Murphy and music go hand in hand

BYLINE: Mary Ohlinger
DATE: November 8, 1989
PUBLICATION: Westlake Picayune
EDITION: FINAL
SECTION: People

Music has always been a way of life for Michele Murphy, from her days as the daughter of a tap dancer to her current performing and teaching career.

Murphy's myriad of music styles range from teaching piano to performing at the Broken Spoke on South Lamar. She has also released her first album, "Blue Hole Boogie," which includes well-known Austin musicians such as Alvin Crow on fiddle, T.J. McFarland on drums and percussion, Rick Crow on gutiar, Ponty Boone on accordian, Chris O'Connell with harmony vocals and Danny Levin on piano and cello.

The album, which was released in October, is a compilation of a lifetime of music for Murphy. Her legacy of music began years earlier in Houston - and possibly even before she was born.

"When I was growing up, I really though that everyone's mother tap-danced under the dining room table at dinner," said Murphy. "I also swear that my mother must have tap danced when she was pregnant with me - consequently, all the songs that I write and sing can be tap-danced to."

Murphy's days as a child in Houston were filled with time spent at her mother's dancing studio - she even appeared in television commericials for the studio. But at the same time, she discovered a different kind of rhythm - that of the piano and cello.

"With all the music around me, I never really had a chance," she laughed. "When I'm teaching the piano to kids now, most of their parents say, 'I don't want to push the child.' But in my home, from 1954 to 1969, our piano had a three-hour-a-day workout. I had to practice before school, after school and before television. I liked it, loved it, but had no choice.

"When I was little, we were told 'don't touch the piano,' and of course, as kids, you really want to touch the piano and play," she said. "So by the time I got my first piano lesson, I was begging, pleading to have lessons just so I could play the sacred piano."

Murphy carries the same philosophy to her piano students today. When parents approach her with a 3- or 4-year old who "is very musical and wants to play, I tell them to stop it now--don't let them play around on the piano; otherwise they won't learn respect for the instrument."

She began composing in about 1971, she said, after moving to Liberty Hill. She had two children, Gabriel, 15, and Mike, 11 --now a Hill Country Middle School student--and "I was married, living out in the country and wanted to have kids."

The biggest frustration, though, was that for all her years of performing and playing, she couldn't write her own music.

"I could play any music on the piano that was put in front of me," she said, "But I couldn't write music for all the I tried. Then I began playing the guitar more and I started being able to write."

The composing got easier, and Murphy began to write her songs, and she began to see the inspiration for her music.

"I usually have to get real, real mad at someone," she laughed. "Then I write a song about it--or if I'm having a really strong feeling about a relationship or friendship, then I vent my feelings through the song. I tell people, 'don't make me mad or I'll write a song about it."

When Murphy initially began performing, "I thought it was great to play for a $10 meal and tips. Then I played with Alvin Crow's band for three years, and saw that it was fun to play for 10,000 people; it's a terrific feeling."

She also has performed with her own band, Michele and the Boyfriends, and her musical style is southwestern, ranging from Texas swing to tap-danceable boogies and even ballads. On "Blue Hole Boogie," she even sings some songs in Spanish.

Performing her own works is important to Murphy, but she also wants to pass on the joy of composing to her piano students.

"Some of the kids aren't really interested in playing music written by other people," said Murphy. "I think, too, that the kids get interested in writing music as they're playing the piano, so I incorporate that into their lessons. That's something my music teachers never did; I wish they had encouraged me to write music as well as play."

As with any other career, Murphy has, at times, grown frustrated and threatened to quit. And, several times, she has, but always returned.

"I have given up a few times, and have just left and quit the business," she said. "A while back, I quit very seriously--I even sold my sound system. But I really like music and musicians, and I like being a piano teacher. I won't quit."