Rhonda Louise - New Album!
Donation protected
"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." (Neale Donald Walsch).
I found this quote some time ago, and at the most appropriate time in my life. I don't remember not knowing how to play the piano or how to read music. Music has always been my therapy but also my passion and identity. I always wanted to play, write, record, and perform, but crippling fear and enormous self-doubt got in the way.
A car accident September 10th, 2004, caused me to stop, emotionally and literally, and to examine my life and what I was doing with it. After some time of learning and growing, musically and personally, I decided it was finally time to go for it.
"A Reminisce", my debut CD, was my first-born, and was released in June 2011. My sophomore CD "Paradise" followed in March 2013, and my single "Rahab" was released in May 2014. Each project came with its own growing pains but also rewards and awesome surprises. I've loved sharing each song then receiving responses from those who have heard them.
This past August I met 5 time Grammy-nominated artist/producer/songwriter Billy Smiley at a music festival and we connected immediately. As a founding member and producer of White Heart, Billy also helped discover, develop, produce, and/or write for such artists as The Newsboys, Steven Curtis Chapman, Aaron Shust, Margaret Becker, Clay Aiken, Johnny Cash, Petra, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Geoff Moore and the Distance, Rachel Rachel, The Gaither Vocal Band, 4 Him, and Michael English. I shared my music with Billy, and he later contacted me, inviting me to work on my music with him in his studio in Nashville. Of course, I accepted his invitation.
In November, I flew to Tennessee to work with Billy. We wrote, critiqued, played, sang, and recorded the demos of each song, creating a rough draft of what each song could become. But more importantly, we talked, shared, and became stronger friends. I knew I would have moments of realization then release, but I didn't know how deep, healing, and freeing they would be.
I am now looking forward to returning to Nashville to record my next project with Billy. We hope to record every song we have co-written, as each song is unique, both in sound and message. Broader writing, musically and lyrically, will, I hope, reach a larger audience. Addiction, mental illness, and discontentment, but also striving, dreams, and love are all subjects we have written about. Our songs are fun and uplifting, but also honest and deep, some left with questions unanswered.
I've been able to share these songs in my performances, such as at bistros and in churches, but also in darker places. For example, I had the privilege of performing at Calgary's Young Offender Centre (youth jail) last year, and through that began regular visitation with one of the boys. Our visits are fun but also personal, and through the Holy Spirit's guidance I've been able to minister to him in ways I never thought possible. I look forward to each weekly visit.
I've also shared my testimony of God's grace to me and my family through hospital and home visitation to families struggling with loneliness, poor health, and uncertainty. Because of my history and my family's history of poor health, I'm able to share God and how he gave us strength and guidance to carry on.
In both ministries I have encouraged them by sharing my favorite passage of Scripture - "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him." (Psalm 40:1-3).
I'm grateful to my husband Peter, and our boys Lee and Adam, for their awesome support and encouragement in my music ministry. Their cheerleading and belief in me has meant more than they know.
I look forward to recording this next project and discussing new goals and aspirations with my friend and producer Billy Smiley. As I am an unsigned artist, and do not have professional investors involved, I am depending on people like you. The donations raised will be used to pay for recording my new album this summer (recording studio fees, studio engineer fees, musician and producer fees, travel and accommodations, copyright and packaging fees, and distribution fees). I know I will be stretched personally but also as a musician, and in my music ministry. I don't know what the future holds, but I know God does, and that's all that matters.
Thank you for praying for me as I continue in obedience in this work, and for my family and I in our seasons of change. Thank you, too, for considering donating to this vision, to help fund my next project and to further my music ministry. It means more than you know.
Keep going,
Rhonda Louise
www.rhondalouise.net
I found this quote some time ago, and at the most appropriate time in my life. I don't remember not knowing how to play the piano or how to read music. Music has always been my therapy but also my passion and identity. I always wanted to play, write, record, and perform, but crippling fear and enormous self-doubt got in the way.
A car accident September 10th, 2004, caused me to stop, emotionally and literally, and to examine my life and what I was doing with it. After some time of learning and growing, musically and personally, I decided it was finally time to go for it.
"A Reminisce", my debut CD, was my first-born, and was released in June 2011. My sophomore CD "Paradise" followed in March 2013, and my single "Rahab" was released in May 2014. Each project came with its own growing pains but also rewards and awesome surprises. I've loved sharing each song then receiving responses from those who have heard them.
This past August I met 5 time Grammy-nominated artist/producer/songwriter Billy Smiley at a music festival and we connected immediately. As a founding member and producer of White Heart, Billy also helped discover, develop, produce, and/or write for such artists as The Newsboys, Steven Curtis Chapman, Aaron Shust, Margaret Becker, Clay Aiken, Johnny Cash, Petra, BeBe & CeCe Winans, Geoff Moore and the Distance, Rachel Rachel, The Gaither Vocal Band, 4 Him, and Michael English. I shared my music with Billy, and he later contacted me, inviting me to work on my music with him in his studio in Nashville. Of course, I accepted his invitation.
In November, I flew to Tennessee to work with Billy. We wrote, critiqued, played, sang, and recorded the demos of each song, creating a rough draft of what each song could become. But more importantly, we talked, shared, and became stronger friends. I knew I would have moments of realization then release, but I didn't know how deep, healing, and freeing they would be.
I am now looking forward to returning to Nashville to record my next project with Billy. We hope to record every song we have co-written, as each song is unique, both in sound and message. Broader writing, musically and lyrically, will, I hope, reach a larger audience. Addiction, mental illness, and discontentment, but also striving, dreams, and love are all subjects we have written about. Our songs are fun and uplifting, but also honest and deep, some left with questions unanswered.
I've been able to share these songs in my performances, such as at bistros and in churches, but also in darker places. For example, I had the privilege of performing at Calgary's Young Offender Centre (youth jail) last year, and through that began regular visitation with one of the boys. Our visits are fun but also personal, and through the Holy Spirit's guidance I've been able to minister to him in ways I never thought possible. I look forward to each weekly visit.
I've also shared my testimony of God's grace to me and my family through hospital and home visitation to families struggling with loneliness, poor health, and uncertainty. Because of my history and my family's history of poor health, I'm able to share God and how he gave us strength and guidance to carry on.
In both ministries I have encouraged them by sharing my favorite passage of Scripture - "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him." (Psalm 40:1-3).
I'm grateful to my husband Peter, and our boys Lee and Adam, for their awesome support and encouragement in my music ministry. Their cheerleading and belief in me has meant more than they know.
I look forward to recording this next project and discussing new goals and aspirations with my friend and producer Billy Smiley. As I am an unsigned artist, and do not have professional investors involved, I am depending on people like you. The donations raised will be used to pay for recording my new album this summer (recording studio fees, studio engineer fees, musician and producer fees, travel and accommodations, copyright and packaging fees, and distribution fees). I know I will be stretched personally but also as a musician, and in my music ministry. I don't know what the future holds, but I know God does, and that's all that matters.
Thank you for praying for me as I continue in obedience in this work, and for my family and I in our seasons of change. Thank you, too, for considering donating to this vision, to help fund my next project and to further my music ministry. It means more than you know.
Keep going,
Rhonda Louise
www.rhondalouise.net
Organizer
Peter Janzen
Organizer
Calgary, AB