With so many genres of rock music out there in the world it’s always nice to come out of your comfort zone and listen to something different. I thought that I hadn’t listened to much Electro-rock in the past, until I was reminded that bands like The Doors, Pink Floyd, Yes & the Moody Blues were some of the early pioneers to incorporate synthesizer sounds into their music, therefore creating Electronic Rock, before acts like Linkin Park & Muse have taken it to another level. Megan Morrison has a remarkable background, which began as she set out with dreams & aspirations of a career on Broadway in musical theatre, before finding herself dragged down into a world of addiction & alcoholism.
Morrison has bravely battled all of those demons and has come out the other side victorious and with couple of wonderful singles, which she hopes will lead to the release of her debut album titled ‘Appetite to Freedom’ later this year. The Rockpit called Megan as she had just finished some vocal recording work in her home studio and managed to talk to about her latest single & video entitled ‘Nine Lives’, just where her love for music started and how she managed to recover for some of her darkest times to get her life and career firmly back on track…
Sean: Hey Megan. Thank you so much for sparing some time to chat with us here at The Rockpit.
MM: No, thank you for the opportunity.
Sean: Congratulations on the wonderful new single ‘Nine Lives’ and the stunning accompanying video. Was that fun to make?
MM: It was so much fun. It’s by far my most favourite video ever. I’m a very visual person so for me as soon as I write a song, I have an idea for the video in my mind. This song was very special to me so I knew the video had to be really special too. For months & months I planned the whole concept of it – I knew I wanted to do a film noire black & white and planned out all the costumes… the whole thing is my creation. I was lucky to find a producer who saw & shared my vision and helped me with it. I was there for the whole editing process too so it was a real labour of love and it turned out exactly how I wanted it to.
Sean: The song style reminds me a bit of a James Bond theme… so if EON productions need a title for the next Bond film then look no further than ‘Nine Lives’.
MM: [laughs] It’s so awesome that you said that because as soon as I made it my husband said exactly the same. He said, “This song belongs in a James Bond movie”. That would be an ultimate goal – you know you’ve truly made it when one of your own songs is in a James Bond movie.
Sean: The previous single ‘Heart on Fire’ had more of that vibe too. Wonderful songs with such haunting undertones but with a real warm feeling to them too – fantastic stuff. Looking forward to the next step for Morrison which will be in the form of an album – ‘Appetite to Freedom’ is the title, I’m led to believe. Do you have a release date yet?
MM: No date as yet but I’ve learned my lesson in the past of putting actual dates on things because they never work out. It was going to be end of summer but now looking more likely to be early fall. I’m already in the studio recording so the process has already started. I have some songs already and some of those will be on the album but I am still in the creative process of writing new material that may be even better than some of the ones I already have.
Sean: I look forward to hearing the results. When I was doing some research the other day I stumbled across the band you were previously with called Dorothy Surrender – there was some fantastic songs there and you wrote those too.
MM: Yes, growing up in the 90s there was definitely some grunge influences there, so people like Trent Reznor & Chris Cornell were certainly inspirational to me as well as bands like Hole & Garbage… those were amazing 90s bands. There is a 90s punk style song that will definitely be on the album that’s really exciting for me which will be taking me back to that Dorothy Surrender vibe.
Sean: You’re based in Miami and until recently I hadn’t interviewed anyone from that part of the States. What’s the music scene like there for an artist like you?
MM: It is tough sometimes but it is changing. There are definitely more venues that are supporting rock music. I’m trying to be a positive part of that movement and get more live music back down here in Miami.
Sean: You grew up in Maine and sadly my uneducated brain only knows Maine for its lobster. What were your memories of growing up there? Was there much of a music scene there?
MM: I was only there until I was around eight years old but there wasn’t real much going on musically there that I remember. The biggest city there is Portland and even though it is growing slowly musically it’s still not really that big.
Sean: Where did it start for you then?
MM: I really started singing at a young age but mostly in choirs and in church. When I moved to Massachusetts, which is around eight hours south, I moved to a five college town so there was plenty of music & performing opportunities. It was two hours away from Boston also and there is plenty of music there too. So it was definitely there that I got more involved in music and soon realised that I wanted to be involved in music for the rest of my life.
Sean: The goal was a career in musical theatre in Broadway, I believe?
MM: Yes, it was. If I ever make it big as a rock singer then I would certainly try to get onto Broadway again. There is nothing like singing & dancing on stage and getting to act out a character – it’s just so much fun. I did musical theatre at high school but I studied opera at college. I got the lead role in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella and just knew that’s what I wanted to do. The following year I packed up, moved to New York City and started to audition for Broadway shows. I got a couple of opportunities but it was just audition after audition… very exhausting. I was just barely twenty-one years of age and my priorities had to change a little bit to making money so I was bartending and thats when I started singing in bands. That’s when I started thinking maybe I could be a rock singer… but my heart is still very much in musical theatre.
Sean: You mentioned grunge and bands such as Hole & Garbage but what other musical influences did you have over the years?
MM: When I was really young the music that inspired me were bands like Led Zeppelin & Tom Petty… you know those classic rock sounds. I also listened to a lot of soul music like Aretha Franklin & Stevie Wonder, Sly & The Family Stone – it was a combination of some wonderful soul & rock music. When the 90s came it was bands like Soundgarden, Audioslave & Nine Inch Nails and also Hole & Garbage, as I mentioned. I’ve really picked up a combination of all of that. You can hear a bit of soulful rock with a bit of blues in there as well. Over the past two decades my favourite band has been Muse – they have an incredible influence on me. I saw them when they were here a couple of months ago… Matt Bellamy is my ultimate music hero [laughs]. He has an amazing voice and is such an incredible musician and just a fantastic stage performer too. Their show was just like something I have never seen before – my jaw hit the floor.
Sean: They are still a band I’ve yet to see live. If you don’t mind, I’d like to talk about the rougher times you’ve had on this journey because it’s not been all plain sailing has it? As a recovering alcoholic, you have worked incredibly hard to get through that part of your life & channel your recovery into something you love, your music. Having had issues with alcohol myself, I can fully appreciate the hard work that is required each & every day.
MM: Music definitely saved my life in more ways than one. ‘Nine Lives’ is basically a song about being an alcoholic. Alcohol came into play later in my life but I had the symptoms early on – as a child I felt very lonely & isolated even though I was very loved and came from a loving family – but I just always felt like an outsider. Even as a young kid I would go to a dark place and then when alcohol came into play I used to push those emotions down further without dealing with them head on. Everything surfaced four years ago when I learnt to deal with it all and I’m finally able to write about it in my songs and express how it was. For me, addiction is such a huge issue but yet we don’t talk about it as much as we should do – there are so many different forms of addictions. I wanted to be open about it when I went through my recovery and also tell my story to try to help as many people as I can so they realise they are not alone and that its ok to have these downfalls – there is another life you can have. My music has been a great outlet for that and the album will have a lot of songs on there that tell my story about what I went through but also about my road to sobriety in a hope it will help others.
Sean: Thank you for sharing that. I think it is so important, like you said, to talk about mental health issues, addictions or whatever problems you may have – certainly for me music has been a wonderful aid to help suppress my anxieties & depression.
MM: Exactly. When I first got sober I got very scared about writing music again because a lot of my songs I had previously written were created when I was in a dark place either with drinking or using. I wrote what I was feel at that time and that’s where a lot of my inspiration came from, so I worried that once I was sober & happy again where were my songs going to come from [laughs]. I’m still able to dig deep but in a much more positive way. It’s certainly becoming a lot more socially acceptable & public to be able to talk about these problems – here in the US there are a lot more celebrities who are opening up about their own recovery and I think that’s awesome. It’s important to have people like that talk about it.
Sean: Definitely and back in the 70s & 80s it was considered to be a bit cool to see your musical role models swigging out of a bottle of Jacks on stage but maybe not so much now. Before I let you go I just wanted to ask a few of my regular questions. What was the last album you listened to?
MM: It’s been the new Muse album, ‘Simulation Theory’. From start to finish it’s just a great album. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard an album that I enjoy every single track from start to finish. So I’ve been kind of listening to that on repeat… a lot [laughs]
Sean: I’m excited to hear it now. If you could gather three guests from the music world, dead or alive, to join you for dinner, who would you invite?
MM: That’s really hard. Matt Bellamy from Muse for sure would have to be there, that’s a given. I would probably invite Tom Petty too…. Oh man, there are just so many to choose from. Thinking back to my musical influences I would probably say Robert Plant.
Sean: I haven’t had Tom Petty before, which surprises me considering how great a songwriter and musician he was. Great table of guests so thank you. Finally, if you could be credited with writing any song ever written, what song would you want?
MM: If I could take credit for any song ever written I would have to say ‘Hallelujah’ by Leonard Cohen. I didn’t even know Leonard Cohen had written it because the first version I heard was by Jeff Buckley which is the most haunting version… I would play it on repeat and cry to it because it is just so emotional. It’s an incredibly beautiful song – it never gets old no matter how many times I hear it.
Sean: It would be interesting to find out how many times it’s been recorded. It must surely be one of the most covered songs ever and a great song choice to wrap this up with. Megan, its been great to talk to you and thank you for sharing with us your story so far. On behalf of all of us at The Rockpit wish you all be best with ‘Nine Lives’ and also with the forthcoming debut album later in the year.
MM: Thank you for showing interest in what I’m doing. It’s so great to talk to you.
Sean: You too. Bye Megan.
MM: Bye.