Behind Closed Doors with Marcie Hernandez
Marcie Hernandez is a singer/songwriter based near Montpelier, Vermont who will be performing in our upcoming Keepsake show, Roots Less Traveled. Tickets are on sale now! In this interview, Marcie chats with Jay and Hailey about being a lyricist, how her music is made from and speaks to Puerto Rican culture, hurricanes, and dealing with performance anxiety.
In this semi-weekly blog series, we post in-depth interviews that take you behind closed doors (or #BCD) with independent artists, many of whom have performed or will perform in a Keepsake show.
Hailey:
How did music and songwriting “begin” for you?
Marcie:
I have always loved singing. As a young child, I naturally felt an inclination to sing along to music. Even as a kid, I didn’t really like getting attention. I would often sing by myself or make sure nobody was listening to me, and even still, I have an interesting relationship with performance because it is nerve-wracking for me. It’s always been interesting to me hearing from other artists who deal with stage fright and performance anxiety, because I’m quite familiar.
But anyway, I started singing pretty young and when I was around 12 or 13, I started to take formal singing lessons. I also took some piano lessons around that time. Then, I went to a private Catholic high school, but I had a great music teacher. She was a big part of the reason I chose to go to that school, because I remember they had a big emphasis on the performing arts. I did a lot of choirs, lots of singing all throughout high school, and then in college I was a vocal performance major for the first couple of years, and continued studying classical singing and taking music classes. From there, I ended up graduating with a music minor, switching majors after I had a realization in the middle of college that I didn’t really want to go down the classical path.
“I always really paid attention to the lyrics in music, and even the music I was listening to in high school, I would sort of listen to obsessively and write down the lyrics.”
I graduated with a bachelors in communication and minor in music, started to work, and it wasn’t until I was in my mid-twenties that I learned how to play guitar. At that same time, I started making friends with other songwriters and being part of the local music scene where I was living. I was in Charlotte, North Carolina at the time. I went to a lot of open mic nights, saw my friends play, and that really was what inspired me to write my own songs.
What I did a lot in high school, even though I wasn’t writing songs, was write poetry. And I always really paid attention to the lyrics in music, and even the music I was listening to in high school, I would sort of listen to obsessively and write down the lyrics. In a way, I think I was studying things like song structure and form, kind of at an unconscious level. So that’s interesting to me. But I didn’t start writing my own songs until I was about 24 or 25, and then started going to open mic nights and gigging. And it was kind of all a springboard from there.
Jay:
I totally relate to you being obsessed with lyrics. I had a binder full of lyrics that I loved, and I would write other people’s lyrics in it all day, subconsciously studying that.
Marcie:
I think you’re the first person I’ve met who has said that!
Jay:
Yeah, we’re weirdos, but good weirdos.
In your bio, you write that you are influenced by both your Puerto Rican roots as well as the current indie folk sound. We can definitely hear how they’ve inspired your music—from the rhythms, to the arrangement choices you’ve made, to you singing in both English and Spanish. Can you talk a little more about how your musical upbringing has shaped you as an artist and as a person?
Marcie:
My cultural background has definitely played a big influence in my music. I’ve always felt that I’ve had one foot in each culture, so to speak. I feel like that just in how I live my life, and also in my music. It’s this ongoing process, musically, and a cool challenge in a way, where I really try to fuse all the different types of music that I enjoy—anything from Radiohead, I’ve always been a big Radiohead fan, to Tori Amos, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen, that type of music—but then I’m also listening to a lot of salsa and meringue and traditional Puerto Rican music, and songs that have Latin percussion incorporated. So in my music, I feel like it’s a fun challenge to find ways to fuse these different influences together.
I also have some songs that sound like straight-up indie rock, and then I have some songs that are all in Spanish and have a very Latin vibe. My song “Light A Torch” I’m kind of proud of, because I feel like I was able to achieve that goal where within the one song you have some really different sounds happening, like the transition between the verse—which people have told me has kind of an Amy Winehouse vibe, or even that band Cake, that kind of vibe—but then it goes into the chorus and it’s a totally different thing.
I also feel really excited because I think that within Latin music in general, there are a lot of new, really talented artists that are coming out and doing similar things. They’re mixing all of these different elements with traditional Latin sounds and rhythms.
Hailey:
We read that you grew up in Rochester, New York. How did you end up in Vermont and learn to navigate the music scene there? For those of us who aren’t familiar, how would you describe the Vermont (or Burlington) music scene?
Marcie:
The Burlington music scene is great, and the Vermont music scene is really special. Interestingly, I moved from Brooklyn to Burlington. I was living in Brooklyn for a couple of years finishing a music therapy internship. I’m also a certified music therapist, so I was doing that in Brooklyn and I was dating someone, and there were a couple of things that were the catalysts for us to move to Vermont.
One of the big things was that Hurricane Sandy hit New York while I was living in Brooklyn back in 2012 or 2013. As a result of the hurricane, I actually lost my job. It was kind of a wild experience, but the building I had been working in was right on Coney Beach, by the ocean, and it ended up getting flooded and pretty much destroyed. Everyone who worked there was laid off. My partner (at the time) and I had already been talking about leaving the city, so me losing my job and the hurricane was definitely a push toward that. And we had a lot of mutual friends in Vermont, other musicians, so that was also a reason to come here. And because there was such a great music scene in Burlington, but it’s also still kind of a small town.
I mean, Hailey, you know because you have connections in Waitsfield, right?
Hailey:
Yeah, I actually lived in Richmond, Vermont for four years in middle school. That was most of my experience as a child in Vermont, and now my parents are in Waitsfield half of the year. So I’m familiar with Burlington, but I was never a musician there and haven’t had to navigate that scene at all. I guess my first concert was Ozomatli at Higher Ground, and that’s kind of the peak music experience I had.
Marcie:
That’s kind of how I feel about Rochester, where I grew up. Sometimes people will assume that I was part of the music scene in Rochester, and I’m like, nope. I don’t really know what’s going on there.
But the cool thing about Burlington is that there are just so many talented musicians, and in Vermont in general. Right now I’m living just outside of Montpelier, which is a new area for me, and the other day I was walking down the dirt road that’s a couple miles from where I’m living, and I could hear somebody just shredding an electric guitar. I was like, where is that coming from?
“There’s not a ton of diversity in Vermont. It’s a very white state. But people are also craving that diversity, and I’ve found with my music that people are interested, because it’s something different. People are like, ‘oh, she’s singing in Spanish! What’s that about?’”
It’s also great because it’s so community-oriented. From my experience, the music business—regardless of how small of a scale you might be involved in it—I’ve sometimes felt like it can be hard because of the amount of ego that can often be found. So I will say that in Vermont, it’s kind of nice. I’ve had really positive experiences with other musicians, and it seems like people are a little more grounded in general. I don’t know if that’s because of the nature or what, but I’ve really liked that. It’s not this sort of cut-throat, you’re the competition type of vibe.
And it’s pretty eclectic, and we’re starting to see a bit more diversity. In full disclosure, moving here was kind of tough for me at first, because I did feel like there’s not a ton of diversity in Vermont. It’s a very white state. But people are also craving that diversity, and I’ve found with my music that people are interested, because it’s something different. People are like, oh, she’s singing in Spanish! What’s that about? So I’m hoping that that will continue to increase over time.
Jay:
You released your full length record Amanecer last year. Can you tell us a little bit about the process of writing these songs and bringing them to life? What was it like releasing an album in the midst of the pandemic?
Marcie:
The process of recording the album was quite long. Funny enough, the person I had been dating when I was living in New York is a sound engineer, so I recorded [the album] with him in his studio in Essex, Vermont. He and I recorded it together and it was really nice because he was very generous and open—and I think it’s because we know each other and he trusts me—so he was open to having me come in and record in a more organic way. Instead of having to book the studio for a week, or trying to make a record over five days, which is often what people have to do, I was able to have a more fluid way of recording it.
First I did all the demos and reference tracks and from there, we just had musicians come in when they were available to do their parts. There were a few songs that we did record live in the studio with everybody present, and we just got the song done in an afternoon. For a couple of songs, we did do that, but for a lot of the other songs we just had the musicians come in when they were available to do the overdubs and get their part in. That was really nice, because it allowed us to be able to get the musicians that we wanted in the studio.
So the process ended up being kind of a long one. I think there’s a double-edged sword when you have a lot of time and you don’t necessarily have a deadline for a project, so it can drag on and on. But it did get to a point where I was ready to get this album out, to get it finished and release it.
I decided to do a crowd-funding campaign to help cover some of the production costs, so I launched that in the summer after the pandemic happened. That was really scary, because it was my first crowd-funding campaign and everyone was in lockdown. I had set this financial goal and was asking people for money to support my art, and meanwhile everyone was at home and there was so much uncertainty. So I was a little nervous about doing it, but I decided to just go for it and I chose a platform for my crowd-funding campaign where if I didn’t make my goal, I could still keep the money I raised. And it was amazing to see how my community, both here and abroad, pitched in and how excited people were to support the record and listen to the music. It was a really cool experience to feel that support, especially during the pandemic.
Releasing the record during the pandemic was also kind of nerve-wracking. A part of me felt like it was time and I needed to get it out into the world so that I could move on and work on some other stuff. But simultaneously, it was also hard to know how it was going to be received when I couldn’t do a release show. I was hoping I could do a livestream for the release, but that ended up being canceled because COVID-19 numbers were bad in Vermont and we couldn’t even get the band together.
That being said, I still feel so grateful, because I feel like the community within Vermont and people I’ve been connected to for years have all been so supportive and interested. It’s been really good overall.
Jay:
Do you have a song off the record that you’re most proud of? You mentioned “Light A Torch.” Is that your favorite?
Marcie:
It’s hard to pick.
Jay:
It is. The songs are like your babies.
Marcie:
I know! Man, definitely “Light A Torch.” “Winter” is another one where I was so psyched with how that song came out, the arrangement and just everything. It was more than I had envisioned, which is so cool.
“Amanecer” also, I was really happy with how that came out. But it is hard to choose!
Hailey:
We read about the origins of “Light A Torch” and that it was written soon after Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico (and you also have a personal experience/connection with a hurricane, Sandy in New York). Can you share more about the lyrical meaning, and also what made you write a very up-tempo, rhythmic song for this theme?
Marcie:
With “Light A Torch,” the first verse is like a conversation I’m having with the people of Puerto Rico, so I’m directly speaking to Puerto Ricans. I’m aligning with them and saying, “You’re my people, this is my country. This is such a hard struggle that you’re facing.” It’s basically validating the fact that Puerto Ricans have been dealing with a lot for a long time, and Hurricane Maria—because it was such a catastrophic natural disaster—brought to light a lot of things for Americans that they weren’t aware of.
“Most Americans didn’t even know that Puerto Ricans were American citizens. The colonial status of the island is also something that a lot of people aren’t aware of. You don’t get taught Puerto Rican history in high school. You don’t get taught Puerto Rican history in Puerto Rico very often!”
I was reading news about how most Americans didn’t even know that Puerto Ricans were American citizens. The colonial status of the island is also something that a lot of people aren’t aware of. You don’t get taught Puerto Rican history in high school. You don’t get taught Puerto Rican history in Puerto Rico very often! Things that I’ve learned about the history of colonization in Puerto Rico I’ve had to learn on my own. So in the first verses of “Light A Torch,” I’m just validating these truths of what the Puerto Rican people have had to go through. And there is a bit of a more somber tone to those verses.
Then in the chorus, it shifts to that more upbeat tempo, and there’s a sense of joy in that. In that section, I’m kind of singing Puerto Rico’s praises. I’m singing about all the things that make Puerto Rico so special and so beautiful, and lyrically the tone changes as well, where I’m trying to give a message of hope to the Puerto Rican people that despite how difficult this has all been, we have to keep moving forward and using our voices. I use the metaphor of the lotus flower that sprouts out of the mud.
Marcie as Lady Libertad. Photo by Luke Awtry.
Hailey:
Thank you for sharing that. It’s always best to get your view and translation of the song.
You recently released a remix of that song (“Light A Torch”) with Urian Hackney (of Rough Francis). Can you talk to us about that experience, and in general perhaps, how you approach collaboration?
Marcie:
The collaboration with Urian was really easy! He had heard the record and really liked it. I actually wasn’t aware that he does these dub remixes. I’ve always known Urian as a drummer and sound engineer, and he has his own recording studio. It was actually another friend of ours who told me he does these remixes and that “Light A Torch” could be a really cool song to do a remix of. So my friend planted this seed and I was like, okay, let me ask him if he could do a remix! That could be a fun way to reinvent the song and also have another opportunity to talk about it, kind of put it in the forefront for people. So I reached out to Urian and asked him if he would do it. He was already familiar with the song, so he said, “Sure, just send me the stems!” I had Dan send him the stems and Urian worked his magic and sent me the file. That was kind of it. I don’t think I had any edits for him to do. I went with the first thing he sent me because I was like, yeah! This is great.
In terms of collaboration in general, I feel like I am always down to collaborate. I think there’s so much you can learn from working with other musicians and seeing how other people work. I really enjoy it. I have a new band now. In the past, I’ve had trios and other small configurations to support my music, but this is the first time I’ve had a full band. There are six of us total, and it’s really cool. It’s bringing that collaboration to a new level, which I’m excited about.
Jay:
You’re actively playing shows again, including the upcoming Burlington Discover Jazz Festival and of course Roots Less Traveled. Do you have a preference between the writing and recording process and playing live?
Marcie:
Good question! I think if I had to choose I would probably want to write and record songs. Like I was saying before, even as a kid I’ve always dealt with stage fright and have had to learn to manage that. That being said, I’ve had some amazing moments playing live for people. There is nothing else like that feeling of connecting to people through your own music in your own words. It’s pretty incredible.
I will also say, I think with performing, the more I do it the more muscle memory kicks in. It becomes less foreign. But what really drives me is songwriting, and the craft of capturing a feeling, or capturing an experience, where you can talk about it in a way that is going to connect with other people. The older I’ve gotten, I feel like I’ve become more open to listening to all kinds of music, even things that might seem cheesy like contemporary country or something, which I’m not a big fan of. Sometimes I still listen to that stuff, because there’s some damn good songwriting happening! I feel like I nerd out on that kind of stuff.
Hailey:
Jay and I talk a lot about country music. Everyone has very strong opinions on it, and we kind of grew up with it in different ways and have a love for it, at least a certain type. I’m sure many singer-songwriters can understand.
You mentioned earlier that you’re a board certified music therapist. How did you get into that and do you find it a helpful supplement to your own music making?
Marcie:
I became interested in music therapy for a lot of reasons. I think part of it was my own relationship with performing, and this anxiety I’ve talked about. That anxiety is something I’ve struggled with in general, so I’ve always been interested in mental health and psychology. My family has a history of pretty significant trauma, so I think those were all natural factors that made me interested in psychology and mental health. Then with me being a musician, and experiencing the way that music has helped me process emotions and helped me just feel better in so many different ways, I became interested in music therapy.
“In a lot of Latin American countries, music is much more infused in the society and there isn’t this fear around singing or expressing myself in a creative way.”
And the other thing I would say is that, coming from a Latin culture, I always would notice how American society and its relationship to creativity and self-expression—like dancing and singing—is so different from what I would see when I went to Puerto Rico. In a lot of Latin American countries, music is much more infused in the society and there isn’t this fear around singing or expressing myself in a creative way. So it was interesting to me on a community level, people’s relationship with creative self-expression, and how there seemed to be more barriers in American culture. This pressure of perfectionism also infiltrates American culture, this feeling that you can’t make a mistake.
In my work as a music therapist, I’ve worked with all types of people, all different ages, folks that might have special needs or some sort of developmental delay or physical disability, and folks that are completely neurotypical. And I’ve been able to—particularly with the people who have a low self-esteem when it comes to being musical, people who think they can’t sing or have no sense of rhythm—help people open up and get themselves not just to listen to music but to participate in it. Whether it’s moving your body or using your voice or playing an instrument. It’s helped me in a lot of ways.
Also, as a songwriter, within your music therapy training you have to learn a lot of different types of songs, because you might work with someone who loves country music, for example, and so you have to really build up quite a repertoire of music that you can play. So as a songwriter, it’s been great, because it’s exposed me to lots of different songs. I’ve learned a lot of old jazz and country songs that I probably otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to.
Hailey:
I’m so interested in the differences of creative expression you’re talking about. I grew up very shy and as I grew up I realized I loved to sing but I had never sang in front of anyone. I never danced and I was really not creatively expressive, at least not publicly. And I haven’t spent any time in Latin America but heard and experienced some of the music, so I understand what you’re talking about. But when I lived in China and worked with American students traveling in China, it’s kind of the opposite there. When Americans go to China, they’re often told that they’re very creatively expressive, so there’s a whole global and cultural spectrum to expression.
Marcie:
Yeah, that’s a really good point.
Marcie will perform in Keepsake’s first in-person show, “Roots Less Traveled,” at Battery Park in Burlington, VT on Saturday, May 29. Buy tickets now!
Poster by Jeff Deng.
Jay:
What has been the most challenging part about being a singer/songwriter? The most rewarding?
Marcie:
I think they kind of go together. I think the most challenging part is connected to the most rewarding part of it. You’re constantly being asked to be vulnerable as a singer-songwriter, whether it’s releasing a new song or putting on a show or even just doing an interview and talking about your life for it to then be out there on the Internet for everyone to see. It’s a lot of being asked to be vulnerable.
For me, I think that’s been the hardest part of it, but that’s also been the most rewarding part of it. It’s given me the opportunity to step into myself more and more and become less worried about what other people think of me, and to understand the best thing that I can do—not just as a singer-songwriter but also as a human being—is to just be myself to the fullest, as much as I can be. That’s it. I can’t worry about how other people are going to perceive that, if they’re going to like me and my music. It’s just out of my control. That’s a great life lesson. Being a singer-songwriter gives you the opportunity to practice that.
Hailey:
That’s a great answer. I think about that a lot too, because I’m a pretty naturally vulnerable person, but that doesn’t mean I would want my career to ask that of me all the time. Thank you for sharing the vulnerability with us.
What are you up to currently? Can you share any upcoming projects?
Marcie:
Right now, I’m focusing on getting my band to a really good place. I feel super grateful that I have some really talented musicians in this group, and we have a bunch of gigs coming up. I’m really focused on getting ready for these gigs, the Jazz Festival being an exciting one.
I have a couple of new songs that I want to get into the music studio to record, and I also really want to make a music video for my song, “Winter.”
Hailey:
At Keepsake House, we talk a lot about the magic in live shows and the communities they help create, almost like every live performance is itself a keepsake that you cherish from a whole house of life experiences. Tell us about your most memorable or fulfilling live performance, the one you would grab first in a fire.
Marcie:
As a performer, I kind of feel like this last show that I did with my new band that I have, there were moments where I was like, yes! This is it! And we didn’t have a live audience for that; it was a livestream. There were a few people in the room, but it was just such great energy on the stage. And after the show, I was so wired and excited that it took several hours for me to wind down.
As an audience member, there have been so many great shows where I’ve been blown away, but one that comes to mind is this group from LA called Las Cafeteras. They played a show in Burlington a few years ago, and they’re just super fun and energetic, and there’s a Latin American blend in their music. And after I saw that show, I felt like I was floating back to my car. They were so good, and they really brought the audience together. It felt like a huge party.
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