Wallace Morgan
I’ve always considered Wallace as an Artist. I’ve always admired her dedication, her work ethic and her passion. I would always tell her: “You’re an artist. You are a writer”. Her words are inspiring. Her talent is inspiring. Seeing her picking up her guitar again, seeing/hearing her sing made me so damn proud of her. It took a lot of courage. I’m so happy she gets to fully express who she really is. Her music is pure, honest, beautiful and magical.
Congrats Wallace. Congrats on this new beautiful journey and congrats on this new stunning song/video.
“She Called It Love” is now available :)
Photo credit: @mamieheldman
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
I’m constantly trying to better understand the answer to that question through making art in various disciplines. Whether it’s through songs, visual mediums, poems or essays, my process as an artist is rooted in trying to better understand myself and the human experience.
I grew up in Nashville, studied journalism and music business at the University of Georgia, moved to New York where I worked at Republic Records, left to start an artist management and media company, and eventually moved to Los Angeles. I launched my artist project in 2021 as the result of an intense time of transformational self discovery and healing that started in 2019 and transpired throughout the pandemic. It’s a long story of how and why all that happened the way it did, but it’s rooted in my search for authentic self acceptance and expression. In my teens and young 20s I built up a lot of walls to cope with the world around me. Perfectionism, people pleasing, heartbreak, anxiety and depression finally caught up to me, and I hit a breaking point in 2019. That sent me on a journey of healing that led me to therapy, mindfulness, and self love, ultimately helping me unlock more creativity. During quarantine I started relearning guitar and piano and began writing songs for the first time since I was 15. A year later, I recorded my first project and made a couple music videos. Then in October, I released my debut EP ‘Running with the Moondance Kids.’ Most recently, I put out my new single “She Called It Love,” and started performing live. It’s all kind of crazy to me how it’s unfolded so far. It hasn’t been easy by any means, but my main feeling is gratitude. It’s a privilege to pursue something you love, and that’s not lost on me. I’m just excited to see what happens next.
What did you grow up listening to?
Pretty sure these CDs are still in my childhood bedroom:
Shania Twain ‘UP!’ (country AND pop version), Jump5 ‘Jump5’, The Chicks ‘Wide Open Spaces,’ The Lizzie McGuire Soundtrack, Taylor Swift ‘Taylor Swift,’ Fergie ‘The Dutchess,’ OAR ‘OAR Live From Madison Square Garden,’ a best of Motown compilation, and my Britney Spears Hit Clip (yes, I was born in the 90s).
When did you start singing and writing songs?
Hmmm probably around 5 or 6. I had a little fisher price cassette player with a mic and would perform for my stuffed animals in my bedroom. I loved to dance and paint and grew up singing in church and doing little plays and skits and things, but was always pretty shy about singing in front of people.
I got a guitar for my 13th birthday and learned to play the basics at summer camp with occasional help from my big brother. Inspired by Taylor Swift’s first album, I started writing songs. When I was 15 I took a songwriting class and was chosen to perform something I’d written at a school assembly. The song was about a boy I liked and I got made fun of for it. I was already insecure about performing, so I took it pretty hard and subsequently quit.
I continued to write poetry and later pursued a career in the music industry working as a music journalist, then in pr and marketing at a label, and later as an artist manager. My love of music and art has always been my driving motivator. I was just too afraid to be the one making it. It took me more than a decade to work up the courage to try again, and I’m so glad I did.
What gave you the confidence to be an artist and release your original music?
It took a lot of inner work for me to get to a place where I felt confident enough to present myself as an artist and release original music. I needed to kick down a lot of walls to get past self doubt.
I wrote consistently for a year before assigning any career oriented weight to it. That time period felt really intimate, like it was my little secret safe place to feel my feelings and play like I was 13 again just writing songs in my bedroom.
Therapy, meditation, and Julia Cameron’s “The Artist Way,” played a big role in that process. From that I picked up the habit of journaling every morning, taking myself on dates and committing to taking one small step towards my creative goals every day even if it was five minutes of creative play.
That journey eventually manifested into an archive of songs and an opportunity to record my first project. I had temporarily moved home to Nashville during the pandemic where Aly Lakhani (aka Lackhoney) and Noah Luna were serendipitously setting up a home studio. I was on Aly’s management team at the time, so when he encouraged me to come in for a session, as an artist, I was surprised in the best way. Being seen and encouraged as a fellow artist by an artist I respected was a really powerful affirmation for me. As a manager over the years I had been in dozens of sessions as a bystander, but having the opportunity to show up in the studio as the artist was an entirely different experience. The recording process felt so energetically aligned with my soul, and gave me a sense of peace and joy I’d really never experienced before. It just felt like home. From there, I was really empowered to launch my artist project on account of my experience in the industry on the marketing, pr, and management side. As much as I wish I had started making my own music sooner, I trust the timing of how everything has unfolded. My experience on the business side has helped alleviate a lot of the stressors that come along with being an independent artist. I definitely still struggle with overcoming insecurities, but decided to lean towards courage, vulnerability and a commitment to continued growth despite the discomfort. I think choosing to move past the fear and show up anyways is the key to confidence. It’s always going to be a work-in-progress. I try to just be really kind to myself as I go through the ups and downs of that.
You released your debut EP Running with the Moondance Kids last year - what lessons have you learned from this release?
I learned a lot from that release but mainly how to let go. Before the EP was out, I had so much of my identity wrapped up in the project, pouring my heart and soul into every little detail. But once I released it, I felt a burden lift off my shoulders. It’s hard to share your work like that and not assign self worth to how well it does or doesn’t do. But I learned that the making of the art is the reward. It’s the miracle of creation: a labor of love meant to be born and fly away to make room for something new. I learned to be proud of my younger self who made the work of art she needed at that time. And learned to move forward, to dig in wholeheartedly to whatever season or evolution comes next.
You're about to release your new single "She Called It Love" - what's the inspiration/story behind this song?
My now partner and I were sitting on the beach just a couple weeks after our first date when a woman approached us asking if we had a phone. Her request was urgent and startled us thinking she might have some kind of emergency. When we handed her the phone she smiled and said, “I just have to take your picture. You two look so in love.”
Stunned and awkward, we sat there smiling. She took the picture and disappeared as the sun was setting as if she was an apparition of our imagination. There was a long pause of silence and when we turned around, we both had tears welling up in our eyes. It was that moment of “it’s too soon but we’re both thinking it.”
I wrote the song shortly after as I was processing the feeling of falling in love, like the good kind. The kind where you feel safe and seen and held and free. Finding that kind of love was a new experience for me. I hope this song can be a reminder that everyone deserves to be loved like that.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this song? Who helped you create it?
I started the song idea on my guitar in my bedroom just writing the verse and then brought it into a session with the amazing Jillian Slade and Shawn Platzker who helped me finish the lyrics and arrangement. It was our first session and the love those two exude was the perfect energy for the story I wanted to tell. They are so wonderful and talented. From there we took the demo to my friend Ben Pleasant who stripped it back and built out the final production. He immediately nailed the sonic direction I was hoping for. He deserves so much credit. I think I recorded final vocals three or four different times. One day I brought in vocal coach Kenny Youch to help out on vocal production. We tinkered with that thing for months. In this case, I think it was attention to detail that really paid off in the end. Edsel Holden in Nashville put the cherry on top with his mixing and mastering. It’s really my favorite part about the whole process is the collaboration required to get a song over the finish line. I’m so grateful for everyone, including my partner who has had to listen to 10 versions of the mix dozens of times and still somehow likes it.
What made you want to release "She Called It Love" as a single?
My EP details heartbreak from a past relationship and the process of finding myself and healing in its wake. The story of "She Called It Love" happens on the other side of that rebirth and represents being fully in the present moment. My creative process has really shown me the importance of letting go of the past in order to feel alive in the moment and open to the future. I don’t think I would have been able to feel what I’m expressing in “She Called It Love,” if I hadn’t done so much work to release the past. And so, I think the song and its sentiment deserves to live in its own, sacred space. I also wanted to capture a moment in time. I think that’s why falling in love feels so good. It’s when we are totally present. All the other noise seems to fade and we feel totally connected.
What can you tell us about the artwork?
For the artwork I wanted to recreate the moment the song details when a stranger took our picture on the beach. I thought about using the actual photo but wanted the artwork to be a bit more ambiguous so that the story resonates beyond our relationship. My lovely friend Christina shot the cover art and I did the graphic design. My partner and I basically just ran around the beach at sunset in our neighborhood while Christina snapped shots on her film camera. It was so much fun. I chose the specific shot because I felt like it captures the feeling of falling - you don’t know yet where it’s taking you but it’s magic and it’s present and it’s an adventure. It’s the “take my hand” moment, “let’s see where this thing can go…”
As an artist, what is the hardest part? And what is the best part?
I think the hardest part is getting past the self-doubt of my inner critic, and believing that what I’m doing matters. Whether it’s capitalism’s hustle culture or internalized insecurities, there are so many obstacles artists face. I saw this play out so many times during my career as an artist manager. I saw so many talented people give up or have to prioritize other things because of the lack of financial resources in music and because of the toll that putting yourself out there for criticism can take. It requires so much self worth, faith, and support to keep going. I think I struggle with that every day.
The best part is when my art affects people positively. When the music resonates from my soul to someone else's, it feels like a mysterious magical force of love and connection. I think that’s why performing live is so impactful. Sharing music and art in a communal way really does have healing power, and when I’m reminded of that it’s an incredibly fulfilling feeling. It makes us all feel less alone.
What are your thoughts on today's music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
As a symptom of the pandemic, streaming and social media, the music industry has become so reliant on the digital space that I think it’s lost some of soul. Gatekeepers are more interested in viral hits than great music and artists are under so much pressure to create their own marketing content, a lot of people just seem really burnt out. It also doesn’t help that artists and songwriters aren’t being compensated fairly for their work by labels or distribution services. There are some advantages to things like TikTok, of course. It’s always so cool to see an undiscovered artist blow up off a TikTok they made in their bedroom… I think that part of it does inspire hope. Same with NFTs. I’ve seen people find success there, as well. But to me, it’s the same way there’s no replacement for sitting on the beach with your feet in the sand and the heat of the sun on your skin. I think the challenge is finding the balance of engaging with the online aspect of things while not losing the tactile grit and beauty of making and sharing the art in real life.
Unfortunately, the industry side of things in music can be a pretty toxic place. A lot of change is needed in my opinion. More women, LGBTQIA and BIPOC folks and artists in positions of power would help. Tech companies need to pay creators and artists more. And labels and distribution services need to be more artist friendly. Artists get exploited by capitalism a lot unfortunately.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
Love. I truly believe that the more we seek to love, accept, and understand ourselves, the more we can love, accept, and understand each other. The kind of love I’m referring to transcends ego. It has no agenda, no need for control or power, and nothing to prove. It’s the love we all needed as a kid. If we could cultivate more of that kind of love within ourselves, I really do think the world would be better for it.
Smashing the patriarchy would also help :)
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
Look within, not around you, for the answers.
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