Culture
Heather Redman on finding confidence as a songwriter and performing this weekend at the Nelsonville Music Festival
By: Emily Votaw
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) – Heather Redman has been a part of the regional music scene for over 20 years.
You might already know her from her involvement with the Dayton-based alt-country indie rock bands Late Night Drivers and Neo American Pioneers. Her most recent endeavor is Heather Redman and the Reputation, which released their debut project in December.
Heather Redman and the Reputation perform this weekend at the 2023 Nelsonville Music Festival, and Redman spoke with WOUB Culture about the long and winding road she’s taken to get here.
When is the first time you remember music making an impact on you?
Heather Redman:
Probably as a small child. My dad was a musician – and my brother and my uncle. I was around music a lot. I was also exposed to a lot of different types of music at a young age by my parents. We were constantly listening to music. Having recently become a songwriter myself, I can see, looking back, how much that influenced me and what I’m doing now.
Emily Votaw:
In December you released the first Heather Redman and the Reputation record. I’m curious: was that your first experience as a songwriter? I know you have been a performer for a long time.
Heather Redman:
Well, I’ve been in bands for 20 years or more, and with one of my first bands, an indie rock band, I did all the songwriting. I just didn’t think it was good. That’s why I don’t like to think about it! <laugh>
Emily Votaw:
How did you find the confidence to write your own songs, and to sort of “own” the fact that you did?
Heather Redman:
I never thought I was a good songwriter – which is why I think I never went back to it before. I’d never tried at it that hard. But when I did go back to it for this project, I realized why it was so hard for me. It was because I couldn’t do it the same way my peers did. I don’t play acoustic guitar and strum and wait until I hear something I like and write lyrics to it. I do play a little bit of guitar – but it’s mostly electric and it’s loud! <laugh> So when I started writing for this project, I kind of realized that however I write music is okay – it’s okay that I go about it in a different way.
For me, I hear the bass line and I hear the drums and I hear the melody – I’d hear all the music for the whole song in a matter of minutes. And then I go back and sort of transcribe it one part at a time. My husband translates it for piano. And then we do a demo and send it to the band. At first it was embarrassing to even show my husband what I had written – but at some point I realized that it’s okay that I do it like this – it’s okay that I write songs this way. Once I realized that, I found a little more confidence in my ability to write songs.
Emily Votaw:
That makes sense. Why do you think songwriting felt so much more vulnerable to you than performance?
Heather Redman:
I’m not sure. I think it’s because I’m surrounded by great songwriters! It was just easier for me to sing into a microphone, to perform, than it was to write. When you’re writing a song, you’re bearing your soul!
Emily Votaw:
I know you’ve been a part of the music scene in the region for a long time. How long have you been involved – and can you tell me about some of your favorite projects from throughout the years?
Heather Redman:
I think I started in the scene in 2001. Or maybe 2002. It has been over 20 years now! One of my first bands was a three-piece, all female punk rock band. That was when I first started writing songs, and it was just about playing as loud and fast as you could. But it was great! It was fun. After I moved to Dayton I joined an indie rock band called Late Night Drivers. Later on I joined another band with the same friend who was in the Late Night Drivers, Billy Swain – that band was the Neo American Pioneer. I was also in another soul/throwback band called Power to the Peep Hole about 15 years ago.
Emily Votaw:
What was kind of the impetus for the Heather Redman and the Reputation project?
Heather Redman:
Well, I was pretty comfortable playing in an indie rock band for a long time. I’m also a mom and I have a full-time job – so I just didn’t think about doing anything else for a long time. Then my husband brought up the idea, and I couldn’t believe I had never thought of it. It was during lockdown, and it just seemed like the right time to try it. It really came from having time to sit and think and write songs, and figure out what kind of songwriter I was – what kind of music I’m supposed to make.
Emily Votaw:
Once lockdown was over, what did you have to do to make room for this new project in your life?
Heather Redman:
Oh, it just kind of took over, really! <laugh> And I welcome it! It has been a great experience. The band is amazing and I love every minute of it. The other musical projects have kind of takena backseat, but everybody understands. It just seems like it’s the right time to do this.
Emily Votaw:
What does it mean to you to be performing at the Nelsonville Music Festival?
Heather Redman:
Oh my goodness, I try not to get emotional thinking about it! We had rehearsal last night and every time we had a great moment during a song, I would get emotional thinking about it! <laugh> We’re just ridiculously excited. It’s like you work so hard for so long doing what you love – making your art and believing in it, and when something like this happens and someone notices and acknowledges what you’re doing – it’s just a beautiful thing.