Sea of Her: Vanessa and Her Many Moons

 

Bright-eyed and moody, Vanessa Beggs is a charming contradiction. Her song’s lyrics are melancholy pearls of wisdom, notions of triumph over personal demons, and desperate pleas for sanity. However, one wouldn’t believe such a heavy emotional load could be endured by this smiling face, as the petite 32-year-old sits Indian style in a school girl skirt and knee-highs chomping a Portobello mushroom burger. “I would sit there and have all these songs come to me, and I started to self-destruct,” she says.

The lead singer of Vanessa and Her Many Moons, a power pop and contemporary rock band formed in 2009 including Peter Labberton on drums, Luke Selden on bass and guitarist Benjamin O’Brien, Beggs, an Oakland native, took her overwhelming years of life’s indulgences, bad relationships and a short stint in a psychiatric ward and let it all come spilling out for their self-released debut, “Full,” just out in February. “It all stunted my growth—I could have done this CD 15 years ago,” she says. “I called the album ‘Full’ because I felt full of so much stuff—emotions and excitement and songs—and I just wanted to get it out.”

Although this is Beggs’ first album, she’s no stranger to performing: she spent most of her 20s fronting bands, from R&B to punk, and has lent her voice to movie soundtracks as well as to television commercials, such as Subaru and Hagen Daaz. “I have always enjoyed singing, screeching and growling,” says the music teacher, who educates children in voice and piano. “But for so long I was paralyzed with fear, fear of trying and of competition. I was too intimidated to be out there singing—I was kind of like a closet rock star. But this album is like a coming-out for me, an acceptance of where I’m at. If it weren’t for this music I wouldn’t be able to live in peace.”

And, in a way, she tricked herself into making her first album. After hurrying to record what became the third track, “No”, in time for a video directed by Hahn Nguyen, her bandmates encouraged Beggs to keep recording. And so they did— one song per week at her husband’s downstairs studio, Audiosauce. “We didn’t plan the album, which is probably why it happened, because I had given up all the freaking out and mental crap that would get in my way,” she says.

During this unconventional recording, Beggs chose the song to record each week from her catalogue of more than 100 songs spanning seven years. “I don’t even know if these are the best songs I have,” she says with a laugh. “These are just the ones that felt right.”

This accidental album features Beggs’ diverse singing styles, from Tori Amos-esque piano tracks highlighting her gentle falsetto to escalating edgy, folk-jazz heavy with Bjork-like roars and Alanis-style anger. These voices range so much, in fact, that sometimes it’s almost like a different woman is singing each song—an indication of the performer’s personal conflicts and mastery of vocals.

While “Full” is an emotional release for Beggs, she isn’t going to stop short of making this her career. “I don’t want to just sit back and see what happens—that’s not a very proactive way to live your life,” she says noting that she, of course, welcomes more fans and bigger shows. Vanessa and Her Many Moons also plan to enter into the studio again this year, as well as eventually embark on a West Coast tour. “This album has been in the works forever—this is it. This is what I’ve been hiding from the world, and I’m not done.”

Check out Vanessa and Her Many Moons at http://www.myspace.com/vanessaandhermanymoons

Vanessa will perform solo (with a few musical guests) this Friday, May 21, at the Frisbie Street Gallery, 204 Frisbie Street in Oakland. This is part of the opening night celebration of “You Carry Your Weight Well” body image art show.