We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Vanya Thompson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Vanya below.

Alright, Vanya thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you wish you had waited to pursue your creative career or do you wish you had started sooner?

I didn’t start playing the keyboards until I was 45 years old, and I didn’t start playing the bass guitar until I was 52 years old. (I’m only 19 now, though! Just go with me on that)

I see so many talented kids, literally 9 year old’s, that are phenomenal players. I used to wish I had started playing as a young adult. I have to wonder how much better I would be now if I had started years ago. Then I had dinner with a 44 year old last week, who said he “wished he could play the guitar”. I told him why can’t you? It’s never too late to start. He went and bought a guitar.

I have come to realize that I have inspired many people along the way that it’s never too late to begin their creative journey. It doesn’t matter how old you are. It just takes desire, drive and diligence, oh and lots of practice. You have to really enjoy being by yourself because you will be spending a lot of time alone in “the woodshed”.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I began my musical career quite by accident. My ex-husband decided that I had “natural” ability, bought me a keyboard and told me to “learn to play it. You’re now the keyboard player in my band”. There was a gig that weekend, so as you can guess, I was no where near ready to play, but he put me on stage anyway. It forced me to buckle down and work, hard. So I did.

A few years later, I started a girl band. I couldn’t find a girl that could play bass, so I went and bought one. We already had gigs on the books, so I worked hard.

It just goes to show that if you put your mind to something you really want to do, you can do it. Now I am the keyboard player and bass guitar player in my band called Pink Paisleys. We are a popular band in Northeast Florida with a good following. I have a bunch of girls and only one poor guy. Suzie Farrell – drums: Torrey Kingry – guitar, flute, lead and background vocals. Torrey also wrote most of our original songs; Charlotte Parker – lead vocals; Frederick Hamrick – lead guitar/vocals; Carolyn Ward – guitar lead/background vocals; Azaly Pelegrin – lead vocals

I am proud of how far I’ve come in such a short time. I’m not afraid of hard work and I think anyone who pursues their own business in any field has to adopt that same attitude.

How did you build your audience on social media?

We have a Facebook page. That’s it. I KNOW I should have a website, Instagram account and all of the rest, but quite frankly, we have been so busy, I haven’t had time to do all of that. It’s definitely a good problem to have, but I do realize the value of incorporating as many social media sites as possible. It remains at the top of my to do list.

With our Facebook page(s) we have been able to build to nearly 3,000 followers in just a few years. I think one thing I have learned about promoting and marketing on Facebook is the time your post hits the news feed. You want to time it during the peak hours, when more people are checking their Facebook news feeds. I have found the best time is between 7p and 9p and lunch times between 11:30 and 1:30p If you post during non-peak hours, your post will appear way down the newsfeed and most likely will not be seen by very many people.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Pink Paisleys started with a bang. We had nearly 350 people show up at our very first show and my phone started ringing.

One of our very first shows was opening for a national band at a very well established venue here in Florida. Just eight days before the show, my guitar player took a job in another state and left. My singer decided she didn’t want to do the show without the guitar player so she quit.

Thankfully, we were able to find another singer and guitar player, both of who became one of the original members and were able to do the show. It was an epic night. One I will always remember.

Contact Info:

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PinkPaisleys?mibextid=zbWKwL
• Other: Pink Paisley Official Fan Page on Facebook