#Womencrush: Erin McLendon
We've chatted with many female artists, but Erin McLendon is one of a kind. With a passion for empowering female professionals, Erin discuss the passion behind her latest album "Making It Up As We Go", being part of the duo Sweet Home Symphony, and The Beatles.
Thank you for chatting with Music Update Central! You just released an album called "Making It Up As We Go". What's the inspiration behind the album? Making It Up As We Go was inspired by where I am in my life currently. It's amazing how you think you've got yourself figured out at different stages in life and then all of the sudden you change your mind. This album is where I'm at in life and it's a really great place, actually! The title track basically became my own personal mantra solely because I kept getting told that I HAD to be this ONE THING and mold myself to fit what other people wanted out of my music and I honestly didn't like that mentality. I was trying too hard to be something I'm not so with this album, I owned who I am as an artist, a writer, and as a person and I'm really happy with what came out of it!
You're part of the trio, Sweet Home Symphony. How has this impacted your musical career? They are SO MUCH FUN to sing and make music with!! The cool thing about Zach, Wesley and I is that we all have our degrees in music from three different universities, and three very different musical backgrounds. What makes us so similar is that we all LOVE music and every kind of it! I think that's what makes our sound so unique, we all really value what music can be and not just "what's popular right now." We have this group text where we send ideas back and forth, and sometimes the songs we send each other are great for our sound, and other times, they're great for our individual sounds. Either way, we give each other feedback no matter what! In terms of my career they've really helped me be on top of my game, they've listened to my many, MANY ideas, and they've just been overall really supportive and become like family to me!
Your bio stated you're a fan of The Beatles. What's your favorite Beatles song and how has it played a part in your musical career? I don't think there's ever been one song that specifically played a part in my career. The most amazing thing about The Beatles to me is that they had very little musical training when they first started and so, when they wrote songs they made up chords, they changed time signatures, they did what they wanted just because they thought it sounded good. That's what was so innovative about them, they kept learning and kept building on what they already knew without ever losing sight of who they were as a band. Sure, if you listen to Please, Please Me and then Sargent Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, you'll get a little confused but, the fact is those harmonies are still there, the writing is still there, and what made them such a great band in the beginning at the core, is still there. They grew and so their music grew, and changed, and molded to fit who they were at that time. That's really what influenced me the most!
What's the message behind your song, "When God Made A Women"? When we wrote "When God Made A Woman" it was right in the middle of the election and women empowerment was at the forefront of every woman's mind. Patricia Patts and I wanted to write this as an empowerment song without bashing men. I'm a big believer in the fact that my light has never shined brighter because I unscrewed someone else's so that's really what we wanted to do with this. I am also, by nature, a sassy southern woman so, I couldn't help but poke a little fun! The message is simply that women are amazing and we should be celebrated!