Meghan Lehman’s Story: Catching Up With Our First One Night Music Artist

Posted on 01/21/10 by   Ian Andersen

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Nearly a year ago, on February 1st 2009, we launched our very first session at One Night Music, showcasing the lovely Meghan Lehman, an incredibly talented singer-songwriter based out of our original home base of Santa Barbara, CA. The low lighting, small space, and uncertainty of what we were doing created a fun, intimate session and set the stage for what One Night Music would become in 2009.

I decided to catch up with Meghan Lehman to see where her music has taken her since recording with One Night Music. Turns out she released her first album, A Stranger Here (available on iTunes, CD Baby, and Rhapsody), in August 2009. On the album you will find four of the six songs that Meghan recorded for her One Night Music session and a number of new standouts that make this album one that shouldn't be passed up. The album is unforgiving in its intimacy and rawness. It's an unrelenting, sometimes painful journey through Meghan's own life and travels, full of gorgeous vocals and storytelling. The standouts on this album are "A Stranger Here", "Pearl", "More Than Me", and "Mary".

Meghan's Recording Philosophy

One of the most striking elements of Meghan Lehman's album is her recording philosophy. She explained, "The idea I had for the album was that it be honest and real and organic sounding. I wanted it to just sound like what I sound like... It ended up being a quiet, mellow collection of songs-some of which were 7 or 8 years old. I recorded guitar and vocals at the same time, in full takes. If I messed up, we didn't piece anything together in Pro-Tools, the mistake either got left in there or we chose a different take... Ultimately, I like the idea of leaving my humanity in the record."

What's Next?

Meghan Lehman currently plays with Santa Barbara based Holdfast Rifle Company, with whom our own Megan Sullivan previously performed and recently immortalized in an ode. In March, Meghan is going into the studio to record her second album with Tim Bluhm as her producer. Meghan says that "the next album is going to be very different. I feel I am so much clearer about having a theme and a direction and a sound in mind for the album."

In Her Own Words

When I got in touch with Meghan about doing a follow up, she responded with a very intimate story about her journey into music. I thought about how I could edit it into an article, but ultimately decided that it should be left mostly in the form in which I received it. I basically asked her to tell me a bit about her musical career after recording with One Night Music and she responded with a great story. Here it is, with just a tad bit of editing to make things more concise:

The First Performance

I consider myself a late bloomer musically. It wasn't until my freshman year of college at UCSB, when I brought my mom's nylon-string classical guitar to my dorm room, that I started teaching myself to play Sublime songs. I was surprised when people liked my voice. I had done a little singing growing up in school musicals and the privacy of my car after making sure the windows were rolled up, but I never considered myself a singer.

During college I was lucky to have supportive friends who encouraged me, and I slowly gained the confidence to perform here and there. My first public performance was at the Java Jones open mic night in Isla Vista. It was horrifying. I hated performing, and couldn't figure out why I felt compelled to keep doing it. When I was alone in my room writing and singing, I would lose track of hours of the day. But at that time, performing felt embarrassing, egotistical and left me feeling very exposed and raw. Yet every once in a while, when I could squeeze my eyes shut tight enough to block out the people sizing me up (as I saw it in my head), when I could stop worrying if my voice sounded pretty or if anyone noticed when I messed up the guitar part, there was something that felt really, really good. There was something satisfying about being scared to death and doing it anyway.

I struggled for years with music. It was as if I knew music was my purpose, but I didn't know where to start. I had really grand, impossible ideas about what "pursuing a music career" meant, and they were so overwhelming that I just gave up. By age 26, if anyone asked about my music, I would get crabby and say I was in retirement.

Before The Trip and After The Trip

In the summer of 2008 I saw The Mother Hips at Soho. I had seen lead signer Tim Bluhm play solo as well, and his album California Way solidified him as one of my favorite songwriters. It was at this show that an act of fate unfolded and I briefly chatted with a man who told me about the High Sierra Singer-Songwriters Workshop trip that Tim and Steve Poltz led every year. They take a small group of people camping in the Ansel Adams wilderness for four days to talk, write and sing songs. I signed up the next day.

I now think of my life in terms of "before the trip" and "after the trip". It was the single most life-changing experience I have ever had, and I can't necessarily say why. It was magical. I came away from that trip with a completely rearranged understanding of why we do music. Humans need connection and music is a straight shot to our emotional core. I want to be part of that. I want to experience it from both sides.

A Stranger Here

I came back from that trip on a mission. I wasn't afraid to pursue music anymore. I had gained a lot of confidence from the praise and feedback of everyone on that trip, and on their urging, came home and recorded my first album, A Stranger Here, with my friend Ed Prado as producer and engineer.

The idea I had for the album was that it be honest and real and organic sounding. I wanted it to just sound like what I sound like... It ended up being a quiet, mellow collection of songs-some of which were 7 or 8 years old. I recorded guitar and vocals at the same time, in full takes. If I messed up, we didn't piece anything together in Pro-Tools, the mistake either got left in there or we chose a different take... Ultimately, I like the idea of leaving my humanity in the record.

The Next Album With Tim Bluhm

However, the next album is going to be very different. I have plans to go into Mission Bells studio in San Francisco this March with Tim Bluhm as my producer. I am ecstatic about this, and I feel I my theme and direction for the album is much clearer than in the past.

I've also been playing with the Holdfast Rifle Company here in Santa Barbara, and it's made me realize that music is FUN! I don't have that stage fright and extreme self-consciousness that I used to feel performing. I have so much fun playing with those boys, and I think it's helped my solo stuff too. It's like I finally realized that I'm here to entertain-- the audience AND myself-- and that has intrinsic value. It's not about me proving myself or trying to make people think I'm special, which maybe was driving me in the beginning, and probably led to the debilitating performance anxiety that I experienced.

Meghan Lehman's debut album, A Stranger Here, is available on available on iTunes, CD Baby, and Rhapsody. You can find out where she's playing next and learn more about Meghan at www.myspace.com/meghanlehman or on my Facebook page. Don't forget to also check out her session that she recorded with One Night Music here: http://www.onenightmusic.com/meghanlehman.

This blog post was written by

Ian Andersen