Hi Amy. Before we really get started, could you tell us a little about your last name? What’s its origin, exactly?

Heffernan is Irish. I had nicknames growing up like Heff, Heffner, Heffer and Heffy. I have a big family and for some reason we have a lot of pride in our name. When all the cousins get together we start random “Heffernan chants” just to make sure everyone knows who we are. But because it is so long I think I’m going to be going by Amy Heffy, to make it easier for people to spell.

You released your self-titled EP recently. Is this the first recording project you’ve completed, or have you worked solo before or with a band?

My EP is my only released project. But while I was at MI (Musicians Institute) my school project was to produce/record a 3 song demo of my songs. I received the “Best Project award” for the Recording Artist program that year.

Amy Heffernan features production, recording and mixing work from your brother Doug Heffernan. What was it like working with Doug in the studio, and did you think having a sibling at your side made things easier?

Working with my brother is a very cool experience. We are seventeen years apart and he moved from Canada to LA to do music when I was two. So he was more like a distant uncle then a brother until just a couple of years ago when we started working together. Now we are super close and have such a great relationship. So when we first started working together I was still nervous to work with him because I always admired him from a distance and it gets nerve-racking being in the studio when it feels like you’re under a microscope.

What song on your EP is your favorite? Was there a track that you had struggles with, either with the writing or recording process?

The first EP was a combined work of Doug’s own songs and my own songs. My favorite song on there is “Blame Me.” I wrote it a few years ago and I love the string arrangement we came up with. I had a real tough time singing “The Word” which is a song Doug wrote and has recorded many different times with his previous band. I think because it was recorded by Doug so many times I had a tough time capturing it as my own song. After playing it live so many times this past year I’ve finally got it to where I feel it’s my own and we are re-recording it on my new album. It’s the only song from the EP that will be on the record.

What have you done/are you doing differently with the full-length you’re recording?

I am so excited for this new album. This time we have wrote a lot of the ten songs together along with Steve Giles, who does all of the bass tracks. After releasing my first EP I played a lot of bars back in Canada and played a lot of covers because they all want to sing along and dance. So on the new album I wanted to capture that and do a cover, Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance," and write songs that were just about having a good time with booze involved, the summertime, and I finally wrote my first love song. This album is going to have so much variety then my EP and I’m hoping it will capture more of my laid back, havin’ a good time personality.

Speaking of a new album, your website says you’re in the studio working, but doesn’t give a date as to when you began or how close you are to completion. How is it progressing?

I’ve been working on it since October with Doug again and it will be mastered at the end of May so I’m hoping for an August release. Right now we are just editing/mixing.

Aside from the LP, what other projects do you have planned for the future?

I’m planning on going back to Canada to tour for a while, mostly west coast then more east in the near future. There are a couple of producers out in LA that have approached me to do a song, so I will come back to do them probably next fall and release them exclusively on iTunes.

Who would you like to work with, or tour with, if you had the opportunity?

Right now and have been for the past year been completely fascinated with Lady Gaga and would love to sit down and write a fun dance song with her. Sarah McLachlan is bringing Lilith Fair back again in 2010 and would love to hop on that tour.