By Hannah Locke
Originally from Rochester, N.Y., junior Anastasia Spiecker moved to the “Sunshine State” with her family when she was ten. She started to take piano lessons and picked up the guitar four years later.
“I just picked it up and started playing with the help of some friends,” she said.
Listen to “Plato’s Cave“
[audio:platos_cave.mp3]
This philosophy and religion major finds it fascinating to write songs on broad subjects while bringing in human experiences. “My favorite song right now is ‘Plato’s Cave,’ a song I wrote after taking a Philosophy class,” Spiecker said.
Another of her songs, “The Eternal Return,” is based on the idea of Buddhism. But Spiecker says people can relate to it in different ways. She wrote most of her songs between the ages of 14 and 19, when she had teenage experiences she says people could associate with.
Listen to “The Eternal Return“:
[audio:the_eternal_return.mp3]
Last year she took time off from school to spend time with her guitar on Jacksonville Beach writing and singing. She and her two friends, Jonathon Plant, a student at UNF, and Louie LeClaire, a guitar instructor, spend time each week playing music with each other.
“We put together a band, but we never had a name or anything,” she said. The three of them are planning on playing at the Gram Parson’s Festival in Georgia on Oct. 14.
Her biggest musical influences are Fiona Apple, Jeff Buckley, Sarah McLachlan and Jewel. She giggles as she comments on her love for the Beatles. Her family has stood behind her and supported her the whole way. She seems very close with her family and remarks that they live only ten minutes outside of town.
Spiecker plays weekly at Scarlett O’Hara’s and Harry’s here in St. Augustine. One of her biggest shows to date was a fundraiser she and her mom put together for Hurricane Katrina victims at Café Eleven. They invited some local bands to help out. She’s also opened for David Crosby, the Stix, and has had numerous shows with the Florida Theater.
She’s not sure of what she wants after college. “I’d like to travel for a while, bring my guitar as a way to get around and make money,” Spiecker said.
Her former band mates are planning to move to France this summer. “Maybe I’ll go over there with them,” she said.
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