Daily Inspiration: Meet Philana Goodrich

Today we’d like to introduce you to Philana Goodrich.

Hi Philana, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I’m a singer, songwriter, producer, and mixing engineer. I write music for TV and film and contribute pop and scores for The Young & Restless. I just released an EP signed with Steven Scharf Entertainment– a collection of cinematic pop songs called “Archetypes”.

I started writing music when I was about 8 and started singing in bands all over Seattle when I was 19. I eventually formed my own band, a six-piece pop situation where I played keys and sang originals. During that time, I released my first album, ‘Arrows For Everyone,’ engineered by Geoff Ott at the historic London Bridge Studio. The month I spent in the studio that summer was life-changing. I’d been gigging a lot at the time and was burnt-out but afraid to admit it to myself. The studio, I discovered, was an entirely different world. It ran parallel to live performance but had a different kind of magic. There was electricity as if anything could manifest there – it felt like a stroke of genius was always right around the corner. Imagine the sound a heart defibrillator makes when those paddles get charged up. It was that! You’re just always inside the charge. Essentially, it allowed me a reprieve from the stage. It allowed me the distance to admit to myself that I was unhappy going in the direction I was headed, and that charge brought me back to life.

So when I moved to New York shortly afterward and stumbled upon sync licensing (making music for tv and film etc.), it all came together and made sense: I was an introverted producer forcing herself into the role of a live performer. Many do both happily. I’m just not one of them.

I left New York and moved to Nashville in 2014 to focus on songwriting. I’m so constantly humbled by the talent here. The sync side of the music industry presents an interesting challenge. Because of strict deadlines and quick turnarounds, the more people involved in building a song (writing, recording, mixing, mastering), the more challenging it is to hit that deadline.

It took just a few lost opportunities to realize that to make the music I wanted, within the timeframes I needed, I had to teach myself to record, produce and mix my own music. So I made a strict schedule, shut myself in my home studio every day that I could and didn’t come out until that timer went off. I did that for about 2 years. In the beginning, it was grueling. How could it not be? I’d spent my entire life telling myself, “I’m a creative. I’m just not wired like a techie,” which is bs. Crazy what we tell ourselves.

Before the pandemic hit, a songwriter friend asked if I’d be willing to teach her and a few other pals how to record and produce themselves. And while they all could’ve taught themselves, it was wonderful to be part of a group of friends that supported one another, to have a safe place to ask questions we feared were ‘dumb,’ to swap a few horror stories and build each other up. We turned our gatherings into potlucks and had a blast. They’d come over with their laptops, and we’d open wine. The most amazing night, I’ll never forget, was essentially a ‘Show n’ Tell.’ They’d all written, recorded, and produced their first songs, and we had a listening party. The music coming out of these women was not only amazing, but it was SO different from any of their prior work. Fascinating what we create when we have the tools; the hurdles in this industry are sometimes unbelievable. There are a lot of talented artists out there doing what I’m doing but less than 2 % of them are women. So, this felt important.

At the end of the day, art is always looking for a way out. We creatives need the freedom to release our expression out into the world how we want. It’s one of the most important ingredients to being happy, and it’s our responsibility to climb over anything standing in the way.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The road is not smooth. The tenacity required to stay in the music industry beyond your 20’s either makes you a saint or a masochist.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Just making really really f*ing good songs but I’m also very passionate about igniting confidence in other women to produce and engineer music. Even if they don’t want to do it at a professional level, I want to empower them to capture their ideas.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love Nashville pleasantries like folks opening doors for one another, making eye contact and saying “Good Morning.” This is not common in other cities and it’s pretty special. What do I dislike? I think having a curious mind and questioning things (anything) is a healthy habit. I’ve seen it get misinterpreted here as “rocking the boat” and that’s too bad.

Pricing:

• Free Consultation

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @philana_kalara
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/Philana.Music
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/album/1VF7yVHK0arOEbBFPcuQkm

Image Credits
Simona Germain Bob Suh