Check Out Megan Paullet’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Paullet.

Hi Megan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Firstly, I want to thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to share my story. It is such an honor to be talking with NashvilleVoyager!

I guess you could say that my “musical genesis” was multifaceted. As an instrumentalist, it was plunking away to the melody of “Heart and Soul” on my grandmother’s piano. As a singer, it was hearing Betty Buckley’s rendition of “Memory” for the very first time.

As a writer, it was the enchantment of my first exposure to Frank Zappa’s arrangement of “Peaches en Regalia”. As a mere “music enthusiast”, if you will, it was the rotation of thirteen different songs by a variety of artists ranging from Peter Gabriel to America on a pink Nectar MP3 that I would play on repeat until the fateful day that “the music died” (Don McLean: Please don’t sue me).

Once I got to kindergarten, I began taking piano lessons at the ripe young age of five. I remember taking a book of songs from Van Morrison’s album “Moondance” to my teacher, Mr. Talarovich, and how he laughed whenever I asked him to teach me how to play “And It Stoned Me”. I learned very quickly that jumping into the “modern” tunes that I longed to play would require a foundation first.

As both a perfectionist and someone with a very strong sense of direction, it was incredibly frustrating knowing where I wanted to be and not immediately being able to get there. To rectify this, whenever I was around six or seven, I started learning to play by ear, which would be followed by learning how to sight-read.

One of the first songs that I taught myself was “Walk of Life” by Dire Straits (and yes, this was one of the thirteen “Nectar MP3 Tunes”). Whenever I was in fifth grade, I actually wrote to Mark Knopfler, asking him if he would come and play the song with me in our school talent show.

As you can imagine, the former lead singer was incredibly busy working on his solo career in the UK, and would not get the band back together for a stateside talent show in western Pennsylvania.

As I grew older, so my passion for music also grew. In second grade, I picked up a second instrument at school (flute) and I started playing the organ at church whenever I was ten. In middle school, I’d eventually trade the flute for a tuba and join the marching band (call it being in the right place at the right time, destiny, or perhaps a combination of both).

Though I enjoyed playing and making music, it took me a long time to grow comfortable performing in front of people. I actually used to get so nervous that I would faint (Yes, you read that right)! Being that I have always been precisely the opposite of vertically challenged, you can imagine how well it went over when, during every chorus concert or event, I was asked to stand on the very last riser.

Eventually, though, I did mellow out. That is when I was forced to jump with a running start outside of my comfort zone when cast as The Chaperone in our high school production of “The Drowsy Chaperone”. Nothing says “get over your stage fright” like having to sing an entire song by yourself onstage. Miraculously, though, there would be no fainting from that moment on.

At the time that I began my transition to college, I’d spent over a decade building a secondary career as a competitive swimmer. You can imagine my parents’ surprise whenever I called one night, only a few weeks into my freshman year, in tears and said “I don’t think I want to swim anymore”.

However, their support of my pursuit for happiness outside of competitive sports was relentless, and I suddenly found myself with more time on my hands than I’d had in the last twelve or thirteen years. In search of a new constructive outlet, I stumbled into my first college musical audition. The rest, you could say, is history.

It would be during the course of my college career that I would completely fall in love with music and the performing arts. Funny enough, I would never actually study music during my time at Saint Vincent (I’m an elementary school teacher by trade), but I would join my first band (the Damaged Pies), receive my first feature on a single release (“Louder Than Concorde” with Adam Marsland and Spooner Oldham), and be considered for a Grammy nomination.

I’d have the opportunity to participate in numerous charity events for WhyHunger, perform at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once, not twice, but three times, open for former Orleans frontman John Hall, musically direct and perform in over a dozen theatrical productions, all the while arriving at the realization that the only place where I have ever felt most like myself… was behind a piano, or behind a microphone, onstage.

At the start of the year 2020, I made the decision to go “all in” as an artist. I released my first single, “Hear Me On the Radio”, and made a live appearance on HUGS Radio in Greencastle where the song first aired. I also spent a lot of time in the studio, where I prepared for the release of my debut EP. “This is it”, I remember thinking to myself. “I’m finally gonna do it”.

And then, we got to March, and we all know what happened in March.

Seeing as how I wouldn’t be returning to the classroom for at least the next few weeks, I made the decision to return home. What I didn’t realize at the time was how much my time back at home would change me (in a very good way). I had the opportunity to travel, write, and hike, but most importantly, to reconnect with my roots. It was during this time that I was really able to find myself (as cliche as that sounds, it couldn’t be more true).

Since then, I’ve taken every opportunity that has presented itself to travel, record, collaborate and perform. Recently, I received a nomination for “Multi-Genre Vocalist of the Year” from the committee of The Josie Music Awards, and premiered in my first movie documentary, “Go Get Your Girl”. I also just released a collaborative single with The Faculty (tour band for Emmy award-winning artist, FRZY) called “War Banana”, on which I had the opportunity to provide lyrics and vocals.

With God at the helm, especially over the last year, I’ve been taken to places I never thought possible. I know that my journey has only just begun, and I really cannot wait to see where I’m taken next!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
I think one of my favorite quotes, which comes from former President Theodore Roosevelt, best prefaces my response to this question. He said, “Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, and difficulty”.

Growing up in a working middle-class family, I learned at a very young age that nothing in life comes easy, that you have to work hard for what you have and what you want, and that, many times, even when you DO work hard for something, you still won’t get it.

Hard work does not guarantee a desirable outcome.

When it came to music, an industry where “connections are key” and “who you know is everything”, I felt like I never stood a chance. I didn’t have parents who were in a band for me to sing/play with, or extended relatives who sung backups for Reba McEntire or George Strait.

I received no formal dance or theatrical training, wasn’t a member of any of the local performing arts groups or academies, nor did I have a story that they could “sell” on any nationally televised talent show. I was just a normal kid who really liked music. In many ways, I felt and still feel like I got “into the game” too late.

But I remember another musician telling me once before that living the narrative of the “starving artist” lends itself to a greater appreciation of where you are, where you’ve been, and where you’ll be. Though I may not have always had everything I WANTED, I’ve always had what I NEEDED, and for that I’m grateful.

My hope is to inspire others to pursue their happiness in life. To show them that it’s never too late to do or be something new.

We’d love to learn more about your work. What do you do, what do you specialize in, what are you known for, etc. What are you most proud of? What sets you apart from others?
The simplest answer to that question would be that I am a singer-songwriter and freelance musician. But how many thousands of teens and twenty-somethings use that same phrase?

What I believe sets me apart from others is that I don’t consider myself to be bound by the limitations of or “boxed into” a specific genre/style of music. What I mean by that is I don’t identify with one specific sound or style, but many. I write what is on my mind or on my heart at a particular time, and dress how I’m feeling that particular day.

I could be writing something with an 80’s synth wave flare one minute, and the next be creating a 70’s inspired country ballad. I believe that inspiration can come from anywhere and that if you limit yourself to looking or sounding a certain way, you could really miss out on creating something wonderful.

I’ve had numerous producers and musicians tell me “you have to choose a genre”; “You can’t just double-dip”; “You’ll never be successful unless you choose your place.” And perhaps they’re right. But I believe that the measure of success is subjective.

The fact that I have the honor of sitting here talking with you today about my life and my story shows me that maybe I’m doing something right after all.

Maybe I’ll never play sold-out arenas, go multi-platinum, or go on an international tour, but if I’m able to share my music with just one person and have it mean something to them, what more could I ask for? After all, isn’t that the goal?

What makes you happy?

• Listening to that first chorus of “Jessica” by the Allman Brothers Band
• Watching the sunset when cruising above the clouds at 35,000 feet
• Spending time with the people I love and care about (especially my family and my husband)
• Watching someone achieve something they’ve worked hard for
• Traveling to a new place
• Reaching the highest peak on a long hike
• Laying outside on a clear night and looking at the stars
• Listening to THE power ballad of any musical theatre production
• A summer thunderstorm
• Puppies (especially my niece, Ember)
• The first bite of a perfectly-made almond macaron
• An early walk on the beach as the sun comes up
• Taking pictures during the golden hour
• Driving down a backroad with the windows down
• The smell of fresh-cut grass, sugar cookies, or homemade apple pie
• Making music.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/meganpaulletmusic
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/meganpaulletmusic
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/meganpaulletmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4ACVx1b03mkE_5tvf4FJNg/videos
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/megan-paullet-244083456?utm_source=mobi&utm_campaign=social_sharing&utm_terms=mobi_google_one_tap.treatment
• Other: https://tiktok.com/@meganpaulletmusic

Image Credits:
Chelsea Smith, Michael Kropiewnicki, Skipp Barr, Eric Buckman, and TVJ Photography