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Anchor - EP

by Heather Miller

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    Five songs on a shiny pink disc, with artwork by Alicia Carradus and photo by Shawnee Kilgore! Comes with an Anchor sticker!

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    Get all 7 Heather Miller releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Count it in Moons, Sleep Meditation, Heather Miller Live at KOOP, You Are Not Alone, Ornaments and Memories, Anchor - EP, and December Demos. , and , .

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1.
Keep telling me about the lonely Keep telling me about the scared Keep telling me that it don’t matter and that you don’t really care Keep telling me that you’re too tired Keep telling me that it won’t work Keep telling me you had the vision But your boss was such a jerk I will hear you out, when you’re filled with doubt Keep telling me that it won’t happen Keep telling me that you’re too broke Keep telling me that love’s for suckers and how your life is one big joke You don’t need a Cinderella ending Just enough to pay your debts Why’d they fill our heads with fairy tales If this is what we get? Keep telling me about your passion Keep telling me about your dreams Keep telling me your tiny secrets And how far off they seem Tell me one good thing, just one good thing about today I can’t tell you it’ll change tomorrow I can’t tell you it’ll change next year But if a spark could be ignited Or you could stare down one small fear Would you tell me one good thing, just one good thing Come on, there’s one good thing about today
2.
He's still snoring as I shuffle to the kitchen Tie my robe, and put the kettle on the stove I light a cigarette, this is the only chance I'll get look out the window as I wait to hear the boil The only thing to see across the way is a green hedge I knock the ashes off against the window ledge If I had a dream I can't remember If you ask me how I am I'll say I'm fine I'll tell you about the tulips or the roses or the weather and tonight I'll pour another glass of wine He always promised we would travel When all the kids had all grown up and gone But he worked himself to death, and there's not much of him left Still somehow through the years he's clinging on I know it's my duty to stay here by his side For better or worse is what I promised as his bride And If I had a dream I can't remember If you ask me how I am I'll say I'm fine I'll tell you about the tulips or the roses or the weather and tonight I'll pour another glass of wine The shoreline of Alaska is calling out my name A lullaby is whispering from the rails beneath a train The drumbeat of old Ireland is pounding through my veins It's all a lie, it's all a lie when I say that If I had a dream I can't remember If you ask me how I am I'll say I'm fine I'll tell you about the tulips or the roses or the weather and tonight oh tonight yeah tonight I'll pour another glass of wine
3.
I am just a simple whale I sing my way across the ocean But when Jonah’s ship set sail An age old plan was put in motion I was appointed on the day that I was born I won’t spite the hand that feeds me He doesn’t ask too often and He doesn’t ask too much I will do as my Lord needs me When they threw Jonah to the waves I was waiting there to catch him That bellyacher banged my belly for three days It was worse than indigestion I was appointed on the day that I was born I won’t spite the hand that feeds me He doesn’t ask too often and He doesn’t ask too much I will do as my Lord needs me Then the man inside made peace The struggle in my gut was over I heaved him out upon the beach Turned to face the deep and dove there I was appointed on the day that I was born I won’t spite the hand that feeds me He doesn’t ask too often and He doesn’t ask too much I will do as my Lord needs me I was appointed on the day that I was born I won’t spite the hand that feeds me He doesn’t ask too often and He doesn’t ask too much I will do as my Lord needs me I am just a simple whale I sing my way across the ocean
4.
Rain Song 03:34
Everybody needs a rain song Something to sing when it’s been dry too long Everybody needs a rain song So come on, come on rain It’s so hot, the blacktop is crying The potted plants on the porch are all dying The grass is greener in some other state We’re watching the sky and asking it why All we can do is pray Everybody needs a rain song Something to sing when it’s been dry too long Everybody needs a rain song So come on, come on rain Come some other time we may get floods And we’ll forget about how dry it was The only constant is the weather will change So we keep watching the sky and asking it why All we can do is pray Everybody needs a rain song Something to sing when it’s been dry too long Everybody needs a rain song So come on, come on rain Everybody needs a rain song Something to sing when it’s been dry too long Everybody needs a rain song So come on, come on rain So come on, come on rain So come on, come on rain
5.
Anchor 03:55
Gonna throw my anchor down Gonna hold my head up high Gonna claim this brave new world In the name of you and I Gonna throw my anchor down Gonna hold my head up high Gonna claim this brave new world In the name of you and I I’m leaving behind everything I know to follow the calling deep within my soul Don’t know what awaits me on the distant shore But that sweet siren song, I can no more ignore Dreams I have aplenty, possessions I have few My compass has been broken, but my heart is true If I can make my way, if I can soldier on the life that I once knew, will be dead and gone and that golden prize will at last be won So I’m Gonna throw my anchor down Gonna hold my head up high Gonna claim this brave new world In the name of you and I Gonna throw my anchor down Gonna hold my head up high Gonna claim this brave new world In the name of you and I

about

2011 brought about a seismic shift in Heather Miller’s relationship to her path in music. While she was championing the art of so many songwriters via her Lyrical Venus radio show and blog, she still felt a void in relation to her own art. The nagging calling to do something led her to find Rubicon Artist Development in Austin, Texas, a recording studio and year-long mentorship program founded by producer and musician Daniel Barrett. Rubicon offered intensive study and goal-oriented mentoring in writing, musicianship, performing, and recording.

The songs on Anchor reflect Miller’s journey from Iowa to Texas, with opening track “Keep Telling Me” addressing the fears that everyone faces when trying to take a big leap in life. “Shoreline of Alaska” again explores searching for something greater while trying to make it through every day existence. “Jonah’s Whale” continues the nautical theme of the record with a twist on an old story that addresses the inner turmoil of being a human...or a whale. “Rain Song” pulls from Miller’s first long, hot summer in Austin, perhaps an overly warm welcome with drought conditions, fire warnings, and 100+ degree weather. The chorus of “Everybody needs a rain song, something to sing when it’s been dry too long,” becomes a classic folk song, a simple prayer set to melody. Finally, the title track, written when Miller first arrived in Austin, turns out to be a self-fulfilled prophecy. “I’m leaving behind everything I know to follow the calling deep within my soul...I’m gonna throw my anchor down, gonna hold my head up high.”

Sonically, the album pulls from Miller’s acoustic folk roots and builds on them with appearances by some of Austin’s finest musicians. Rick Richards on drums (Joe Walsh, Dixie Chicks, Mary Gauthier), Red Young on piano and Hammond organ (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt), Daniel Barrett on guitar and bass (porterdavis), and Warren Hood on fiddle (The Waybacks) are all featured on Anchor.

After coming to Austin to explore the life of a working musician first hand, Miller left not only having seen it but was living it daily, and with the release of Anchor, she is planting herself firmly in the musical world and following her calling. “I don’t have that nagging voice anymore asking, “When are you going to do the music?” Now it’s like, this is who I am and what I do...you don’t get freaked out about how to make eggs in the morning...you just do it. All that anxiety of wishing and hoping isn’t there anymore. It’s happening.”

credits

released November 13, 2012

Produced, recorded, and mixed by Daniel Barrett at Rubicon Artist Development www.rubiconartistdevelopment.com
Mastered by Mark Hallman at Congress House; Austin, TX

Players:
Heather Miller - vocals, acoustic guitar
Daniel Barrett - vocals, bass, electric guitar, baritone electric guitar, glockenspiel, tambourine, keyboards and programming
Red Young - piano, Hammond organ
Rick Richards - drums
Warren Hood - fiddle on Rain Song
Ana B - vocals on Jonah’s Whale, Rain Song and Anchor
Bettina Davis - vocals on Anchor
Connie Galindo - vocals on Rain Song and Anchor
Jana Pochop - vocals on Keep Telling Me

Artwork by Alicia Carradus - aliciacarradus.blogspot.com
Design by Emily Shirley - www.emilyshirley.com
Photo by Shawnee Kilgore - shawneekilgore.com

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Heather Miller Austin, Texas

Heather writes songs of connection. Connecting what you've been feeling to what you've been trying to say. Connecting to characters that feel like long lost family. Connecting lightness and humor to loneliness and hurt. Taking her place in the lineage of acoustic folk songstresses, Heather is the real deal. She will brighten your day and soften your heart. ... more

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