Welcome to our chat with Elizabeth Shepherd, the awesome Canadian musician behind the cool album “Three Things.” She put this album together during the pandemic while she was stuck in lockdown in Quebec. It’s a mix of soul, jazz, and pop, with a bunch of creative twists.
Shepherd didn’t just stick to the usual instruments; she threw in some everyday sounds like typewriters and garbage cans. It gives the whole thing this spontaneous vibe that’s really fun.
The first song, “Time,” kicks things off with its jazzy beats and catchy vocals. It sucks you right in with its energy. Then there’s “Thank You” and the title track “Three Things,” which are both super chill and catchy.
Elizabeth Shepherd’s got a bunch of nominations for JUNO awards, and she’s known for telling great stories through her music. So, let’s dig in and find out what inspires her, what she’s been up to lately, and what she’s got planned next.
Listen to Three Things on
Follow Elizabeth Shepherd on
https://elizabethshepherd.com/
What is your stage name
Elizabeth Shepherd
Is there a story behind your stage name?
It’s the name I was given at birth.
Where do you find inspiration?
Everywhere – life, books, nature, silence, films, other music. I feel like a full, rich life makes for a richness of ideas and inspiration. So I’ve always opted to get out there and interact with the world rather than sequester myself and wait for the muse to strike.
What was the role of music in the early years of your life?
I grew up quite nomadic, moving cities every few years. So music was this one constant, something that remained consistent from place to place. It has forged my sense of identity and well-being from as far back as I can remember.
Are you from a musical or artistic family?
Yes – my mother (and her father) are both published authors; my father is a great musician (and would have pursued music had he felt allowed to do so); my older brother played piano and a brass instrument. We all sang – music was a vital part of our house – from my mom singing as my dad accompanied her on piano, to my dad explaining symphonies to us on family road trips (as we listened to the 8 cassette series …)
Who inspired you to be a part of the music industry?
I never really wanted to be part of an industry; I wanted to create music. But as an artist, if you want to marry your art to making money, you need to become part of an industry. So I’d say it was more of a pragmatic decision rather than one rooted in a real desire to join an industry that I fundamentally have a lot of issues with.
That aside, the moment I knew I wanted to make music professionally was when my older brother (with whom I’ve always been very close) was in a car accident that left him a quadriplegic. It rattled me (us all, really) to the core and I suddenly realized at age 25 that life is not guaranteed, and if there’s something you feel is in you to do with this life, the time is now. For me, that thing I felt was in me to do was to make music – to create it, play it, and put it out there into the world and share it any way possible.
How did you learn to sing/write/to play?
I studied piano at conservatories in Canada and France (wherever we lived), played in the brass band and sang in the choir at church (my parents were ministers in the Salvation Army church), then studied classical and jazz piano at McGill university in Montreal. As for learning to write, it’s something you learn to do just by doing it – much like practising an instrument, you practise writing by regularly flexing those muscles.
What was the first concert that you ever went to and who did you see perform?
Operas, brass band concerts and shampooed as a kid, then Simon and Garfunkel when I was 14.
How could you describe your music?
Singer-songwriter, soulful, electro-infused, jazz-adjacent, experimental pop music.
Describe your creative process.
I have two kids so my creative process involves writing whenever I can, in fits and spurts. There are always different ideas percolating and taking shape even in the time I’m not actively sitting down to write, so I really have learned since becoming a mother to trust that those ideas will take shape in their own time and I can summon them into being when I finally get the space and silence (and time!) to do so.
What is your main inspiration?
Life – every experience, observation, dream, thought… nothing is off the table. We are influenced by everything that crosses our path, and we then synthesize it all into some creative framework to see what emerges. We’re all constantly creating and improvising.
What musician do you admire most and why?
There are too many to list for different reasons, but Stevie Wonder is up there at the top for his incredible musicianship, the messages in his song, and his beautiful spirit.
Did your style evolve since the beginning of your career?
Yes, naturally. We are always evolving as humans so it follows that our music also is evolving. My earlier songs were more confessional and navel-gazing / about my own complexes and personal anguishes (music as therapy).
Once I became a mom the music became more political and critical of the systems and establishments that define so much of our world as I asked myself what kind of world I want to leave behind for my children / what kinds systems I want my daughters to grow up in (music as critique). Then came a more joyful and free creative time, rooted in gratitude (music as spiritual expression).
Now I’m feeling compelled to synthesize all these different musical styles I’ve had the good fortune to be part of. I want to create something big, bold, new, messy (as in, not clearly nested into one genre). Time for change again.
Who do you see as your main competitor?
There’s room enough for everyone. Competition is a very masculine idea that I don’t believe benefits anyone if it’s the sole motivating force. I prefer to get inspired by people rather than view them as competitors.
What are your interests outside of music?
Gardening (subsistence farming), hanging with my family, cycling, swimming, cooking.
If it wasn’t a music career, what would you be doing?
Good question. Maybe an herbalist or massage therapist?
What is the biggest problem you have encountered in the journey of music?
Aging out of a system that heavily rewards youth and lacks older female role models.
If you could change one thing in the music industry, what would it be?
I’d love to see some kind of proper union that would lobby for wages that match inflation (they’ve been the same more or was for the past 20 years), for a proper valuing of music as currency, for better royalties, for increased government investment in the arts (particularly edgy art that falls outside the mainstream so that the palette can be widened) – among other things – on musicians‘ behalf as we are notoriously terrible at doing so ourselves. We already have our hands full with studying, creating, booking, tour planning, grant writing, promotion, writing long interviews, etc.
Why did you choose this as the title of this project?
It’s based on a biblical passage called “the love chapter” that really speaks to me: “These three things remain: faith, hope and love. But of the three, the greatest is love”.
What are your plans for the coming months?
Travel with my family, write new music, grow a garden, rest, cycle, swim, keep the household running.
Do you have any artistic collaboration plans
Yes. But that’s a secret.
What message would you like to give to your fans?
Thank you for supporting the arts; please continue to do so and lobby for music education programmes
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