Tracy Cloud is a wife, mother and cat lover. She’s also an extremely talented singer, songwriter and lyricist who has released three phenomenal albums including her most recent, Spellbound. I talked with Tracy about her musical background, her creative process, and her enjoyment of collaboration.
Uncle Funkbeard: In your Twitter bio, you list as influences groups as diverse as the Beatles, Tori Amos and the Indigo Girls. How would you define or describe your genre?
Tracy Cloud: I like the idea of being genre fluid. I just write what I feel inspired to write. I usually fall somewhere between rock, folk and alternative, with a little progressive thrown in there. There is for sure a little country in the mix from time to time as well.
UF: Spellbound is a beautiful album. How did it come to exist?
TC: I write and sing all of the songs. I am not a great player, so once I write and record a demo, I entrust it to the pros. Fred and Steve, who happen to be both amazing players and engineers, make the songs into what you hear on the albums.
All three of my albums have been produced by Fred Schendel and Steve Babb, of the amazing progressive rock band, Glass Hammer. I have known them both for many years. During college, I was part of a very active local music scene in Chattanooga, Tennessee. We all kind of intermingled at the same open mic nights and jam sessions at different bars and people's houses.
Fred and Steve are like Mozart and Bach of modern times. They are technically, and creatively, some of the best musicians I have ever encountered. So, needless to say, having them play and produce my music was life changing!
UF: One of my favorite songs on the album is “Forevermore.” It sounds like it should be on the soundtrack to an ‘80s movie about a girl on the run from the law and trying to clear her name. What was the actual inspiration for this song?
TC: "Forevermore" came from the perspective of the person in the song being cut off from someone abruptly that they were very close to. The song is saying that even though that connection is lost, they would risk everything to be with them again, no matter the cost.
UF: I also particularly like the rock lead guitar on “Cannot Help Myself.” It gives off Lynyrd Skynyrd vibes.
TC: That amazing guitarist is Brian Brewer, who is absolutely incredible. Fred and Steve brought him in on several songs to add some extra magic into the mix. This song is about fantasies and how sometimes, you just have to let your mind go where it is going to go.
UF: What’s your songwriting process like?
TC: I usually receive a melody or a lyric from the muses or the cosmos, out of the blue, that will later become a song, or an idea for a song. It can be in the middle of the night or shopping at the market. Sometimes, I just sit down at the piano, or pick up a guitar and see what comes out.
I almost always write the music first as that is the biggest challenge for me most of the time. Lyrics can be equally as challenging though, and sometimes take a long time to finish. I have a lot of pieces of songs laying around in a million notebooks that may or may not eventually become songs!
UF: “Wizardess” and “Fairy Queen” remind me more of the songs from your 2021 album Figments, which tend to have a medieval rock feel to them. (I don’t know if that’s a real genre, but that’s what it sounds like to me.) It’s a unique sound. What’s the appeal to you of that style and subject matter?
TC: "Wizardess" and "Fairy Queen" on Spellbound are direct parallels to "Wizard" and "Fairy Song" on Love Changes. When I was writing songs for what would become Spellbound, I noticed some similarities in my mindset for both albums. Some of the songs, including these two, were written from the perspective of "how and why would I write Wizard or Fairy Song now?" As opposed to how and why I wrote them then, and so forth. A few of the songs were a bit of a retelling of Love Changes, many years later. It felt very satisfying to retell at least part of those long-forgotten stories.
UF: Love Changes was your first album, released in 1995. How long have you been making music?
TC: I don't really remember not being musical. My mother was very musical and played the piano beautifully. My father had the most amazing collection of vinyl albums ever! He had everything from The Beatles, to Fleetwood Mac, to Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, to Percy Sledge.... I could go on and on.
The first time someone noticed I could sing well was probably in the first grade. I was fortunate that I went to good public schools that made music and arts education a big priority. Schoolwide performances and music festivals were happening all the time starting in kindergarten. Looking back, I think that was something remarkable, and getting rarer to find these days.
I was involved in everything and couldn't get enough. It became part of my soul. My parents sent me to private piano lessons. I sang in church. I played the flute in middle school band, and was in choir during high school. I had a lot of amazing vocal training through choral education. I always gravitated more toward singing, as it came so naturally to me.
UF: What are your goals in terms of your music?
TC: I would love to be able to make music my full-time job, but I just don't think that will happen unless I can license a song to someone famous, or score a great sync licensing deal. If I could make music full time, and not just scrape by doing it, that would be amazing! I love music, but I also like financial stability. Those two things more often than not, don't mix.
UF: You and I first met in the live chat for Only the Host’s Indie Music Hunt. How did you get involved? Why do you keep coming back?
TC: I love that you asked me this question! I just randomly decided to get back on Twitter sometime in late June after a really long hiatus from it. I think the Twitterverse just smiled on me shortly around the time I returned. Somehow, I got on board the Only the Host cosmic bus! I've never seen anything like this. It is a phenomenon. I know people that are not involved are probably getting tired of me always talking about everything going on in this movement. Because that is what it is. Artists are coming together to support, encourage, and dare we say, trust each other.
My heart is full. It's so amazing to finally have a network of other artists that all want the same things for each other that they want for themselves. The Only the Host Community is like a refuge for musicians. Everyone is welcome!
Oh, and did I mention collaborating and creating fierce and beautiful music together?
UF: Let’s talk about collaborating. Full disclosure, you and I have worked on a couple of projects together, thanks to this community.
TC: One of my most recent collaborations was co-writing and releasing "Black Widow's Kiss" with Creative Interference Audio. C.I.A. is made up of Only the Host community members James Slattery, John Woodson, Josh Coker, myself and, of course, Uncle Funkbeard.
I am also singing a song on a Nirvana tribute album accompanied by John Woodson and yourself. I am currently writing a song with indie rock band Black Creek Rock and I have projects in the works with John Serrano and possibly others in the Only the Host community. Last year, I did a bluegrass collaboration with Atlanta area musician Jim Boyd.
These were all incredible experiences that I felt honored to be a part of! Just so much fun!
UF: That’s a lot of collaborations!
TC: I enjoy collaboration because it forms connections with other artists and stretches my skills as both a songwriter and as a vocalist. I love the process and challenges of creating music from scratch with other artists. That is something really special.
I also like solo projects because making the art that tells my stories is one of the greatest personal accomplishments of my life. It is part of who I am and the legacy I want to leave behind.
My long-term goal for my music is to make as much music as I can, until I can't.
Find Tracy Cloud’s music on Spotify or Bandcamp and follow her on Twitter.