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Takin' A Walk - Music History with Buzz Knight
Healing Through Music: Antoinette Costa -A Journey of Resilience and Hope on Music Saved Me Podcast
00:14:30
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- [00:00]
Podcast Announcer
This is an iHeart podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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- [01:04]
Antoinette Costa
Music Saved Me by focusing on music writing, my form of meditation, I became calmer and I retrained my mind because I feel like there is all this noise. There's insta stories, there's constant. There's constant noise in the world.
- [01:22]
Lynne Hoffman
And.
- [01:22]
Antoinette Costa
And when you come back to music writing, reading, creative process, whatever that means to you, you feel a sense of purpose and stability and happiness.
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Lynne Hoffman
I'm Lynne Hoffman and welcome to the Music Saved Me podcast. The podcast where we dig deep into the healing power of music with musicians who all have their own unique story to tell. Our guest today is the singer and songwriter who truly knows the healing forces of music. Antonette Costa is a singer and songwriter whose style ranges from Japanese jazz to soul to classical and even hip hop. She has new music out called Pitta Patter and recently revealed that she's facing her own health challenges. And we are so fortunate that she actually wanted to share her story on our show today and her story of immersion. I'm sorry, emotional and physical recovery. Let me, let me give you that line again. She has new music out called Pit a Patter and recently revealed that she's facing her own health challenges. And we're so fortunate that she wanted to share her story of emotional and physical recovery along with the healing power of music. Antoinette, welcome to Music Saved Me. It's great to have you here and thanks for wanting to be here.
- [02:35]
Antoinette Costa
It's great to be here. Lynn, thank you for that kind intro and to Buzz as well for having me on the podcast. I love the episodes and your guests and the topics that you really address on it.
- [02:48]
Lynne Hoffman
Thank you so much. Well, let's dive right in and first let Me ask you, what were your first experiences that connected you so deeply to music and how did you know that it would be your life's calling? That's kind of two questions.
- [03:04]
Antoinette Costa
No great questions. As a small child, I started writing music naturally, so my dad could play guitar and sing and love doo wop. So I would harmonize with him on the guitar. It was my first introduction to it. And I started writing my own musicals early age. At around five years old, I'd use the fireplace as my stage and would start making up plots. So very natural songwriter.
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Lynne Hoffman
Wow. At five, you're writing plays around that age.
- [03:39]
Antoinette Costa
And it's funny because my brother's daughter, so my niece, she's doing the same thing a little bit earlier than me. She's three and a half. And she came to my performance at the Kimmel center this past week and she. She has it in her. So maybe it's a little bit genetics.
- [03:56]
Lynne Hoffman
Oh, yes, there's a lot of that. Definitely. Can you share? I kind of hinted about it a little bit up front, but would you share the recent challenges you've had health wise and why you decided to be so open and extremely transparent about it with your music? That's not easy.
- [04:14]
Antoinette Costa
Of course. I had a brain tumor and was sick for about three years. And during that process, I was on medication for over a year and eventually needed surgery. During that time, music was my therapy, it was my hope. And my mom gave me the idea when I was at my worst point before surgery. She knows I love the process of writing, so to get my head in a better spot, she said, why don't you, if you can sing after this surgery, why don't you record an album? And that was enough to just get me in a good place. And I started writing down the songs that I wanted to be on the album, visualizing it. And after the surgery, after six months when I could sing again, I recorded an album in 11 days.
- [05:07]
Lynne Hoffman
Wow. So visualization, you mentioned that word. That's. That's a powerful word. Almost as powerful as music and the vibration. Um, a lot of people don't realize that, but when you, when you visualize things, you make them happen.
- [05:24]
Antoinette Costa
It's so true. Even with performances. I was a bit afraid to perform this past week at Kimmel center because the last time I performed was in 2019. And my voice has changed a little bit since I had the surgery and it's not as strong. I haven't been exercising it. So before I got on that stage, I thought about every possible thing that could go wrong with the sound system and how I would be calm and that I performed for so many years that I would handle it as it would come up and having fun with my musicians and how blessed I was to be performing with musicians who played on the album. So visualizing helped me stay in that zone.
- [06:11]
Lynne Hoffman
That's amazing. And. And it really does go down exactly how you saw it, doesn't it?
- [06:17]
Antoinette Costa
It's true.
- [06:17]
Lynne Hoffman
And we did have. When you're in the middle of it, right, and you're looking around, you're like, I saw this. I saw all of this.
- [06:23]
Antoinette Costa
It's funny you said that because there was a little bit of a sound mess up in the beginning. And I. I didn't freak out because I'd already visualized it and knew how it.
- [06:33]
Lynne Hoffman
So hilarious that I read that Tracy Chapman was a big influence on you early on. Who are some of the other musicians or maybe particular songs that you listen to while you're going through these challenging times in your life?
- [06:50]
Antoinette Costa
Fast Car is one of my favorite songs ever before the recent resurgence of it, which I was happy that Tracy was given the spotlight. And I think why it's so powerful is you feel her story through her voice and the lyrics and that, you know, when she sings it. That song came from the songwriter. I love her. I grew up listening to a lot of Dion DiMucci.
- [07:19]
Lynne Hoffman
I.
- [07:20]
Antoinette Costa
He's done some doo wop, but I like his. His live performances. And again, he's a songwriter. I tend to gravitate towards songwriters in terms of voices. I've always loved Anita Baker, just this soulful, rich, smooth, like an instrument. But I've gravitated to just a lot of songs, and usually ones that are sung by the songwriter.
- [07:44]
Lynne Hoffman
Well, I read that you said writing a song I love this is like bottling an emotion in its most potent form. It's almost like you're bottling medicine not only for yourself, but for others. Can you describe how it feels when. When you've moved someone with your music and you've witnessed this?
- [08:04]
Antoinette Costa
It's the most powerful feeling. And I experienced that when I decided to open up about what I had gone through with my health journey. I usually don't like to say what I've written a song about or the inspiration behind it, but Pitta patter. I started writing it in the MRI machine, about the machine and the sounds I wrote. You drown out every good sound with that big bad mouth. And People magazine did an article about that songwriting process, and I had a bunch of strangers write me on instagram that they had similar experiences in an MRI machine, that they turned to music and focusing on sounds and going to a fantasy land. So it was an incredible feeling to connect with people I've never met. And they were touched by that song and the story behind it.
- [09:00]
Lynne Hoffman
It's.
- [09:01]
Antoinette Costa
It's.
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Lynne Hoffman
It's pretty incredible that you were able to focus on that while going through that. Do you believe that music has this supernatural healing power that we can't quite figure out what exactly it is, which is what we try to do on the show every time. And there's so many different. You know, Absolutely.
- [09:21]
Antoinette Costa
I. I think of music as the bridge to the spiritual world or ethereal world, and that songwriting and music is the most palpable form of storytelling. So for me, it definitely saved me because I. I was at a point in my life that I felt very hopeless. And once I dived into the songwriting process and started collaborating with musicians, it just lifted my. My spirit and I knew I'd get through it. It was music that. That made me know I was going to get out on the other side and enjoy the process of releasing the art to the world. Even if that was one person who listened. It was about finishing and completing the process.
- [10:09]
Lynne Hoffman
So powerful. Can you highlight a few of the songs that might help? If there's anyone in the audience listening right now going through something similar to you, that. Let's start with Crumbles. Oh, so good soldiers cry. Thank you.
- [10:25]
Antoinette Costa
Crumbles was very much you. You keyed on the right song. Because I felt. I felt that when I wrote that song that you can never put all of your hope in one person and that you need to anchor in something deeper. And for me, even taking music, that. That created a hope and gave me a sense of purpose. And that comes from within. You can't ever have a sense of happiness or worth outside of yourself or looking to other people. It needs to come from within. And music helped me come back to that.
- [11:05]
Lynne Hoffman
Well, if there was anyone going through a similar challenge right now, musically or otherwise, what. What advice could you give someone going through that?
- [11:16]
Antoinette Costa
To surround yourself with positive forces and people? My world got very small and I. I would be lying to say I didn't feel a sense of FOMO for a bit. But then as I trained my mind by focusing on music, writing, my form of meditation, I became calmer and I retrained my mind because I feel like there is all this noise. There's insta stories, there's constant. There's constant noise in the world. And when you Come back to music writing, reading, creative process, whatever that means to you. You feel a sense of purpose and stability and happiness.
- [11:59]
Lynne Hoffman
Tell me about collaborating with other artists. I know you've collaborated with quite a few that we know and maybe we haven't heard of before, but is there a magic there that helps?
- [12:08]
Antoinette Costa
There is definitely a magic. And on this album, Pitta Patter more so than about me. It was about the team effort. So there are incredible musicians that dropped so much to be a part of it during the holidays. It was in December that we recorded this. Ray Angry of the Roots, James Poyser of the roots, Spank E McCurdy, Kari Mateen, Steve McKee, TK Wonder Dice Ra. I'm mentioning these names because everyone put their heart and soul into the album, and it's not just about the vocalist. It's about the team. And that also motivated me to release it and finish it because I wanted everyone's work to be heard.
- [12:52]
Lynne Hoffman
And the musicians on call, you also worked with them as well?
- [12:58]
Antoinette Costa
I'm trying to right now, Lynn. It's. It's hilarious, the timing of this, because Sam Hollander, who you interviewed.
- [13:05]
Lynne Hoffman
Yes.
- [13:06]
Antoinette Costa
I'm an incredible songwriter, producer. He's done it all in the industry. I. I heard that he was going to be on the board, and I wanted to be involved after my health journey and realizing how therapeutic music is. And I reached out to him, and we're in talks and how I could be involved. And he's on this podcast. So it's just this timing of everything falling into place when you surrender to the music and that energy.
- [13:33]
Lynne Hoffman
Yeah. When you just kind of let yourself be guided, it's amazing the places that you can go. And here you are.
- [13:42]
Antoinette Costa
And I remember watching VH1 and seeing you, it's. It's crazy to me because I would never think one day I'd be. I'd be in front of you.
- [13:51]
Lynne Hoffman
Oh, my God.
- [13:53]
Funny you should say that. I was reading. You were. You worked at mtv.
- [13:56]
Antoinette Costa
I did. I did. I would walk. I would walk. That was my first internship through the Halls of 1515 Broadway.
- [14:04]
But I wish that I could speak like you, because you have this calm, assertive voice. And I. I remember, actually I had heard your voice before. I saw your. Your image, and I had been. I. I like YouTube, looking up old clips, and it's just very surreal to be interviewed by you.
- [14:20]
Lynne Hoffman
Well, I'll tell you, it's just equally as surreal for you to say that to me, because I don't. I don't place a lot of stock in myself in that aspect. It's always like you're talking to somebody else next to me because when I guess maybe people are people and I guess it gets me a little. As you can see. I don't even know what to say.
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Antoinette Costa
Well, you need to be on TV again because it's like Benjamin Button in front of me because you look younger than back then and your presence on screen and of course your voice. I'm just very excited to be on here and that you're still doing what you love and you're so great at.
- [14:59]
Lynne Hoffman
Oh, thanks, Antoinette. Well, just a beautiful woman, a beautiful heart, beautiful music and I, I can't thank you enough for, for coming on the show today and sharing some of your story. Hopefully it's helped lift some up. Like you say, just one is enough.
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Antoinette Costa
Yes, one is enough.
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Lynne Hoffman
One's enough. Antoinette Costa, thank you for sharing your remarkable journey with us and your story on music saved me and keep fighting the good fight and please keep in touch and thanks for, for coming on the show.
- [15:29]
Antoinette Costa
Lynn, thank you so much for having me. It was an honor.
- [15:34]
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Janice Torres
Janice Torres here and I'm Austin Hankwitz. We host the podcast Mind the Small Business Success Stories produced by Ruby Studio in partnership with Intuit QuickBooks.
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Lynne Hoffman
We're back for season four to talk.
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Lynne Hoffman
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Antoinette Costa
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Lynne Hoffman
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