Singing the Hymns of Utopia

Greetings, my fellow humans. I am Madam Who?, world’s first self-proclaimed original pop/rock Humanist Music Artist from Pennsylvania who wears steampunk hats to cover up the missing hair caused by radiation treatment following the removal of a cancerous brain tumor. (I’m pretty sure I’m the world’s first to fit that description, at least.) Pleased to meet you.

So everyone knows that radiation gives you superpowers, right? Well, get this: 15 years later, after said radiation, I started writing, recording, and performing songs with humanist themes that entertain and inspire. I even recently released a collection of Humanist/Atheist centric songs called “Hymns of Utopia, Vol. 1,” available on bandcamp.com and my website, madamwho.com! Coincidence? I think not.

But what exactly is Humanist Music? Well… it is like Christian music — but not; it’s like Amazing Grace, but just amazing. It is music for all humans, featuring themes of hope, tolerance and love, and can be in any genre with lyrics: pop, rock, folk, country, rap, R&B, electronica, etc. (Yes, even yacht rock.) My genre comfort zone boils down to pop/rock. I can’t help it. That’s just what comes out after being influenced by many, many Beatles songs in my formative years.

And how did I become Madam Who?? What is my origin story, you ask? Oh, it is all very boring and uneventful, really. You should probably stop reading here before you fall asleep, hit your head, and have to be rushed to the hospital. No? You insist? OK. Just remember, you asked for it…

After nearly drowning in the ocean in an attempt to save my 10-year-old daughter, I came out of my 15-year musical retirement to help save my sanity after kind strangers saved us both. I was at rock bottom (or pop/rock bottom…) and didn’t believe in myself at all. I turned to songwriting as a form of therapy.

During that period, mere months before the pandemic, I wrote “Reclaim Your Power,” a song with affirmations for myself and the audience, in an effort to pull myself out of the deep, dark pit I occupied. To my astonishment and delight, it started to work! I knew I was onto something. I wanted to share it with the world and play it in every club! But then lockdown stopped me like a brick wall.

One day early in the pandemic, while listening to “The Thinking Atheist” hosted by Seth Andrews, I found my niche. A caller had an idea for a show: feature atheist/humanist music artists. I had never considered such a thing! And evidently there was an audience for it??? (OK, maybe just that one caller, but still!) Exvangelicalism had always been a passion. I had held humanistic views my whole life, but didn’t know it. Suddenly, I envisioned musically transmitting my humanist viewpoint to others out there like that caller, to somehow, in some way, let them know they weren’t alone.

So, I started writing “You Are Not Alone.” I mean, why not just get to the point, right? Not only was the song title inspired by Seth (he says it a lot) and the atheist community, but it drew inspiration from the LGBTQ+ community as well. You see, at that time, my brother’s oldest child was going through puberty. Somewhere in there, she realized she didn’t like boys; she liked girls. Uh-oh. I’m sure you can imagine how well that went over with her very Southern Baptist parents! They even took her to conversion therapy! (Needless to say, that didn’t work.) Now the song serves as an anthem for all marginalized communities.

In mid-2022 I had my first live performance at BetterCon an atheist/humanist conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana featuring YouTube speakers such as Seth Andrews from The Thinking Atheist, Thomas Westbrook of Holy Koolaid, Drew McCoy of Genetically Modified Skeptic, Paul of Paulogia, and Dave Warnock of the organization Dying Out Loud, among many others in the skeptic community. Most recently, I performed at Recovering from Religion’s Fall Excursion (where I also volunteer as a helpline agent) and earned a standing ovation.

Though I play guitar and piano and program drums, I prefer to perform my original set to the full instrumental tracks I created, using lyric videos behind me, so I can be as sure as possible that the audience gets my complete vision and the full experience. Also, it is really hard to remember chords and lyrics and be entertaining all at the same time. Especially after brain surgery, c’mon! I’m only human!

Currently, I am in training to be a mental health counselor. It is hard work, but guess what I just recently realized? It is a fulfilment of my humanist values. To alleviate human suffering and to encourage people to be the best versions of themselves satisfies me spiritually. It is my “religion,” if you will.