"A...ship in the harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are for." --John Shedd. Ideas are the movement. Music is the expression. For 24-year-old singer/songwriter Mariah Secrest, music is a way to connect with something deeper than what we see on the surface. Drawing from such influences as Lifehouse and Plumb, her music is highly introspective and emotive. Whether a simple acoustic ballad or a driving rhythm, she writes music straight from life. "I don't believe in mass-producing songs," says Mariah, "That may be okay for some people, but I can't write fiction. To me, music is memoir. Even if it's an aggressive song to rally people around your statement, it comes from somewhere inside you. It means something because it signals some vantage point from the journey you're on." After recording a self-titled EP of piano ballads in high-school, she took a break from songwriting to tour for a year and a four consecutive summers with a volunteer music organization--taking her to 28 U.S. states as well as Australia, Hong Kong, and Guatemala. During this time, she found her vocal stylings evolving into an edgier rock sound. "I kind of grew into my voice during that time, defining my style into something more daring and adventurous," she says, "Which is the undertone of so much of what I write now. I think so many people are ruled by fear and are busy trying to be exactly what they think society expects--no more and no less. They never really become who they were made to be." Her latest project is largely about momentum--finding your voice in the world and having the guts to unveil it. It's about the tension of knowing you can be more but afraid of taking those first steps. Of wrestling with a world that doesn't always make sense and stepping out in faith anyway--be it in our relationships, our secret ambitions, or our faith. While pursuing her work as a solo artist, Mariah also plays with local band BridgePoint Ave.  Her "Green Light" EP was released in May 2008. She is honored to have worked with local artist Gabriel Secrest for recording and producer MRL (formerly the drummer of nationally-acclaimed Dove-nominated band Polarboy) for mixing and mastering. Plans are currently being formed for a full-length album.