CINDER ERNST

Today we are chatting Cinder Ernst! Welcome! Let’s dive right in – tell us all about how you got started and how you ended up where you are now!

Summer of 65. I was 6 years old and heard someone sing and play guitar. I knew I wanted to do that. I got a guitar for my 7th birthday. I learned to play songs I loved by ear, and sing-along with my playing. Playing by ear was a thing back then…there was no Google or YouTube. Seems I spent my whole life singing and playing guitar for friends and family and funerals and weddings. I had a band in NYC in the ’80s, videos made in the MTV era and vinyl released in England.

In 2019 I got diagnosed with a crappy cancer and decided if it wasn’t fun I was no longer interested. Funny how that decision led me back into songwriting and making music. And here I am releasing music, getting ready for a fall 2023 tour and celebrating my songs as they end up on TV shows and movies. I’ll be 63 years old and I feel very current and cool.

When did you first know you wanted to become a musical artist? What was the first song you ever wrote?

When I was 11, I turned down an opportunity for a record deal. If I analyze it now, I felt like me and music was a heart thing and I didn’t want to ruin that. Now, as I am filled with so much wisdom of life, I feel like I can bring my heart forward with my music and touch people.

I wrote my first song when I was 13 years old. I still remember the words and the tune. I was a New Jersey girl singing about going west and being in love. “Colorado, Wyoming, California with her sea. Some place where the grass grows free, someplace my heart wants to be.”

 If you could meet, play a gig, co-write a song, have dinner, have a drink with any band or artist (dead or alive) who would it be?  

Michael Franti, hands down. Our vibrations together would be wonderful and powerful.

Between your very first performance and now, how would you say you have grown, as both a musician and an artist?

Referring to the story above, I feel like I am that 11-year-old again, but now I know how to keep my heart in my music and communicate it outwards to people who will love to hear it.

What would you like to be remembered for in your musical career, when all is said and done, when future music lovers look for and covet your music, what would you like them to be looking for and remembering you for?

One of my fans said “All of your songs are an experience, not just something nice to listen to. You make us feel. Personally, if I’m feeling doubts I hear the song and I feel better. Personalized empowerment…that’s what I get from your songs”

Where can we find you on social media and listen to more of your music?

 FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/cinder.shine.ernst

INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/cinder_shine_ernst

URL: www.cindershine.com

Cinder Shine on all streaming platforms

End of Interview