Better Each Day Podcast Radio Show with Bruce Hilliard

Five years ago, singer-songwriter Ingrid Oscarsson did something most of us dream about but few of us do: She started over. Ingrid moved to a new city, left behind friends, lovers, and a secure job to be the person she always wanted to be, a musician. Now, she announces her emancipation with the aptly titled EP, Break Free. It’s a masterful debut that, with singular artistry, fluidly weaves through indie rock, sparkles of glam rock, intimate folk, bluesy pop, sensual roots music, and smoldering balladry. “My story is about shedding layers to finally be my authentic self. Sometimes you have to go far away to reclaim your essence,” the New York-based artist says. “I hope with my story, and my music, I can encourage others to embrace who they really are.” The journey to Break Free gained traction in Chicago, in the early 2000s when Ingrid began taking guitar lessons. Previously, she had played violin as a child, and had a short stint pursuing guitar as a young adult. But sitting in a cubicle feeling numb inside, she began to reimagine her life. From afar, she admired New York City, romanticizing its beauty and cultural heritage while picturing herself immersed in the city’s frantic pace, getting a second chance at her first love, music. Guitar lessons became the opening salvo in a revolt to reclaim her life. An influx of creativity from exploring guitar enlivened Ingrid. She became more adventurous, and began regularly visiting New York City, soaking up all its majesty. During one visit, she encountered a street performer at a subway stop, and purchased the singer’s CD. Like a story plucked from a New York fairytale, when Ingrid came back to stay in New York for an extended period—before permanently relocating—her Airbnb host ended up being that very same street performer, and proved to be an artistic ally on Break Free, helping Ingrid develop songs, and lending production talents and guitar skills to the recordings. Thematically, Break Free explores various facets of self-revelation, from moving on from unhealthy relationships that hinder growth and success; to examining ways we hold ourselves back; to struggling to find a spiritual center. The biting “Forget My Face” simmers with a moody vamp, bluesy hues, and slow-burn pop-rock hooks. The track confronts an unfaithful lover’s toxic pattern of going from relationship to relationship, carelessly wrecking hearts and lives along the way. On “Come Back To Peace,” Ingrid invokes a dark beauty that fuses country, pop, and ballad-y rockabilly. Here, in this steamy setting, Ingrid reveals her struggle with meditation, mindfulness, and the hard-fought battle to be present in life. The hauntingly beautiful “Say What You Gotta Say” rouses with elegiac violins and a modern take on an old-timey work-song beat. The song was inspired by the movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, and the message is all we have is now. The title track concludes the EP with a quiet-fire anthem celebrating individuality. Up next, Ingrid will be performing live, and, enterprisingly, she is planning to share Break Free’s liberating message with others via an innovative and centering songwriting retreat that features yoga and meditation. This getaway will offer songwriters a sacred space to unplug and realign with their souls and their artistry. Pondering her 5-year path to Break Free, Ingrid says: “It’s never too late to be your authentic self.”

Jeff Leisawitz, the musician/ producer behind Electron Love Theory, is also the critically acclaimed author of the indie bookNot F*ing Around— The No Bullsh*t Guide for Getting Your Creative Dreams Off the Ground. Jeff is an award-winning musician/ producer, a critically acclaimed author and internationally distributed filmmaker who has devoted his life to creativity. He’s released five studio albums and has landed thousands ofmusic placements in film, TV and multimediaforclients like HBO, MTV,Discovery, Microsoft, NBC and many others. As the founding writer for Seattle’s taste-making alternative rock station 107.7 The End, he chronicled the alternative grunge scene in the 90s. Link to Not F*ing Around Link to Electron Love Theory

Featured in this episode are songs Broken Branches and Lightning In A Bottle, with husband and lyricist Steve Hunt\'s talent as a writer and the voice of singer Steven Bankey on the latter. Part of Luanne\'s musical journey involves the discovery of a lost song Christmas Without You that was originally written for Patsy Cline. Due to the tragic death of Patsy and the years of forgotten \"what if\'s\", the song was resurrected and without hesitation on Luanne\'s behalf, recorded and released. The very touching Caught Up In The Thought Of You is another Hunt original. Her vocals are the shimmer on this country gem. Her\'s is a story of courage and overcoming obstacles. She is living proof that with desire and perseverance dreams come true. Luanne uses her voice to sing and to encourage others to live their dream too.

Neil Fitzsimon and Bee Brogan were both members of the band, Pretty Blue Gun, who were signed to an indie label licensed to Sony. They released two albums which were critically acclaimed. Some of the guehttps://codex.wordpress.org/Excerptst musicians included members of The Art of Noise, Dave Bronze (Eric Clapton’s bass player), Tobias Boshell (Moody Blues) and Pip Williams who played guitar on the Walker Brothers’ track, ‘No Regrets’. The albums were produced by Pat Collier, who produced Katrina and the Waves’ international hit, ‘Walking on Sunshine’. The band went on national tours across the UK until disbanding. Neil Fitzsimon, the songwriter, and Bee Brogan, the vocalist, then went on to form a song writing/production partnership that led to placement of their songs in Film and TV. They also wrote a musical, Jack Dagger, which was showcased at the Greenwich Theatre, London for the Musical Futures Award. It was also showcased at the Bridewell and the Royal College of Music in London. They have also just had a song placed in a USA Sci Fi Feature film. They recently had a track reach number 3 in a French national download chart. All songs are written by Neil Fitzsimon. Vocals, keyboards, drums and engineering by Bee Brogan. All guitars played by Neil Fitzsimon. Fitzsimon and Brogan see themselves as a studio act much in the vein of Tin Tin Out and Talk Talk. Their influences range from The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Webb, Jacques Brel and David Bowie. Their aim is to produce pure pop for now people. Neil Fitzsimon actually introduced me to the term "Indie Dream Pop" and no one is sure where that originated but one thing's for sure, the world of music needs a new genre title...LOL. The songs featured in episode 39 are simply good songs, and good on one listen. The first track is Girl in a Gilded Cage from the album Big Blue World. It's a showcase for Bee Brogran's voice, layered and beautiful. The second track we selected is The Cutest and the Cruelest from the first album by FaB Productions (Fitzsimon and Brogan Productions). The album was mixed by Pat Collier, the producer of Walking On Sunshine by Katrina and Waves. The Cutest and the Cruelest is the single from the album and reached number three in the French national download chart. To translate to French..."c'est énorme." To translate into dog years? It's a huge pup. The third track is The Girl Who Shouted Lovefrom the album of the same title, to be released this autumn. Fitzsimon and Brogan's influences range from The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Jimmy Webb, Jacques Brel and David Bowie. Their aim is to produce pure pop for now people. Their aim is true.