singer/songwriter Ginny Owens

SINGER/SONGWRITER
Ginny Owens
LEARNS
AND TEACHES
AS SHE GOES
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ashville singer/songwriter Ginny Owens
has recorded nearly a dozen albums, has
formed her own production company, and is
also totally blind. The Lifeglow editor caught
up with Ginny recently while she was traveling,
and enjoyed some good conversation.
Lifeglow: Ginny, how long have you been
blind?
Ginny Owens: I had a little bit of sight when
I was born, but lost it all by the time I was 3,
through a hereditary condition.
L: So you probably don’t remember seeing
at all?
GO: I really don’t. Sometimes in dreams I
can see, but I can’t remember what that’s like
when I wake up. I just know that I could see
in the dream. It’s very odd.
L: That is odd. I don’t know what to make
of that.
GO: Yeah, I know (laughter).
L: I read that you said your songs have
provided you with a window into the world,
and that they are a lifeline for understanding.
Can you describe that? How are your songs
a window into the world?
GO: Well, for me, a lot of growing up was
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listening—sitting back and listening to people’s
conversations, not necessarily always being
a part of those conversations, but observing
others, observing life, learning life lessons.
And as I’ve observed the world around me,
I’ve chosen to write songs about it.
L: You have a college degree in music,
correct?
GO: I do. I have a music education
degree.
L: And I gather that, in terms of career, that
didn’t quite work out the way you thought it
might.
GO: It didn’t. After college I was searching
for a teaching job. I really wanted to teach
high school choir. But it was very difficult for
school administrators to get past the fear of
someone who is visually impaired teaching
their students.
L: I suppose thinking, how would she do
discipline, or whatever?
GO: Exactly. But of course they didn’t ask
about those things. Anyway, during that time,
there were several people who were interested
in my songwriting, which was something I
had always felt would be impractical—that it
would just be for fun.
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L: You never thought it could be a career?
GO: Not at all. But, you know, the Lord
just opened the doors. I got a writing deal—a
publishing deal—before I found a teaching
job, so I said, well, I guess I’m supposed to
do this. It was very clear, in hindsight.
L: Do you write all of the music you
record?
GO: I write most of it, unless we’re doing
Christmas songs—or hymns.
L: You’ve performed at some interesting
venues. The White House?
GO: Yes!
L: And what are some other places?
GO: Oh, Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
Lilith Fair when Sarah McLachlan and Cheryl
Crowe were the main people who ran Lilith
Fair. In fact, I did the very last year that Sarah
was doing it. It was an honor.
L: How’d you get to the White House, and
what was that like?
GO: I sang the National Anthem for one of
their Sunday afternoon baseball games.
L: I didn’t know they had baseball games
at the Whitehouse.
GO: Well, this was during the young
President Bush’s time. He would have T-ball
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games for kids on the lawn. I got to meet the
Bushes, and they were very nice. It was fun.
L: You ‘re doing your own record label now,
is that right?
GO: Yes, that’s right. I’m now independent,
and have a label we call Chickpower
Music.
L: What are the advantages and
disadvantages of being on your own rather
than having a recording contract?
GO: Well, they’re kind of the same, you
know. The advantage is you’re on your own;
the disadvantage is you’re on your own
(laughter).
L: So do you have some employees? How
does it work?
GO: I have a couple of part-time employees.
I’ve also had some great friends partner with
me that run bigger, significant companies that
help me get certain things done.
L: How many albums have you made since
you started your own company?
GO: The hymn album that just came out,
“Say Amen,” is the third.
L: Are you thinking you might have some
other recording artists besides yourself record
for your production company?
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GO: I am, actually. In just the last few
weeks it’s continued to come up a lot, with
various artists. I feel like it’s just around the
corner.
L: You’re also doing some teaching.
GO: Yes. I went to Belmont University in
Nashville for my music education degree, and
they started a songwriting major several years
ago. The guy that runs the program, who is
a great songwriter—he writes for Steven
Curtis Chapman and various people—he
said, “We need a girl. We need some female
blood in here, because there’s all these boys
teaching.” So I teach a class—Fundamentals
of Commercial Songwriting I—twice a week.
It’s my third semester to teach.
L: Is it fun?
GO: Some days (laughter). It’s hard work. It’s
hard to go from being the audience entertainer
to classroom teaching. Sometimes it means:
No that is not the right answer—and that’s
hard for me.
L: That’s not what you do on stage.
GO: No, not at all. But I actually have a great
class this semester.
L: Tell us something about your spiritual
journey.
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GO: Well, I grew up in the church. I became
a Christian when I was very little. God has
been very faithful to me in many different
situations over the years. I remember once
when kids were being really mean at school,
and my mom said to me, “There are days when
Jesus is your best friend, and there are days
when He’s your only friend.” I think that has
continued to live on in my head even now.
L: What were other spiritual influences—
besides your mom?
GO: Oh, my grandfather. I have quite a few,
actually. I had several Sunday School teachers
who were very significant. I had a great youth
leader in the early part of high school who
challenged me.
L: Have you confronted major challenges
in your spiritual experience?
GO: I have certainly encountered times of
saying, “OK, where is God?” Ironically, I think
when you work in ministry, it’s easy to get to
the point where you just say, “I can’t hear You
anywhere.”
L: Do you sometimes go onstage when you
feel like you just have nothing to give, and you
just have to go anyway?
GO: Oh sure. Absolutely. You can’t travel
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for ten years, doing more than 100 concerts
a year, and not feel that way at times.
L: What do you do then?
GO: You pray. You realize that the Holy
Spirit is far bigger than your feelings. Feelings
aren’t the truth. They’re just what you feel. It’s
about releasing those things and letting God
work.
L: And I’m guessing you’ve had some
experiences when you went into a performance
feeling empty and later learned that you
touched people’s lives.
GO: Absolutely! In fact, it happens more
often than not, which is why I can trust God
through the process. And, you know, it’s more
enjoyable now. I’m just more in charge than
when I was younger. I get to make the calls for
my schedule. I can go back home and teach
and spend time with friends, and then when
the next show comes, I may feel that I have
something new to say.
L: I understand that, in recent years,
you’ve been close to people with health
challenges.
GO: Yes. My mom went through breast and
lymph node cancer last year, and, since I’m
the child who has the portable job, I moved
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home to Jacksonville and stayed with her for
seven months. She’s doing really well now, but
it was not easy. You know, you want to make
the pain go away for your loved one, and you
can’t do it.
L: Did this experience tend to challenge or
strengthen your faith—or both?
GO: Both. I had just been through an
experience the year before where I had been
working with a young lady who had terminal
cancer. She was a writer, and in fact we did
a concert together. I watched the very end
stages of her life. It was very painful, but it
also prepared me for what I was about to go
through with my mom.
L: You also recently spent some time in
New York City.
GO: I did.
L: And you were taking a fiction writing
class?
GO: I took two fiction writing classes.
I thought it would be fun to do something
that I was completely uncomfortable with
(laughter).
L: A lot of people, I think, would figure it
was very challenging for a person who is blind
to be out alone on the streets of New York.
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GO: You know, New York just kind of makes
sense—once you learn the subways. I loved
the independence of walking down the street
to the grocery store and the pharmacy and
getting what I needed and coming back. In
most cities you can’t live like you can in New
York.
L: So do you still have friends in New
York?
GO: I do. I made some really sweet, lifelong
friendships that were kind of surprises. You
know, people don’t go to church in New York
unless they really want to be there, so I had
interactions with people who had a faith that
was just very unlike what I’d seen before—
very passionate and very wise faith.
L: Sounds like a rich growing experience.
GO: Oh yes, it was.
L: Well, Ginny, it’s been a delight getting
together. Thanks so much for giving us some
of your time.
GO: Thank you! It’s been my pleasure. ▼
To learn more about Ginny Owens, to
download some free tunes, or to order CDs, go
online to www.myspace.com/ginnyowens.
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