We were lucky to catch up with Jessie Lark recently and have shared our conversation below.

Jessie, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned how to play music and perform mostly by putting in hundreds of hours since I was young. As a child, my Mom signed me up for quite a few local performances where I learned how to deal with stage fright. When I was a teenager, I started to write my own songs, and then as an adult, further honed my craft through songwriting books and associations like NSAI (Nashville Songwriters Association International). Knowing what I know now, I could have learned these skills earlier and faster had I embraced new connections in the industry. I’ve always been a bit shy in social circles.

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

My first songs were bubble-gum country/pop, and I had a blast playing at every mall in San Diego. In the past few years, I have taken my music in a different direction and now write pop-rock / indie music addressing heartbreak, identity issues, therapy, and healing. I’ve probably taken a little longer than most people to become self-aware and instead of being embarrassed about it, I’m leaning into it and surprising myself with how vulnerable I can be on stage. My goal after each performance is to make people in the audience feel comfortable coming up to me to share their personal trials and tribulations. I really enjoy connecting with my audiences on deep levels, and I think that it makes everyone feel less alone and more a part of a community. I have a 5 song acoustic EP out called “After Hours,” and I am currently recording a new album with local producer Jeff Berkley. My husband, Kevin Viner, is a large part of my music now. He writes, engineers, produces, and plays with me in our current band. We hired session musicians to play on the new record, and they did an incredible job. I cannot wait to share these new songs!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Recently I started making some YouTube videos where I talk about music. I am used to singing and playing music, I am not good at just talking. Even introducing the next song at a performance has always been hard for me. These talking videos were an exercise to try and grow my YouTube channel and also challenge myself in hopes that I would become a better speaker. The first video I made was about Billie Eilish’s interview on David Letterman’s show “My Next Guest.” Toward the end of filming, I glanced in the monitor and realized that my entire chest, neck and shoulders were covered in bright red hives. I was horrified. Confused, I stopped the camera and turned on the A/C. Now on my second attempt, as soon as I hit record, the hives came rushing back. I was having a full blown reaction because I was nervous trying this new thing. Now I was mad. Mad at myself for being so disconnected from my body and mad that I was seemingly unable to do what I wanted to do. So I made a deal with myself — I’ll try to film it one more time, and if the hives come back, I will put on a turtleneck. On my third try, the hives stayed away and the turtleneck stayed in my closet. So the good news to all the artists out there is that you CAN persevere and overcome your problems.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Music artists currently cannot support themselves on streaming services. Most people don’t realize that a song with 1 million streams (which would be HUGE for an independent artist) would only generate about $2300 in income. If you really like an artist, the best way to support them is via direct purchases on a site like Bandcamp, or through supporting them with merch purchases or subscriptions like Patreon.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.jessielark.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessielarkmusic
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jessielarkmusic
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jessielarkmusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/jessielarkmusic

Image Credits
Photo Credits: Emilio Azevedo, Alan Hess, Tristan Fauk-Webster, Ari Lerner