We recently connected with Amanda Black From Kissflame and have shared our conversation below.
Amanda Black, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happy as a creative professional? Do you sometimes wonder what it would be like to work for someone else?
This is a great question, and it’s not a yes or a no. Being an artist feels a bit like being on a rollercoaster. Like anything else, there are highs and lows, you could get stuck hanging upside down, and all the blood is rushing to your head, and you think omg I might actually fall out of this thing. Other times it feels like that first big drop. It’s scary, exciting, and unexpected. And yet you still line up to get on the ride every single day.
I discovered early on that music, and writing was a gateway to another emotional dimension. Something that resonated mentally and physically. I fell in love with that feeling. I realized I could channel my hard emotions through singing, to the point of feeling relief. When I first felt that feeling it was not, “hey I could make some money off this.” It was like holy crap, you mean invisible sound waves in the air, can actually bring you physical relief and happiness? At this stage of my life I have a “regular job” to pay for the music. Producing music is expensive, especially if you’re operating as an independent artist. I’m sort of done putting pressure on my art to make me tons of money. Although, I wouldn’t be mad about it if it did, its not why I started this.
I am a creative, because it is so intricately woven into the fabric of my existence. To me and my life, there is no other way I can be, regardless of the money, recognition or perceived success.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hi! My name is Amanda Black and I’m the lead singer of the band Kissflame. My love for singing and music began in a small midwest church. I was always in choir in church, and in school but I was always afraid of singing alone. By my senior year I finally said screw it and auditioned for the musical. I ended up landing the step sister role in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella which is honestly the perfect role for me. I started to realize I might actually be kinda good at singing. I started posting parody songs to youtube which will forever stay under lock and key, haha! I ended up studying musical theatre in college, but quickly learned that I was not cut out to be a dancer. At the same time, I had just joined a local, up and coming band that was looking to start touring. So I dropped out of school, and went on the road. We played a ton of shows, and were building momentum really fast. This is where a lot of my confidence grew as a singer and performer as we were winning Battle of the Bands competitions left and right and shared stages with the likes of bands like Switchfoot, and Flyleaf. Unfortunately, that band ended up breaking up on the road, and I thought my glory days were behind me. I didn’t do music for a long time after that, other than singing covers in my bedroom, until I moved to Seattle. A few years in I met my writing partner, and musical soul-mate, Aris Coover. I fell in love with their style of writing and playing, and we dove into writing original music together. Our songs started out so random, just writing anything we thought would be a cool concept, not really caring about structure, and to be honest we didn’t even really know what we were doing. 5 years later, we’re still at it, except now we’re in Los Angeles, and hell we still don’t know what we’re doing. What I love about our project is we just go with it, we go with what we like, and what resonates with us. We’re literally just two people who became best friends because of music, and now we’re forever connected through it. It really does take a very special connection to be able to sustain a music project, and for this long. We’re each others biggest fans when it comes to our creativity, we hold each other accountable in healing and creativity. It’s very special to have someone like that in your life.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
Just show up, be present, be a part of the community. Come out to the local shows, wear the merch, comment on the post, engage with the artist. If you like what they’re putting out, or a certain song or lyric resonated with you, let them know. Ask any independent artist, we’re happy just to gain one true fan. It means so much as an artist, and even just a human to feel seen or recognized for something you’ve been working on for sometimes years. It’s that feeling when you’re 5 and you bring home that artwork you did in class to your mom, and she’s actually really impressed. Yes, we are creating this music for our own selves, and to be a channel for our pain, but we’d all be lying if we said we didn’t also want others to hear it, and resonate with it. Even if you can’t make it out, or don’t have extra money to spend, streaming and sharing music is free, engagement online is free, telling an artist that riff got stuck in your head for days is free. It really keeps that spark burning for a lot of us, when we’re out here hitting roadblocks or feeling down and out.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Anytime I give advice for this, I start by telling the person to get on tik tok or instagram reels and scroll through for at least 10-15 minutes. Notice what gives you a reaction, notice what makes you stop and watch. A lot of artists are out there just telling people to stream their song, well if they’ve never seen you before, they’re most likely gonna just scroll right past you. You have to figure out ways to tell people to stream your song without telling them. The best method is to do what resonates with you, and do not be afraid to borrow and repurpose other people’s ideas. No idea is completely original anyway. For example, our band, we are pretty edgy, but also very silly in real life. I wanted to find a way to show people that side of us. I like videos that make me laugh. So in order to get people to listen to my music, or watch my videos, I try to make them laugh. Usually you have to add some sort of value, and making someone smile is adding value. Maybe you have a lot of music theory knowledge and you can teach people how to play an easy guitar riff. Maybe you have a really fun tip on how to write amazing lyrics. Add value, somehow, but make it true to you. Don’t make every post a salesy “listen to my music, out now” post. Learn to have fun with social media, and make it your advocate. Learn to throw noodles at the wall, and see if they stick. Not every post will be a smash, and thats perfectly okay. No one cares. Another thing that works is just jumping on ideas as soon as you can. Don’t let it fester or wander away. Most of the time, the videos that have done the best for us are so random and in the moment. It’s almost like the less you care, or think about it, the better it does. And lastly, if you need a break, take one! Social media is an amazing tool, but it’s also a giant void that can lead to overwhelm, and comparison. If you notice yourself feeling burnt out, take a week off so that your well can be re-filled. It’s all good, nothing will happen. You cant make good stuff if you aren’t feeling good.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiss.flame/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChEE37T7lCtIhZdjos5XjTg
- Other: Tik tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kissflame
Image Credits
Megan King & DoubleWide @missmeganking @doublewide00 on insta