Biography
“We’re gonna rise above and break the chains that bound. / We’re gonna rise up singing and spread more love around.”
This is more than a line in one of Vanessa Lively’s songs; it’s a statement of purpose in her life.
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Vanessa learned to appreciate the hues and vivacity of foreign cultures, developing a sensitivity to diversity that would later stoke her thirst for travel and openness to new experiences. Though she first found her voice in the realms of art and painting - as one may notice from the evocative imagery she wields - music was always on the edge of her palette. Lively was first introduced to performing music at the age of 16 with a popular San Antonio band Buketfunk. Later, her dreams found a perch in the Greek/gypsy band E Serenes for which she sang lead vocals.
To finance the freedom to compose and create, Vanessa worked with her husband Jason Lively as a self-employed graphic designer. By supporting themselves independently, they had the liberty to shut the doors to their successful business in 2005 and travel to South America, where they worked as volunteers for the next couple of years.
Vanessa’s musical voice blossomed in earnest while she and Jason lived in Salinas de Guaranda, Ecuador, where the thin cold air and bare conditions provided challenges that would give strength to Vanessa’s nascent songs. To alleviate the stresses of daily life, Vanessa would write songs, often by firelight when the city’s electricity failed. Empowered by her experiences, Vanessa recorded her music right there in Ecuador, in the city of Quito carrying her instrument over her shoulder she would endure the entire six-hour trip to the city. Quito served as a crossroad on the paths of many travelers; Vanessa met musicians traveling through the city and invited all of them to perform on her album. Vanessa’s openness to the musicians and instruments in her environment harmonize perfectly with the organic structure and empathetic lyrics of her songs.
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