We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Anne Celedonia. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Anne below.
Anne, thank you so much for joining us today. Let’s jump right into something we’re really interested in hearing about from you – being the only one in the room. So many of us find ourselves as the only woman in the room, the only immigrant or the only artist in the room, etc. Can you talk to us about how you have learned to be effective and successful in situations where you are the only one in the room like you?
Defining what success means for you is one of the most important things you can do for your well being and self worth. I spent a big chunk of my life trying to reach other peoples versions of success without realizing it. Living in a country where opportunities are endless and peoples private lives are anything but, you subconsciously start to create markers in your mind that tell you where you should be, look, or feel, how much money you should be making, what your house should look like, how fast your career should rise, and how the only way to impress people is with more followers on Instagram.
Once I figured out some of my core values (i.e., joy, compassion, faith, sobriety), I understood that relying on others for my own success is, more often than not, going to lead to disappointment in some way. If I don’t take responsibility for my own actions and understand who I am and what success looks like to me, I will not become a version of myself I respect, and I will always be trying to impress other people.
If I’m the only one like me in the room, which happens quite frequently being a full time sober musician, I focus on what I’m there for. In most situations, I’m a hired musician so I’m there to work and meet the needs of the client. I’m there to be a responsible and prepared member of a band. I’m there to be a positive and professional presence, and I need to remember to be thankful for the work. Not everyone can call their number one passion their full time job. At the end of the night, if I feel I performed at my highest level, my attitude was positive and I met the needs of the client, I view that as a success. I also hope for positivity to have influenced other people and that our musical performance brought joy to others. Most times, if I can control my focus, the fact that I’m a recovering addict doesn’t even enter my mind even if I’m surrounded by alcohol and I’m the only sober person in the building.
I’m not perfect at this. I still drive home from situations where I feel I could have performed better, been more positive or prepared, set my distractions or weaknesses aside and brought more energy to the set. This is the hardest part. In the end, I have to remember I’m a human and I’m not perfect. To be effective anywhere, you have to just keep pushing forward and growing.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
My name is Anne Celedonia. I’m a full time musician, front-women for the band, Anne Eliza, and founder of Swim Effect. My entire life has revolved around music in some way. I started piano and voice at age 5 and never really stopped, but I’m a very different musician now than when I started. I’m classically trained in piano and voice, but when I got to college I had basically exhausted any passion I had for classical music so I transferred from the Penn State Music Ed/Piano path to Berklee College of Music. I studied Music Business/Management and graduated with honors in 2013.
When I got back home to Pittsburgh after Berklee, I hit another wall. I dabbled a bit here and there in music, but not much. I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to do with it. I landed a job in customer care at a local ticketing and event operations company called ShowClix in 2014. I was there in various capacities and roles for about eight years and I really loved the company, but it wasn’t my passion. I left to be a full time musician in 2022.
In 2017, I got sober. I was an addict for 10 years, and sobriety has been the best choice I’ve ever made. About a month before I got sober, a friend from college helped connect me with an organization that books bands for weddings and corporate gigs. I’ve been with them for over six years now and do about 30 weddings a year along with many other gigs I book on my own. Two weeks after I got sober, I was asked to audition as a background singer for a local band that was starting to tour nationally. I joined that band, The Commonheart, for about a year and a half. As a newly sober person, it was very difficult, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. I met some of my closest friends in that band and also my best friend who is now my bandmate in Anne Eliza.
Anne Eliza is an ambient piano pop band based in Pittsburgh, PA. I am the primary songwriter, vocalist, and pianist. My best friend, Alex, plays bass but also records and produces our music. Our debut record, I Wish You Will, was released in September 2021 and we’re working on album #2 now. Our influences come from a range of artists, but ultimately resulting in a combination of Alex and myself musically and I Wish You Well is something we’re proud of. I haven’t been writing songs for very long, but it’s become one of my greatest passions and outlets. If you want to check out the record, head to anneelizamusic.com. We’ll be releasing a couple new songs in the spring, too, so be sure to give us a follow on Instagram: @anneelizamusic.
My newest passion project is Swim Effect. As a sober musician, I’ve really noticed the lack of sober environments where people can perform or see live music. I also realized I needed some relief myself. Performing in places you would otherwise stay away from as a transforming addict can be incredibly tiresome and create a lot of wear and tear on your body and mind. I created Swim Effect to change that. My mission, simply put, is to provide safe substance free spaces for musicians an music lovers to enjoy live music. We’re about to have our second sober show in Pittsburgh on January 27th at Little Giant in Allentown. Living the life of sobriety is never required. Anyone and everyone should be able to see live music. Find out more information about Swim Effect and our upcoming show on swimeffect.co and follow us at @swim_effect on Instagram.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Passion, compassion, and drive are three qualities that have always created movement in my life.
Without passion, I am not a musician. Without passion, I don’t have purpose. Passion has been the longest burning flame behind my entire musical existence. It fueled my desire to step out of the financial security of a day job and pursue the unknown as a full time self-employed musician. Passion made me realize I am not motivated by money and my well being is more important. Work shouldn’t feel like work. If you go days without feeling excited about something, things need to change. There is the flame in you. Passion brings joy.
Compassion is what makes the world go round. Compassion builds genuine relationships, creates a sense of care and purpose for the work you’re doing, gives perspective, and reminds you to be nice to yourself, too. Compassion isn’t always easy, but it can transform, encourage, and repurpose situations and people. I wouldn’t be a songwriter without someone encouraging me to write. In sobriety, I would have continued to hurt people in my addiction if I didn’t have someone to tell me the truth about my actions. That person showed love towards me in one of the most difficult ways. I always want to pay it forward because those experiences changed my life.
There’s this Nike slogan “Just Do It.” I’m sure most people know that phrase, but it echos in my head a lot. Starting or continuing something does not mean you need to know everything beforehand. That’s literally impossible. A lot of the time I’m just trying to figure it out. The longer you wait, the less you’ll just do it. If you’re passionate about something, don’t let it sit in your head unheard. Don’t wait to feel less afraid or for some big jolt of inspiration. Just do it.
I will say I’m learning that rest is how these qualities stay fueled. Burn out will deplete you, and I’ve learned that the hard way. Almost anything can wait, so I try to prioritize rest as part of my planned schedule, not when I’m on an empty tank.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
I get overwhelmed when things pile on at once and I don’t see or feel a way out of the stress. Regrouping and prioritizing isn’t my auto response so I try to redirect my energy. If I can, I exercise. It helps me feel in control and that relieves me of feeling overwhelmed, which essentially is feeling out of control. If you can’t drop everything and go into a full HIIT workout, taking a walk with your headphones on could work, too. That’s not intense enough for me but anything that can distract my mind and lower my anxiety is helpful for me. Picking up weights, putting my earbuds in, and powering up a cardio work out for a good sweat has been the best thing for me to reduce the pile on feelings. Then I can regroup. If I’m somewhere I can’t do that, I will exercise later, but until then I just focus on breathing and not talking. No matter how you deal with being overwhelmed, you must be patient with yourself in the process. Being overwhelmed is nothing to be ashamed of and I think todays world forgets about that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.anneelizamusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anneelizamusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anneelizamusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/anneelizamusic
- Other: https://swimeffect.co/
Image Credits
Julie Kahlbaugh Erica Rae Santmyer David Heath
