|
Honest,
personal expression through insightful lyrics, a beautiful voice, and
impressive musicianship.
“I was driving around listening to Wrecking Ball by Emmylou
Harris. That was it. That was my moment of clarity. It was a pretty tough
time for me and I can’t say I felt like I had much to offer, but that
was when I decided what I was gonna do with my life.”
Not two years from that day, Holly Nelson was
named Best Female Performer at the 2003 Orange County Music Awards, where
her song Masterpiece was also nominated for Best Song…six months
before her debut record was set to be released.
Holly grew up in California, Florida, and Texas
where her musical tastes were shaped by the likes of Joni Mitchell, The
Beatles, The Starland Vocal Band, Neil Young, Tom Petty, and the Beach
Boys.
She has sung all of her life, even on a few
records and for a few bands, but always in the background and never her
own songs. In the past that was fine, but one day it just clicked. Holly
kept her songs to herself until a month later when she ran into producer
Frank Lenz (Starflyer59, Crystal Lewis) at a show that she almost didn't
attend.
“I had known Frank from before, but out of
nowhere he asked if I would consider putting together some demos. The
timing was amazing. If I was a believer in chance before that, I am now
reformed.”
The appeal of the demos that followed was
undeniable and soon after being signed to Northern Records the recording
process began with Andrew D. Prickett (The Violet Burning, The Prayer
Chain) and Frank Lenz.
The result, Leaving the Yard, will
challenge the boundaries of genre as it rewards the introspective listener
with honest, personal expression through insightful lyrics, a beautiful
voice, and the impressive musicianship of Andrew Prickett on guitar,
Elijah Thomson (The Lassie Foundation, Richard Swift, Crystal Lewis) on
bass, Richard Swift (Richard Swift, Starflyer59, Crystal Lewis) on keys,
and Frank Lenz on drums. Despite the high production quality, this record
will be a pleasant surprise to those who expect only polished, pop gems
from a pretty girl with little in the way of substance.
As a writer, Holly prefers to let listeners draw
their own meaning from a song.
“I love that we're all so different and that my
intention when writing a song will be filtered through the listener's life
experiences and the song will end up meaning something just a little
different to each person. There's always that little twist that makes it
personal. And I love the little twist.”
The search for peace despite your circumstances
and confidence despite your own abilities emerge as themes on the record.
Holly even takes on a cover of the Tom Petty classic I Won't Back Down.
A line in the song Rhyme and Reason (“we
didn't know it would be so hard to find the broken board and leave the
yard”) provides the album's title.
Holly explains, “I think that some of us think
we've got life figured out and can handle anything. Then we get hit with
something we think is too big to handle and come to realize that we've
never even left our figurative backyard. That's when we have to make the
decision to leave and grow or stay stuck in our little world. I think I'm
finally leaving the yard…realizing things aren't always easily
explained, and all we can ever really count on is God's grace.”
|
city: Yorba Linda
state: CA
website |
|
