photo by Mark J Smith
Becca Stevens, a two-time Grammy nominee, solo artist, Broadway actress, and former David Crosby’s Lighthouse Band member, calls her latest album, Maple to Paper, raw and honest.
“In the past, I had a little veil of secrecy around what I was saying-- not to say that I haven’t been honest in the past,” explains Stevens, who says the album revolves around moving through the grief stages.
Stevens, who lost her mother, singer/actress Carolyn Dorf, in 2022, remembers, “I absolutely felt I was taking a risk. I thought it would be a little too much emotionally for people.”
Working on the album while grieving, Stevens recalls, “I literally had a futon on the floor next to my writing space that encouraged me to be a part of the grief while I worked. It was necessary so that I could sit down for an hour and work and then lie down and cry.”
The song “You Should Have Been There for Me” is about struggling with the loss of her mother. “It was definitely the apex of the anger stage of my grief,” adding, “The anger was protecting me from the heavier feelings.”
Stevens worked with long-time collaborator, producer and mixing engineer Nic Hard (Snarky Puppy, Huntertones).
“[Nic] and I went back and forth a lot in the beginning, trying to figure out what the approach would be for the recording process before diving in completely.”
Stevens initially had doubts about recording from home.
“I decided early on that I was not only going to keep it simple in its production but also record at home by myself.
“I was almost apologetic when I sent a live take to Nic. I was shocked when he got back to me, and he was like, ‘No, no, no, this is the way we have to do it!’”
Stevens's experience of caring for a newborn and raising her two-year-old daughter inspired her to write “Pain to be Apart.”
“It’s about me wanting to be in the moment with my daughter,” explains Stevens, who says balancing motherhood with her work sometimes leaves her feeling guilty.
Stevens says her husband, violinist/composer Nathan Schram, was there to help. “[The album] would not have been possible without my husband dropping everything that he was doing to be with the girls.”
In addition to recording an album and shooting videos for the songs “Shoulda Been There for Me,” “I’m Not Her,” and “Now Feels Bigger than the Past,” Stevens jumped at the chance to star in the 2024 Tony Award-winning Broadway play Illinois.
“I was literally rocking my newborn in a chair when I got a call from my friend composer/pianist, Timo Andres. He said, ‘There is this crazy opportunity, and I know you are on maternity leave, and I keep thinking you would be perfect for it!”
“It couldn’t be more perfect timing because the exact window that I needed to be available was the window that I had cleared my schedule,” adding, “I’m such a huge Sufjan Stevens fan! In fact, his album Carrie and Lowell was a big inspiration to me spiritually on Maple to Paper.”
For Stevens, whose multi-layered style fuses jazz, classical and world music, the album is a return to her musical upbringing. “My dad is a bluegrass musician as well as a classical singer and composer. Growing up we listened to a lot of folk and bluegrass along with Frank Zappa” [laughs]
Stevens says she still thinks of her friend and writing partner, the late David Crosby.
“I felt him with me a lot. From the moment I met him he was always so supportive of my songwriting voice. He was such a fun person to write with because it was all heart, ears, creative mind and no rules or nothing theoretical. Stevens says that they experimented with tunings and chord shapes. “When I was writing these songs, I could sort of hear him in my mind saying, ‘Cool chord shape, Bec.’”
Stevens points out Crosby’s influence, “[Maple to Paper] as you can see, leans more in that folk direction.”
When asked why she chose not to use more instruments on Maple to Paper, “Deep in my gut, I knew for this specific project, the best way to serve the whole experience was to strip back all the layers and show the bare bones of the songs. My tendency is to overcomplicate things!”
The Becca Stevens and David Crosby photo is by Mark J Smith
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