“...from such a dirty, filthy place can beauty be arranged?...” (from the single Dirty, Erinn Williams’ new CD Digging in the Dirt)

As you scroll down Erinn Williams’ MySpace Music page you come across a unique quote from the singer/songwriter, “Music is my vice to find a higher place and a better understanding of this beautiful and messed up world.” Coming from a musician this may seem like an explanation for how they channel their music but for Ms. Williams, it is has a much deeper meaning.

You see, there is more to this young lady than meets the discriminating eye: Williams is not just a musician but an entrepreneur and teacher of many things holistic. She interprets the world in which she lives into the sheer poetry that becomes her songs. Williams combines the beauty she finds in the simplest things in the world into not only her music but the line of raw food chocolates she creates by hand, the raw foods/vegan lifestyle consulting she provides and the yoga and Pilates classes she instructs.

Growing up in Missoula, MT, Williams was a creative child; first studying dance and then moving into serious vocal studies at a young age she expressed, “My family was always very encouraging and supportive of my music. When I was a kid my parents had a big garden, and raised their own “meat” (cows) in the back pasture. My dad even made his own wine! We always went camping, hiking, swimming, and playing in nature—so I grew up very connected to/inspired by nature. My songs also reflect this and are very inspired by nature too: Health and exercise, hard work, and doing something good with your life were values I definitely received from my family and upbringing.”

Williams moved to L.A. to attend USC on a Opera scholarship and she explained that moving to CA is what, she now believes, brought her closer to finding herself not only as an artist but as an earth/animal/people loving individual. She first found inspiration to change her diet after reading Diet for a New America, by John Robbins (heir to the Baskin Robbins enterprise who gave it all up) which discusses the “detrimental effects of dairy on your health” and the cruelty towards animals in factory farms. “The book covers those topics and also the effects these industries have on the environment, all the way down to world hunger (it takes many times more grain to feed a cow to feed humans than it does to feed grain directly to humans). It clicked and I've never looked back. If you can be a healthy, (healthier) happy vegetarian, why choose anything different? (I turned vegetarian first, then after a year or two turned vegan, then after several more years became raw—so it was a transition over time),” explains Williams.

As for finding herself as a singer songwriter, she recalls, “I was applying to graduate schools for voice and my body just would not let me go through with it, so I listened to it.” Supporting herself by modeling and finding commercial work after college, she says, “I decided to take a different, more organic route. I have always written poetry and I play guitar so decided to make my own way in the music world and am so happy I did. I still hold on to my operatic roots and like to throw it into a song or sing an aria here and there on stage...with my guitar.” Her vocals have been compared to Tori Amos and Kate Bush; they are ethereal and strong, passionate yet delicate. Much like Williams herself.

Williams says her lyrics are inspired a lot by nature and she says out of all the songs she has written Dirty is probably the most meaningful. She explains that the song “talks about making something beautiful out of your challenges and struggles in life (flowers from the dirt).” Thus her connect between her surroundings and her lifestyle and finding inspiration by being open to receiving it.

Williams, as previously mentioned, also instructs yoga and pilates and explains, “I was always drawn to and healed by yoga, spiritually and physically.” She believes that combining raw foods with practicing yoga and pilates enables, “a healthy/fit/flexible body, calm and clear mind, more even-keel emotions, clear skin and irises too. Raw foods are anti-aging (the live enzymes and nutrients and live anti-oxidants), plus yoga relieves stress, is also anti-aging, and prevents disease. One has a clearer channel to creativity, a more peaceful temperament, and more energy and desire to create and do something great!”

Veganism is said to be the most earth friendly lifestyle for it only uses what the earth gives us. For Williams, going another step further by following a raw foods diet made sense and after meeting other raw foods enthusiasts and doing three and a half years of extensive research on the benefits, she decided to produce her own line of raw food chocolates, Rawkin Raw Chocolates.

Williams uses 100% organic ingredients in her product. “I chose goji berries and cacao for their anti-oxidents and flavor, Maca for its nutritional value, flavor, and natural kick, spirulina for its B-vitamins and alkalizing effect, and cayenne for a little spice!” She is also developing another variety but being a one-woman show, she takes things slowly as not to compromise quality. Currently Rawkin Raw Chocolates is being sold virtually on the [product] website and at L.A.area Whole Foods and independent natural foods retailers.

If you are interested in beginning a raw foods diet, Williams suggests, “When you first start out, and want to (you should) eat gourmet, just to help your transition, it can be expensive but that's if you're eating out a lot, buying prepared raw dishes at the grocery store, etc. But it does NOT have to be expensive! As you are raw for longer, your body craves more simple foods, like just salads and plain fruit. Some raw foodist suggest, developing relationships with local farmers so you can get produce directly, or cheaper. But I get mine from farmers markets, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, etc. I would suggest buying a great blender like K-Tech or Vitamix, a food processor, and a dehydrator...they help to make the fun/gourmet foods at home.”

She also extends the organic lifestyle into her buying choices when it comes to make-up, home cleaning products, clothing and the like. Being a touring musician could pose a challenge on her diet but she explains, “no matter what country/city I've been in, I can always find fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds.”

Speaking again about her music and touring and how her career has progressed, Williams obviously doesn’t shy away from hard work and keeping the integrity of her music in tact. She has yet to do a comprehensive North American tour, but has toured parts of Europe. “I've always followed my heart very closely and worked hard to manifest what I was drawn to. I always wanted to tour Europe, but didn't know how. And you don't need to know how—you just do everything you can to further that goal. But yes—I started playing in L.A., and doing tours up and down the West coast. MySpace is where I met my French Label and UK manager...lots of Internet research led to that. It’s also where I book most of my tours.”

She currently has two CD’s released in the U.S.: “Digging in the Dirt” and “Damsel with a 6 Gun” and two more coming out this year. She sells her music mostly at her shows and many on-line music sources such as MySpace, www.CDbaby.com, iTunes and on her own website,www.erinnwilliams.com.

Ms. Williams embodies the type of person who makes our society a better place. She believes in kindness, hard work and pursuing your heart and soul desires. She is ambitious and dedicated not only to her goals but her own well-being. When asked about her future plans she gladly shared, “I hope to take music as far as possible and to do it as long as possible (touring/ writing/ releasing). I want to keep improving too as a songwriter, and growing with it/through it. I would like to have a nationwide vegan/raw foods-line, and eventually even do some green home development. I would also like to open a healing center someday with yoga, meditation, raw foods nutrition, natural healing practitioners—a one stop total heath shop.”

You can find information about Erinn Williams, as well as purchasing her music and Rawkin Raw Chocolate at the links embedded in this article or by visiting the following links:

http://www.myspace.com/erinn

http://www.erinnwilliams.com

http://www.rawenergyandlife.com