Pop/rock artist suffers from 'music disease'

Cheri Magill grew up with three sisters. She served as the Young Women's president in her LDS Church ward. She remembers her own teen years, and she knows the world can sometimes be a tough place for a girl to live in.

So, it is not surprising that she looks at young girls as a primary audience for her music — or, that she's adept at the kind of music girls like to listen to. Her genre is pop/rock, and she loves to get things rocking, whether she's singing, playing the guitar or working the keyboards.

But she also thinks girls need music that's more than just fun to listen to. "I believe there's a strong need for fun, uplifting music that contains motivating messages rather than degrading lyrics. This is the niche I'm trying to fill."

She does it with her latest CD, "Chasing Yesterday," which takes on the modern world with introspection, sparkle and a touch of sass. Her music is rhythmic-driven with catchy songs, but there are good messages, too, she says — positive, meaningful ideas that young girls need to hear.

For example, a track titled "Bulletproof Dress" is about the challenge of dealing with all the messages from the media telling a girl exactly who she should be. "It's a tough world, and you need some kind of defense and not try to be everything everyone tells you to be. You have to be proactive and not try to conform to a size-zero mold. But it's also a wonderful time, with so many opportunities. Instead of waiting on the universe, let the universe wait on you."

The title track also contains a message about learning to accept who you are. "Girls tend to be tough on themselves, to beat themselves up over stupid things they can't change. But you can't live in yesterday. We miss our tomorrows if we spend all our time chasing yesterday."

Although her songs tend to target teens, there are messages for all ages, she says. "I played them for my grandma, and she really liked them. And, I think it's music that parents can listen to with their kids."

One of the songs, "Up in the Air," was inspired by a talk she had with her parents. "My dad was thinking about retirement, and it is a big decision. We tend to think we make the big decisions in college, and then we're done. But there's never a time when some things are not up in the air, where your life could go a million ways. We need to learn to trust ourselves."

Magill grew up listening to Sarah McLachlan, Jewel, Alanis Morissette. "Now I'm into KT Tunstall and Rachael Yamagata. I tend to find something I really like and play it over and over and over, so you might find some of those influences in my music."