As a trailblazing independent artist who lives by the motto "Own Your Own Universe," Terri Hendrix has spent two decades juggling both her art (making music out of life) and everything that goes into maintaining a "DIY" music career (what she calls "The Part That Ain't Art.") So it's only fitting that the award-winning singer-songwriter's first book is two books in one: part companion piece to her latest album, "Cry Till You Laugh," with lyrics, photos and essays linked to the songs on the record, and part how-to guide for going your own way in the music business. The essays dance from "cry" to "laugh" and back again, touching candidly on everything from hilarious road stories and stage-fright jitters to poignant matters of the heart and her life-long battle with epilepsy. It may sound like a crazy mix, but as any fan of Terri Hendrix's music can attest, that's Terri … to a "T."
"Cry Till You Laugh" is already one of the best-received albums of her career, with England's Maverick declaring it "a 100% Terri Hendrix tour de force" and the Dallas Morning News calling it "refreshingly eclectic." WXPN's Gene Shay, founder of the Philadelphia Folk Festival, raves, "'Cry Till You Laugh' is wonderful, with some of the best songs I've heard in ages. One moment she's bluesy, the next, refreshingly cool and pure. That takes oodles of talent and musical know how."
Throughout "Cry Till You Laugh," Hendrix spins sorrow into joy and wrings wisdom from the blues with the poetic grace and melodic flair that has long been her trademark. USA Today music critic Elysa Gardner singled out the album's "Einstein's Brain" as one of her "Playlist" Top 10 picks of the week, calling it "a bittersweet reflection on life's limits, rendered with Hendrix's usual rootsy grace." That same bracing honesty also runs throughout Hendrix's new book, whether she's addressing her health or the nitty-gritty details on what it takes to maintain a viable music career at a time when even major labels are struggling to stay afloat. Hendrix, a veritable pioneer in the running-your-own-label revolution sweeping the music industry, has now released 14 albums in as many years on her own Wilory Records, and is one of very few artists who can lay claim to having always owned all of her master recordings. She has been sharing her hard-earned survival tips in music workshops for years, from the Berklee School of Music to music festivals all over the country to her own annual "Life's a Song" retreat in Port Aransas, Texas.
A classically trained vocalist and deft multi-instrumentalist (guitar, mandolin and harmonica), Hendrix is a firm believer in the theory that "life's too short for one genre," dodging musical pigeonholes by weaving folk, pop, country, blues and swinging jazz into an eclectic style all her own that plays like a lovingly compiled mix-CD. Add to that her charismatic stage presence and reputation for always delivering an energetic and spiritually uplifting live show (from intimate listening rooms to huge outdoor festivals), and it's no wonder why she's been embraced by three generations of loyal fans around the globe. As the San Antonio Express-News observed, "Part of the beauty of Terri Hendrix's music is she's among the best at recognizing, writing about and celebrating resilience and common ground, the things we can all cry, and laugh, about."
Hendrix has already had a hand in co-writing a Grammy-winning song (the Dixie Chicks' "Best Country Instrumental," "Lil' Jack Slade," off their 2002 "Home" album). But the biggest professional and personal honors of her career have all come about in the last year. In 2010, she was inducted into the South Texas Music Walk of Fame in Corpus Christi, joining such Lone Star luminaries as Guy Clark, Kris Kristofferson and all four original Texas Tornados. She also received the Art of Peace Award from St. Mary's University in her hometown of San Antonio, honoring her for creating art in the service of peace, justice and human understanding. And in early 2011, she will return to Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas — where she briefly studied opera on scholarship before taking a different musical path in life — to receive an Outstanding Alumni Award, given each year to three alumni who have attained outstanding achievements in their field of endeavor, community, state or nation.
Hendrix candidly admits that writing "Cry Till You Laugh — The Part That Ain't Art" was grueling to complete. "I ran the Houston Tenneco Marathon, and came in last — right before the ambulance," she laughs. "That was hard, but this was even harder." She wrapped up her book with the words, "The Beginning," because she's embracing not only the next stage of her musical evolution, but the launch of her OYOU ("Own Your Own Universe") Community Arts Center. Inspired in part by Hendrix's own personal experiences, as well as by people with neurological challenges she has had the honor to meet and play for over the years, the official 501 (c)(3) nonprofit is dedicated to serving the greater San Marcos, Texas, community with a handi-capable facility that will offer educational and therapeutic arts programs for people of all ages, ethnicities and traditions. It's a dream Hendrix has harbored for years, and "Come Tomorrow" — come today — she's turning it into a reality.
