Rice undergraduates who also are budding artists often have to perform a delicate jug gling act between art and studies. Whether the student is a writer, painter, architect or musician, there are hours of intense concentration on artistic pursuits paired with the rigors of studying for major and nonmajor classes. What makes Rice stand out among universities, students and alumni say, is the fact that Rice allows room for it all — from pursuing passions inside and outside a major to providing the outlets to explore them.
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rtists are not necessarily limited to the traditionally creative majors in the humanities such as music, English or art; in fact, students can be found pursuing the arts while enrolled in a diverse array of majors, from engineering to manage rial studies. The atmosphere at Rice, which promotes cre ativity as well as academic rigor, results in the well-rounded graduate that Rice prides itself on: engineers who can play guitar and musicians who can build robots. For music artist Amy McCarley ’98, the exceptional environment at Rice is what led her to her current success in Huntsville, Ala. McCarley, a NASA contracts specialist by day, dedicates her nights and weekends to performing as a singer and musician. In March 2011, she released her self-titled debut CD in the U.S. and has since been marketing and promoting the album in the U.S. and Europe. McCarley recalls that as a Rice student the environment was ideal for learning economics, her chosen major, and garnering the skills and courage to pursue music seriously. “Most of my economics professors were aware of my dream to write and perform music and would express interest in my progress,” she said. In addition to taking classes in her major, McCarley took music for nonmajors and guitar lessons with instructor Terry Gaschen. In her spare time, she recorded music on her first four-track recorder in her dorm room at Will Rice and played privately for friends. “Terry made music fun and played a big part in encouraging me,” McCarley said. “Rice really gave me the courage to try to do what I wanted to do,” she said. “And with a degree in economics as a spring board, I’ve been able to support myself with income outside of music.” At her day job at NASA’s Office of Strategic Analysis and Communications in Huntsville, McCarley sifts through numbers and spreadsheets and analyzes data. But outside the office, she does an other kind of analysis. A self-described folk and Americana musician, McCarley said her efforts “provide insights” to her audience as she “tries to communicate with them.” It’s a different kind of service, she said, but similar to her day job in its creative component. “As a NASA contracts specialist, I get excited at creating something in Excel that allows me to solve a problem, and I get celebrated for that achievement,” she said. “In music, I generalize the common experience for an audience. It’s the creative aspect that is the parallel between the two.” Managing both occupations can take coordination and can be de manding. McCarley works overtime to make up for time she takes off for shows, and she comes in to her day job early Monday morning even if she’s had little sleep after late-night gigs. From her Rice experience, McCarley also gained the ability to take initiative. As a shy undergraduate, McCarley initially was too frightened to perform in front of crowds. She recalled that Gaschen told her to “just try performing at least three times,” and the rest would follow. During her junior year, she saw an advertisement in the Houston Chronicle for an open mic gig. Despite her shyness, she responded to the ad and played her first show at the Mausoleum, a wine bar in Montrose. After that, everything fell into place. The passion for music performance followed McCarley to Alabama as she ventured into her contracts career. She decided to pursue music
seriously, first by playing for friends and recording demos. “Something in my mind told me that I could cultivate this passion on my own,” she said. “I’ve always enjoyed making music — expressing myself that way and dealing with things to find some kind of truth.” For a decade, McCarley performed locally and across the region until she went on a short hiatus to dedicate her time to writing and producing. Determined to record, mix and perform all the parts alone, she also built a studio in her suburban home. Over a period of a couple of years, she did the grunt work of sound-proofing her home studio, building a drum riser and panels, and acquiring professional music equipment. The reason McCarley wanted to play all the instruments herself on the album, as well as record and mix it herself, was for creative control. “It’s unusual for a woman to do all this herself,” she said. “But I knew what I was going for — what was in my head.” A professional mastering engineer in Nashville added finishing touches to the recording. The result is a mixture of ballads and up-tempo rock songs that is gaining ground in the southeastern U.S. With the help of an agent, McCarley’s music has received considerable Americana radio play in Europe as well. Besides juggling a full-time day job and a music career, McCarley also is taking charge of the marketing of her debut album in the U.S. In addition to playing shows across the Southeast — including popular venues in Nashville and Birmingham — she puts together her own press kits and marketing, which, she said, takes a lot of leg work. But above all, McCarley remembers the essential reasons she was drawn to music: for the expression of emotions and to connect with an audience. “I like to celebrate experiences, hold them up to the light,” she said. “I’m hoping to find an audience that has been through similar experiences.” McCarley grew up in rural Arkansas and began writing lyrics in childhood. She learned to play guitar from her father, and when her mother sang around the house, McCarley would join in. Her musical roots are as diverse as the Southern Baptist hymns she heard every week at church, her grandfather’s Johnny Cash records, and 1970s and ’80s rock and country music. Her writing skills sharpened at Rice when she took a creative writing class with Max Apple, now the Gladys Louise Fox Professor Emeritus of English. His workshops were “helpful to build confidence,” she said, because she had to put down her thoughts and expose them to a classroom of fellow students. Now, McCarley said, lyrics come to her “urgently.” “I realize,” she said, “that my songs are written in over whelming emotional moments.” Song samples from McCarley’s album can be heard at www. amymccarley.com. The album, which is available on iTunes, relies heavily on simply stated lyrics and is notable for its stripped-down, striking sound. McCarley said she stays true to her own personal experiences when writing and never tries to guess what people want to hear. “You take things as they come and see if there’s interest to support what you’re doing as an artist,” she said. “It’s the only way to do it and still feel alive.” McCarley is currently writing for a new album and continues to play frequent shows in the Southeast. She plans to tour Europe this spring.
Rice Magazine
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No. 12
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2012
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