HighStreet People: April Combs

NAME: April

BIRTHDAYS: April Eighth, which is why my new kid’s music project is called “April Eight.” There is no doubt that I am an Aries Aries Aries for bet­ter and for worse.

WORK: I write songs and I sing them– it is pure joy and I have finally allowed myself to com­mit fully to doing it. My har­mony music project with Laurie Burnham and my brother James Combs is called Honneycombs. My song “Little Moon” was placed on HBO’s True Blood last summer.

HOME: Columbia-Tusculum.

MOTIVATION: The word moti­va­tion for me feels like push­ing a boul­der of projects up a gigan­tic hill.  I worked so hard for so long push­ing that boul­der that now the mere thought of it makes me want to take a nap. Now the only way I can move for­ward on any­thing is to feel com­pletely 100% com­pelled to do it — like a wild horse couldn’t stop the flow of inspi­ra­tion spurt­ing out of me.

OBJECTS OF AFFECTION: Well, I’d really rather not do with­out my spec­tac­u­lar hus­band, Michael Mann, and my sweet girls, Lyla and Mia. Nama Rococo Wallpaper. Eames Design: The Work of the Office of Charles and Ray Eames. Pintrest.com. Cream Puffs from Take the Cake. Gina Weathersby pho­tog­ra­phy — Kiwi Street Studios.

OTHERWISE OBSCURED FACTS: Most peo­ple in Cincinnati have no idea that Michael and I used to be in a rau­cous alt-rock band, Arson Garden, back in the last 80’s/early 90s. We toured all over the US and Europe, record at Prince’s Paisley Park, John Mellencamp’s Belmont Mall and at Pachyderm, where Nirvana made their last album. We also did a Peel Session for the leg­endary John Peel on BBC Radio 1, were on MTV and played Lalapalooza. It was seri­ously FUN!

MY HIGHSTREET: Is it too cheesy to say that HighStreet makes me feel like I’m still part of the rest of the world? The aes­thetic is so smart and so gor­geous.  I’m always sur­prised, delighted and amazed when I walk through the doors. And the won­drous book sec­tion — thank God for the book sec­tion! Having done the International Contemporary Furniture shows in NYC with my sis­ter Karen, I am pretty up on “Design”. HighStreet makes it all fresh and rel­e­vant to the Cincinnati home. I don’t know how they do it, but I love that they do and that they do it right here in Cincinnati, Ohio. We are so lucky to have them!