Maree McRae’s voice is confident and endearing on the phone. She’s calling from Denver; her music and voice reflective of the Rocky Mountain foothills and nature’s outdoor pallet. Her surroundings, aside, McRae’s Americana-sound music, is more so testimonial to her son’s struggle with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID).
CVID is a disease that affects the immune system. McRae’s son Stephen, now a teenager, is confronted daily with his illness. The lyrics McRae presents in the title track Urgency narrate a deep love. McRae’s perspective on living with disease transpires to all survivors.
“I was recently playing the Race For Cure dinner,” McRae said. “I was playing Urgency. I’m singing, really into it. I totally broke down and started crying. It came from the bond that I was creating in that room. It was a totally spontaneous emotion. That’s what great music is about. I was totally moved by all that energy. It was so cool. It was really a moving experience.”
I Won’t Settle for Less
McRae’s debut project I Won’t Settle for Less (Northwind Records, 1995), gained strong attention and landed on Gavin’s National Top 40 Americana Chart. As accolades and the tour machine gained momentum, Stephen’s condition worsened. At the time, they weren’t able to diagnose. The decision to forgo her touring career was never questioned.
“He’s had issues since he was two,” she said. “Sometimes it takes years to diagnose. I was asked to commit to nine months of touring. I remember that feeling – that but word. It’s hard enough when you have a healthy child. I knew there was no way I could take him with me. The record did well. I had a heavy sigh of relief on my shoulders ‘at least we know’ when we found out. All those years of wanting to know.”
Produced by multi-platinum producer, Wyatt Easterling and Grammy –award winning engineer, Mark Capps, Urgency was released in August 2009. The result is a 12-track collection of folksy, sometimes rockabilly, solid songwriting. Standout tracks Speak Your Mind and Move On nicely showcase McRae’s range and perspective.
McRae on McRae
What three words would McRae use to describe herself? Genuine, outgoing, and communicative. She laughed that her band often jokes, “turn her mic off!” during shows because she often shares the stories behind the songs.
“A really big thing in my life is to speak your mind,” she said. “We have the responsibility to respond as human beings, whatever I do I do it genuinely. Music challenges the ego. Too many musicians are about that. I was raised in a meek and humble family. In my career I have felt challenged by this and how I will let my ego react.”
McRae’s Songwriting Process
Saying it’s not too common for her to co-write songs, McRae’s songwriting process includes a digital recorder and sticky notes. “I totally believe I’m a messenger in the emotion that I feel so strongly about,” she added. “I don’t co-write a lot, I guess you could work and work into the ground with other songwriters. Maybe at another point in my life. It’s like asking someone to come into your heart and help me express this.”
Things to Come
McRae’s ease on the phone, and her candor describing her family’s health problems, translates the warmth and honesty in her songwriting. Not to downplay her son’s illness in any way, it’s a sobering but real life experience that many can relate to in her music. However, it’s certainly not the only thing interesting about McRae. She’s truly a talent.
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