ABOUT ANGELA HACKER
There’s a quote that reads, “The artist produces for the liberation of her soul. It is her nature to create as it is the nature of water to run down hill.
"With singer/songwriter Angela Hacker, that liberation was more akin to a waterfall!
Born just outside the city limits of Muscle Shoals, Alabama, Angela began her musical journey in a small home she shared with four siblings.
“Living in the country, there wasn’t much for us to do,” said Hacker. “But there were always instruments lying around. They weren’t necessarily good instruments, but they were always there.”
Hacker’s father, Hartty, was a regular in the sporadic music scene in Northwest Alabama and southern Tennessee. She grew up listening to tales of nightclubs including booze, brawls and magical jams. The family would gather and sing everything from country and pop to “ole backwoods gospel songs.”
From there, music seemed to consume her. She would stand in front of a mirror and sing to her mother’s pop records or her dad’s country 45’s.
“The artist or the style of music wasn’t important,” laughed Hacker. “I’d sing in the mirror with a hairbrush for a microphone.”
The desire to play an instrument was ingrained in her soul as others in the family played either the piano or the guitar.
“I was about seven when I first picked up the guitar with the desire to learn,” said Hacker. “My sister taught me a few chords but that was about the extent of my lessons. From there, I just taught myself to play.”
And the rest, they say, is history.
Hacker would sing wherever anyone would give her a microphone and an audience. Her first paycheck was an 8th grade talent contest with a whopping $25 first prize.
“I would enter any contest,” she said. “It was how I made my money. I also played in a few bands.”
Music remained secondary for Hacker throughout her teens with school and then the birth of her son, Bay. She floated from job to job, her heart not in it, just wanting to bring home a paycheck. With the musical monkey clinging to her back, Angela realized she would never be happy if she didn’t follow her dream.
“It’s simply a natural joy for me,” Hacker explained. “Music and my son are the only places I find that.”
For Hacker, writing songs has always been a way to open up- drawing from her own personal experiences or her observation of other’s lives. Her songs can touch, inspire and intrigue the listener. But her TRUE strength is her live performance. Watching her on-stage in a live performance, she comes across as the consummate professional, confident as well as commanding.
Hacker is as adept with a guitar as she is with a Patsy Cline vocal. Cline, by the way, is one of her many musical influences, along with Tina Turner, Reba McIntyre, Aretha Franklin, Wynona Judd and Janis Joplin.
“I always went for the diva-types,” Hacker said with a huge grin. “You know, the ones with the big voices!”
Her rise toward stardom received one hell of a boost in 2008 with her win on the nationally televised program, Nashville Star. Angela not only won a recording contract and a new truck but the hearts and ears of listeners across the country and her fan base skyrocketed.
“My fans are my livelihood.”
She’s hitting the road this spring, along with singer/songwriter James LeBlanc, with a new CD, new songs and a new attitude. She and LeBlanc collaborated on a beautiful ballad titled, “These Walls.” The song is dear to Angela’s heart and exhibits her ability to deal with personal subjects.
“It’s about dealing with the past,” said Hacker. “It’s how I chose to deal with it- how I got through it. It’s more of a confession to God.”
Hacker’s new CD reveals more about this rising artist than her previous recordings. Like an audio voyeur, fans can enjoy delving into the artist’s soul. When Hacker taps into those life experiences, both good and bad, we can’t help but listen and hope that it keeps on flowing. It’s natural joy, her nature- a liberation of sorts.
Like water running down hill.
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