We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Paula Boggs a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Paula, thanks for joining us today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

Still too many in the music industry automatically label a music act with an African American lead as “R&B,” “hip hop,” “soul,” “blues” or “jazz.” Though there has been good progress over the past few years, we still sometimes get met with blank stares when we call our music “Americana,” “roots music,” “bluegrass jazz” or “Soulgrass.”

Additionally, we are generationally diverse, with band members ranging in age from 29 to 68. Sometimes it’s hard to convince tastemakers we’re the real deal because most of us are not in our 20s or 30s. Each of our albums is better than the last and our next one will be better yet.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’ve had three major adult life chapters. In the current chapter I’m front woman for 6-piece “Seattle-Brewed Soulgrass” Paula Boggs Band. We’ve been making music and touring over 15 years and I’m writing music currently for a fifth studio album we’ll record in 2024. I also do a lot of public speaking across America and beyond because audiences are fascinated by my transition from earlier chapters. For almost thirty years I was a lawyer and businesswoman working for two iconic Fortune 500 companies, Dell Technologies and Starbucks Corporation, where for 10 years I was that company’s top lawyer. Before that I was an Army officer who worked in the Pentagon and White House. I’’m also writing a memoir currently titled, “Stereoscope: A Meditation on Race in America.”

Fans are drawn to our music for three main reasons. First, we are storytellers. With us music lyrics matter and fans dig what we have to say. We are also very fine musicians. Several members of our band are music conservatory trained. We are tight and audiences know it. We are also fun. Audiences sense we like each other. Most who come to see us feel better than when they walked in the room.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I started playing guitar and writing music at age 10. Throughout my teens and twenties I did both until I stopped. Why? Because mostly I was consumed by the press of being the best soldier and lawyer I could be in increasingly time and emotionally demanding jobs. Around this time I also left the Catholic Church, which had been a vehicle for me to perform folk music on a regular basis. By my early thirties I’d stopped playing music and that was my story for about 15 years. Music creation and performance became something I used to do. But life can be strange and is rarely a straight line. A couple years after becoming Starbucks top lawyer my sister in law died in a car crash and as I grieved my spouse encouraged me to pick up my guitar. Around the same time my spouse urged me to audition for a 1 year songwriting certificate program offered by University of Washington. It took some convincing because my Starbucks job was very demanding. But I auditioned, was accepted and for an entire year was part of a songwriting community for the first time. At the end of that year we had a recital and when the evening ended, one of my teachers pulled me aside and said, “Paula I think you really have something as a songwriter and what a shame it would be if you didn’t keep going.” When she said that, in 2006, I had no idea what “keep going” could mean for someone like me but by January 2008 Paula Boggs Band was playing its first gig.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

As an artist, the most rewarding aspect is when my music connects deeply with an audience or within the band itself. We had a show recently and afterwards one of our band members took to social media to share how much being part of the band and show meant to him. I was incredibly moved. We perform, or at least I do to connect. Money measures how well we’re doing and it helps pay bills. Most artists I know though are not in it “for the money” — including my spouse, a fine artist. I would have remained a lawyer if it was mostly about making money.

Contact Info:

• Website: PaulaBoggsBand.net
• Instagram: Instagram.com/paulaboggsband
• Facebook: Facebook.com/thepaulaboggsband
• Linkedin: Linkedin.com/in/PaulaBoggs
• Twitter: Twitter.com/paulaboggsband
• Youtube: YouTube.com/plutorevenge
• Other: TikTok: TikTok.com/seattlebrewedsoulgrass

Image Credits
Tom Reese Niffer Calderwood