Feature :: Anne Heaton in studio

Anne Heaton came into the studio today to sing us her lullabies that sound like a sunset on a warm summer day.

Like one of her influences, Tori Amos, Heaton is a classically trained pianist. “When I first started playing, I played super busy, because it was hard to transition from classical piano to writing your own songs.” Heaton says. “It’s harder to get comfortable with just space.” Heaton did get comfortable with her music however, even if she thinks it is “overly spacious.” The ballads have a slow and glowing sound that rings and whispers.

Heaton began with “You Heart”, a song with a pretty melody with a playful and childlike spirit. Before the piano kicked in on “Where Your Scar Is” Heaton’s vocals were complimented only by Dave Godowsky’s acoustic guitar, which accompanied Heaton the entire set. The third song, “Pieces of Me”, Heaton says was told “from the perspective of a younger person looking at a grandfather or father and carrying the love for them through all their relationships.” Heaton finished the song with her eyes closed and head lowered. After the chords rang out she pushed her hair out of her face and smiled, welcoming more questions.

Her new album, Blazing Red, is to be released sometime in the fall. It was recorded in Somerville at Q-Division studios and WERS’s own Colin Gallager assisted its production. It was the first time that Heaton had recorded live in the studio, which she says gave the album a really nice feel. The idea for the record spawned from the title track that Heaton wrote on an airplane back from Florida. “I think I have this vision that in your life you can play a lot of different roles or things can change, but there’s always a core that’s powerful, whether it’s your heart or your soul, that you can kind of connect to and weather the changes in your life.”

On Saturday, June 21, Heaton will be playing at Club Passim. The show starts at 8 p.m., but those who show up earlier will get a unique Anne Heaton concert experience that includes mini-massages and tarot readings.

www.anneheaton.com

~Lee Stepien

Published at WERS.org on June 13, 2008
Photography by Alison Klien