We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shira. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shira below.
Shira, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
First thing that comes to mind is my song, Am I Beautiful. A few years ago my friend, Shirin Tinati was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. I watched her fight like the true Warrior she is. I wanted to be there for her. So much. I didn’t know how, so I wrote her a song; called, Am I Beautiful (https://youtu.be/avamuenuwh4)
Once Shirin was in remission we decided to make a video for the song, sharing her journey in a raw and vulnerable way and hoping to ease the journey of others that have met up with cancer. Our dream came true and I continue to receive messages from all of over the world saying how our song made them feel seen.
One of those messages came from author and spiritual counselor, Susan Lax. Susan specializes in working with those touched by illness and grief. She had been using my song, Am I Beautiful, with her patients and invited me to collaborate.
Together we created one of the most meaningful projects I’ve ever created, The Heart-to-Heart Songbook; a concert, putting together music and poetry in spiritual conversion. The concert offers powerful tools of awareness and connection to navigate through challenging moments. I’m so proud of what we’ve created and I hope it will awaken healing and invite heart awareness, we recently premiered it in NYC and are now working on bringing it to art centers and spiritual centers all over the country.
Shira, 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?
For sure! I’m a NYC based Israeli-American fairy folk singer-songwriter and actor. Born in Rochester, NY to Israeli parents, I split my time growing up between Israel and the States.
When people ask me how it all started, how I knew this was my calling, I always remember my time in the army. About 10 years ago I served in the Israeli Army band, which is very similar to a USO tour. Right after I joined, a war broke out between Lebanon and Israel, and I was sent to perform for soldiers and civilians living in war zones. There was one performance that made me realize why this is what I have to do.
We arrived at an underground bomb shelter where about four families were staying with very small children. We sang for them and with them, we told stories and performed skits. We were about to leave and a six-year-old girl wearing a summer dress covered in butterflies ran up to me and held on to my leg asking me not to leave because I made her feel safe again. I knew this was my calling and I had to do it, to bring healing to the world through music.
2 years later I met producer Paul Carbonara (Blondie) as a performer in New York’s theatre community. I was cast in his Off Broadway musicals Solitary Light and Evening 1910. The New York Times had some kind words to say about my performance, writing: “Shira, possessed of a winning and beguiling voice and an enigmatically expressive smile.”
I went on to record two EPs produced by Carbonara along with an ace six-piece band, including Grammy-nominated drummer Dan Pugach. The 1st one, Till the Sun Comes and the new EP, Birds of a Feather. Together we created a live folk-acoustic sound so raw you could almost hear the wooden floors creaking under our feet.
I call my sound fairy-folk; infused with my ukulele stylings and healing songs, my music might remind you of singer-songwriters like Sara Bareilles, Brandi Carlile and Ingrid Michaelson.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the greatest reward is learning how my songs have made someone’s heart a little lighter. One of my last shows before the pandemic was a Sofar Sounds secret show in Tel Aviv, Israel. The audience had no idea who was performing until I stepped on the stage. After the show an audience member came up to me, shaking. I saw he wanted to share something with me, but he couldn’t find the words. “I just can’t believe it’s you”, he said in a German accent. “My uncle was diagnosed with Cancer 3 months ago and I found your song, Am I Beautiful, while on youtube when I was outside his hospital room one day trying to find something to ease my mind. Then I found all your songs and you’ve been with me for the past 3 months”, he started tearing up and continued, “and now I’m here in Israel on a last minute work trip and spontaneously a colleague asked me to come to this concert tonight and suddenly you go on stage and sing the song that I’ve been listening to on repeat. I just want to say thank you.” We hugged like old friends. Just knowing that my song made his moment a bit better means everything to me.
Have you ever had to pivot?
COVID was one of the hardest times of my life. I was about to release new music and go on tour. In 3 days days everything came crashing down and all my shows for the next year were cancelled. On top of all of that, the love of my life was on the other side of the ocean, in Barcelona, and I was in NYC. He was about to move to NYC and we were about to start our life together, but travel bans stopped us from even seeing each other and we had no idea when it would all end. I spiraled completely, my life felt meaningless, I was severely depressed. I played some zoom shows, but it felt so disconnected. The only thing that kept my head above water was the endless hours my love and I spent on video chat.
For years I always believed so deeply that no matter what life threw at my face I would find a way to make it work, but this was the first time in my life where I couldn’t make it work. I had to accept that there are sometimes forces that are bigger than me.
After 6 long months apart we found a loophole. I got a student visa to study Spanish in Spain and we lived together in Barcelona for 5 months. I didn’t know a word in Spanish when I moved, but thanks to that time there, now I’m fluent!
I took that time when there was no live music to build our relationship and create our new family of two (maybe more in the future…). It wasn’t what I had planned, but because of it now we know we can get through anything together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.shiraofficial.com/
- Instagram: https://www.youtube.com/shiramusic
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shiraartistpage
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/shiramusic
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6Zot8u6hrDhkLkcn58B9MB https://music.apple.com/us/artist/shira/1063852514 https://www.tiktok.com/@shira_music