As a trailblazing independent artist who lives by the motto “Own Your Own Universe,” Terri Hendrix has spent two decades juggling both her art (making music out of life) and everything that goes into maintaining a “DIY” music career (what she calls “The Part That Ain’t Art.”) So it’s only fitting that the award-winning singer-songwriter’s first book is two books in one: part companion piece to her latest album, “Cry Till You Laugh,” with lyrics, photos and essays linked to the songs on the record, and part how-to guide for going your own way in the music business. The essays dance from “cry” to “laugh” and back again, touching candidly on everything from hilarious road stories and stage-fright jitters to poignant matters of the heart and bracingly honest accounts of her life-long battle with epilepsy. It may sound like a crazy mix, but as any fan of Terri Hendrix’s music can attest, that’s Terri … to a “T.”
Throughout “Cry Till You Laugh,” Hendrix spins sorrow into joy and wrings wisdom from the blues with the poetic grace and melodic flair that has long been her trademark. England’s Maverick approvingly declared the album “a 100% Terri Hendrix tour de force,” and the Dallas Morning News called it “refreshingly eclectic.” USA Today spotlighted the song “Einstein’s Brain” as a “Playlist” top 10 pick of the week, calling it “a bittersweet reflection on life’s limits, rendered with Hendrix’s usual rootsy grace,” and rock ’n’ roll legend Al Kooper picked “Slow Down” as one of his favorite downloads of 2010. “I love this track,” Kooper wrote in his Boston Herald column, while also marveling at Hendrix’s prolific track record as an independent artist: “Terri is truly a self-made woman. With 12 albums in release on her own label since 1996, she makes me jealous.”
Indeed, Hendrix is a veritable pioneer in the running-your-own-label revolution sweeping the music industry. Having now released 14 albums (counting two official “bootlegs”) in as many years on her own Wilory Records, she is one of very few artists who can lay claim to having always owned all of her master recordings. And in the “Part That Ain’t Art” part of her new book, she gives the reader a crash-course on all the nitty-gritty details of maintaining a viable music career at a time when even major labels are struggling to stay afloat. She has been sharing her hard-earned survival tips in music workshops for years, from the Berklee School of Music to music festivals all over the country to her own annual “Life’s a Song” retreat in Port Aransas, Texas.
Of course, you just can’t teach “Life’s a Song” without also knowing a thing or two about the part that most definitely is art. A classically trained vocalist and deft multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin and harmonica), Hendrix is a firm believer in the theory that “life’s too short for one genre,” dodging musical pigeonholes by weaving folk, pop, country, blues and swinging jazz into an eclectic style all her own that plays like a lovingly compiled mix-CD. Add to that her charismatic stage presence and reputation for always delivering an energetic and spiritually uplifting live show (from intimate listening rooms to huge outdoor festivals), and it’s no wonder why she’s been embraced by three generations of loyal fans around the globe. As the San Antonio Express-News observed, “Part of the beauty of Terri Hendrix’s music is she’s among the best at recognizing, writing about and celebrating resilience and common ground, the things we can all cry, and laugh, about.”
In 2010, Hendrix was inducted into the South Texas Music Walk of Fame in Corpus Christi, joining such Lone Star luminaries as Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and Doug Sahm. She’s also co-written a Grammy-winning song (the Dixie Chicks’ “Best Country Instrumental,” “Lil’ Jack Slade,” off their 2002 “Home” album), and was recently (February 2011) given an Outstanding Alumni Award by Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, where she majored in music and studied opera on scholarship. The award is given each year to three alumni who have attained outstanding achievements in their field of endeavor, community, state or nation. Meanwhile, St. Mary’s University in her hometown of San Antonio honored Hendrix with a 2010 Art of Peace Award, for creating art in the service of peace, justice and human understanding.
Hendrix candidly admits that her decision to write, release and promote both a new album and a book at the same time proved to be a lot more grueling than she initially bargained for. “I once ran the Houston Tenneco Marathon, and came in last — right before the ambulance,” she says with a laugh. “That was hard, but this was even harder.” Nevertheless, she made it, and she’s now setting her sights on an even more ambitious goal. She wrapped up “Cry Till You Laugh — The Part That Ain’t Art” with the words, “The Beginning,” because she’s embracing not only the next stage of her musical evolution, but the launch of her OYOU (“Own Your Own Universe”) Community Arts Center. Inspired in part by Hendrix’s own personal experiences, as well as by people with neurological challenges she has had the honor to meet and play for over the years, the official 501 (c)(3) nonprofit is dedicated to serving the greater San Marcos, Texas, community with a handi-capable facility that will offer educational and therapeutic arts programs for people of all ages, ethnicities and traditions. It’s a dream Hendrix has harbored for years, and “Come Tomorrow” — come today — she’s turning it into a reality.
