Catherine Harrison will have you rocking out to her songs about love as she revives the sounds of the 70s with her music in a current new vibe. But there is more to this rock star than meets the eye. Catherine is a passionate advocate for mental health, especially within the music community, working with the Unison Fund. She is even donating all the proceeds of her new song, Love is not a Game, to them! Please read on to learn more about Catherine, her music, and how she gives back to the world.

Where are you based?
Toronto, Canada.

What inspired you to get into music?
Music was always part of my life. My dad played guitar and had lots of records when I was growing up — Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly, Beatles, Neil Young, CCR, The Band, Rolling Stones, Gordon Lightfoot, Canned Heat, Tower of Power, Miles Davis, Beach Boys, Elton John. I learned a bit of guitar when I was 13, but was too involved in sports to get into it fully. However, I started playing the guitar, writing, and singing in my early twenties. I went through Neil Young's Decade songbook, learned some basic chords, and found that making up my songs was more enjoyable than learning cover songs. I never made a full-time career out of music, but I have been writing, recording, and performing for 30 years.

Jejune loves your new song Love is not a Game. Can you tell us a bit about this song and the story behind it?
I started writing this song as a relationship was unraveling, and I was working through how much I had lost my sense of self. The song's meaning shifted as I played it more, moving well beyond this romantic relationship. The lyrics became more symbolic of love in general, not just the culture's narrow focus on romantic coupledom. It now represents a more profound and holistic sense of connection, freedom, self-empowerment, self-expression, and compassion and its importance to our overall health, especially mental health.

The song speaks to current social discourses about who you love and how you love, who loves you or not, and the need for self-love, care, and compassion.

We need to feel a sense of agency and power within the context of love and possibility, especially as it impacts our well-being. If we’ve lost love or given it away, we must reclaim it and pay it forward. It speaks to responsibility, reciprocity, and equanimity.

The narrative is about challenging conventional notions of love as solely romantic. Love is the foundation of connection, care, and compassion. These traits are critical for our individual and collective well-being. The roots of much suffering lie in disconnection from self, others, love and community. The song is about taking that back, reconnecting, and moving forward.

We love that the proceeds from the song will be donated to the Unison Fund. Can you tell us a bit about this organization and why you decided to donate the proceeds to them?
The Unison Fund is a registered, non-profit music industry charity that provides counseling, emergency financial support, and other resources to the Canadian music community. Created and administered for the music industry by the music industry, Unison helps professional music workers in times of hardship. As a member of the Canadian music community and a mental health advocate, it seemed like a great opportunity to bring greater awareness and support for this critical organization.

This song was released around Valentine's Day. Can you tell us your thoughts on this holiday?
Valentine's Day, as it is now and has been for more than a century, is a myopic and superficial symbol of romantic love. And recently, in my opinion, it's just over the top commercialism. Also, love goes well beyond the traditional hetero-normative coupling that we are told to strive for.

As with many holidays, its origins are more straightforward and dynamic - from Roman pagan fertility festivals and then Christian celebrations of St Valentine's feast — a simple celebration of friendship and love. However, recent calculations estimate people spend billions of dollars for Valentine’s Day to ‘prove’ their love.

My experience and observation are that getting and giving "expected" gifts on Valentine's Day is often antithetical to the relationship. It often has nothing to do with more meaningful aspects of love, like respect, support, trust, and quality time together and in the community. People feel pressured to spend money they don't have on gifts with no real meaning because 'the system' tells them to. That stress isn't good for anyone. We start to evaluate a human's worth, and our worth based on superficial tokens pushed on us by marketing machines.

Cultural expectations about the importance of romantic love can be stressful to many people, mentally healthy or not. What advice would you give someone struggling with meeting those expectations of 'perfect love'?
First of all, we all reside on a mental health continuum and experience life's ups and downs, whether we have a formal mental health challenge or diagnosis. And for all of us, love is at the core of mental health — compassion (for self and others) and meaningful connections with friends, family, neighbors, and peers.

Changing the narrative about love fits with the broader need to change the narrative about mental health. Culturally, we look at these things in such black-and-white, either/or terms — narrow, rigid definitions. Shifting our mindsets and cultivating a sense of agency and freedom is critical to love and mental health.

So, my advice is: reflect on the love you have now — friends, family, pets, community, whatever. Focus on what you love about yourself and your life. Focus on investing in what you love to do — creatively or actively or in community, volunteering — and reconnect to love in the broader more profound sense, not simply coupling to meet a societal imperative.

Not only are you donating to the Unison Fund, but you are also an active board member of the organization. Can you tell us how you got involved with the Unison Fund and a little bit about your work with them?
Over the past five years, I had met and regularly connected with members of the team. We ended up engaging in regular conversation about how to deal with mental health challenges they were facing as part of executing their work. That morphed into an informal advisory role and then I joined the Board of Directors in September 2023.

I know many people who have received support and guidance from Unison over the years. Music industry professionals often don't have social and organizational support like employee assistance benefits and extra disposable income to take care of their mental health. There are a lot of cultural norms in the industry that are barriers to creating and sustaining a healthier lifestyle. My company also taught Mental Health First Aid to the Unison staff to support their ability to support others and each other, at work, and outside of work.

Why did you think it was especially important to work with an organization that focuses on the mental health of musicians?
In any given year, 1 in 5 North Americans experiences a mental illness or addiction problem. By the time we reach 40, 1 in 2 have or have experienced a mental illness. The music industry is no exception. Research confirms that the rates are 2-3 times higher in the music industry. That’s why investing in promotion, prevention, and early intervention is essential to help improve and maintain mental health. Also, I am an active member of the music community and I see it, hear about it, and know there’s a need to improve our overall health, and mental health in particular.

What advice would you give someone struggling with mental health?
First, there is no quick-fix panacea. Focus on your basic needs — rest, nutrition, movement, connection.

Second, the most important (and difficult) thing to do is to reach out, ask for help, and connect with someone who cares

Third, remember, you are not alone. Millions of people experience what you are experiencing.

I would encourage readers to set aside time to reflect and consider their views on mental health, investigate any stigmatizing beliefs, and explore their relationship with various substances.

Do they feel a sense of connection, community, creativity, comfort, and agency? In what aspect of their lives do they feel this - personal, professional, community, family, other?

Do they have at least one relationship rooted in trust, respect, sharing, and support?

I encourage them to learn more about mental health literacy, mental health first aid, and psychological safety and how they can be ambassadors for greater well-being in the music industry.

If you don't know where to start, reach out and connect with me. (catherine@revelios.com) or the various social media platforms (below).

If you're struggling and need support:
Call 9-1-1 if you or someone you know is in immediate danger.
Call or text 9-8-8 if you or someone you know is thinking about suicide.
In the U.S., the Mental Health Hotline is available 24/7 at 866-903-3787
Support is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Specific to music industry professionals, contact unisonfund.ca (Canada) or musicares.org (U.S.)

It has been a rough few years. How have you been staying positive?
I think it’s important to make the distinction between being positive in a healthy way and engaging in toxic positivity. Just being positive and ignoring life’s challenges won’t help our mental health. We can, however, learn to reflect and reframe circumstances to support our well-being. For example, I can learn to understand a situation from different points of view and change my perspective on how it impacts me, and what I can do or can’t do about it.

For me, I focus on meeting my basic human needs — rest, movement, nutrition, play, connection, getting outside. I shut off all notifications on apps, take as much of a break from being online as possible.

I practice mindfulness and journal every morning. I have a handful of people I can call if I need to really connect, vent, get support.

What is your motto in life?
I have two!

“Let it go” is tattooed on my wrist. And I will add Sir Paul McCartney’s iteration of “let it be” to that. We have agency to make decisions, yes; and yet, we don’t have control over external circumstances. Much of our stress is connected to regret about the past and worry about the future. By the way, this does not mean I live a stress free life! It just means I’m aware of it and try to stay connected to what I can and cannot control.

Also, be curious. Explore and learn, everyday.

To learn more about Catherine Harrison, please check out the links below:
https://catherineharrison.com
YouTube: @TheCatherineHarrison
Instagram: thecatherineharrison
Facebook: thecatherineharrison
X: thecatherinehar

www.revelios.com
catherineharrison.bandcamp.com/track/love-is-not-a-game
www.unisonfund.ca

Photography by AFP Studio.

Catherine Harrison - You Have To Walk Before You Run