Musicians are never really done playing
In talking about writing and creating music, musical raconteur Tom Waits said in an NPR interview, “You’re never done playing; you’re just on a rest,” referring to the space notated between bars on a piece of music.
It’s a beautiful and poetic concept that we are never done in life. Perhaps our greatest songs haven’t been written yet, they’re just further along on the page.
Abigail Ruthann is a local songwriter whose journey is currently unfolding in a similar manner. Her musical roots stretch back to her early years in the church.
“You’re surrounded by music all the time,” she said. “There’s choirs and worship band every Sunday. My mom sang and my grandma sang. We would be playing cards and one of them would start singing. Then, another one would join in. Before you know it, we have a three-part harmony going while we played gin.”
Performing music became ingrained in Ruthann even further when she began piano lessons at eight years old. For the next few years, she learned the building blocks of how music is created.
Eventually, this inspiration led her to write her own songs at 14.
“It started when I hit puberty and there’s a lot emotions to work through,” Ruthann said. “I started writing poetry and, having been in different worship bands and working with different musicians, it just snowballed into putting music to it. It was a really good therapy for me to get everything out of my head and heart onto paper. Turning heartbreak into something beautiful.”
As she transitioned from adolescence into the adult world, her path unexpectedly led to the Music and Commercial Music departments of Antelope Valley College.
“College was not my idea originally,” she said. “My mom and dad were from blue0collar trade schools. My dad worked in the elevator industry and my mom as a hairdresser. They wanted my brother and I to try college because they didn’t
have the opportunity to try that.”
She decided if attending college was her future, she would pursue her creative passion for songwriting as a career.
Her breadth of study ranged from studying and singing opera pieces to performing in an on-campus Rock band. The experience also allowed for new friendships to form within the secular music scene.
“I don’t think I knew any non-Christian musicians until I went to college,” Ruthann said.
This formative experienced shaped her style in unique ways, finding a balance musically and lyrically between the spiritual and the secular.
Most importantly, these long-standing friendships would bear fruit in her later years. Upon graduating from AVC, Ruthann followed in the footsteps of her mother and became a licensed cosmologist.
The anxiety about performing and the pressure of creating a career killed the passion for creating.
“I was pursuing this art so much, it gave me so much anxiety putting myself out there and in front of people,” she said. “Pursuing opportunities and getting shut down a lot. Getting rejected was so rough. I was struggling mentally with it and it felt like I needed to stop.”
Continuing to write at home, Ruthann earned her license and began practicing her new craft. In a way similar to songwriting, her new profession tapped into her inner creative spirit.
“They’re definitely a good parallel for each other,” she said. “When you start doing someone’s hair, you think of the big picture of what you want to do and how to get there. In songwriting, there’s a theme or an idea and breaking it down toward the final product. There’s also times, working with so many people, you build relationships and share experiences. Sometimes, that spills over into songwriting. For example, writing a song about grief, me and three clients just lost a mutual friend. That’s how life is, it permeates.”
Being asked to perform for the One More Round songwriters round ended a long musical hiatus.
Her passion for performing was resurrected by new opportunities that arrived on her journey.
“A little over a year ago, when Amy Colleen and James Graves approached me about performing, I was so tempted to say no but they had been the third person to approach me about performing,” Ruthann said. “At that point I thought ‘My music is for me. It’s my therapy and that’s good enough.’ After the third time, I decided to do it. I thought I would play once and now, they’ve presented me with a bunch of opportunities. I’ve got to play at a country club and a winery and it’s been really neat. I’ve been kind of saying yes to what’s been thrown at me and rolling with it from there.”
For more info regarding Ruthann’s music and cosmetology, follow her @abigailruthann on Instagram.