP! This will mark a huge milestone in my career and the achievement of a lifelong goal so please keep an eye out for that!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think one thing I’ve noticed people struggle to understand about being a professional musician is that they all assume if you want to be a musician then you also want to be famous. To me this is like assuming that everyone who works for a company wants to someday be the CEO, for example. It’s true that it’s difficult to make a living if you’re not performing at the highest levels and there’s a huge gap in pay but there are other ways to measure success as a musician. Often times, it is just based on simply being able to make a living at it. That’s what I consider success. I had a lot of people encouraging me to either go on The Voice or some other T.V. show to “make it big” or people that scoffed at my choice as if it were so unrealistic. Saying you are or want to be a professional musician does not necessarily mean you want or believe you’re going to win the lottery and become a huge star. We all measure it differently and removing the stigma that either you’re famous or a failure can help us feel more understood and appreciated as an important part of culture in our communities.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that non-musicians seem to misunderstand that a lot of our work is behind the scenes and unpaid. There is so much time that goes into practicing your craft and preparing for a gig as well as marketing, booking, and other elements of essentially being your own small business. When you pay us for those 2 or 3 hours of music we play at your bar, restaurant or venue you’re also paying us for all the time we put into preparing for that moment. When you’re an audience member you’re seeing many hours and usually years of practice. I hope that an understanding for all the unpaid time and preparation that goes into a performance can begin to grow so that compensation and appreciation can grow along with it.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding aspect of being a performing musician is the connections it creates. Strangers that smile and sing along. Audience members that might come up after a set and express how much they enjoyed this or that song and may even sit and have a conversation with you about music or life. I also live for the connection it creates with other artists and musicians. This is something I started to experience more and more after moving to Austin and some of the musicians I’ve met here have changed the way I approach music. Some have given me the confidence I needed to keep going and some of them have become the best of friends. All have been inspiring in their own way. The music community here is so large and supportive that you never feel lonely or you know where to go if you do. I think watching my dad perform in a smaller community for most of his life where these types of connections with other musicians were harder to find makes me really appreciate the large community here. It’s difficult to stay confident in such a volatile industry and after doing your job for a number of years, there are rarely awards for your accomplishments and there’s no retirement party for a job like this. That’s where strong community comes in and local organizations that support musicians can make all the difference.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://themusicmeg.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themusicmeg/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Q73gcRz4PjxnZIoubYTDA
• Soundcloud: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9Q73gcRz4PjxnZIoubYTDA

Image Credits

Atxphotoscape