Lissa Schneckenburger

The down beat slams your body as the song grabs you and surges forward. You lean in to hear every word, as Schneckenburger’s voice sweetly sets the scene and then brings it to a boil, careening around each detail. The song ends before you’re ready, leaving you breathless with your heart thumping in your ears. You reach forward and hit repeat.

Thunder in my Arms, Schneckenburger’s first release of all original music, is a song cycle about attachment and trauma. After decades as a traditional fiddler and ballad singer, Schneckenburger’s personal experience as a foster parent ignited her drive to write stories of family attachment and loss. She found herself diving into writing new material with a seriousness that matched her subject matter. Sung from a myriad of viewpoints, Thunder in my Arms can be at times brazen and childish, resilient and triumphant, softly confessional, or warm and comforting.

Schneckenburger says “At a certain point I noticed that everyone we turned to for help with parenting was talking about the same thing: finding compassion, synchronicity, and understanding. In my attempts to be a better adoptive parent I found plenty of invaluable books and workshops that got that point across, but no songs! Music has this magical way of communicating emotion almost instantly, and allows human beings to synchronize with each other on so many levels. I set out to write songs that would resonate with other parents like myself. Songs about loneliness, exhaustion, beauty, abandonment, love, loss, and above all, hope.”

Schneckenburger’s fans will be the first to tell you, the sonic tapestry of Thunder in my Arms is a sharp contrast with her previous recordings. Rooted solidly in a foundation of drums and bass, the songs swell with electric guitar, piano, and strings, and at times explode with brass and saxophone. Above it all rides Schneckenburger’s expressive vocals, with the lyrics driving it all home.

Raised in a small town in Maine and now living in Vermont, Schneckenburger grew up with music. She began playing fiddle at the age of six, inspired by her parent’s interest in folk music. In 2001 she graduated from the New England Conservatory of Music with a degree in Contemporary Improvisation. She has been performing and teaching music around the world ever since.

“To me, music creates community,” Schneckenburger says. “Music is what people sing along to, dance to, fall in love to… music brings people together. These songs are part of all of us, and it’s an honor to have had the chance to record them.”