Soul-moving alternative rock imbued with passionate, inspired music, deep, raw, in-your-face lyrics, and a powerfully intense and haunting voice that will echo on in the memory long after the songs have ended.

11 MP3 Songs in this album (51:58) !
Related styles: ROCK: Adult Alternative Pop/Rock, SPIRITUAL: Christian Rock

People who are interested in Jewel Amy Lee should consider this download.


Details:
I've been singing since I was very little. I started playing guitar at age 13, wrote my first song, then decided I didn't much care for the guitar. My parents bought me a piano and I fell in love. I taught myself to play and began writing songs regularly. In high school, I took piano lessons for a very short time. I hated the lessons and didn't want to admit how much they were improving my playing. I eventually quit, which is a regret I carry, but I continued writing, singing, and playing. Then life got in the way. My music took a backseat, and when I forced myself to create, it only came out stale and, well... forced. It took me a long time to find who I am musically. Nothing I did ever felt like me. The songs I wrote were decent enough, but it wasn't until 2007, when I experienced one of the most traumatic events of my life, that I found myself musically.

The birth of From The Ashes was more than just music. It was therapy. In May of 2007, I was given musical equipment that opened up my creative flow in a way I'd only ever dreamed of. Right at the same time, I was just "waking up," as I describe it, from a horrific year-and-a-half of chaos, abuse, and insanity at the hands of another. I was a stunned, bloodied, falling-apart-at-the-seams mess. And I needed to write. Oh, did I need to write! Songs began pouring out of me like a flash flood in the desert. I could barely keep up with myself. Each song became a therapist, in and of itself; all born from near-devastating events that had rocked my world and had changed who I was as a person and, surprisingly, as a musician. It was horrifying going through what I went through, but from it came an outpouring of emotion that formed what I believe to be my best work. I'm very proud of this CD. It's personal; it gets deep, dirty, and raw. And it has unexpectedly defined me as an artist.

Having said that, who I am as a person, although profoundly changed due to the previously mentioned events, is vastly different from what my music tends to portray. I'm a genuinely happy person. I see my life as full, grounded, and blessed. Challenging at times, but always brilliant. And I generally feel happy. Laughter is an absolute part of every day for me, no exceptions. I must laugh, every day, whatever I have to do to make it happen. My music, on the other hand, tends to be dark, almost brood-ish sometimes, and relies on depth that emotes and challenges one to think beyond the obvious. I have little patience for inane music and I don't much care for writing so-called "happy" songs. I have forced myself to write happier songs, just to prevent friends and family from thinking I'm miserable, which I'm not. From The Ashes, of course, did stem from misery. I won't deny that or try to pretend it wasn't the case. Happy person or not, what I experienced was awful and that's just the way life presents itself sometimes. But there are people who steep themselves in miserable thinking, feeling, and behavior. I'm not one of those people. I think deeply. I think solemnly and emotionally. Then I pour it into a song. And then I'm good. Which is maybe why I'm not a miserable person - because I have an outlet for those somber emotions.

I'm a spiritual person, as well, as evidenced through two songs on the CD. I love my Creator and my Savior very much. I relied on God to see me through From The Ashes and all that that entailed. He did, and I give Him the credit and the glory for it, as well as for my survival and the metamorphosis of my spirit. He is my strength, my faithful constant, and my purpose. I don't have to preach for those things to be true. And I won't do that... not ever. What I will do is attempt to always live Him into my life and reflect His love. When I fail, that's simply a reminder of His purpose. (Humility is the best photograph of our inability to be "good.") And I will not be quiet. I don't write Him into my songs just for the sake of being a Christian and a songwriter. I won't force it. I simply wait for when it's right. But when it is right, I know it. Because He's there, in front of my heart, demanding to be acknowledged. And then it's genuine. He's there in the song because it was the right moment and it was pure.

There are other facets to me; different sides, different roles. But those are just for me.

I hope you enjoy From The Ashes. Feel free to contact me and let me know what you think. If you're a record producer, feel free to contact me and offer me a contract! :-D

Don't forget to laugh. Don't forget to pray. Don't forget to breathe. Don't forget to love.

Willow Layne