Spokane singer O’Neill strives to share good feelings

Two weeks ago, Karrie O’Neill quit her job as a dental assistant to focus on being a musician full time. It might seem like a risky proposition, but the Spokane native is optimistic about her future.

“As you get older, it’s true what they say, you relax on things,” O’Neill said. “When you’re younger, you can get insecure about life and the decisions that you make. But I was looking at the work that I did and said, ‘You know, I can probably do this and I’ll be just fine.’”

O’Neill will release her new album, “Unrequited Love,” at the Bing Crosby Theater on Wednesday, performing alongside Seattle’s Star Anna and Whitney Mongé. Although she typically plays solo or with or a small backing ensemble, O’Neill will have a full band on the Bing stage, including a horn section and keyboards.

“My goal for this Bing show is for people to walk away saying, ‘I feel so good right now,’ ” O’Neill said. “My goal is for everyone to feel like a part of what I’m doing and to make a difference in people’s lives. The fact that you can do that with music is amazing to me.”

O’Neill didn’t pick up a guitar until she was 30, learning some basic chords and then playing them over lyrics and poems she’d written. She started performing acoustically in cafes and wineries, and she’s been a staple of the local music scene for several years now.

“I’ve escaped into music my whole life,” O’Neill said. “As I progressed, I’ve learned from other musicians and even a tiny bit of (music) theory. It just kind of goes from there.”

“Unrequited Love” is O’Neill’s second album of original material, following 2011’s “Timekeeper’s Dream.” It was recorded in Spokane and Seattle and digitally mastered by an engineer in London, and it features appearances from trumpeter Curt Ramm, who has toured with the E Street Band, and Chic saxophonist Bill Holloman.

“It’s kind of bluesy; it’s kind of soulful. I can’t really describe it,” O’Neill said. “A lot of people ask, but that’s my personality. Everybody says, ‘We don’t know what you are,’ and great, that’s how I want it.”

Now that music is her primary focus, O’Neill says her next goal is to start touring more frequently. She’s performed outside of Spokane before, but the next step, she says, is getting her music heard beyond the Pacific Northwest.

“Now that I don’t have the distraction of other stuff, I can be my own manager,” O’Neill said. “I can be my own person. You just have to start knocking down doors and you’ve got to think positive. I’m a firm believer that if you’re coming from a place of genuine belief in what you’re doing, it will happen.”