Cadillac Cowgirl, singer-songwriter and radio DJ Nancy Apple opens up about creativity, curveballs, and keeping your voice true
Welcome to The Creative Wayfinder’s Compass, a free blog where creative people and writers can find inspiration and advice through the experience of others. Here you’ll find in-depth interviews with innovative minds and deep dives into process, craft, and the creative and writing life. Many creative people find themselves taking on multiple roles in their career, and this artist is no exception. Just to give a sampling of her experience: Nancy Apple has collaborated frequently with acclaimed singer-songwriter and producer Keith Sykes, she played drums for a while for blues legend Willie Cobbs, she was a featured artist at Woodyfest 2024 and just headlined a “Women of Woodyfest” event in Oklahoma. Apple is involved in her community, organizes clothing donations and recently raised almost $20,000 for a proper headstone for underrated rockabilly legend Cordell Jackson (including a whopping $10,000 donation from Jack White).
With a life so varied, it only makes sense that this entry in The Creative Wayfinder’s Compass covers a lot of ground. I promise you’ll be over the moon with the insights shared here. Nancy Apple is an Americana musician involved in the Memphis, Nashville, and Austin music scenes who has hosted “Car Tunes” on WEVL Memphis since 1996. Just like how her show plays country, rock, and Memphis music, Nancy’s work defies categorization, blending genre but always shining with the honesty and storytelling of Americana.
Here Nancy graciously and generously shares her multitudes of experience, from singer-songwriter, record label owner, producer, and radio DJ to session musician, set dresser, visual artist, fundraiser, and more. She reflects here on life’s curveballs with humor, wit, and grit, shares how resilience and self-compassion go hand in hand, and opens up about the intuitive process of creating.
“I have learned that no matter what method you try, you get what you give. You have to keep your creative muscles strong. Don’t let the callouses on your fingers get soft. Keep moving. Keep trying new things. Get as much sunshine as you do rain. Some days, things fall into place. Others, it’s a struggle and joy all at once.”
Nancy Apple
Who are you and what do you create?
Legally, I am Nancy Apple, but as far as “who am I,” well, after 66 years on this planet, I am still trying to figure out the deeper answer to that question. It seems like when I feel comfortable, secure, and confident in knowing who I am deep at my core (pun intended), something happens that takes a big bite out of my reality, and I have to figure it all out again. So, basically, I am Nancy Apple. Flexible, go with the flow, and roll with the punches. I create many things. Songs, poems, visual art, and commercial art. I garden, nurture, and strive to create calmness in the midst of chaos.
Over the decades I have been a babysitter, a model, a beggar, a teacher, a mentor, a boss, a publisher, an art director, a baller, a hot mess, a caretaker for lab rats, rabbits and monkeys, a girlfriend, an ex-wife, a band manager, a music industry executive, a cashier, a theatre backdrop seamstress, star of my own television special, a set dresser, a backstage manager, a side guy, a support act, a national and international touring artist, a solo artist, and album cover designer, sign queen, roadie, stage manager, runner, publicist, wardrobe and animal wrangler and probably several other things that, quite frankly, why point out the obvious any more than I already have! In my deepest soul-confronting moments, I KNOW I am a poet, a songwriter, and an empathetic human with a pocket full of flaws and dreams.
What first inspired you to pursue your creative path, and how has that inspiration evolved over time?
My family was a perfectly dysfunctional functioning bundle of creative madness. My mom was an artist, my two older sisters sang folk songs and played guitar, and I had a Navy airplane mechanic dad who read poetry and taught illiterate sailors how to read. Both parents came from poverty, and I didn’t know that other families were not like us. I thought every family never hired outside help. Thought everyone fixed their own plumbing and roofs, planted gardens, oversaw Girl Scouts and softball teams, hosted fabulous parties, and moved every year or two to a different state or country. I thought all families had Baptist, Buddhist, and Hindu friends with monkeys and parrots for pets. So yeah, I didn’t know any better or different.
I am a product of what I have lived, so I still draw from childhood memories and lessons when I write songs. In my visual art, assemblage art, what inspired me first so many years ago was to make use of little shiny things that end up being thrown away. One earring, a broken necklace, a cool piece of chrome from an old car… I love putting things like that together like a puzzle – or even like writing a song. When I take an old stringed instrument and use it for the foundation of my assemblage art, I call it “Guitart.”
I try to feel whatever vibes come to me that the instrument didn’t get to say before it was tossed away. I know that sounds waaaaaaaaaay out there, but I do, for the most part, try to figure out how to make a visual of the last song the instrument had in them. I truly was the kid who took the blanket I carried around for security, placed it on the driveway, and invited all the kids in the neighborhood to come over and watch my “show.” My blanket being the stage. In some ways, I’m still attached to a blankie.
Can you walk us through your creative process? Do you follow specific rituals or habits to get into the flow of your work?
It has changed over the years, and I have probably tried everything you might have read about that others do at one time or another. Wine, weed, coffee or sugar. Sleep deprivation. Changing to a different instrument or physical location. Travel. Seeing new things. Reading. Taking naps. Listening to music I love or not listening to any music at all. I find when I go camping in the mountains out West that after about three days, my mind is opened up to an almost nirvanic level of awareness, ready to receive whatever comes my way. Maybe it’s the freedom I give myself to avoid technology and get somewhere that feels like I am far off the grid but still not too far from a cell signal and a hot shower.
I’ve tried getting up early and doing stream-of-consciousness notebook writing or setting aside a certain time and place to work. During my day job years, I would schedule time on my calendar just like you would date night or yoga or night school but for songwriting or art. I have learned that no matter what method you try, you get what you give. You have to keep your creative muscles strong. Don’t let the callouses on your fingers get soft. Keep moving. Keep trying new things. Get as much sunshine as you do rain. Some days, things fall into place. Others, it’s a struggle and joy all at once.
All in all, I try to not beat myself up too much and to eventually finish what I start. But, and a big but, I have learned that forcing a finish on something artistic is not in the best interest of the art. That’s why some songs take years to get just right, and others that appear in 10 minutes are a special gift.
What themes, ideas, or emotions do you find yourself returning to in your work, and how have they shifted over time?
I seem to like to write happy melodies to go with dark or sad songs. But I’m not the only one. Seems like a lot of my friends are also that way. I like to question things and use familiar words twisted around devil and Jesus conflicts, but not so much in a religious way as an old folklore kind of way. I hear it all the time by others that I seem to speak in song. There’s a song in there somewhere. And sometimes there is, and sometimes there isn’t. I love jive talk, jargon, and slang. Great for songs.
I am influenced by what is going on with our planet, on the news, with my friends, and in my own little bubble. Love is a biggie, and heartbreak. Emotions. I try to tap into all the feels. I sometimes put myself in others’ shoes and try to write from perspectives I have not really experienced. Particularly drunkards. I used to be really codependent and have had several relationships with alcoholics, and I always could find a song when times were tough. I finally got over that!
I find it easier to write when I am conflicted, confused, and bothered by something. It’s hard to write, for me, if I am super happy. I want to experience the joy while it’s there and tap back into it when I need hope or help picking myself up from a fall. I try to keep things simple and easy to understand, which is not really all that easy when you get down to it.
What’s been your biggest creative breakthrough, and how did it change the way you approach your art or writing?
The ease of hitting the voice memo on my phone or iPad to grab a memory in the making. Otherwise, I will forget everything. As far as productivity, musically, it is getting out on the highway with no responsibilities and going to, for me, New Mexico in the mountains of the high desert. The air, the colors, the smell of the sage, and the peacefulness of the land really open me up to receive whatever is out there for me that day. Also, learning how to not let others’ opinions and criticism get to me so much. Still working on that.
How do you navigate periods of creative block or self-doubt, and what techniques have helped you push through?
Since reading is hard for me, I listen to a lot of audiobooks and podcasts. I listen for cool words and great lines. I try to travel if I can. When you are moving, ideas are moving. Even if it’s doing the dishes, mowing the yard, or walking your dog because ideas can lay dormant and appear when you least expect them. Keep that voice memo handy and record your thoughts, cool words, or phrases. Start a bank of ideas, and on days when you feel broke, make a withdrawal.
As far as self-doubt, there are a few friends I can whine to when I need to, and they know they can call me as well. If it wasn’t for a few close friends sharing our experiences, then it would feel really lonely, sometimes depressing, and a ton of other emotions. Sometimes, when sharing your issues, you find they are not all that bad, considering. It’s all a matter of perspective, half empty, half-full thing. One little sip of confidence, a compliment, or a smile can go a long way in getting out of a rut. And if you don’t get that from your tribe, you crawl out of that dark place on your own.
How do feedback and criticism play a role in your process? How do you decide what advice to follow and what to set aside?
I come across sometimes as the most bad-ass, give-it-to-me, is-that-all-you’ve-got kind of person most days, but truly, I am a wimp. Criticism, especially negative, can be debilitating. At the basic level, most of us strive for positivity, but we can’t rely on built-in cheering squads. I am my own best and worst critic. I know when I’m on to something, but I also know when I suck. I know when I hit a bad note or wrong chord.
Once, I did a show in Knoxville and, for some reason, thought I would play a different guitar, and man, was that a mistake. I had tuning issues, nerves started getting to me, and I started talking stupid shit to cover up my tuning turrets and fidgeting. I wanted to crawl into a hole afterward. But get this – even though it was not a very busy night at the club, and I counted 20 or fewer in attendance, somehow I made such a horrible impression on that one person compelled to send what is still the ugliest worst review/personal attack of my life, in an e-mail. I still remember how pathetic it made me feel. How talentless, how unworthy of the opportunities I had been given, and how it made me want to call it quits. Most people don’t realize that being just a little bit in the public eye makes you a target for anyone to say anything.
For what felt like weeks, I felt like, “Just shoot me now. Take a rope and hang me,” so yeah, you’ve got to learn to like yourself enough to press on. And you have to learn to love yourself enough to keep on keeping on no matter what the fuck anyone else has to say. But still, in the way far back shattered place in my heart, those comments still hang on. Like a scar, they are and will always be a part of me.
How do you balance personal creative expression with the commercial or external demands of your work?
I don’t worry about commercial demands if I am working on something that is MY art, MY creative outlet, whether it be music, art, writing, or something else. If it is something I am creating for the experience of creating, and it ends up commercially successful, then great… but I can’t think about that while I am creating otherwise the work is compromised and not honest, but that’s just me.
If I am writing a song, yes, after the initial burst of magic-energy-work-play that delivered the song to me, I may edit something here or there to make it more accessible to others. More universal. Less me and more we. But that’s not always the case. It really depends on the song and if it feels like something anyone else would ever want to perform. Sometimes the saddest, deepest, darkest subjects need to stay that way, and I am happily surprised if one of those kind of songs receives any recognition.
It turns out that many people experience the same emotions and experiences but can’t express them. When a simple song comes along that they can relate to touches on something they have been feeling for years, it’s a wonderful feeling to know that they “get it.” Those occasional “atta girls” really help me when I am going through an insecure spell. It’s hard to wear the armor all the time, so being comfortable in one’s own naked skin is a beautiful thing. I am not sure if it comes with age, ignorance, or apathy, but I don’t even consider commercial aspects anymore because there is less and less money for a songwriter to make these days, so I do what I do for myself.
What’s one of the most challenging projects you’ve worked on, and how did you overcome the difficulties you faced?
Most of the challenges I have come across musically are one of two things. Lack of funds to do what you want to finish, or conflicts/issues with others you have come to depend upon. For example, a band member quits in the middle of recording for reasons that have nothing to do with you, but there you are, stuck with breaking in someone new when you are halfway done with a future release. Another example is someone you have dreamed of working with forever turns out to be an ass. In any case, you press on. I seldom give up. I love challenges.
One of the hats I wear from time to time is set dresser/shopper for film or television projects. How often are you asked to find a coffee table that looks like a panther about to spring into action with a glass top that looks like something from the 1970s? Oh, and “We need this by next week” and then you find the perfect thing that same day? I love challenges. It’s hard for me to give up on something or someone.
How do you stay motivated and disciplined, especially during times when inspiration is lacking or inconsistent?
You just have to pick up and start over if the case may be. Cry it out and crawl into a dark hole if you have to, but don’t make it your permanent residency. You press on. Self-employment means you have to self-motivate and discipline yourself to get off your ass, despite your desire to lay on it. You create situations that inspire. You move your wheels. You stimulate your mind. You get sunshine to offset the rain. You breathe in. You breathe out. Eventually, things change, but seldom without you making the first move.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out, or to an artist who’s struggling to find or trust their creative voice?
I think I was raised thinking that failure was horrible and intolerable. I got over that when I started realizing that we are all imperfect, no matter how perfect you may think or have been told you are. So jump into whatever your heart desires, and if you mess up, what? No one is going to take away your birthday.
M.K. Hancock here. Mission accomplished, you just read such a great interview! Thank you for supporting “The Creative Wayfinder’s Compass” where we’re highlighting insights from artists for folks curious for creative advice, kinship, momentum, and inspiration. Nancy Apple’s interview reminds us that pure talent and creativity aren’t the only ingredients needed for success. You also need persistence, playfulness, and self-compassion to thrive, as well as the ability to embrace just how messy and magical it can be to be human.
Here’s a fun bonus: If you want to digitally poke through Nancy’s record crates, this website hosts playlists from her radio show going back to 2012.
If you’re ready to take the next step in your own creative journey, explore the rest of The Creative Wayfinder’s Compass and discover what my coaching looks like. I’m here to help, and I also offer adjustable rates and times depending on the circumstances. My services are customized since every path is unique, and not everyone needs the same things or is starting from the same place. Please reach out if you are curious or have any questions, and I’ll be happy to hear from you.
Life is rarely linear, and instead has phases, eras, turbulence and peace, feast and famine. Have you ever found your footing again after a creative curveball? Leave a comment to share your thoughts. If you’re interested in receiving these interviews and articles as soon as they’re posted, please sign up for the mailing list below:
