New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Artist Official Website) - Musician Steff Mahan Rebuilds her 'Broken Life' and Starts
Fresh at 40. Hard Knocks Infuse Mahan's Cinematic Songs with Honesty, Poignancy and Vivid Detail. Alt-Country singer/songwriter Steff Mahan always envisioned a career as a performer, but life got in the way, time passed, and she wasn't able to hit the road for her first real tour until she was forty years old.
Now, with the release of her new CD 'Never A Long Way Home', she aims to chronicle the 'broken life' of a seasoned veteran who's been knocked around and survived. Mahan is undaunted by naysayers who label her as 'too old', 'too commercial', 'not commercial enough' or lacking the right 'look' - she's reached a point of self-acceptance that rises above the noise. And it's that peace of mind that gives her music such strength
The new CD, her third, includes guitar-driven country rockers but perhaps is more aptly defined by its introspective ballads. From the revealing title track to the poignant 'Forgive Me'...from the cinematic, richly drawn recollections of 'Carnival Ride' (surely a highlight of the album,) to the sadly witty 'Thought We Were Dancing', Mahan sculpts tales of regret and real life that mirror the struggles we face each day. With a deft touch and vivid writing that at times recalls Mary Chapin Carpenter's 'Stones In The Road', Mahan emerges as an 'everywoman,' even as she gets raw and personal.
Over the years, Mahan has been warmly embraced in her hometown of Nashville, and praised (by media outlets including Out and About and others) for her work ethic and her commitment to her art. With a tour in the works for 2010, she aims to introduce her new songs to a broader audience - dates will be announced soon.
Steff Mahan shares some personal thoughts about her career:
'I guess I can't really remember ever not wanting to do what I do. When I was 5, I remember seeing Bobby Gentry on the TV singing 'Ode to Billy Jo'... Her long raven hair, white T shirt, and an old pair of Levis...I will never really know what clicked in me that day, but my momma says I turned around to her and daddy with these wide eyes, full of truth and determination, and declared... 'I'm going to do that!!!' Thank goodness I have supportive parents, 'cause the next Christmas, I got a new guitar. It was bigger than me and I could barely wrap my hands around it...and I loved it! Life has sometimes taken me down a few short paths that varied from that dream. But I never really embraced a 'normal' life. To me, it would feel abnormal not to be traveling around the country, singing my songs, and meeting anybody and everybody I can. This dream just never really came true for me in my 20's ...not even my 30's. It was October of my 40th year when I hit the road for my first real 6-week tour to promote my first self-titled cd.
I will never forget that feeling of first pulling out of my driveway, knowing I was actually going to go play music, every night, for whoever would listen. That feeling never leaves me and eight years later, it's the same exact feeling I still get when I pull out of the driveway to hit the road. I don't think it's in me not to love it. No matter how hard or non-glamorous it may be. The sleeping on couches, the playing for people who don't always get it, the driving 15 hours non-stop to make another show, that may or may not have a receptive audience. Still I love it. I love it because along the way I seem to always find at least one person who does 'get it'. And it's that one person who tells me a song touched them and helped them through a tough time that makes that long journey totally worth every mile I put on my car. In my head I had given up any chance of ever doing a 3rd cd. I was starting to believe what every music business person kept telling me: 'you're too old,' 'you're not commercial enough,' 'You're too commercial,' 'you don't have 'the look' ...blah blah blah.... And after a very bad break up, and a few hard knocks, I was resigned to the fact that my so-called music career was over, and I either had to accept it or be bitter, but either way it was time to move on.
But, through all of it, I found myself still writing songs. Not because I ever really believed my songs would be heard. But writing gives me a sense of peace I can't explain. It exorcises my demons, and keeps me sane. And while I was playing out across the country, trying to make ends meet, it hit me, that more people were 'getting it.' I have never been touted as a writer of real 'toe tapping tunes,' but what I have always tried to do is be honest with my music. To open up and expose my bare bones and naked soul and tell my story. My story is not always pretty. My story does not always have a Hollywood ending. What my story does have is a common bond from one human to the next. We have all made mistakes we are ashamed of. We have all sought forgiveness from others and from ourselves. We have all loved and laughed and lost ones that were so dear to us that losing them left a big hole that will never be filled.
This cd goes beyond the simple 'broken heart.' This cd is about a broken life and trying to find a path back to ourselves. It's about memories, good and bad, and believing that every experience makes us who we are. And in the end, when it's all said and done and we finally get to the point where we like ourselves, how can any of us look back and not be grateful for the path and everyone we have met along the way.'
