‘Piggybank’ Artist Eve Minor Talks To Us About Battling Cancer, Addiction & A Troubled Youth

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We love supporting up-and-coming artists, especially women who have a story to tell and are using their music to share powerful messages. Eve Minor is one of those women whose life journey is nothing short of a rollercoaster ride that reads like a movie script, but it is 100% real. The singer-songwriter is based in New York and is about to make her own punctuation mark in the music world.

Eve has been working behind the scenes in the music industry for many years and is now breaking out on her own, with her new single ‘Piggybank’. The music video has also just been released and we had a chance to talk with her about the struggles she has been through, her inspirations in music, and what it’s really like for women in the industry.

She is a cancer survivor, a former foster child and she is ready to share her story with the world. On her website blog (appropriately titled “life”) you get a sense of who the woman behind the music really is. She is candid about dealing with online bullying from other females who have attacked her and her photos. Eve encourages her fans to donate leftover clothing to Covenant House, a haven for homeless youth, and extols the benefits of wheatgrass as she shares her battle with cancer very openly.

Eve Minor is far from just another newbie artist trying to make it big in a sea of many. She is a battle-worn woman who knows all too well that life is too short to play it safe in the background. Whenever we get to know a new artist, we want to dive into much more than just the music. So this interview was a perfect opportunity to share Eve’s story with our readers.

Congratulations on the release of your new track and music video! Tell us about your song “Piggybank” and the story behind it?

Thank you so much! Piggybank came to me one day I was playing around with a Scott Joplin lick on piano, and I started singing the hook. It wound up coming out as a more personal song, about a time where I was trying to support myself and I was too young to work a real job. The message is pretty strong; it’s about stacking money and blowing it. I don’t really believe in the value of the all mighty dollar, I learned wealth is something that comes with happiness and money made the wrong way tends to go really quickly. I was encouraged to use the original voice I wrote the song with, on the record. I tend to make a lot of different voices in my daily life.

How did you get into music and professional singing?

I started playing piano when I was four as an escape. I got really into Nirvana and grunge and picked up guitar. I started playing in a lot of bands­ growing up it was punk rock bands and metal bands, and I didn’t really know how to sing, I always had melodies in my head so I made my own songs. I started getting a lot of session gigs, and I really love to create so it’s been working out for me. Being able to emote in song is something I live for.

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You have experienced some difficult circumstances in your life growing up. Talk to us about your journey as a foster child and what you went through?

I prefer the term “troubled youth”. I grew up never really belonging to anyone, and I regularly deal with my abandonment issues. I really feel for those kids and I try my best to help young people everywhere who

come from a situation that they are running away from, or are fostered, or just feel like they don’t belong anywhere. It’s extremely difficult to learn how to love yourself and those scars run deep, so I try to give back and help show these kids that there is a beautiful world out there filled with opportunity and I am living proof. It isn’t easy, there’s a lot of things that play into that and I constantly work through those issues.

How has that shaped your music today and your perspective on the world and certain issues?

I have a lot of compassion and empathy for others. I am a very giving person. I mean in such a positive way it has helped me become strong and independent and not rely on other people. I learned hard lessons growing up and truly struggled. It’s help me be extremely grateful for the little things and truly appreciate people who support me and are there for me, because I know what it’s like to have no one and feel very alone. I can be difficult and very guarded at times, it’s not always sunshine, it’s helped me learn though, and I continue to learn.

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You are also a cancer survivor, can you tell us more about that?

I didn’t receive great news at my last appointment. I want my grand piano to be hollowed out and to be buried in it, come the day. My music is really helping me through this difficult time. My health issues run really deep. I am continuously following up, and it can make me depressed sometimes. I have a lot of strong emotions in coping with it, it definitely affects my daily life. Sometimes I push people away because I feel badly to hurt someone if something should happen to me. Others times, I want to move a mile a minute; nothings promised.

It has gotten in the way of my creating in the past, because I was just too sick to get up. I have to keep very close watch on my immune system and the way I eat, and keeping up with appointments. It’s a blessing and a curse because I live my life as if everyday is my last. I never hold back and try to make other people smile as much as possible. I live without regret, and thankfully I’m on my third bucket list.

Some of your musical influences include Nina Simone and Amy Winehouse, both of whom had very troubled lives which eventually led to their untimely deaths. How have their life stories as well as music influenced your artistry?

I really relate to their personal life stories, as someone who struggles with a lot of issues. My past leads me prone to depression and I have struggled with the disease of addiction. I am very open about that; I try my best to stay on top of it­ but it’s extremely difficult. I can catch myself falling into patterns and I do my best to stay conscious of it. They really have both inspired me to have courage to speak about things that are considered taboo, and emote strongly in my voice. They both had contralto voices and jazz/blues influences, that’s where my natural voice lives. I relate to their struggles as women as well, Nina Simone had such a positive impact on African American women at the time, and a tremendous impact on music, she was a truly gifted piano player, and I look up to her playing and soul.

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We’re seeing an uprising of female artists talking about feminism, gender equality, sexual equality and challenging existing norms. How do you hope to inspire other women through your music?

I am releasing a single called “OMG” on October first. This one in particular is about being a woman and not adhering to double standards. I am really pro­-woman and entirely for women empowerment. I don’t have conventional music and media, and it’s me being me, and I want women to feel comfortable and beautiful in their own skin and especially with OMG, I think as a woman we’re trapped in this old fashioned view, where we are painted as subservient and incapable of the stereotypical “male” roles.

As a female producer/engineer in a truly male dominated industry , I hope to inspire other women to get out there and not be afraid to live their dreams and banish traditional stereotypes. This song is me saying as a woman that I don’t have to wait for a man to call me, I don’t have to wait for a significant other, I don’t believe in that gender unequal view. I think as women if you want to ask a man out, you can, if you want to tell a man you want him, you should, and you shouldn’t be shamed for that.

I disagree wholeheartedly with the view that men can be with multiple women and that’s status, and vice versa is taboo. I think we should completely abandon that belief. If I want to take a man out and pay, I damn right will. It’s individual and we need to stop judging other people ESPECIALLY women on their choices, I really advocate for gender equality across the board.

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When can we expect more music and videos from you?

I will be releasing OMG on October 1st, another track mid October and then in November. I will have some videos along the way as well, of course I constantly update my Instagram: @eveminor, Twitter: @eve_minor , and snapchat: eveminor with the process and what’s coming next. I’m gearing up for a full length in 2017, and am working on some fun side projects.

What makes you a powerful woman?

I am not afraid to speak my mind. I am not afraid to do what I want to do and be who I am, and inspire other women to do the same. I am unaffected by the opinions of others, as long as I live my truth, and that’s true power; knowing yourself.

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