An Interview With The Singer-Songwriter ANGELA PREDHOMME On New Music and More!

Get to know Angela Marie Predhomme! She is a singer-songwriter and music producer. Her first album, Angela Predhomme, was released in 2008, and she has since released four more independent albums: “Don’t Wonder,“ “Let It Fall,” “Will” and her most recent “Love.“

Her music has been featured in many films, TV shows and major ad campaigns. Predhomme’s songs are also heard in the background of many popular television shows, including The Voice, Switched at Birth, Pawn Stars, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, What Not to Wear, and the America in Primetime series by Ron Howard.

On September 13th, she released her latest album called “Love.” The first single out from it was “Sweet Delectable You.”

According to Angela, “’Sweet Delectable You’ is a tribute to songs like the vintage ‘30s song ‘Dream a Little Dream,’ which is a sweet little piece of songwriting perfection. ‘Sweet Delectable You’ is basically vintage pop jazz. I love the catchy melodies over jazzy little chord changes. Lyrically, it’s just a nice little love song.”

“I feel great about this album, because I feel like it’s saying a lot. It has real depth. I’ve taken a lot of risks putting my thoughts and feelings out there. I’m continually exploring who I am through my music, and who I am is not one-dimensional or static. No one ever has a finish line, or truly settles in. Everyone is growing and changing. It’d be boring not to be. As an artist, I’ve accepted the fact that I’m never gonna please everybody, and that’s a bit of a relief, really. It’s freedom to just be myself and do what I love and say what I want, and let the cards fall where they may. What I have to offer is genuine. I’m happy with every single song on Love.”

Connect With Angela Here- Website

Learn more about Angela Predhomme in the following All Access interview:

What does a typical day look like for you? What do you have scheduled the rest of today and this week?

It can be different, depending. When I’m in a writing phase, I spend a lot of time in my home studio. I’ll obsess day and night, waking up and writing down lyrics or edits in my head, singing into my phone while I’m driving somewhere. I meet with a group of local songwriters for feedback, and get feedback from online groups, too. When I’m producing that music, I’m locked away in my studio for long hours, with musicians sometimes coming and going for tracking sessions. Then, when I have gigs coming up, there’ll be rehearsals. Between all that, I fit in the administrative stuff like booking, advertising, registrations, etc. Today the rest of my day consists of boring stuff like preparing my new video for television broadcast (closed captions, proper file specs), then tonight I’m meeting up with some musicians for a rehearsal. This week, I’ll be spending a lot of time promoting my new release in various ways.

Now that we are in the latter half of the year, how has 2019 treated you? What are some goals that you have had for yourself this year? How close are you to reaching them or did you already? What are you already excited about for 2020?

I feel good about this year so far. My music has continued to get out there, and a lot of new people are discovering my music. My goals lately have been related to my own well-being and personal growth. I’m proud to say that I’m doing pretty well with it, but it’s always a process. For example, a goal is to follow my unique truth and feel good about my work and myself, no matter what others say. In music, or in any profession, really, people judge themselves based on sales, or on whether or not the world says they’re successful.  And let’s say I was to reach a high chart position. Then what? It’d be hard to maintain that feeling of being on top of the world, because it seems no one really stays there indefinitely. So, I don’t want my sense of self worth to come from external factors and traditional measures of success. This is what my new song “Always OK” is about. Instead, I want my fulfillment to come from creating well-done songs that affect people in a positive way. And I’m doing that now, which is great. My goal for 2020 is for that number of people who hear and feel a connection to my music to grow. I’d love to be able to perform at popular music festivals, do more live interviews and podcasts, and just get out there and connect with people in more places. I’m excited about the possibilities for next year!

Growing up, how important was music in your life? Can you recall the moment when you decided that you wanted to be in this industry? Was it an easy or difficult choice to make? 

Music has always been a source of comfort to me, and something that made me feel alive. When I was young, I loved music and wrote my first song when I was 4 years old. It wasn’t very good. I actually just stole melodies I’d heard and mixed them together, but with my own words. At least I made it my own, and apparently I enjoyed doing that. But it was a long road between my copyright-infringing pre-school songs to where I am now. I didn’t even consider a career in music. I was born into a conservative, traditional midwestern family. I was raised with the idea that risk was NEVER a good idea, and music is a very high risk investment.

However, I’d rather try to be truly happy than just stay safe, so I gradually and eventually succumbed to the real me. I didn’t choose music; it chose me. I always loved playing music and creating, but I just finally got brave enough to give in and just go for it. One of the songs on this album, “Hidden Wings,” is about that choice. It took a lot of years to get the courage, but now I’m committed. The choice to pursue music full time was scary, but also easy and a relief at the same time. It’s like giving permission to be my real self.

Was there ever a time when you thought about doing something else? If you weren’t a musician today, what else could you see yourself doing? Would you be as fulfilled in life?

This has not been my only career, but music is the career written on my soul. It’s the one I’ve worked up to over time, after taking bold steps to be true to myself. Just out of school, I was a graphic designer for a few years. Then I got married and had kids, and I went back to school to get a masters for teaching ESL (English as a second language). I taught ESL and linguistics at universities for several years. It was a good gig. I met fascinating people from all over the world who came to the U.S. for college. I loved learning about their cultures and their perspectives.

If I weren’t a musician, I would be a teacher. I like teaching. Teachers inspire and connect with people on a real level. My being a singer-songwriter is just another form of connecting and inspiring, except I don’t talk about adverb clauses and rules now. I just break rules in my writing, but I know I’m breaking them.

Would I be as fulfilled doing anything else? No. That’s why I create music full time now. I’m only happy when I’m creating.

What has been the biggest surprise so far about making music your career? What has been an unexpected or welcome challenge to it all? What has been the best part about it all?

The biggest surprise for me has been the enormous tenacity it takes to get anywhere, and the investment of time, money, blood, sweat, and tears. I have become quite resilient. I think most successful creative people have a combination of hypersensitivity and strength. Sometimes I feel defeated or insecure, but then it passes, and the deep fulfillment that creating music brings lifts me back up. I believe in my work, and I remember that even if someone doesn’t like it, there is someone else who will. So, the challenge, as I see it, has just been finding and growing my audience –those people who would like my music. I know they’re out there. But it’s a big world oversaturated with content competing for our attention, and so being heard has been the challenge.

The best part of my journey so far is seeing how, when my music has gotten heard, my songs are touching people and inspiring them. It makes everything worth it.

Can you talk about some of your newer songs? What has been inspiring your music lately?

Lately I’ve been embracing my roots as a pianist, and the rich variety of music I was exposed to learning piano. I’ve been interested in taking vintage jazz or classical styles of composition, and marrying elements from that style with pop sensibility in my melodies. A Nashville writer said of a recent song I wrote that it’s “old timey and cool.” I’ve never felt the need to write music like anyone else. It’s like, if I’m not going to be original, why do this? If all I was going to do is copy or follow what’s hot to try and make a buck, then I’d just rather not do music at all. There are much easier ways to make money. My newer songs are decidedly positive lyrically, which is unlike a lot of popular songs, which tend to be about relationship drama or angst. But rather than reflect the drama in people’s lives, I want to bring them up. I want to make them feel good, make them think, or even help them to heal.

Where can people see you perform next? Do you have any fall tour dates scheduled yet?

I’ll be playing some shows this fall in the Midwest, and I’m excited about what next year brings. Next year I’d like to get to south, and both the East and West Coast. You can follow me on Bandsintown.com and get notified when I’m coming to your area, or even request I play a show in your city.

How do you think you have grown as a musician since you first started making music?

I’ve grown as a songwriter and music producer a lot. I’ve learned so much about the technical part of recording and producing. Most importantly, I’ve come to understand and appreciate the different ways people hear music. To a lot of people, the lyrics are absolutely everything. To other people, the music or the vibe is what makes them love a song. Still, to other people, the artist’s image and identity is important because they’re looking to define their own identity with what they listen to. Overall, I’ve grown as a musician by having a broader understanding of the music industry, the culture, and what people like about they music they listen to. The fact is that it’s really varied, and there’s room for everybody.

How do you feel about social media? What has social media done for your career so far?

I like social media for the most part. I’m comfortable expressing myself in writing, and I like to take pictures. I used to be a graphic artist. All those things point straight to social media, don’t they? Plus I don’t mind being authentic with people. I’ll put myself out there. I don’t care. And I approach it with a sense of social responsibility. Like, nothing good will come from my complaining or venting online, and maybe my posts can motivate, offer insight, or give a sense of community or human connection. In that way, social media is wonderful.

Social media has helped me tremendously. Its given great power to us if we know how to use it. And I love connecting with people personally. I’ve met some cool music lovers on social media, and I think that’s great.

Who are some of your favorite artists or rather, what musicians have continued to inspire you and your music? Who would you absolutely love to work with in the future? 

There are so many great artists out there. I think Bruno Mars is an incredible, incredible artist, no matter what style or genre he’s doing. I like Sara Bareilles a lot, Leon Bridges, and I just found out about JP Cooper by Shazamming him in a Dunkin’ Donuts. I like Norah Jones, Amos Lee, Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl Crow. I think Lady Gaga is amazing, too, and one of my favorite voices, actually. Her vocal timbre is just so lovely I don’t think I could ever tire of it.

As far as people I would work with in the future, I don’t care if they are known artists or not. They might be writers or producers or musicians. But if there were experienced music people who feel like they really connect with my work and my vibe, then I would love to try collaborating.

If you had an unlimited budget and your schedule was free, what would your dream music video look like?

Cool question. I think my dream music video would be beautiful to look at and very well done, by a great director. I’m thinking beaches, palm trees, mountains, ocean, sun, wind, waves, sea spray, bright colors against the sky, and visuals that move with the song. And we might as well throw in some dolphins, too, right? Maybe Hawaii could work. Or, I’d love a lush, green video shot on rainforest canopy bridges in Peru. That’d be fun. There would have to be colorful birds in that one, and a sloth or a jaguar. I love animals.

I understand that your songs have been featured in many network and cable TV and films. Does one stand out the most to you? What was the first ever show that you got to hear a song of yours played on?

I think the first song of mine I heard on TV was an instrumental background placement on “Say Yes to the Dress.” Another early placement was when my song “This Might Be Good” played as the closing credits rolled in an indie film called “A Wedding Most Strange.” I was in touch with the director, and I got to go see the film’s premiere at the Montreal Film Festival. It was really cool to hear my song on those big theatre speakers!

The first placement I had on Dance Moms stands out to me most, by far. My song “Epiphany” was used in Jojo’s performance called “Faith Is All I Need.” It has been a humbling, miraculous journey with that song. When I wrote it, I thought no one would hear it because it was very far from commercial music. It was an album cut. It’s actually very classically influenced. The comments and feedback I’ve gotten from that song just blow me away. It’s touched so many. I wrote “Epiphany” about coping with my frustrations in music. The song says, “Now I see that faith is what I need. It’s an epiphany, epiphany of learning to let go… I can trust the flow.” It was a very personal song. I had done everything I could to make the best music I could, and get it out there, and things just weren’t happening as I had hoped. I couldn’t force it. All I could do was let go and trust. I never would have thought that the song would mean so much to so many. It’s incredible. It really is.

Where would you still love to hear a song of yours played?

I’d love to have a song in the Olympics, a major film with top actors, a big Disney film, or a U.S. ad campaign. I think my work could be nice fit for a lot brands, actually. Also, a cool show like “Better Call Saul” would be great. But really, I’m happy when my songs are used for anything, because I’m all about utility. If my sound fits, then it’s an honor to be part of any project, no matter how big or small. Most music supervisors are very good at their jobs. I have great respect for them; what they do isn’t easy — finding a song that fits perfectly. But they do, over and over. So, I’ll trust the music supervisors to make good choices. And I’ll just keep writing songs.

At the end of the day, what do you hope people take away from your music?

That to have the courage to be true to themselves is worth it. That everyone has value, love is always the answer, and to never lose faith that the good in this world is stronger than the bad. There is always hope, and we can start taking little steps toward the life that calls us, that is our own truth. I hope they take away that they are a beautiful soul, and to follow that spark of light inside.

Would you like to share anything else about yourself or your music with our readers?

I’d like to thank people for reading this, and for supporting independent music. Art is a great thing.