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Nashville Artist Heidi Schwartz goes Hollywood!
Nashville Up & Comer Heidi Schwartz joins the National Lampoon “Cattle Call” Soundtrack!
Tuesday, July 18th (Nashville, TN) – Nashville singer-songwriter Heidi Schwartz has been making waves in the local arts and entertainment community with the release of her debut CD, Firefighter, art shows, and the hotly anticipated “HEIDI WEEK” that recently hit music and art fans. This past week, Heidi finished the final mixes and mastering of “Shelter,” a classic song by Lone Justice to be used for the soundtrack of upcoming major motion picture, National Lampoon’s “Cattle Call” (2006).
After hearing music from Heidi’s debut CD, Firefighter, Director Martin Guigui invited Heidi to join the film’s soundtrack. The 2006 movie “Cattle Call” is the newest film in the popularized National Lampoon series.
The track Heidi recorded for the project is a new version of “Shelter,” a radio hit written by Maria McKee and Steven Van Zandt and popularized by McKee’s country-rock band Lone Justice in the 80’s. Today, the song has been redeveloped with the creative minds of Heidi Schwartz, David Henry (Josh Rouse, David Mead, Guster), and Tres Sasser (Will Hoge) with a couple of new spins that still echoes the classic style of the original version.
“Heidi deserves to be heard…we hear a hit record & the next big thing!”
– Martin Guigui, Director, “Cattle Call” - Nashville Digest
Musicians who also paint aren't all that unusual — the maverick Texan singer-songwriter-multimedia artist Terry Allen comes to mind — but Heidi Schwartz has bundled her interdisciplinary interests into a weeklong celebration.
The local singer-songwriter released her album Firefighter this week with a performance at The Basement, but she's following that up with an art show 7-10 p.m. Saturday at the Art House, 2306 12th Ave. S.
Schwartz has rendered the pained honesty of her lyrics in a series of canvases that correspond to each song on her album, and all of these works, along with others, will be on view at The Art House.
To add to the celebratory nature of the evening — and lend a communitarian spirit as well — neighboring businesses in 12South, among them Serendipity clothing store and Mafiaoza's restaurant, will donate a percentage of the proceeds from their business that night to the Rape & Sexual Abuse Center.
Info: Call the Art House at 383-9119 or visit www.heidischwartz.com. - Jonathan Marx, Tennessean
7 p.m. Fri., July 28, Borders (West End), free
6-10 p.m. Sat., July 29, The Art House, free
Multi-talented singer songwriter, painter and performer Heidi Schwartz opted out of the usual CD release party show shebang and decided to do a whole string of performances and in-stores that she has dubbed "Heidi Week," which culminates with the coup de grace, a 12th Avenue South block party. Many 12South businesses will stay open extra late while on the Art House porch Heidi and her band perform selections from her new album Firefighter, which was made on 12South at David Henry's TrueTone studios with Henry and producer Tres Sasser (Will Hoge).
Also on display at the Art House that evening will be a series of paintings by Heidi inspired by her intensely cathartic lyrics (or in some cases vice versa). The block party event will benefit the Rape & Sexual Abuse Center (RASAC), a charity Schwartz says is close to her heart. Heidi also just scored what could be her big break, a slot on the soundtrack to the new National Lampoon movie "Cattle Call" covering the classic Lone Justice tune "Shelter."
— J.M.W.
- The Nashville Rage - Jason Moon Wilkins
C'mon Heidi, light my fire: Nashville singer-songwriter-firefighter (really) Heidi Schwartz is a musical pyromaniac. She strums one string and sets her guitar ablaze; she sings one note and it billows into a torch. Between her heated pop performance and fiery red hair, the Red Sea (6511 Delmar Boulevard, University City; 314-863-0099) might want to have some extra extinguishers on hand. Gather around the fire with Schwartz at 8 p.m. Thursday, June 1, with Elements Of, Jeff Horwitz, Virginia Reel & Pachyderm. Five bucks—marshmallows not included. K. Pomranz - St. Louis RIVERFRONT TIMES
Named "Best of Cincinnati" for performance w/Pale Beneath the Blue! - City Beat Magazine (Cincinnati, OH)
“BEST BET FOR LIVE MUSIC!” - Creative Loafing
“The acoustic driven melodies [of Heidi Schwartz] are Nashville with-out carrying country stigmas that twang haters will gag on…the art will impress you.”
– GO MAGAZINE
- GO Magazine
Heidi Schwartz--From the open-diary school of singer-songwriters comes this Nashville-based artist and singer. Her creative process apparently includes both songwriting and painting--sometimes about the same subject--which ought to at least make for some interesting album artwork once her upcoming debut album is released. Early demos reveal emotionally charged vocals and a sound that brushes on the Aimee Mann/Patti Griffin side of the musical palette.
- K. Oliver, The Free Times, Columbia's Weekly A & E Magazine
- The Free Times, Columbia's Weekly A&E Magazine
Discography
Firefighter - Heidi Schwartz
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
A Fiery-spirit, Heidi Schwartz expresses pain and passion on her poignant debut record Firefighter. Heidi uniquely melds visual art with musical art as she creates an image for each song. This allows the listener to feel it both sonically and visually. With color and sound, Firefighter represents fighting the pain and the shameful things in the past in hopes of change. Like Heidi says in her lyrics on the title track, “I don’t know how I will ever let it go, I don’t know when the red will not show, ashes of the past linger damage I can no longer mask.” She continues with, “Fight for love that will put out the flames, be a shield when the sparks start up my pain.”
Firefighter is a highly personal record. Heidi deals lyrically with the skeletons in her closet from growing up with an unstable father and distorted family life. “I think it’s been a process for me, seeing what’s real and not real and not just sweep it under the rug,” says the singer-songwriter. This record helped her deal with it, mourn it and move on. “Art is a place to be honest about these ugly emotions that people don’t want to acknowledge. It’s a safe place to put it. It’s the ultimate metamorphosis to make ugly things beautiful.” And that’s exactly what she does on her brilliant debut.
After a grueling, yet productive 2 years playing her guitar on the road, the singer/songwriter returned to her home in Nashville to record her first full-length album. She recorded her heartfelt debut with producer Tres Sasser and acclaimed engineer David Henry. The result is a musical journey on life’s emotional roller coaster, beautifully capturing the depths of despair on the ambient “Great Depression” and the strength of restoration on the spirit-filled “Falling Down.” Heidi poured her soul into this record and delivers a full listening experience.
Each song on this record is a painting, but not just in the listener’s head. Heidi actually created a visual work representing each song. As an artist she is a songwriter, singer and painter. She combines all of her talents as she sees them as a whole. In her paintings, lyrics from the songs whirl through the work combining the visual art with her sonic landscapes. It’s a moving experience to listen to the songs and then see the paintings that they inspire. The artwork opens a different door into each song, expanding the album into a cinematic experience. Heidi explains why she merges the two arts, “I think very visually when I write. The illustrated lyrics help me compose the melodies. They fuel each other.” Firefighter confronts pain with passion and leaves one with a sense of hope in the midst of the angry flames of the human endeavor. For a closer look at this extraordinary artist visit her official website at www.heidischwartz.com.
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