Michele D’Amour is a born storyteller and award-winning songwriter who penned her first song at the age of six and became a published poet in her early twenties. Her lyrics treat difficult topics with a sense of soulful whimsy and wry humor. Michele sang in her church choir, wrote songs, and sang lead for some local bands before honing her craft at several of the blues jams in the Seattle area. Upon the advice of friends, she formed Michele D’Amour and the Love Dealers in 2011.

In this interview spotlight, I chat with Michele about the music, technology, surviving the pandemic and more.

Full Q&A along with links and music below.

Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?

I was born in Seattle, Washington. I would describe my band’s music as funky, jazzy blues.

How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?

I started writing and telling stories when I was very young, and I also started playing piano starting at around age 5. As I continued to study music, I also studied poetry, which is great training for lyric writing because you learn to keep what’s most essential to the story. After singing in choirs, some garage bands, and at blues jams, I finally put my own band together and we have been off and running since.

How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?

Probably the biggest thing was that we recorded away from home, in Memphis at the amazing Royal Studios. We were trying to capture a Memphis-type feel with the arrangements and the writing. It’s also the first time we recorded the tracks live off the floor, instead of recording just rhythm and then later adding the other pieces.

Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?

I get a lot of my inspiration from being around people, so I really didn’t write much while we were under lockdown since I was isolated. I used it as a time to watch and listen, and absorb rather than create. Now that things are opening up, we have a bunch of new songs that we’re developing.

What was the last song you listened to?

A Whiter Shade of Pale (which is a classic rock tune originally done by Procol Harem), recorded by Lachey Doley, who is a songwriter, singer and hammond organ player extraordinaire from Australia.

Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?

I grew up listening to vinyl, and there’s nothing like the feel of that record jacket in your hand, and reading the liner notes. I have a lot of fond memories of listening to my Dad’s record collection in our basement rec room.

Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?

If you go to our band website (www.micheledamourandthelovedealers.com) there’s a place where you can sign up for our monthly email newsletter. That’s where I share where we’re going to play the following month, and what’s going on with the band (such as going into the studio).

I really appreciate Your time. Anything else before we sign off? 

If you like our music, stay tuned because we are working on new songs for a new album