Today we’d like to introduce you to Heather Luttrell.
Heather, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. My business card says ” Professional Possumdiva” as I wear a lot of hats. For the majority of the past 30 years, I have been a full-time musician, touring and traveling all over the world, playing the songs I wrote. I got a big break when I started getting gigs playing large music cruises, and since people fly from all over the world to sail on those, it made this web of places for us to tour and travel to. I played Sixthman cruises for ten years, sharing stages with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Lyle Lovett, Sarah McLaughlin, Patti Griffin, Delbert McClinton,and Brandi Carlile to name a few. My band is a family band: My father, Ralph Luttrell, (who is a luthier and owner of Luttrell Guitars in Sandy Springs) plays dobro, My Uncle Paul Newkirk plays bass, my husband, Blake Parris (of the Young Antiques) plays mandolin and keys, and my Drummer, Craig Henderson, is the brother I never wanted.
For the most part, the past 10 + years, Craig and I toured as a duo all over the country, but as the music industry began to change and morph so much, we have settled back into home, both working as artists, and I also opened a massage business out of my home, Anahata Massage Arts. I work as a neuromuscular therapist, play music and paint the days away. I am currently working on a new album that is being released via Patreon. I am also doing some illustrative work, watercolor being my main medium/focus at the moment. Some of my past have included a lot of large scale acrylic on canvas and fine detail enamel painting on glass.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There’s no such thing as a smooth road. I was on a pretty terrible TV show that almost ruined my musical career because they owned me due to the “sign it or don’t” contract I had to sign. I dropped out of music for around two years, but you never really quit… just take a break here and there. Music lives in you, and if you don’t let it out, you suffer.
I find it can be difficult in this DIY age, where you are expected to manage your own band, book all the tours, write all the songs, run all the financials, pay for upkeep on touring vehicles, make all your merch, pay for your albums to be made, etc., which I did. It gets exhausting and then you’ve emptied your well and have nothing to draw from creatively. Also, being a female in the music industry is extremely difficult. There just aren’t many out there doing what I do. And they always want/expect you to play up your sex appeal, or whatever and I refuse to do that. I still had a huge career doing it, but on my terms.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
I am the lead singer and songwriter in the band, but my drummer has been leading the way lately in that department, cranking out some amazing songs, both lyrically and melodically. We do a wide range of styles and try to keep it interesting, but my heart is in there blues. It’s my favorite genre to sing and it’s definitely where we shine. My art I do a lot of commissions. Although most of my past work has been large-scale, I am moving more into the field of children’s book illustration. I am always up for something new and love projects that challenge me or require me to learn something new. I can make anything given the time and space.
With Anahata Massage, I have converted a room in the back of my house into a massage space. I specialize in neuromuscular therapy and trigger point therapy, incorporating Thai stretching and I also teach yoga. I have an infrared sauna, aromatherapy and energy work. I am known for finding problem spots no one else can and have a knack for finding spots you didn’t know you had in the first place. I like to keep my services affordable and often give my clients “homework” with stretches and exercises to promote healing.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
I would have learned how to read music. I would have gone to art school. Maybe not partied as hard in my early 20s… Nah. I still would have done that.
Pricing:
- My massages start out at $75 per hour
Contact Info:
- Website: www.heatherluttrell.com. www.anahatamassagearts.com
- Email: booking@heatherluttrell.com
- Instagram: @possumdiva
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeatherLuttrellMusic/
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/Possumdiva
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