HEATHERLEA GELINEAU – AN IN-DEPTH INTERVIEW

Heatherlea Gelineau is a rare talent. Her voice and range are extraordinary. She can effortlessly sing everything from blues to rock and r&b. Yet there is more to Heatherlea that meets the eye. Throughout her life she has survived many personal difficulties. Each hurdle has made her stronger and more determined. Heatherlea‘s story is something movies are made of. She has kept it together and has created a positive storyline for her children and herself. Great artistry usually comes with sacrifice and toil. Heatherlea is an amazing artist and an inspiration to all.

Heatherlea has graciously agreed to answer a few questions about her music and her interesting mystical essence.

AMP: Hey Heatherlea, can you give the AMP readers a little background about yourself and the reasons you turned to music as a profession.

HG: Surely. I have been singing my entire life. It’s always been the way that I felt best expressed myself and what I was feeling. I attended Educational Center for the Arts throughout most of my high school years where I trained mostly in Musical Theatre. I developed this really BIG versatile voice because for awhile I had my heart set on Broadway and musicals. Ever since I can remember I’d been blessed with an incredible absolute pitch and could hear harmonies in everything. My dad played The Beatles, ELO, Elton John, Zeppelin and Pink Floyd. I loved it all and even when I was really young I knew all the words and had worked out all the vocal parts in my head. And then there was Fleetwood Mac…and Stevie Nicks.

AMP: Your voice is very flexible and passionate. When did you realize you had such a wide vocal range?

HG: I believe my ability to mimic many vocal styles comes from a myriad of sources. First, I am hyper sensitive to pitches and frequencies. So I hear things very exactly. Second, I always remember being very aware of the fact that these singers were expressing very deep emotions when they were singing these moving songs. That’s how they hooked their audiences. I would listen to them sing and truly feel what they were feeling. I understood what they were trying to say. It was more than just the notes and words they said. I could hear their emotions and it amazed me how they could inspire so many people just by using their voices to get their messages across. I knew I needed to do that too because I also felt unburdened when I really let my voice out. Especially on the songs I intensely felt.

 

There were many voices that inspired me growing up. Two that did the most were Stevie Nicks and Karen Carpenter. Stevie is my thing but Karen is my favorite voice by far…just 100% flawless emotion. I was 6 years old when Stevie’s first solo album, BellaDonna, was released. Even then my dad knew I loved Stevie and brought me the album. He put it on the record player and when it got to the fourth song, “After The Glitter Fades”, I believed every word she said. I would play it over and over and sang it at the top of my lungs. Stevie was in my heart even then. I even put my mom’s crocheted fringe shawl and did the twirls. Eventually I figured out that I could sing like her and I was only in the first grade. After awhile I was able to hear things in many other voices. I was able to copy breathing patterns, dynamics and techniques fairly easily. One of my favorites, and still is today, is Jessica Rabbit from the movie Roger Rabbit. I remember that nightclub scene where she’s doing the sexy lounge singer bit! If I could choose one voice to call my own it would be one like that.

AMP: How did your group Spellbound come about and how do you feel working with your band mate, Michael Savino?

HG: Spellbound actually began as a trio. It consisted of a male singer/guitarist and a keyboardist. Both were having scheduling and family issues when we were getting offers to play out and I would have to turn the offers down. I had met Mike Savino a few times on the music scene. We both subbed for my first band, Tongue and Groove. We ran into each other at a venue one night and he mentioned we should put a duo together. When we realized that we literally lived across the street from each other we knew it was serendipitous. I had a project already started called Spellbound. I asked the founding guitarist if I could bring in Mike to get thing started which he was cool with. Eventually he dropped out due to other commitments so Spellbound became Heatherlea and Mike Savino. We occasionally play as a trio with Tom Izzo from the Mediums. Periodically he fills in for Mike as my duo partner. There is also the Spellbound band which consists of Mike and I with Pat Bresnahan and Dean Christiano. The Spellbound band is my absolute favorite way to play live music. We all love each other and love playing together. We  respect each other’s talents so much and feel 100% blessed to be together….it’s just a wonderful thing!

AMP: You also sing lead in Mike and the Muffin Tops. How is the band surviving during Covid?

HG: Muffintops is on a temporary hiatus because of the current situation. We all miss each other and have been checking in. We are all concentrating on other things until some of the restriction are lifted and we can once again play live inside.

AMP: I understand you are a Wiccan Priestess. Educate the readers on what that entails.

HG: Actually, I would be very happy to do that. I get a lot of questions from people about what I do. There are a lot of misconceptions, myths and misinformation out there about what “Witches” really do. Simply put…”real witches” are healers.

They are truly connected and highly empathic humans with a much more developed sense of awareness of the elements and how every living thing is linked by a constant flow of raw energy. Every living thing on the planet uses energy correctly except for humans. We are purposely taught from birth that everything is inferior to us and we are conditioned by society to conform to something completely opposite to the natural order of the universe. There are some of us who just can’t conform and continue to ask questions. They feel a very close bond with nature and seek out simple ways and solutions.

There are many different Pagan paths. I follow the Wiccan path so therefore I’m called a witch. For 13 years I was a solitary practitioner before being elevated to Priestess. As a Priestess, I have offered Soul Card readings and Witch’s Workshop classes at Metaphysical shops and Pagan Faires. I now lead a tribe of very Magickal ladies who all have unique talents and abilities. We call ourselves The Gypsy Sisters. It’s an amazing feeling when we are all together…just complete acceptance.

AMP: Sticking with the occult theme. Does All Hallows Eve have any significance to you?

HG: Absolutely! I’ve always loved it and this year it will be even more memorable. This year Halloween falls on a Saturday night during a super full blue moon and it’s daylight savings time…only in 2020, right. To add a little background on Halloween, it comes from the Gaelic Sabbat Samhaim (Sah-Wayn). It celebrates the last great harvest of autumn and underscores the death of the year. Also, it’s a remembrance of loved ones lost during the prior months.

AMP: What does Heatherlea have in store for the future?

HG: I am very grateful to be part of the Rock House School of Music family and was blessed to be able to bring the Spellbound Band to host their Front Porch Concert Jam Series season 1 all summer and fall. We will be back in the spring of 2021 for season 2. I am very much looking forward to directing the Acappella Holiday Chorus also at Rock House. We begin rehearsals this Saturday, (Halloween). We have 15 singers between the ages of 10-72 preparing for several holiday performances that are currently being scheduled. The Chorus will again sing live over the air at WPLR’s Chaz and AJ Toy Drive.

I’m also very proud and excited to be building my dream performance project, The Stevie Experience, The Voice Is the Story” with my management company, Flying Key Entertainment Co. I’ve been “the Stevie Nicks girl” for so long, I figured it was time. The show has Magick written all throughout it. Every song is intensely emotional and it’s going to be a beautiful and eye catching theatrical experience for everyone once we can put people into venues again. I have impatient moments with everything going on because I’m so excited to get this project out there. But then I remember this is a timeless project. When people can see a big show again, they are going to want to see something amazing and that’s what we are going to give them.

I have many mantras but the one that leads me the most is…”Always Trust the Universe”. As long as we give out more than we ask for, we will always get what we need and sometimes what we want. And even though we don’t always need what we want, there are times when we do deserve it.  But only after we have proven our worthiness

Blessed be and hopefully I’ll see you all soon.

I want to thank Heatherlea for her time and her thoughtful answers and wish her a joyful All Hollow Eve.

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