I started playing guitar when I was six, that’s when my dream of being a singer and performer really started. I never just listened to music, I studied and worshiped it. I memorized everything from Adam Ant to Rickie Lee Jones.

Where did you grow up?
I grew up in rural Vermont, amidst the Green mountains.

Who and what influenced you most growing up?
Wow, big question! Many, many people and many, many things influenced me growing up. The first thing that springs to mind is my stepfather Ted and my Uncle Chip, who used to come over to our house and play music at the kitchen table or in the living room. I wanted to know how it felt to make such a beautiful noise. Ted also bought me my first Fats Waller album. My mom played folk guitar, too. She’d sing me to sleep playing songs from the Peter, Paul and Mary songbook; with songs like “Rock-a-my Soul in the Bosom of Abraham”. I didn’t know what it meant, but I loved it. They both always made sure I had good music and humor in my life.

How was your family life?
Well, there was always music, and never a lot of money. I was an only child until I was 12, when my sister Mary was born, (she’s the one I wrote Mary’s song about). My sister and I are very close. I remember feeling very bored and unchallenged by the small town life, though now when I visit it I appreciate it deeply. I did travel a lot, and I was taught to have a deep appreciation of books. We read to each other all the time. We loved the Muppet show, we loved animals, we canoed and chopped wood. We lived around the wood stove in the winter. We would get the telescope out for any celestial event, even if it was the middle of the night and deep, dark winter. There were always guitars, mandolins, harmonicas, and a piano in every house. It was perfect in many ways, perfect for a burgeoning artist.

Do you have a big family?
Yes and no. Small immediate, large extended.

Is anyone else in your family musically inclined?
Yes, my stepfather is a mean blues guitar player and singer, my sister plays piano and sings.

Did you take lessons either for your vocals or guitar?
Just a few, when I was six I took some guitar lessons and when I was 26 or so I took a few vocal lessons. I was mentored a lot by friends and family, but a good portion of my skills were self-taught.

When did you realize you wanted to pursue music professionally?
After I wrote my first song, and somebody recorded it and I was selected to perform in a showcase by the Songwriter Hall of Fame in New York city. Everything I had ever tried to do up till that point had eventually bored me in pretty short order. I thought I was crazy or chronically dissatisfied, but it turns out I was just an artist, which meant I was both those and more! Mis something that I feel in every cell of my body, and I have never given up on it through all manner of trial and tribulations.

How often do you perform with a full band?
Not as often as I would like! I can do all my songs as I wrote them, solo on a guitar. I have an amazing pool of musicians I have worked with over the years I can pull from who make each gig spectacular… I have often played as a duo with guitar player and producer Danny Shaffer, and I am excited to be collaborating now with some musicians I may play with more regularly.

Do you have a preference? Solo or full band?
The truth: I love them both. Sometimes my music is quiet, it’s not dance music or anything that’s gonna cause a mosh pit. Hopefully, the lyrics are compelling and need to be heard, rather than just having a catchy hook and slick production. There are many challenges to playing with a band, one of them is not losing the original song or lyrics to the sound of the band. Bands are tricky, but the times when I’ve played with my “dream” musicians, it’s been fantastic.

How did you decide to become a producer?
Well, just from being around studios and being produced all the time. I watched everything with fascination, it is such a magical process. There are many, many better producers than I am, I think that my strengths are producing vocals and editing. I can’t mix, master, or “set up a sound”. Those are rare gifts. I have worked with many producers who just blow me away, Danny Shaffer and Butch Stewart to name two.

How does “The Wave” differ from your second album “Summer in Heaven”?
The main difference is that “The Wave” exists! I can’t really say how they are different, I suppose someone very knowledgeable about my body of work could hear the difference between older and more recently written material. Final decisions have not even been made about the songs that will be included. Perhaps we could talk again after it’s released and you can tell me!

Certainly, this is a great thing to see, but what was the catalyst that caused you to start making family music?
It’s cliché I know, but I am a big kid at heart. Songs that I write for families come from the same place as my “adult” music, straight from my heart. I started teaching classes for kids, and then the songs just flowed. Being around children is very inspiring to me, because they are so pure. They remind you to continue to be amazed by everything.

So, you run a music studio, right? Tell me more about that and the families you work with..
I don’t run the type of studio where music is recorded, “Happy Child Studios-a music and movement studio for families” (Happychildmusic.com) refers to the teaching, writing, and producing that I do for families, my “Happy Child Music”. My goal is to product concerts, music, and classes that the whole family can enjoy, not children’s music that adults have to endure, you know what I mean?

What have been some of the highlights of your career thus far?
What I consider to be the highlights are not what other people might think. I have done things and worked with some people considered to be “high profile”, I have won some awards and I am proud of my achievements. But the most rewarding things have been small moments, and the honors bestowed on me by my fans and supporters. For example, when I was asked to sing “Thunder Road” at a memorial service for someone’s loved one, or when a woman told me she brought my music to play when she was in the delivery room, or the times when someone has told me that listening to one of my songs over and over has helped them through a rough time. These are the moments I treasure. These are the things that remind me “Now this is why I make music.” Making music is a gift, and to have it listened to and appreciated is a privilege for me. Music is the sound of the love in my heart.

What are you plans in the next year?
I plan to go super nova this year, baby! I feel that I am on the verge of a great explosion, that all of the dues and all of the lessons and all of the work I’ve done over the years are all coming together in a beautiful fruition in this new season of my career and life. I am excited. I plan to finish “Summer in Heaven”, to release a new Happy Child Music CD, and a Christmas album as well. I plan to tour, travel, and sing my heart out. I have recently established a new space for Happy Child Music in Evanston, and launched a new website “Happychildmusic.com”

Is there anything more that you’d like to share with us?
Not really! Seems like I’ve already shared so much, I just hope I haven’t bored you all!

Not at all. This has been wonderful!
Thank you very much for your time and we look forward to seeing your career blossom even more!

Thanks! Thanks for your support and including me in your cool website! All the best!

To find out more about Julie, please visit her official website at: www.juliefrostmusic.com