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Featured Artist of the Day: Parker Woodland

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Parker Woodland / Photo credit Sarah Morgan Story

 

Indie Music Women’s Featured Artist of the Day is..

Parker Woodland (@parkerwoodlandband)

Parker Woodland is a female-fronted indie rock band from Austin TX. We released our debut EP, The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall In Love) on February 5th, 2021, a four-song collection that pulses with life-affirming energy, fuzzy riffs, and catchy, sing-along vocals while exploring the paradox of finding love, joy, and purpose within a crumbling social framework. At the center of the band is expressive female songwriter/vocalist/bassist Erin Walter, justice activist and longtime leader in the Girls Rock Camp scene, alongside Dan McMonigle on guitar and Ralph Cutler on drums. Parker Woodland is currently in the midst of a unique 60-city virtual tour (including progressive churches, a peace benefit with Willie Nelson, a women’s conference, and get-out-the-vote events) helping to foster community in hard times while also promoting the new EP.   (Bio courtesy of the band)

Erin shared with me what it means to her personally to be an indie music woman artist:

“As long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to be a songwriter and a lead singer. It brought tears to my eyes even typing that, because I mostly kept that dream to myself for so long. If one woman reads this and thinks, “I’m not keeping my dream to myself anymore,” I’ll be thrilled. For years, I’ve played bass in bands while working full-time as a writer and community organizer. But I didn’t quite connect the writing part of myself and the music part of myself until Parker Woodland. The gratitude I feel to have met the members of my band, just jamming in my neighborhood a couple of years ago, and then to have the spark of inspiration finally strike — “The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall in Love)” — it’s hard to even put it into words. Singing and songwriting have taken hold of my life, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, spiritually and creatively. 
What makes me part of the world of indie music women, though, is my passion for it and the constant hustle and effort behind the scenes. Only my husband and kids see how early I get up to send songs to radio stations, one DJ at a time, or how many journals and voice memos I have filled with songs in progress. There’s the daily work of all the social media accounts, the website, collaborating with music video editors, friends who are doing remixing, coordinating Parker Woodland’s big virtual tour, keeping up with our email list, Twitter, thanking the people who support and share our music. Writing songs is the most fun part, though it’s funny to say that because in the pandemic I’m writing a lot of songs that make me cry. Getting the music out there takes determination and grind, and I do it every day because it matters so much to me. I cannot pretend to be cool about it. Every single person the music reaches, it means the world to me. And I’m trying to put myself in positions to be learning from people who’ve been at this a long time, so I can share what I Iearn with others.
This has been a lonely year in a lot of ways. I miss the 2019 version of life — practicing with the band every week, hearing Dan McMonigle’s guitar in the room. When the pandemic hit, not being able to play live shows was devastating, especially for Austin, Texas, as the Live Music Capital of the World, and for me, as someone who was just coming into her own as a frontwoman and vocalist. It’s been a hard time for independent musicians. I’ve been grappling with grief pretty constantly. But this is also a time for reimagining everything, for being guided by our deepest dreams. So many opportunities have opened up in the past year since all my energy isn’t focused on local live shows and rehearsals. Writing, recording, connecting with other artists, Zooming all around North America with my music — I wake up every day full of purpose and drive, and that is the best feeling. I am so thankful, and I believe “The World’s On Fire (and We Still Fall in Love)” is only the beginning.
Making music is about being part of the larger community for me. It’s about the Girls Rock Austin and Girls Rock Camp scenes. It’s about songs for justice activism and joy in hard times. Having a band is about being part of something much bigger than myself and inviting others in, so they can feel the spark of their dreams coming alive, too.”
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