27 year old Meg Myers has been through the ringer growing up with a less than luxurious childhood, a struggle to find herself as an artist and an overwhelming life of emotion that she has translated into a style that’s uniquely her.

The Red Ledger staff got a chance to sit down at the recent Suburbia Music Festival and chat with Myers about her music, personal style and the story behind the powerhouse voice.

The Red Ledger: What has the response to your latest album been? Is the reception positive?

Meg Myers: “It’s been awesome. I mean the last EP we put out was a really great response too, but like I feel really good about this body of work too not that I didn’t before, but I feel best about this. It’s been really good. Especially at the live shows we’ve been playing a lot of the songs live and yeah it’s great.”

The Red Ledger: How does your personal life, especially having a rough childhood, contribute to your performance and songwriting?

Meg Myers: “All the songs that I write. Any time I sit down and write a song it’s like it has to come from something that I’m going through or something that I’m feeling. It’s always something that I’m feeling. I feel a lot and I just need that outlet to express it. Everytime I perform too, even if it changes up a little bit because I’m constantly going through different things, I always seem to connect it to the different things that are going on in my life, and if I’m not, if i’m not connected and in my mind I’m thinking too much then I’m not going to do a good job, so you know if I’m sucking that I’m not.”

The Red Ledger: Talent wise, how have you worked and trained to become such a strong performer with all the hardships you had to overcome?

Meg Myers: “So when I was like nine years old I took voice lessons for like a few months, but then we couldn’t afford it anymore, but I didn’t have a strong voice back then. I was 9 too you know. And then when I was like 12 or 13 I picked up the guitar and started writing and then I just started singing and it was strong but it was still little and it took me a couple years to be like woah it is powerful, but it’s taken, I’m 27 and I started singing really when I was 13 so that many years to really find my voice. I feel like I just really have the past few years. And I go to a vocal coach now. I’ve sung powerful for many years but i’ll sing so hard and scream a lot. He’s helping me. I’m not talking necessarily lessons like somebody to just help me with singing the right way without destroying my voice and yeah.”

The Red Ledger: You have been compared to a lot of empowering singers such as Alanis Morissette. Do you feel like that is an accurate representation of your style?

Meg Myers: “A lot of people say 90’s. So many people compare me to so many different things too. It’s funny. It’ like “No. I’m just me!”. Ya know, but I was never inspired by Sinéad O’Connor or Alanis Morissette or Fiona Apple which are all people I get compared to a lot, but I love them, I love them so much so that’s such a compliment. I grew up on Heart and The Police, Alice in Chains and Nirvana and a lot of male. And if it was a girl it was like Tracy Chapman or Jewel or something like I never listened to the stuff that I get compared to, but it’s such an honor. I don’t know, I would say my music is like alternative rock, but it’s also like dark pop. It’s just a mix, but it does have that very 90’s feel, but with a little bit more of a modern vibe.”

The Red Ledger: What is the music writing process for you?

Meg Myers: “I think that the hardships are like the main thing that I write about in all my music. It’s just like I’m going through so much and still I am, but I think that my life definitely affects my writing. Everything that I went through you know. I try to think positive and not dwell on past hardships, but like I don’t know when I sit down and I write, i just feel pain and I write about it.”

The Red Ledger: You have an awesome style. How has that musical style evolved into your look onstage?

Meg Myers: “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard that. I don’t know. I feel like it’s weird, because the clothes that I wear onstage I would never wear! I already have changed out of my outfit! You know, but it’s also hot right now. I would never wear that out, the way I dress, but onstage I feel like I have to dress like a superhero or something because I need everything to be tight and hold me in everywhere so that I can move around. That’s a big part of it, being comfortable onstage but I want it to look as nice as it can too. I’m always like comfort, but I just want everything to stay in. I want it to be like chill too. I like solid colors. I don’t want to get too crazy.”

Check back next Wednesday for another artist profile with The Red Ledger’s Catherine Hathaway.