A singer since she was very young, Morrigan wrote her first song on her parents' piano when she was eleven years old. A natural loner, often ridiculed by her peers for her awkwardness and small stature, Morrigan found one place she was always welcome – the stage. She stunned her parents with her first live singing performance at the age of 8, and from then on never missed an opportunity to perform. From musicals to honors choirs to athletic events, Morrigan sang it all – arias, art songs, show tunes and of course, the national anthem. As a teenager, she started hanging out with local bands, and added rock singing to her already full plate.
By the age of 17, however, the years of constant performing, without supervision from professional voice instructors, took their toll on Morrigan's young vocal cords. A week into her summer at the Governor's School for Performing Arts, an exclusive camp for rising high school seniors of exceptional talent, her voice grew so hoarse she could barely talk. The voice director insisted that a doctor examine Morrigan's throat to determine the cause, and the news was not good. While Morrigan's vocal cords did not require surgery, they were swollen and damaged, and scar tissue seemed a foregone conclusion. She was put on three weeks of complete vocal rest, and told she would never be able have a career as a singer.
The next five years, Morrigan cast about fruitlessly to find something to fill the hole that losing her voice had left. Psychological problems forced her to drop out of college midway through her junior year. At home, she found solace in the goth subculture of her native Washington DC. While it was comforting for her to be with a group of people that didn't know her as a singer, drug and alcohol abuse were rampant, and Morrigan, with no voice to protect any more, was drawn in.
A few acquaintances were aware of Morrigan's past, and one eventually suggested she see another doctor for a second opinion. Five years after her original prognosis, a new doctor was cautiously optimistic, saying there was no reason she couldn't go back to singing as long as she took extra care of her instrument. The next several months, Morrigan threw herself into re-learning how to sing. Her hard work paid off, and she re-entered college in the Spring of 1995 as a voice major. She participated in all of the elite university singing groups during her last two years, and even directed, arranged, and performed in her own all-female a capella group. Upon graduation, she auditioned for and was chosen to be a lead singer in Paramount's Kings Dominion's popular Retro-Active show.
Determined to finally have the music career she'd always dreamed of, Morrigan started writing her own music again and put out her first demo CD in 1998. Playing open mics and meeting other musicians, she seemed to be on the right track, but with a lack of mentors and opportunities, she was unable to build any momentum. She grew increasingly despondent, and a year later, dropped out of the music business altogether, once again finding solace with her old goth friends.
The next three years of her life, Morrigan slipped into an abyss of self-destructive behavior. A few too many close calls in increasingly compromising situations, however, finally convinced Morrigan that she needed to find a better way to cope with her depression and bitterness. She stopped abusing alcohol and drugs and moved back in with her parents. One year later, in 2002, Morrigan released her first full-length album: Unbearably Sweet, a collection of haunting and personal songs about her ordeal. While the CD received raves from local reviewers, Morrigan was unable to get traction with the music industry, and after two more years of getting nowhere, Morrigan once again started casting about for another change.
An alternative rock band, Waking State, was at that time in need of a new singer. While they had not wanted a female (the previous singer was a male), Morrigan wrangled an audition and a callback, and was hired. The band's edgy, progressive sound became the new buzz of the DC music scene, catching the attention of Ted Comerford, a critically acclaimed rock producer. In a few months, the band recorded a new album. On Comerford's advice, Waking State agreed to use a top-flight engineer to get the hard-hitting mix the songs needed, and sent their masters to L.A. for mixdown. But eleven months later, the songs were still not back. Waking State's momentum stalled. With no product to send to local media outlets and give to fans, they slipped into an obscurity that the album's eventual release, nearly two years later, could not alleviate. Waking State performed their last live show in October of 2006 and four months later, the band was dissolved.
Discouraged and once more in need of some time away from the entertainment business, Morrigan threw herself into her only love besides music – animals. She trained for six months as a veterinary assistant at a busy animal hospital, and a few months later, transferred to a small clinic, planning for a career in the veterinary field. The time away from music was bittersweet. While Morrigan had gained some much-needed stability, she missed the joy she had found in writing and performing. She started going back to open mics, booked a few gigs, and joined the legion of solo acoustic performers at bars throughout Maryland, DC and Virginia.
Eager to produce new music for the first time in years, in late 2007 Morrigan went into the studio and slapped together an acoustic demo CD of three new tunes. Her fans loved it, but Morrigan still struggled for recognition from the entertainment industry. In a last ditch effort to break through, Morrigan entered the Human Factor Productions Free Ride Contest, accompanying her entry with a heartfelt essay about the history of her music career. If it didn't pan out, she decided, she would give up the music business for good.
And then, finally, Morrigan got the break she had been waiting for. Human Factor Productions, LLC, a production company associated with Discovery Channel music, chose Morrigan as the winner of their 2008 Free Ride Contest. She received over $10,000 worth of music career support services, including a week in the studio with Blake Althen, international music producer and music supervisor at Discovery Channel, and a photo shoot with renowned photographer Roy Cox. The time spent with industry professionals finally gave Morrigan the tools she needed to be able to produce the music she wanted, on her own terms.
However, a music career was not meant to be. Morrigan spent two more years on the local music scene, playing 4+ hour gigs sometimes two or three times a week. The money was never enough, and her gentle, pensive songs were still a tough sell at the few local venues that catered to acoustic music. Her body, too, was starting to give under the strain; she had worsening carpal tunnel in her left hand and arthritis in her left shoulder from long hours playing guitar with too few breaks. Fourteen years after the release of her first demo CD back in 1998, Morrigan realized it was time to let the dream go. Her interest in animals and veterinary experience led her to apply to the University of Maryland, where she was accepted as an animal sciences major and began her studies in the Fall of 2010.
While working towards a career in veterinary pathology, Morrigan still keeps music in her life, carving out slivers of time between semesters to write and produce new songs and even performing the occasional gig (especially if it's for her favorite cause, animal rescue). While she'll never be on the cover of Rolling Stone, her special brand of poignant songwriting and heartfelt singing is here to stay. Her next album, Praying For Disaster, is due for release in 2012.
Read more...