2011 brought about a seismic shift in Heather Miller's relationship to her path in music. While she was championing the art of so many songwriters via her Lyrical Venus radio show and blog, she still felt a void in relation to her own art. The nagging calling to do something led her to find Rubicon Artist Development in Austin, Texas, a recording studio and year-long mentorship program founded by producer and musician Daniel Barrett. Rubicon offered intensive study and goal-oriented mentoring in writing, musicianship, performing, and recording. The songs on Anchor reflect Miller's journey from Iowa to Texas, with opening track Keep Telling Me addressing the fears that everyone faces when trying to take a big leap in life. Shoreline of Alaska again explores searching for something greater while trying to make it through every day existence. Jonah's Whale continues the nautical theme of the record with a twist on an old story that addresses the inner turmoil of being a human...or a whale. Rain Song pulls from Miller's first long, hot summer in Austin, perhaps an overly warm welcome with drought conditions, fire warnings, and 100+ degree weather. The chorus of Everybody needs a rain song, something to sing when it's been dry too long, becomes a classic folk song, a simple prayer set to melody. Finally, the title track, written when Miller first arrived in Austin, turns out to be a self-fulfilled prophecy. I'm leaving behind everything I know to follow the calling deep within my soul...
I'm gonna throw my anchor down, gonna hold my head up high. Sonically, the album pulls from Miller's acoustic folk roots and builds on them with appearances by some of Austin's finest musicians. Rick Richards on drums (Joe Walsh, Dixie Chicks, Mary Gauthier), Red Young on piano and Hammond organ (Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt), Daniel Barrett on guitar and bass (porterdavis), and Warren Hood on fiddle (The Waybacks) are all featured on Anchor. After coming to Austin to explore the life of a working musician first hand, Miller left not only having seen it but was living it daily, and with the release of Anchor, she is planting herself firmly in the musical world and following her calling. I don't have that nagging voice anymore asking, When are you going to do the music? Now it's like, this is who I am and what I do...you don't get freaked out about how to make eggs in the morning...you just do it. All that anxiety of wishing and hoping isn't there anymore. It's happening.
