November 1, 2023 • 9 mins
Onoleigh is a singer/songwriter releasing new music called "Walls" which was co-written with Nathan Chapman and John Oates.
The song deals with mental health speaking to the walls and spending time alone.
Onoleigh is a rising star in the Nashville music community.
Lynn Hoffman is the host of Music Saved Me, and we are proud supporter of Musicians on call.
https://www.musiciansoncall.org
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Music Saved Me.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Musicians on Call is a charity that is perfectly aligned
with the mission of this podcast, delivering the healing power
of music since nineteen ninety nine. Why not become a
volunteer or a supporter by going to Musicians on Call
dot org.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Keeping my cup full is the only way I can
pour on other people's And if you're empty all the time,
you're just you're hurting everybody around you and you're not
your best solf. You're not showing that properly. So, like
I said, music and writing this is Yeah, this is
a way that I'm impacting on a waverer scale than
what I could have done on my own.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
This podcast is called Music Saved Me and on each
episode we'll look at a musician, will delve into their
story their deep connection to music. We'll talk with their
fans everyday, people with their own story to tell about
how music has saved them in challenging times. I'm Lynn Hoffman,
and welcome to another episode of the Music Saved Me podcast,
(00:56):
where we focus on the healing power of music. Today,
we're focused on the work of a new artist who
is lauded as the artist to Watch. Honniley believes in
the beauty of music, storytelling, and the ability of her
music to really make a difference. She has a new
single releasing in November called Walls, which she also co
(01:17):
wrote with Nathan Chapman and a mutual friend of ours,
John Oates from the legendary band Holo notes, Honille, welcome
to Music Saved Me. It's so great to have you here.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Hey, thank you so much for having me. I'm so
excited me too.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
All Right, We're going to start off with a hard question.
Do you believe that music has supernatural healing powers?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (01:38):
One percent of the time.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I will go more into it, but I was, you know,
a middle school guidance counselor actually, and I was doing
therapy in that sense, and then I decided to kind
of bop out and do what I'm doing now. And
I will almost argue that, yeah, the therapy, the supernatural
qualities with that of just change.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
It's it's amazing, really cool.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Tell us what music has shaped you and maybe perhaps
helped you through some challenging times in your life.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Absolutely, I would say Adell is a huge, huge piece
of that Fleetwood map, huge piece of that and I
think the key element with that is real vulnerability, the
ability to go beyond and say something a little bit
bigger than yourself. So a lot of music has really
shaped me, but ultimately it's the stuff it's a little
a little harder to talk about and easier to sing
(02:27):
about for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Now talk to us about your new song Walls. It's
about your walls, talking your childhood room, walls they heard.
Tell us why that song conveys an important message about
music and more importantly, mental health.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Oh absolutely well, I would say that your childhood bedroom
or your walls around you, they know you better than
anybody because that's when you are the most stripped down
version of yourself. Right, no one's watching, there's no Hawthorne effect,
you're not acting any better, You're just completely raw. And
so I think there was this metaphor, this imagery that
I had where I'm like, you know, this song is
all about a conversation, like you know me better than
(03:03):
anybody knows me, almost more than I know myself. What
would you say? How would you help me through these
hard times? And I hadn't heard a song that had
that perspective yet, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
And so that is really the importance too. With mental
health is.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I think whenever you are struggling, you shut everybody out
and you are just kind of existing and living in it.
And so yeah, walls provide a lot of solids and
sometimes that comfort really you know, helps you heal. So
it's very important.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
What inspired you to write the song Walls?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Yeah, I actually the world had just shut down. The
pandemic could be done.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
The music industry like everything else really just I mean,
if you can't congregate, there's no reason to you know,
sing and perform and things like that. So I went
back to her childhood bedroom in Illinois for the very
first time since I left for college, and I remember
just setting my guitar down my suitcase and I'm like
staring at these walls, and I mean, we're all just
having mental breakdowns, right because there's the fear of the
(03:58):
unknown in the future and a lot of big question works.
And I remember just being like, man, my walls got
me through some of the hardest times in my life.
Full disclosure, I struggled a lot in high school with depression.
It was the hormones were raged and everything was crazy.
But you know, throw that on top of just human
experience growing up and I was like, Man, if these
Walls got me through high school, they can get me
(04:20):
through a global pandemic. They can get me through a
lot of things. And what would they say to me?
And that was a genuine question. So I called up, Yeah,
John Oates, he broke in, Nathan Chapman. We wrote this
song literally on Zoom Zoom, crashed, We went over to
Google meet, finished the song. It was it was a
crazy story, right, But again I wrote them that song
literally on the phone in my childhood bedroom. So it
(04:43):
was it was a very very crazy story. Team that
went along with it.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
But there you go, Wow, well at least you found
something fun to do during the pandemic and that was
actually useful and helpful to people. Speaking of which, your
songs really do tend to reassure people that they're not
alone in life. I'm sure that comes a lot through
from your prior self when you were a social worker
trying to help people. Would you say that writing and
(05:08):
performing and releasing songs, especially songs like Walls and maybe
even Tightrope is an extension of your earlier job as
a social worker, and that you know it's a more
powerful way for you to be able to deliver and
receive a much larger positive impact with people.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yes see, and you said it very perfectly. I'll be
honest my whole life. I'm a very empathetic person. I
feel with people, not just for them, and it impacts
you whenever you are working not closely with children specifically, you.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Know, they would tell me something that you know they
went on with.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
They're completely desensitized to it because that's their experience, and
I would be out for weeks just feeling it, you know,
going through the emotions, and it's really hard being an
EmPATH working so closely and so social work.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I really did love it, and I do love it,
and I still would argue I use my degree on
a daily basis, but keeping my cup full, especially because
I do struggle with you know, mental health and depression specifically,
keeping my cup full is the only way I can
pour on other people's And if you're empty all the time,
you're just you're hurting everybody around you and you're not
your best self, you're not showing up properly. So, like
(06:17):
I said, music and writing this is, yeah, this is
a way that I'm impacting on a way bigger scale
than what I could have done on my own, and
again it's therapy for even myself, you know, at the
end of the day, like you got to be happy
and these songs. I still listen Tirope specifically lately. I've
even turn that on and been like, Okay, where am
I at? How am I navigating on this tightrope? You know,
the polar complexities everything. So it's it's crazy how everything's
(06:41):
kind of turned into it. But I have no complaints
and complaints at all.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Your music talks about finding one's path and embracing one's imperfections,
and you're so dedicated to helping others. How does it
feel when your music not only connects with fans, but
also when it makes a real difference and impact in
their lives.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
So I have had artists that do that for me,
and I guess maybe I can speak more on that
behalf of you know.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I'll give you an example right now. Noah Khan. He's
very much up and coming. He has a very you.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Know, solid I guess, consistency with thinking about mental health
and you know, really dissecting your mind and things like that.
And I went to a concert actually earlier this week
at a sund Amphithea here in Nashville and everyone around me.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
I mean it was a worship experience, right.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
People's hands are in the air, there's tears, people were
in therapy, they were sitting there, and he was up
there with just a guitar, just singing. It was a
total breakdown, and everyone in the audience was listening, right.
And so I'm over here like, if this means music
is doing this for people, that is therapy. We were
at therapy, you know, And so watching other artists do
that has shown me that that is really what people
(07:54):
are wanting, right, They want to feel less alone what
he said, Like my music, I try to really provide
that for people because I've felt very alone, and I
still feel.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Very alone in a lot of my life.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
But I do think you have to feel the highs
too or the lowest use me too full the highs.
So genuinely, if I can have a little bit of
an impact like they've.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Had on me, then I'm in the right business. I'm
doing the right thing. But it's tough work. It's definitely
tough to kind of kind of keep it there. But
we're trying this.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Then you're doing it every day, and boy, what a
gift on both ends. I mean it's like a win
win situation. You get therapy for yourself, you give therapy
to those that need it, and you provide the world
with beautiful music.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
When what's better than that? Well, thank you.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
No, it means a lot, and it's definitely a struggle
a lot of days. And I think having more artists
and more people that are quote because I mean we're
an instant gratification generation, right, I would say, everything's on
social media, everyone's showing the best pieces and if you're
anything like me, and you're only looking at that, and
then you're like living your reality, so you're constantly looking
(09:00):
at yourself as less there.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And I think it's.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
So important when you have a platform and you are
an artist to show that like, Okay, yes I might
have this cool, really career, but there's a lot of
things that go with that.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
You know. Writing good music.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Requires feeling a lot of things, you know, and I've
taken that and that's something that this year I've really learned.
I'm like, it is the blessing and able to sing
and to write and to push a platform, but at
the same time that comes the wat of lows and
I'll only really right when I'm at my lowest, which
is the craziest thing ever too, you know, the inspiration comes,
so it really is just an accumulation of all of it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
But if I can feel a little bit more to
make someone.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Feel a little less alone, like I will do it
every single time for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Well you are such a gift on only and it
was wonderful meeting you any thing you're talking with you today,
and I wish you nothing but the best in this
world and so much success. But it's a great Thanks
for coming on music save to me and we'll see
you again soon.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Come back and visit absolutely, Thank you so much, Thank
you
Music Saved Me.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
Musicians on Call is a charity that is perfectly aligned
with the mission of this podcast, delivering the healing power
of music since nineteen ninety nine. Why not become a
volunteer or a supporter by going to Musicians on Call
dot org.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
Keeping my cup full is the only way I can
pour on other people's And if you're empty all the time,
you're just you're hurting everybody around you and you're not
your best solf. You're not showing that properly. So, like
I said, music and writing this is Yeah, this is
a way that I'm impacting on a waverer scale than
what I could have done on my own.
Speaker 2 (00:33):
This podcast is called Music Saved Me and on each
episode we'll look at a musician, will delve into their
story their deep connection to music. We'll talk with their
fans everyday, people with their own story to tell about
how music has saved them in challenging times. I'm Lynn Hoffman,
and welcome to another episode of the Music Saved Me podcast,
(00:56):
where we focus on the healing power of music. Today,
we're focused on the work of a new artist who
is lauded as the artist to Watch. Honniley believes in
the beauty of music, storytelling, and the ability of her
music to really make a difference. She has a new
single releasing in November called Walls, which she also co
(01:17):
wrote with Nathan Chapman and a mutual friend of ours,
John Oates from the legendary band Holo notes, Honille, welcome
to Music Saved Me. It's so great to have you here.
Speaker 1 (01:27):
Hey, thank you so much for having me. I'm so
excited me too.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
All Right, We're going to start off with a hard question.
Do you believe that music has supernatural healing powers?
Speaker 3 (01:37):
Oh?
Speaker 1 (01:38):
One percent of the time.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (01:40):
I will go more into it, but I was, you know,
a middle school guidance counselor actually, and I was doing
therapy in that sense, and then I decided to kind
of bop out and do what I'm doing now. And
I will almost argue that, yeah, the therapy, the supernatural
qualities with that of just change.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
It's it's amazing, really cool.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
Tell us what music has shaped you and maybe perhaps
helped you through some challenging times in your life.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
Absolutely, I would say Adell is a huge, huge piece
of that Fleetwood map, huge piece of that and I
think the key element with that is real vulnerability, the
ability to go beyond and say something a little bit
bigger than yourself. So a lot of music has really
shaped me, but ultimately it's the stuff it's a little
a little harder to talk about and easier to sing
(02:27):
about for sure.
Speaker 2 (02:29):
Now talk to us about your new song Walls. It's
about your walls, talking your childhood room, walls they heard.
Tell us why that song conveys an important message about
music and more importantly, mental health.
Speaker 3 (02:42):
Oh absolutely well, I would say that your childhood bedroom
or your walls around you, they know you better than
anybody because that's when you are the most stripped down
version of yourself. Right, no one's watching, there's no Hawthorne effect,
you're not acting any better, You're just completely raw. And
so I think there was this metaphor, this imagery that
I had where I'm like, you know, this song is
all about a conversation, like you know me better than
(03:03):
anybody knows me, almost more than I know myself. What
would you say? How would you help me through these
hard times? And I hadn't heard a song that had
that perspective yet, you know what I mean?
Speaker 1 (03:14):
And so that is really the importance too. With mental
health is.
Speaker 3 (03:17):
I think whenever you are struggling, you shut everybody out
and you are just kind of existing and living in it.
And so yeah, walls provide a lot of solids and
sometimes that comfort really you know, helps you heal. So
it's very important.
Speaker 2 (03:30):
What inspired you to write the song Walls?
Speaker 1 (03:32):
Yeah, I actually the world had just shut down. The
pandemic could be done.
Speaker 3 (03:37):
The music industry like everything else really just I mean,
if you can't congregate, there's no reason to you know,
sing and perform and things like that. So I went
back to her childhood bedroom in Illinois for the very
first time since I left for college, and I remember
just setting my guitar down my suitcase and I'm like
staring at these walls, and I mean, we're all just
having mental breakdowns, right because there's the fear of the
(03:58):
unknown in the future and a lot of big question works.
And I remember just being like, man, my walls got
me through some of the hardest times in my life.
Full disclosure, I struggled a lot in high school with depression.
It was the hormones were raged and everything was crazy.
But you know, throw that on top of just human
experience growing up and I was like, Man, if these
Walls got me through high school, they can get me
(04:20):
through a global pandemic. They can get me through a
lot of things. And what would they say to me?
And that was a genuine question. So I called up, Yeah,
John Oates, he broke in, Nathan Chapman. We wrote this
song literally on Zoom Zoom, crashed, We went over to
Google meet, finished the song. It was it was a
crazy story, right, But again I wrote them that song
literally on the phone in my childhood bedroom. So it
(04:43):
was it was a very very crazy story. Team that
went along with it.
Speaker 2 (04:47):
But there you go, Wow, well at least you found
something fun to do during the pandemic and that was
actually useful and helpful to people. Speaking of which, your
songs really do tend to reassure people that they're not
alone in life. I'm sure that comes a lot through
from your prior self when you were a social worker
trying to help people. Would you say that writing and
(05:08):
performing and releasing songs, especially songs like Walls and maybe
even Tightrope is an extension of your earlier job as
a social worker, and that you know it's a more
powerful way for you to be able to deliver and
receive a much larger positive impact with people.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Yes see, and you said it very perfectly. I'll be
honest my whole life. I'm a very empathetic person. I
feel with people, not just for them, and it impacts
you whenever you are working not closely with children specifically, you.
Speaker 1 (05:40):
Know, they would tell me something that you know they
went on with.
Speaker 3 (05:43):
They're completely desensitized to it because that's their experience, and
I would be out for weeks just feeling it, you know,
going through the emotions, and it's really hard being an
EmPATH working so closely and so social work.
Speaker 1 (05:56):
I love it.
Speaker 3 (05:56):
I really did love it, and I do love it,
and I still would argue I use my degree on
a daily basis, but keeping my cup full, especially because
I do struggle with you know, mental health and depression specifically,
keeping my cup full is the only way I can
pour on other people's And if you're empty all the time,
you're just you're hurting everybody around you and you're not
your best self, you're not showing up properly. So, like
(06:17):
I said, music and writing this is, yeah, this is
a way that I'm impacting on a way bigger scale
than what I could have done on my own, and
again it's therapy for even myself, you know, at the
end of the day, like you got to be happy
and these songs. I still listen Tirope specifically lately. I've
even turn that on and been like, Okay, where am
I at? How am I navigating on this tightrope? You know,
the polar complexities everything. So it's it's crazy how everything's
(06:41):
kind of turned into it. But I have no complaints
and complaints at all.
Speaker 2 (06:46):
Your music talks about finding one's path and embracing one's imperfections,
and you're so dedicated to helping others. How does it
feel when your music not only connects with fans, but
also when it makes a real difference and impact in
their lives.
Speaker 3 (07:03):
So I have had artists that do that for me,
and I guess maybe I can speak more on that
behalf of you know.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
I'll give you an example right now. Noah Khan. He's
very much up and coming. He has a very you.
Speaker 3 (07:16):
Know, solid I guess, consistency with thinking about mental health
and you know, really dissecting your mind and things like that.
And I went to a concert actually earlier this week
at a sund Amphithea here in Nashville and everyone around me.
Speaker 1 (07:31):
I mean it was a worship experience, right.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
People's hands are in the air, there's tears, people were
in therapy, they were sitting there, and he was up
there with just a guitar, just singing. It was a
total breakdown, and everyone in the audience was listening, right.
And so I'm over here like, if this means music
is doing this for people, that is therapy. We were
at therapy, you know, And so watching other artists do
that has shown me that that is really what people
(07:54):
are wanting, right, They want to feel less alone what
he said, Like my music, I try to really provide
that for people because I've felt very alone, and I
still feel.
Speaker 1 (08:03):
Very alone in a lot of my life.
Speaker 3 (08:05):
But I do think you have to feel the highs
too or the lowest use me too full the highs.
So genuinely, if I can have a little bit of
an impact like they've.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Had on me, then I'm in the right business. I'm
doing the right thing. But it's tough work. It's definitely
tough to kind of kind of keep it there. But
we're trying this.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
Then you're doing it every day, and boy, what a
gift on both ends. I mean it's like a win
win situation. You get therapy for yourself, you give therapy
to those that need it, and you provide the world
with beautiful music.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
When what's better than that? Well, thank you.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
No, it means a lot, and it's definitely a struggle
a lot of days. And I think having more artists
and more people that are quote because I mean we're
an instant gratification generation, right, I would say, everything's on
social media, everyone's showing the best pieces and if you're
anything like me, and you're only looking at that, and
then you're like living your reality, so you're constantly looking
(09:00):
at yourself as less there.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And I think it's.
Speaker 3 (09:02):
So important when you have a platform and you are
an artist to show that like, Okay, yes I might
have this cool, really career, but there's a lot of
things that go with that.
Speaker 1 (09:12):
You know. Writing good music.
Speaker 3 (09:13):
Requires feeling a lot of things, you know, and I've
taken that and that's something that this year I've really learned.
I'm like, it is the blessing and able to sing
and to write and to push a platform, but at
the same time that comes the wat of lows and
I'll only really right when I'm at my lowest, which
is the craziest thing ever too, you know, the inspiration comes,
so it really is just an accumulation of all of it.
Speaker 1 (09:33):
But if I can feel a little bit more to
make someone.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Feel a little less alone, like I will do it
every single time for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:40):
Well you are such a gift on only and it
was wonderful meeting you any thing you're talking with you today,
and I wish you nothing but the best in this
world and so much success. But it's a great Thanks
for coming on music save to me and we'll see
you again soon.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Come back and visit absolutely, Thank you so much, Thank
you
Host
Lynn Hoffman
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