“Music is what feelings sound like.”

   

This quote by an unknown author, immediately took me back to a show in August of 2008. It was the first time I heard an artist by the name of Nicole Witt. That night she delivered music that I wouldn’t soon forget.

 

There is something striking about Nicole when she stands on a stage. Maybe it is the calm and confident way she addresses a crowd. It could be the ability to play the fiddle and piano with abandon. There’s a probability it’s the voice that leaves Nicole’s personalized stamp on each song she sings. Or it might be the songwriting that weaves emotion into an unforgettable sound. However, more than likely it’s all of the above.

 

I have seen and heard Nicole perform many times since that night and I am never disappointed. In fact, I’m starting to wonder if she ever has a bad vocal night. It’s not just the sound of her beautiful voice delivering the message. It’s her interpretation of each song. THAT is what makes a listener connect to her music and the raw emotion it evokes. Nicole Witt music gives sound to a wide variety of feelings.

 

Angst and Suffering – Those are the feelings produced the first time you hear Nicole sing a song like “Bourbon.” From the first notes floating out of the piano to the first words drifting from her mouth, the Missouri native has you caught in a moment. The voice needs no help. It is sweet, strong, tortured and true. The song haunts anyone who has struggled with overwhelming obstacles in life…which is everyone. There is no embellishment, just honesty. “I could blame it on the whiskey or on you for being gone. I could blame it on the weakness that won’t let me be strong. And I could blame it on my father, who drank himself to death, but I’d be lying through the bourbon on my breath.”

 

Love and Longing – “Even If It Hurts” details the longing for love. There is nothing that will stop the woman in the song from really feeling what we are all here to feel. This time Nicole sings a tune that builds from the start and comes crashing down around a listener. She makes you FEEL what she is singing…“Even if it hurts. If it almost kills me…one time in my life, I wanna love too much. Holdin’ nothin’ back. Feelin’ every touch. I’m gonna love like that. Even if it hurts.”

 

Joy and Optimism – Every time I hear the song “Heart of a Hero,” I feel joy. It is the correct explanation of a hero. Sometimes we get confused on what that term actually means. There is no way to misinterpret with one of Nicole’s most perfect vocals. Each time I hear the song, I get goose bumps. “It’s a fallen soldier with a purple heart; a teacher grading papers after dark; a preacher prayin over a man’s last day; a shoulder to a runaway. Givin’ money to a perfect stranger; a counselor workin’ past the anger; firefighters walkin’ into the danger, the day the towers fell. In the heart of a hero lies a courage you can’t see, oh no, how far it goes until they’re jumpin’ in. And that yearning to do what’s right goes deeper than the fear inside. If you asked them, yeah they’d do it all again. That’s the heart of a hero.”

 

This is a woman who truly loves the art of the song. Each tune stands on it’s own. However, when Nicole is the one at the microphone they take on an even deeper meaning. The wife and mother handles each song with care, because the music is part of who she is.

 

It would be wrong to give you only facts about the woman, because the music tells her story. There is poetry in the notes she sings. There are tears in the wail of her bow making it’s way across the fiddle. There is a hush floating from the keys of the piano. It is rare to be unable to compare one artist to another. Nicole Witt is one of those rarities. Her art is her own.

 

It is a good thing this singer/songwriter is such a talent who continues to give sound to feelings.

 

As E.Y. Harburg once said, “Words make you think a thought. Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.”

 

Go to Nicole Witt’s MySpace page to find that musical sense of purpose with a whole lot of heart and soul on the side.

 

Nicole Says Quiz

 

1. iPod or Cell Phone:

 

CELL PHONE – LET’S JUST SAY IF THEY FIND OUT CELL PHONES CAUSE CANCER, I’M SCREWED.

 

2. “American Idol” or “Dancing With The Stars”:

 

“DANCING WITH THE STARS”…I WISH I COULD DANCE LIKE THAT!

 

3. Grammy or People’s Choice Award:

 

THIS IS TOUGH. I GUESS I’LL SAY GRAMMY, BUT I LIKE FANS BEING ABLE TO VOTE ON THEIR FAVES.

 

 

4. Fiddle or Piano:

 

FIDDLE

 

5. Writing or Performing:

 

PERFORMING

 

6. Books or Magazines:

 

MAGAZINES. I WISH I COULD SAY BOOKS, CAUSE THAT WOULD SOUND A WHOLE LOT SMARTER AND SOPHISTICATED. THE TRUTH IS THERE’S NOTHING BETTER ON THE PRECOR MACHINE THAN SOME SHORT, INTERESTING CELEBRITY GOSSIP! I SORT OF HATE THAT I JUST SAID THAT…

 

 

7. Hats or Sunglasses:

 

HATS. THEY TAKE CARE OF SHADING THE EYES, WHILE CONCEALING THE MOST HORRIFIC BAD HAIR DAY.

 

8. Pat Benetar or Joan Jett:

 

PAT BENETAR. THE VOCAL ON “HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT”…?!@@$.

 

 

9. “Growing Pains” or “Family Ties”:

 

“FAMILY TIES”…MICHAEL J. FOX!!!!

 

10. “The Smurfs” or “The Chipmunks”:

 

“SMURFS”…LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA.

 

 

11. Guns N’ Roses or Bon Jovi:

 

JON BON JOVI. HAVE YOU SEEN THAT MAN?! I EVEN TALK ABOUT HIM IN ONE OF MY SONGS…“A POSTER OF JON BON JOVI ABOVE MY BED.” I’M JUST SAYIN’…I’M NOT SAYIN’…

 

If one song were to describe your life, what song would it be?

 

“POWER OF A SONG.” IT IS A SONG THAT I WROTE WITH KRIS BERGSNES AND CRAIG MONDAY. I GREW UP SINGING IN CHURCH AND THAT IS WHERE I FIRST FELT MUSIC AND IT’S POWER. THE HOOK LINE OF THE CHORUS IS “THANK GOD UP IN HEAVEN FOR THE POWER OF A SONG.” I HAVE SUCH A RESPECT FOR THE ARTISTS AND SONGWRITERS THAT HAVE PAVED THE WAY AND MADE MUSIC WHAT IT IS. THE SECOND CHORUS IN THIS SONG SAYS, “I BECAME A FAN, FROM THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN WHERE I’M COMIN’ FROM. LET’S MAKE A TOAST TO THE POWER OF A SONG. HERE’S TO THEM!!

 

If you could hear what someone is thinking for a day, who would you choose?

 

I DON’T THINK I WOULD WANT TO GET INSIDE ANYONE’S HEAD…TOO SCARY!!

 

 

If you could arrange a jam session with any three musicians in history, who would you include?

 

THE BEATLES, THE EAGLES AND GARTH BROOKS.

 

If you could have composed any single piece of music that already exists, which would you choose?

 

GOSH, THAT’S TOUGH. CAN I HAVE THREE? “ALWAYS ON MY MIND,” “THE GAMBLER” AND “THE SONG REMEMBERS WHEN.”

 

If you could solve one unsolved crime, which one would you solve?

 

WHO SHOT KENNEDY?

 

If you had to choose one color that describes you most accurately, what would it be?

 

RED…I’M AN ARIES.

 

If you could sing any one song beautifully and perfectly, which one would you pick?

 

“AMAZING GRACE.”

 

If you were to describe a musical instrument that best describes your character, what would it be?

 

THE FIDDLE. IT WILL PLAY THE SWEETEST, MOST HONEST, CUT TO YOUR SOUL, PASSIONATE MELODY.

 

 

If you were instantly able to play one musical instrument perfectly that you have never played before, what would it be?

 

STEEL GUITAR.

 

If you could have personally witnessed one event in history, what would you want to have seen?

 

“ON THE THIRD DAY, HE ROLLED AWAY…”

 

If you could change one thing to make life easier for your own gender, what would it be?

 

I WOULD GIVE EVERY LITTLE GIRL A “CONFIDENCE” PILL SO THAT THEY WOULD ALWAYS SEE THEMSELVES AS BEAUTIFUL, TALENTED, SMART AND BELIEVE IN THEMSELVES!!