Today we’d like to introduce you to Laurier.
Hi Laurier, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I was born on April 5th, 1973, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to two parents who could barely make ends meet without a child. And, growing up, my mother always told me my dreams were “expensive”; which, in her mind, meant ‘”impossible”; be it piano lessons, guitar lessons, or basically anything else I dreamt of doing. She also refused to let me pursue any kind of income so that I could pay for those things myself (whereas a cousin had a paper route); saying I should “focus on (my) studies.” In addition, growing up, I started to realize that I was both genderqueer and bisexual, decades before I had terms for my feelings; because I never felt part of either gender, fully, and I also had romantic feelings for people of both main genders. But, both my budding sexuality and gender identity were frowned upon by the redneck milieu in which I grew up, and I found myself harassed on a regular basis, by those who wished I would “man up.”
When I was ten my parents got divorced and it somehow seemed to shatter my feeling that anything could be permanent. From that day on, everything felt precarious. And, adding weight to my life’s sinking ship, at the age of fourteen, I was diagnosed with Marfan Syndrome; a congenital malfunction of the connective tissue which, at the time, often took the lives of people before the age of forty.
Then, when I was fifteen, I caught my first stepfather molesting my sister. And, as we got into an argument some days later, he tried to kill me by picking me up and slamming me into the floor. Since my mother refused to call the police, I tried to OD three nights in a row on my heart pills – without telling anyone – but I failed every time. A year later, in a fit of depression, I finally attempted what my cardiologist warned me was the one thing I shouldn’t do; mix my heart pills with alcohol. I took a big handful of my heart medication with a tall glass of vodka, but just woke up feeling half dead the next morning.
At the age of 19, I had a nervous breakdown in university, dropped out of school, and ran away to the neighboring province of British Columbia, where I played in a number of bands that never really got off the ground. When I was 25 I sold my gigging guitar, and tried to “grow up” but just got suicidal for the before-last time. And, as I worked through my last bout of psychotherapy, I decided I had to go to music school. My efforts were rewards in the form of a triumph at Le Gala provincial de la chanson, in Vancouver (an annual French-Canadian singer-songwriter competition) but I failed to win any prizes at the western-Canadian semi-finals, and fell into depression again.
Around that time, in the spring of 2001, a Canadian buddy, Leon McCormick, who had established an indie label and a studio west of Tokyo told me he wanted to release an album of my songs. I picked up my things and flew overseas. In those twenty-five years since I gave up North America, I have toured on three continents, have had my songs broadcast around the world, achieved three major guitar endorsements (currently working with the Japanese distributor for C.F. Martin & Co.) and was even published as a poet by Durvile & UpRoute Books, last year; who put out Fifty-Five Ways to Survive; my first illustrated book of poetry.
https://durvile.com/books/Fiftyfive.html
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
There have been terrible challenges along the way. As I said, I was born with Marfan Syndrome (a connective-tissue disorder which almost claimed my life in 2008 when my aorta dissected), I have struggled with chronic depression for most of my life, and there have been terrible times of financial insecurity; as well as times of crippling self-doubt.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
In 2026 I call myself a multi-disciplinary artist; which, for me personally, means I am a musician, a voiceover artist, and a writer. And, I guess I am most known for being a survivor. I am most proud of my guitar endorsement with C.F. Martin & Co., the fact that I played Dracula in a major Japanese movie (Yokai Daisenso: Guardians), and that, at the age of 53, Durvile & UpRoute Books released my first illustrated poetry book; Fifty-Five Ways to Survive. Also notable is the fact that my acoustic duo (nature airliner) received special permission to record our first full album in the former Columbia Studio A (which made legendary recordings for Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, and Johnny Cash) and that one of the songs from those sessions made it onto the soundtrack of an award-winning American indie movie called One Night in Tokyo.
One Night in Tokyo (Movie)
Cardinal (album by nature airliner)
https://natureairliner.bandcamp.com/album/cardinal
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
Easily the most important lesson that I’ve learned along the way is that if you persist beyond all obstacles, you can achieve most of your heartfelt goals. I am living proof of that.
Pricing:
- $19,95 Fifty-Five Ways to Survive (Book) https://durvile.com/books/Fiftyfive.html
- $7.68 Peace on Earth (Album) https://tiernansongs.bandcamp.com/album/peace-on-earth-15th-anniversary-edition
- $22.97 These Cats Fight Back (T-shirt) https://www.redbubble.com/i/t-shirt/These-Cats-Fight-Back-Pride-Gear-by-TiernanSongs/181318410/lrcw
Contact Info:
- Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/TiernanSongs
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tiernansongs
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauriertiernan/
- Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/TiernanSongs
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/tiernansongs
- Other: https://durvile.com/books/Fiftyfive.html
Image Credits
All Photos Photo Credit: E.H. Tiernan
