Shana Cleveland of La Luz

Songwriters on Process

"All the time in the world is too much pressure."
Shana Cleveland of La Luz prefers a good deadline when she writes songs. And with a toddler in the house, her day is nothing but deadlines, which are also known as When Your Child Wakes From Their Nap.
If you're an artist like Cleveland, the best time to write is nap time. (We have four kids, so I know the feeling.) She discovered her knack for writing in those precious moments once she became a parent. "I can write just as many songs now in a much shorter period," Cleveland told me. And when she writes, she likes to sit outside in an office chair.
Cleveland's new solo album is called Manzanita, out March 10 on Hardly Art Records. It is amazing. Really. And I'm a big fan of La Luz, so this was a lot of fun.