Natascha Myers
Following up her single “Songs from a Hardwood Floor” released earlier this year, Iowa native Natascha Myers unveiled her new single “Hindsight” on August 27th.
Co-written with Emily Hackett and Palmer Lee and produced by Leigh Houison, “Hindsight” came from some New Years' resolutions. “We got to talking about how we each had this huge list of things we wanted to accomplish and feared that we wouldn't have the wherewithal to make them happen,” says Myers.
Combining americana with country music, “Hindsight” is off her upcoming EP Songs From A Hardwood Floor, to be released on September 24th.
The Nashville-based artist has upcoming shows - click here for more details.
“Hindsight” is now available worldwide.
Photo credit: Amy Handegard
Introduce yourself - What's your story?
It never gets any easier boiling yourself down to a few little sentences, does it? Well, to start: Hi there, I'm Natascha Myers. I'm an Americana country artist and writer hailing from Waterloo, Iowa. After graduating from Clarke University (Dubuque, IA) in 2017 with a degree in vocal performance and composition, I spent three months waiting tables and soaking up every last bit of my hometown before I packed my bags and headed for Nashville, TN. I've been here two years now, and I'm proud to call it home.
Could you describe us your childhood a little bit? Any favorite memories?
It's funny; I can answer this question with ease, only because I recently spent hours upon hours watching my entire childhood back on my dad's old JVC camcorder for the sake of the music video for my second single, "Songs From A Hardwood Floor." Memory kind of leads you astray over the years, but I'm so grateful to have solidified some of what happened back in my young years.
I truly think I could be in a contest for Best Childhood. First of all, I have the two most selfless, incredible parents a kid could want. Like, when God was molding my mom and dad, He did some real nice work there. I'm the second of four children spread out over quite a range of years, so I almost always had someone to look up to or someone to show the ropes. I spent the first six years of my life following my big brother and the neighbor kids around, building log forts out of felled trees and manning the neighborhood cucumber stand every summer, before my first little sister came along. We had a relatively small house (for four little tyrants) and a big backyard growing up, so I can't tell you the amount of time we spent barefoot in the grass out there.
As for favorite memories, gosh, it's nearly impossible to dwindle it down to a few Honorable Mentions, but off the top of my head: 1) Anything and everything surrounding the Metro Yankees, my brother's Little League baseball team that my dad coached. I kept the books for the team when I was real young, so I spent a lot of time in a dugout, putting up with a bunch of nonsense from adolescent boys and learning to love the game. Whether it was calling out who was on deck or watching my dad and brother train in the backyard, I loved that team like you wouldn't believe. 2) Cooking with my mama. I always have and always will want to be just like my mom, and although I don't think I'll ever come close to being her caliber of Wonder Woman, she patiently let me tag along with every recipe, standing on a little stool to reach the kitchen counter. 3) My family is really keen on games: board, card, outdoor, you name it. So anytime that my family is engaged in some good healthy competition-- in which I always lose, kid you not-- I'm one happy camper.
How would you describe yourself today?
The hell if I know! I'd always hoped that by 24 years old, I'd know who I was, but I think I'll still be saying the same at 74! All jokes aside, here go the Cliff Notes: I'm an old soul-- my house is covered in relics out of the fifties, I always have some Ray Price or Fleetwood Mac on the Victrola, and I'd much rather be cooking or reading a book than out on the town. When I'm not saving face and pretending I have my life together, I'm probably worrying about something that will never happen. I'm a surface-level-rebel: I love people and knowing what makes them tick, not just how their day was. I'm a creative-aholic; I love DIY crafts and branding and making something out of nothing. And otherwise, I think I'm really just figuring it out as I go, just like everyone else.
When did you decide to fully pursue music as a career?
March of 2015. I was a sophomore in college, double majoring in psychology and music performance. I was telling people that my Plan B was to be a music therapist, but if I was being honest with myself, I was acting like that was my Plan A. I couldn't figure out why I was so frustrated before my dad pointed out that my so-called Plan B was hindering me from my Plan A of being a Nashville writer and artist. Just like that, I dropped my psych major and made the decision I was moving to Nashville post-college. I'd never even been.
Do you remember the first song you ever recorded?
The first song I ever wrote (and sadly have recorded on a video that will never see the light of day) was called "Blue Eyes." I was thirteen and pining after one of my brother's best friends who-- you guessed it-- had pretty dreamy blue eyes. I hate to admit it, but I was totally that little sister that was right there when my brother had his friends over. As for professional recording, it was called "The World Beyond Washington," which was on my first ever EP-- Do Not Go Gentle. You can't find it anywhere now, barring a few CD copies in my closet, but, in hindsight, that project was kind of my proof to myself that I could make something happen within my own means. And I'm still doing that to this day, five years later.
How did your voice evolve over the years?
I struggled with my voice for the longest time. Truth be told, I wasn't confident in my voice until late last year. I started out singing in church at the age of nine, and I had the tiniest little angel voice. My parents would literally be in the front pew motioning to me to sing louder! Even as I started to land roles in the high school musicals or solos in show choir and what not, I not only wasn't confident in my small voice, but I didn't know how to use it. I started to learn the mechanics of it quite a bit more studying classical voice in college, but I was always striving to have a bigger voice. It was so frustrating to me that I couldn't get more sound out of my body, but I came to terms with the fact that my God-given voice is a little different than most you may hear in country music. And I've learned to love it that way.
"Hindsight" is your new single - What's the story behind this song?
My co-writers, Emily Hackett and Palmer Lee-- and I penned this song on January 8, 2018. I believe it was all of our first writes of the year, and we started out the write gabbing about our New Years' resolutions. We got to talking about how we each had this huge list of things we wanted to accomplish and feared that we wouldn't have the wherewithal to make them happen. Palmer started singing this cool melody she'd had stuck in her head for the past week, and we were off the races. Although the song dials into a specific story about a relationship and resolving it now rather than later, on a larger level, we really wanted it to speak to people as a "life is all too short; don't wait; make it happen" kind of anthem.
What did you feel when writing this song?
Moment of truth: I was shaking in my boots the whole time. I had been in town a mere four months, and I was in the room with two writers that I looked up to immensely (and continue to admire to this day). It was my first (and certainly not my last) encounter with feeling I had some big shoes to fill, so to speak. But as I started throwing lines out, I got more comfortable in said boots, and by the time I left Emily's house, I had that feeling that writers get in their bones. You know, the feeling that you created a little magic in that room. In hindsight, no pun intended, that was the write where I learned how to write a darn song. And that's half the reason it's on this forthcoming record.
Could you describe us the songwriting/production process for this particular song?
Apart from what I mentioned above about the songwriting process, production was a whole other period of growth for this song. I had loved this song before, but man, get my band in a room for a few hours on this track, and I was head over heels. My producer (Leigh Houison) and I decided we wanted the recording process to be as organic as possible, so we got all of the instruments in the studio together over the course of a week and recorded take after take until we felt we had enough to pull from. It was a lot of trial and error, and "that didn't work as well as we thought" or "man, you nailed that bass line, do you think you can replicate it?", and I think that really served both the single and the forthcoming EP well.
What can you tell us about your upcoming EP Songs From A Hardwood Floor?
You know, I've written a lot of songs since we finished Songs From A Hardwood Floor, some of wish I've desperately wished would be headed out into the world on September 24, but won't be. In wrestling with the process of growing as an artist and writer and having a tangible landmark of that in a record, I feel I can best describe the EP as a snapshot, a moment in time. This snapshot is of a girl who didn't know that she had the chops to be an artist in the country music artist but woke up one morning and said, "Heck yes I do." This moment in time has the songs that I felt the world needed to hear to know who Natascha Myers is and what she's all about. Wrap that all up, and you've got Songs From A Hardwood Floor.
Who helped you create this EP?
Oh man, I have so many people to thank. And don't do what I used to do and skip over this question because it looks like a mere list of names. It takes a village to make Natascha Myers happen, and that village deserves to be recognized. First off, my parents. They don't have much to do with this project from a creative standpoint, but it wouldn't even have come to be without their support and encouragement. Leigh Houison, my producer and first friend in Nashville: for having faith in me when I didn't have faith in myself and bringing to life an artist that didn't exist before he got his hands on the music. Chris Condon: co-producer and computer commander and the man behind the guitars. All of my incredible cowriters who helped make a whole lot of something out of a whole lot of nothing-- Emily Hackett, Palmer Lee, Garrett Biggs, Joybeth Taylor, Jared Anderson, and Paige Rose. Matt Crowning, Luis Espaillat, Kyle Everson, Larissa Maestro, and Kristin Weber: all massive talents on their respective instruments. And it might sound far-fetched, but the Big Man Upstairs had a big hand in this record. He's heard my voice a lot more than I'm sure He cares to over the course of the last nine months or so, but by the grace of Him, this EP is coming out into the world.
What are the different topics you are talking about on this EP?
Old things made beautiful and the fact that denim is the best fashion trend to ever hit this Earth. Loving someone who loves someone else, but knowing you ain't no homewrecker and there's nothing you can do about it. Singing when no one is listening and missing home and writing songs that ain't paying the rent and loving what you do despite it all. Making your life look the way you want it to, rather than looking back and wishing you'd done it differently. Staying afloat in a world that will do its best to break you down, but knowing that you have what it takes to stay standing... Yeah, that's about the long and short of it.
What did you learn about yourself after finishing this project?
I learned that I have what it takes, that I have an incredible support system standing in the eaves, and that I wouldn't trade this life for anything. It's no walk in the park... which is why I'm running. A light jog, really, so I can breathe it all in along the way.
What made you want to name your EP Songs From A Hardwood Floor?
The EP title came from its antecedent song with the same name. It was my second single (available now everywhere you can find music), and the hardwood floor is not only an homage to my literal love for hardwood floors, but it represents roots-- where the songs came from and where they will continue to come from. It only made sense that the EP title would follow suit.
For those who don't know, how would you describe Americana music?
Honestly? I'm pretty sure Americana is the fusion of genres that can't quite be categorized solidly anywhere else. I always kind of joke that it's the genre of Outcasts That Are Okay With It because we each have a unique style that combines so many different styles and references that we almost can't be logically placed anywhere else, right? So my Americana looks different than, say, my literal neighbor's Americana because our childhoods and teenage mix CDs and formative musical training looked and sounded so different, and we decided we were cool with it, rather than trying to fit to a mold. I don't know if that makes any sense, but it's the best I've got.
Where do you feel the most yourself?
Hmm, I think in my little 2 bed, 1 bath here in Nashville. There's a lot of solo kitchen dancing and singing at the top of my lungs and creativity and letting my hair down in those four walls. Other than the people I choose to let in those walls, I really don't have to explain my quirky self to anyone when I'm there, and that's the way I like it.
What do you want to be remembered for?
I mean, I think I'd be failing myself as a musical artist and writer not to say that I hope I'm remembered for my songs and how they were just the good, honest truth. And hopefully, they reached someone on an emotional level. But in the long run, I just really want to be remembered for how I loved people. We weren't put on this Earth to make the most money or write #1 songs or run ourselves ragged trying to be the best at something: We were put here to love each other and love each other real well.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
There are a lot of things on a massive scale that would probably do our world some good, but I think we could start with our one-one-one daily interactions. Put the blasted phones away for a minute. Stop judging each other by our Instagram feeds and start recognizing that we're all in this together. Actually give a good gosh darn what makes the people around you who they are and love them for it.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
Whoa, ending on a doozy. Let's see here... 1) You can't make everyone love you without compromising yourself, so stop trying. Be yourself and the ones who deserve the spot will be standing right alongside you. 2) Work hard. Sure, you can post about it on social media and make it look like you're busting backside, but actually put your head down and get your hands dirty to earn your spot and stay there. 3) Don't take life so seriously. After all, we were all once five years old, singing Patty Loveless in the bathtub-- or whatever you were doing at five years old. Life was a bed of roses then, and it still is now; you just have to see it that way through all the electric bills and heartbreaks and expectations.
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