Story & Lesson Highlights with Hannah Glenn

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Hannah Glenn. Check out our conversation below.

Hannah, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
To write, record, and share music that’s genuine to who I am. For a long time, I’ve prioritized practical ways to invest my time, like running my solo content and copywriting business. I’ve recently had a new awakening of this deeper layer of me that has always been there, and I’m finally letting it out again.

Writing music for me is self-expression and self-discovery. There’s something freeing about putting the things in my head/heart outside of myself. Sometimes things come out, and I listen back later and go, “That was in me? Geez. That is so sad. No wonder I felt awful.”

It’s also helpful to close loops in my head. If I’m stuck on something, I can explore it and dig deeper than just how I feel about it. I can ask “Why might so-and-so have done that?” or “How might I have been perceived as an outsider in this or that situation?” I also like making it a bit of a puzzle for the listener to figure out and, of course, identify with what’s useful for their own experiences. All that makes a more interesting story to me.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Even as a kid I always loved writing songs and figuring out harmonies. My parents listened to old gospel songs a lot and I just recently realized that’s probably where my love of playing with musical harmony came from. I was in a couple little bands as a teenager. Then I played keyboard in an indie rock band called the Faux Paus (yes, we spelled it wrong on purpose) with my best friends in college. And I was a vocalist and wrote the lyrics in a really cool three-piece indie rock band called Moz Goes.

We played regionally. When we wrote together, and when people sang along and danced to the songs we wrote, that experience was so full of connection. We planned to move to New York to try and “do the band thing” and pursue careers with our film degrees. I ended up taking a different path when I got married. My husband had an opportunity in L.A. for his job.

My friends did go to NY and formed a new band there while working day jobs. They DID IT! I worked in TV production in L.A. and then as an in-house copywriter before launching my own business. Production and copywriting are still creative, but in a different way. I missed making music. After 12 years, I realized that denying that part of me was counterproductive. I’m more me, I’m happier, I’m more content when I allow my creativity to be expressed in this particular way. I was muffling this side of myself and suffering for it.

So I wrote this kind of manifesto proclaiming all this and that I was going to start writing music again and posted it on social media. It felt a little strange to me. Not something I typically do. But I’m so glad I did because an old friend from back in the band days, Chris Antalek, asked if I wanted to collaborate.

He’s an incredibly knowledgable musician. He’s been so encouraging and has given me helpful insights into how I can improve say a technique in a song that makes it so much better. Then he takes my raw version and builds it out and makes it something I never could have on my own. Our collaborative project in called Tenth Winter, which is a nod to the hiatus I had from music for a little over ten winters. We’re both so excited about whatever song we’re working on. It’s great energy.

Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
A happy little girl playing in my yard and singing at the top of my lungs. No shoes. Muddy hands. Feet in the grass, Eye-level with tiger lillies and a myriad of plant life.

I won’t ever get back to feeling that kind of freedom, but some of that little girl wakes back up when I find a new melody or harmony or just the right words to convey what I want to. Or when I smell good dirt or fresh cut grass. Or when I lose myself in being playful with my kids.

What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Fear of showing who I am. Being vulnerable.

I had to be willing to show my inadequacies and keep developing as I went. I was intimidated because I play mostly by ear. My singing voice is fine. Not super strong. Not super clear. Some people like it. (I’m really selling it here, aren’t I?) Ultimately, it’s the only voice I have, so I’m singing with it while I can. Even if my voice does sound like an old, creaky oak branch or a rocking chair.

Maybe it’s a midlife realization, but I just decided to go ahead and make these songs that are in me. If no one likes them or even listens, it doesn’t matter. I’ll have this library of songs I dreamed up at the end of my life. Maybe my kids will enjoy listening to them one day after I’m gone. Of course, it feels great when people do listen and respond positively, but I’m trying not to let that be the main driver.

Next, maybe we can discuss some of your foundational philosophies and views? What’s a belief you used to hold tightly but now think was naive or wrong?
That you can fit yourself into a mold that’s very different from who you really are. I’ve always believed everyone should be themselves, but tried to morph at times or even convince myself that I was different to feel accepted by certain people or groups. It always felt forced and uncomfortable, likely on both sides.

I’m actually writing a lot about these ideas lately.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What do you understand deeply that most people don’t?
I might be wrong, because I don’t really know what it feels like to be other people. But it seems like I feel most things more deeply than many people around me. It’s like how a dog can smell so much more intensely than humans can.

In some settings, it’s a weakness. But when something hits me harder that other people or I need to understanding what most people can ignore or move on from quickly, it helps me unearth something within myself and articulate it. In songwriting, and art in general, that’s a strength.

I recently heard that ancient Irish poets believed that when we create art, we’re weaving our unique essence into ancestral knowledge and wisdom. That really inspired me and helped me embrace this idiosyncrasy about myself.

Contact Info:

• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tenth-winter
• Other:
  I have two SoundCloud pages. One is for my collaborative and more produced work with Chris under Tenth Winter music (linked above).

  The second is my raw, demo-ish music that I work on and put up on my own.

  Below is the Bandcamp page for the indie rock girl band I was in with my college besties in case anyone is curious.

  https://thefauxpaus.bandcamp.com/album/spare-room

Image Credits
Angel Alonzo (Professional Faux Paus Picture)