Singer and songwriter Holly Long didn’t always want to be
a musician. It wasn’t until her mid-20s that the UCLA grad
seriously thought about music as a career.
Now Long, who sounds a little like Mary Chapin Carpenter with a
mix of decidedly confident lyrics and a laid-back sound, is
releasing her second CD, “Every Little Seam” this
week.
“I never thought I was going to be a musician, it was a
just a hobby of mine,” Long said. “From a young age I
thought I wanted to be an actor.”
During her college years, Long could often be found in the
basement of Schoenberg Hall, writing out little folk tunes, even
though she never considered songwriting to be more than a
hobby.
When she graduated from the theater department in 1992, she
joined the masses of aspiring actresses who are all looking to make
it in the film industry here in Los Angeles.
“I felt warm and safe and supported in the theater
community here (at UCLA),” Long said. “When I leapt
into Hollywood, it was like diving into a pool of cold water after
basking in the sun.”
Long refers to the dark period in her life as the time when she
stumbled through Hollywood, acting in tiny independent films and
pilots that no one has heard of, working as a personal assistant,
and waiting on endless tables.
But it wasn’t the countless rejections that discouraged
her. Rather, it was the unsatisfied feeling she had with her
work.
“I was miserable because the work I was getting
wasn’t artistically fulfilling, so I would go home and write
in frustration,” Long said. “Writing was the only thing
that was making me happy.
When Long realized songwriting was what she looked forward to
most after a long day at work, she seriously started to consider a
career change.
“It was clear that the thing that woke me up in the
morning was music,” Long said. “I decided if I were
going to be broke, at least it would be doing what I
love.”
As Long matured and grew from the 5-foot-10-inch, geeky,
insecure high school girl who never had a boyfriend to the
self-assured woman she is now, her songwriting changed and matured
with her. Her earlier music deals with feelings of loneliness,
sadness and her search for love and a place where she mattered in
the world.
Now, even though her songs are far from being poppy dance tunes,
there is a hopeful feeling to them.
“Unlike what youth-obsessed Hollywood wants you to
believe, songwriting is one of those things that you’re
better at when you’re older and you have more
experiences,” Long said
Long also enjoys telling stories about people in her music
““ from friends to characters she has met in books. She says
the ability to create a character is a skill that she acquired in
her acting days.
Long says that what excites her most is when women who come from
completely different backgrounds and places in life can relate to
her music and connect with her own struggles.
Long is eager to express the satisfaction that her new career
has given her life, and expects that it is something she will
continue to pursue for the rest of her life.
“I’m coming into a place that feels really good and
really powerful and I hope I can hang onto it,” Long
said.