Singing from the heart

Kate Schuman’s debut solo CD is this songwriter’s dream come true

How do you know when the song in your heart is worth writing down?

When it gets too loud to ignore, says Kate Schuman.

Schuman says she’s heard music in her head all her life, and she finally gave in to the urge to write songs in the last decade.

“I feel sorry for people who only hear voices,” she says laughing. “I hear an entire orchestra.”

The San Juan Island woman has just released a CD, “you only go ‘round once,” that she recorded in Nashville with some top session musicians. It took her two years to decide to do it, but once she committed to the project, everything fell into place.

“It’s a big deal,” she says. “The cost, the time away from my family. But I think it was just something I had to do.” Hence the title of the album, she says. “ ‘You only go around once,’ is something I say all the time. You have to take opportunities when they are presented to you. This CD was that kind of opportunity.

“I don’t do it to make money or because I think I have something profound to say. I’m just passionate about music.”

As compelling as music is to her, Schuman is not your typically ambitious Nashville country singer. “My family comes first,” she says. “When I was in Nashville doing this CD I was homesick. I realized that was because I wanted to get home and share this experience with the people I love.”

The Schumans had to come up a sizeable investment — more than $9,000 plus meals, lodging and airfare to Nashville — to produce the album, she says. With three kids coming up on college age, “It’s a real testament to Jim’s faith in me.”

Her husband took the photos for her CD cover and her children, Nick, 16, Hank, 15, and Pearl, 13, are featured on the inside.

Growing up in South Seattle’s Normandy Park, where her father was a Boeing engineer and her mother provided a solid emotional foundation for Schuman and her two older brothers and sister, the fledgling musician played in a high school rock band and started working on her musical chops.

“I had five years of classical piano, and that creeps into my songs every now and then,” she says.

Schuman went to work right out of high school in restaurants, and moved to San Juan Island in 1980. She didn’t go back to music until she was married and in her early 30s.

“It was after my children were born, and I basically picked it up again to sing my kids to sleep.”

Schuman started studying again with island musicians, particularly David Brown, who taught her guitar, and Elizabeth Burton, her voice teacher. She is still close to both musicians, though she no longer takes lessons from Brown. “He taught me all I know about guitar, listened to my songs and critiqued them honestly, and has become a dear friend over the years.”

Schuman continues to take voice lessons from Burton. “We work mostly on opera and classical music, but the training for that has helped tremendously with the other styles of music that I sing. She coaches me in every aspect of performance, and as a result I have much more confidence on stage. I value her knowledge, and feel very lucky that we ended up on the same island.”

In 1995, Schuman recorded a duet album, “Cowboy Blue,” with San Juan Island musician Pat Gislason. The association with Gislason lasted two years. Although the two remain friends, they parted professional ways because Schuman wanted to pursue her songwriting.

She got her push to do the CD from Nashville songwriter Bernie Nelson, a close friend. Nelson has written songs for the Bellamy Brothers and Pam Tillis, among country stars. “Bernie is a friend of (San Juan Island musician) Tom Doenges,” she says. “I met him in 1996 when we did the Country Western Jamboree here on the island. We just hit it off right away.”

Schuman, her husband and Nelson became friends, and Nelson invited the Schumans to Nashville several times.

“He’d show us the town and we’d meet songwriters everywhere. It was so inspiring.”

In 1999 Nelson, Doenges and Schuman played together at the Front Street Ale House and Nelson asked her if she wanted to put a CD together.

Nelson says Schuman is a “breath of fresh air,” compared to the other country singers and songwriters he works with. “Kate isn’t a ‘belly-button princess,’ he says. “She’s funny, honest and knows her stuff musically.”

That musical experience came in handy when she went to work with the studio musicians. “They’re so used to playing Alan Jackson or the Dixie Chicks, Kate’s music was a nice departure,” Nelson says. “It was great fun for them to do the more jazzy or bluesy stuff she’d written.”

Schuman gets her inspiration for the songs she writes from conversations, a snippet from the radio, even things she misunderstands.

“I heard a phrase on TV the other day,” she says. “I heard it as ‘stretching out in the moonlight.’ I wasn’t even close, but I thought, ‘Hmm. That’s something I can work with.’ I mean, you’re always looking for ways to write about the moon.”

“You only go ‘round once,” which is filled with all the poetry, poignancy and lyricism of the best of country music, is also laced with her sense of humor.

On “Thank God My Mama Loves Me,” Schuman exhibits that goofy, self-deprecating sense of humor to fine effect.

Written about someone who finds challenges in getting up each day, it’s a funny piece reminiscent of Shel Silverstein’s “Boy Named Sue.”

On this twangy, funky track, Schuman sings, “Whenever I sing my dog begins to howl, I can play the minute waltz but it takes me an hour …”

What starts out with a humorous lyric can also turn into a more somber or poignant song by the time she’s finished.

“That’s Me In The Middle” began as a funny story, Schuman says. “When I sent a photo of me between my two Bernese mountain dogs, Harpo and Tippy, to Bernie, I wrote ‘That’s me in the middle’ on the back.”

But when she started writing, the meaning of the song changed. The lyrics tell a story about the child who stayed behind in the family’s hometown with the parents and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a sad song, but holds no rancor, just an honest appraisal of a life.

With each of her songs, Schuman paints a picture that reveals traditional country themes — family, love affairs both good and bad — without the sappy remorse and self-serving regret with which country music is sometimes associated.

Every songwriter has a different process, Schuman says. “I start with the lyric. I usually write after everyone’s gone to bed — just me and my guitar in front of the fire.”

Schuman pays close attention to the songwriting craft. Her biggest musical influences include songwriters Rodney Crowell, Delbert McClinton, Guy Clark, John Prine and Steve Earle.

About singer/songwriter Earle, Schuman says, “He knocks me dead. His lyrics … I can’t get over them. When I hear great songwriters like that it’s a challenge to grow.”

With a little help from her friends

Kate Schuman is hosting a CD launch celebration, with a reception afterward, for her new album, ‘you only go ‘round once,’ March 30 at the San Juan Community Theatre.

Schuman will perform with island musicians Tom Doenges, Keith Busha, Thor Hansen, Steve Keys, Dan Gillespie, Mike Adams and Tami Doenges on background vocals.

Tickets go on sale March 12 at the theater box office.

You can find ‘you only go ‘round once’ at Griffin Bay Bookstore, Kings Variety, after the theater performance and Schuman’s website.

— Associate editor Robin Hamilton reports on social issues, health care and entertainment for sanjuanjournal.com and The Journal of the San Juan Islands. She can be reached at (360) 378-4191 ext. 16 or email.

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