 Catholic
Mom Music Spotlight
Gretchen Harris
 CM:
Thanks so much for your participation in this CatholicMom.com Music
Spotlight. Can you please tell us a little bit about yourself and
your
family?
I am a Catholic recording artist, but more than that I am a wife and
mother of three. I have two girls and a boy, all in school, so I
work on my
ministry during the school hours. I like to be totally free for my
family
when they're home! We live on the Palos Verdes Peninsula in Los
Angeles
County, California. My husband and I both grew up here - our parents
and
brothers are still here... We sure didn't stray far from home! I've
been
recording contemporary Catholic music since 1991 - I've made four
albums so
far - and I've been blessed to travel and see much of our country
doing
Catholic television and church concerts, and I've sung in other
countries
too - like Brazil, Canada, Germany, and I'll singing in Italy in the
next
couple of weeks! The schedule gets a little crazy sometimes, but
it's
important to me to say "yes" to every opportunity to minister in
song!
CM: What do you feel makes your music unique? What are some of
your goals
and hopes for your music?
My music is unique in that I hear it's very soothing. I don't know,
but I
think it's the tone of my voice. I hope it has a calming, peaceful
effect on
people so they can open their hearts to God in prayer and also
accept any
hard times or circumstances they're going through with a peaceful
heart,
knowing that God is right there with them.
CM: Please describe your
own faith journey with the Catholic Church, and how
this has impacted upon your music ministry.
I grew up Catholic and was involved in the
Youth Group and the Youth Choir
from my early teens. I looked around briefly at other denominations
while in
college, but I found I hungered deeply for the Eucharist. I came
back and
vowed to bring the outward enthusiasm I found in the other churches
to my
Catholic church, and I've never looked back! In 1991 I went to
Medjugorje,
and that deepened my faith even more. It is very important to never
stop
learning, but to grow in knowledge of the faith. I love reading the
writings of the Saints, and I'm in three different prayer/study
groups. I
just can't get enough! :)
CM: Fill us in on your
musical background...what type of training have you
had? What's your favorite type of music?
I've been singing since 3rd grade or so. I
received wonderful training in
the Choir at Loyola Marymount University, and I've been keeping up
with
voice lessons and performance coaching. It's important to me to do
my best
on stage so I can get the message across clearly and the people can
just
relax and take it all in. As for my favorite type of music, I have
to say
it just depends on my mood! (Such a woman!) I like the clean message
and
the great vocals in Country, I absolutely love Modern Rock Worship
music -
it carries me through any stressful times, I also adore Classical
music - it
just sends me...!, and I love to have peaceful, beautiful music
playing in
my house all day - it calms the atmosphere...... like Sarah
Brightman,
Andrea Bocelli, Yanni...
CM: Who are some of your
favorite recording artists, both Catholic and
non-Catholic?
My favorite Catholic artists are Matt Maher (like crazy!), Ceili
Rain, Renee
Bondi, Greg Walton... And non-Catholic, I mostly love the Irish band
"The
Corrs." They're very talented with their instruments, and they blend
Celtic
music with pop. It's really great. Besides, they've played for the
Pope! :)
And right now, I just love anything I hear from Clay Aiken and
Luther
Vandross. Also, I love going on power walks with JoDee Messina in my
headphones!
CM: How do you choose the
music you will record? If you write original
lyrics, what is the inspiration behind your words?
I usually come at an album with a few
popular Catholic songs that I love and
that I want to present in a slightly unique light. My producer will
then
play for me a bunch of songs, and if I totally love any, I'll
include them.
Then we usually co-write one or more, depending on the album. I'm
primarily
a lyricist, and I always write from my life experience - mostly
moments
with family that are personal yet hopefully common enough that the
listener
can relate.
CM: What can Catholic
parents do to support Catholic recording artists? How
can we help our children make good listening choices?
Catholic parents can support Catholic
recording artists in a few ways: 1.
Get our music by visiting our websites and those of our
distributors. 2.
Listen and enjoy! 3. Contact us for our press kits and pass them on
to your
pastors - In other words, invite us to sing for your parish! We love
to do
concerts in churches, and it certainly helps spread the message of
Contemporary Catholic Music! Also, I'm in my car a lot, so I just
say I
have a rule: Music is the driver's choice! That's when I play my
Catholic
CDs (since my kids are older, I play the pop or rock ones) or I put
on
Catholic or contemporary Christian radio. I think it sinks in
through
osmosis that way... Also, as the kids get older, the family must
keep to
strict standards as to what's appropriate and what's not in their
listening
choices. I present it like, "That's not good enough for your
beautiful
ears," or "You're too good for that stuff." No foul language, no bad
rap!
There are such great musicians in Catholic music, especially
Lifeteen, that
it should please any teen or pre-teen. Also, there are so many
genres in
Catholic music now - we're not just Litugical anymore! (Even though
I love
Liturgical music - I still cantor at my church.)
CM: What future projects
are you working on?
In the next few months, I hope to be
finishing my Rosary CD. It's shaping
up, but with the time I put in with my family, things are moving
slooowly....
After that, it's on to another music album! I hope and pray to do
five more
albums before my voice gives out. We'll see what God has planned!
CM: How can our readers
order your music?
My four albums are available through my website:
www.gretchen-harris.com.
There are song samples for listening and lots of info and pictures.
Also
there's a guestbook and a link to email me to say hi! My music can
also be
ordered on several other websites, like
Catholic Music Network,
TroubadourForTheLord.com, and Amazon.com. My albums are also
available in
many Catholic bookstores; if they're not in yours, ask them to order
some
through HeartBeat Records or Troubadour Distribution.
CM: Are there any
additional comments or thoughts you'd like to share with
our CatholicMom.com readers?
Mostly, just keep up with that prayer
life! I know it's hard with kids and
husbands to take care of and love, but there's nothing like the help
gained
from the Lord and the Blessed Mother. I get up early and go to Mass
every
day at 6:00am - it's the perfect start to a usually hectic day! Plus
daily
Rosaries, Chaplets, Scripture readings, weekly Adoration -- It's
like Heaven
on Earth! And thank you so much for reading this interview. I look
forward
to you visiting my website, listening to my music, and hopefully
meeting you
someday in person!
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