Spotlight: Whitney Asher of Burwell Uses Music for Healing
Photo: Joey Wharton
Music can be a compelling tool for healing in times when we struggle to talk about grief. For Whitney Asher of Burwell and The Marketing Mixtape, songwriting became a personal outlet to process those stages, and she hopes the release of her new EP will serve that purpose, as well.
Read ahead for Whitney’s words:
CultureWorks: Who are you and what is your relationship to Burwell and/or The Marketing Mixtape?
Whitney: My name is Whitney Asher. I go under the name Burwell for my music project. I changed my name when I got married, so Burwell used to be a part of my name, and now it is my stage name. I also own a company called the Marketing Mixtape that I founded in 2015. So, I am an business owner and strategist, as well as musician and singer-songwriter.
CW: How did you become involved with CultureWorks in the past?
W: I am passionate about helping musicians tell their stories, and I get to help them do that in a myriad of ways. I worked with one band called Starcoast, and they had a campaign called "Believe In Love;” we wanted to make it a bigger deal. They were playing the Shockoe Sessions, and they asked, "How can we make this project stand out?" We started to think about partnerships we could form, and ways to make it a little different. We opted to do an art auction and sourced artwork from all over Richmond, and we were looking for a nonprofit that was doing great work. We discovered CultureWorks' COVID-19 Fund and wanted to draw attention to it, so we partnered with you all. It was so amazing that you guys did that, we wanted to let people know that it was happening!
CW: What is Burwell and/or the Marketing Mixtape and how did it get started?
W: The Marketing Mixtape is something that I founded kind of by accident. It was a passion project that turned into my full-time job. While I was in graduate school, I went to the VCU Brand Center, and interned at Capitol Records in Nashville. I started coaching bands for fun, and then that turned into my job. I would say it's still for fun, but it's now just both. That is something that I do, and that I'm passionate about, but it's not so much personal to me. It's personal to other people! I get to step outside of it and help other people tell their stories.
Burwell is very personal, and it's very different because when I'm speaking about my personal life, history, family, and relationships it's a lot more vulnerable. When I write, I like to write what's true. My first music project back in 2015/2016 was called The Tide Rose, and it was oceanic inspired. The songs were a lot less personal, but they were still related to something true. I started my solo project in 2018, when the songs started to feel a little more personal. I started to write about grief in 2019/2020, right with the passing of my mom, who had developed stage four pancreatic cancer.
I wanted to process that through music and I started writing more intentionally. It's kind of like therapy, but more musical. I started talking about grief on purpose, and it turned into this project that has become a healing tool for me for the last two years. Now I'm just finally sharing it. It's been a journey to get to the point where I'm ready to share it. I'm learning that actually putting yourself out there is so much different than talking about it or creating, it can be very intimidating. It's a lot easier to tell someone else's story than it is to open up and tell your own.
CW: Is Burwell and this EP what you're working on primarily now? Are there any other projects that you'd like to share?
W: Currently, I've been focusing primarily on the release, and, with the release, actual healing. So, I'm in that phase, though I've been songwriting a little bit more recently. I started songwriting again with my duo partner Keilan Creech for the first time in five or six years, which is great and feels new.
I'm not working on anything on purpose, but I think songwriting is reminding me that I know how, and it's making me want to keep writing. Getting the songs out will really be a release, because right now it feels like I'm just holding onto them, and that can feel overwhelming. My hope is that they'll really help other people heal and process grief, because grief is not fun to talk about and it's not fun to feel it, but it's a little bit easier when you have the words to use. All the songs are a little bit hopeful. Even though they address grief and loss, they're also about finding life. I'm kind of just letting go and trying not to overthink everything.
Photo: Joey Wharton
CW: How have you felt your projects connect with the community around you? Has there been a time of connection that stuck with you?
W: I think live performances are one of the best ways to connect with the community. I did a lot more performing with the last band I was in, and we played a lot of the local venues. That's a great way to connect to the community. Burwell is a lot shyer, so I haven't performed quite as much.
Any time I've done a music video, I've tried to think, "How can I integrate the community?" I found a ballerina who is associated with the VCU School of Dance, and she danced in my last music video, for “hold me, still,” which was beautiful. My other music video for “anywhere but here” features Ashland and me riding my bike through the town of Ashland; I think sometimes connecting with the community is just seeing places that you recognize. It's also amazing how quickly you can connect on the internet. There are a couple of organizations doing really great things like HearRVA. I've been on their radar, and they've been keeping me on their playlists.
With the Marketing Mixtape, one of the things that I've done is hosting these “RVA Writers’ Rounds.” We hosted these for a year and that was monthly spotlighting of different artists.
CW: What does collaboration means to you? Have you had meaningful experiences or growth through collaboration in the past?
W: With collaboration, I often think about it for songwriting. I would rather write with other people than write by myself. Any time I write new music, I'm usually writing with someone else. A lot of my collaborations have happened in Nashville. The EP is 100% Nashville collaborations, which is neat because I feel like co-writing culture is very common out there; people just write with each other all the time. You can get in a room with a total stranger and tell them about these deeply personal things and then write a song about it. I'm learning how to give myself permission to express myself through art.
CW: Has there been kind of a moment that made you feel like all of your work or dedication was worth it?
W: It is the moments when people tell me that what I've said has moved them to tears or has resonated with them. I've had a couple of people reach out and just say, "I'm going through a hard time, I'm going through grief, or I lost somebody, and your song completely speaks to me." It's those moments. Usually, it comes in the form of a comment or direct message on social media. It's those moments with someone when you can tell they mean it. I don't expect people to buy my music; that's not totally the expectation or the goal. I just want whoever needs to hear it to feel like it has the ability to reach them. Getting that feedback from people is everything. It all comes back to that; believing that all the messages are being heard.
Photo: Joey Wharon
CW: Where do you look for inspiration these days, and how do you stay inspired?
W: I love this question. I find that different environments inspire me. Right now, we're at Common House. This is very inspiring. I like a good vibe in my creative workspace at home. There are certain people in the community that inspire me. I could name-drop, but I won't. I find a good coffee hang with someone who is also pursuing creative endeavors really wakes my spirit up, and it makes me want to create when I recognize other people in the community who are also creating and who are also struggling in similar ways. It helps to know that you're not alone in the creative process and that you're both human. I find live music to be really inspiring when I see it. Going to a concert, or hearing people play anywhere; it reminds me that I can do that too. I find the internet is a little bit harder for me. When I see things all over the internet, sometimes I get overwhelmed. So, I think the things that happen in real life inspire me the most.
CW: In your own words, what do arts and culture mean to you, and why does it matter?
W: When I think of arts and culture for me, I think of expression. Personal expression is one of the most powerful gifts we all have. There’s a misperception that it's limited to those who are the most talented or those who are the most pristine creators, but I think we all have the ability to create, and what we create can inspire someone else to create. When we feel heard, we're better for it and we can learn a lot from each other. There’s a lot that stands in the way of us expressing ourselves like fear; fear is big. We are all a little afraid about what's going to happen, what if our thoughts aren't valued, what if we're wrong. That's the thing about creativity, I don't know that you can be wrong. If it's a true expression and a pure expression, you can't really think it's subjective and that's beautiful. It expands our world, to have art in it, and it makes the world a lot more beautiful.
CW: Is there anything else you'd like to share for anyone who's reading, and doesn't know anything about either of your projects?
W: My full EP is coming out March 20th, which is the first day of spring. It is in commemoration and in loving memory of my mom. My mom passed away March 3rd, 2020, so it's been about two years, and for her funeral, we did a celebration of "signs of spring." It's five songs. It walks through the five stages of grief, and those are denial, depression, anger, bargaining, and acceptance. There's a song for every stage. I would highlight that, primarily, it’s been a project in the works for about two years, and hopefully will bring healing to whoever hears it.
For the Marketing Mixtape, if there are any artists that are reading this and are curious about how to put themselves out there, I would love to help inspire their journey however I can. I am a huge fan of free stuff! If they want to go to the website or email me, the website is www.themarketingmixtape.com, and my email is Whitney@themarketingmixtape.com. If anybody just wants to talk about music, I'm up for it!
Burwell’s debut EP “Boxes” is out March 20th, 2022.
"Anywhere But Here" (released January 20th, 2022) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHSxXm8r3oY "Hold Me, Still" (released February 22nd, 2022) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbzqmtOh_FQ
To keep up with Burwell: www.burwellmusic.com
To check out The Marketing Mixtape: www.themarketingmixtape.com