Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Coco Groves. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Coco, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

Funny enough, I actually went to school for musical theater and it wasn’t until many years later I decided to move to Nashville and be in a band. Growing up I knew I wanted to be on stage in some capacity and that my favorite thing to do was sing. At the time I also had been in competition dance since I was in elementary school and done every school play so Musical theater seemed like the obvious answer.
Although there are a lot of things I would have done a little differently if I would have known I was going to be a bandleader (such as learn an instrument more proficiently) I learned a lot of valuable things that I think a lot of people miss out on when learning only music.
The biggest thing you learn in musical theater is to communicate. You need to communicate with your scene partner, communicate with the audience, and communicate what the overall feeling of any given moment is. That is by far the most useful thing I’ve ever learned.

Being able to convey emotion while singing is so important from an audience standpoint. There are millions of musicians but the ones we remember most are the ones that make us feel something. I think a lot of that can be contributed to stage presence and knowing what you’re singing about. Two things they drill into you when going to school for musical theater.

I do realize now that I didn’t need that degree but I’m still really glad I went to school and learned the techniques I did because I don’t think I’d be the same performer otherwise. The key to any great art is to connect with others.

Coco, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I actually started my career by getting a BFA in Musical Theatre from UW- Stevens Point. Not exactly what I’m doing now haha I didn’t actually move to Nashville to pursue my singing career until the beginning of 2020 after living as a nomad for over 4 years. Originally, I’m from Minnesota, but I’ve had the opportunity to perform all over the United States thanks to a group I used to work with called Letters From Home. We would go on the road and performed for veterans, active military, and their families. It was a really rewarding job and I definitely miss it sometimes. Otherwise, I’ve performed in more than 10 countries as a production vocalist with Oceania Cruise Lines, and before I moved here I was in a lot of theatrical productions throughout the United States. Now, I play on Broadway three days a week with my band “Coco & The Nash” at JBJs in Nashville, or we can be found on the road throughout the United States at music festivals, corporate events, weddings, and more! I’m hoping to release some originals this year as well, so that’s exciting and nerve wracking.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I think a lot of people in “normal” careers don’t really realize how much work goes into being an artist/ working in a creative field. They see the end product and a price tag and to them it sometimes seems outrageous but what they don’t see is the hours of work that goes in before they get to see anything. The best example I personally can give is being a musician because that’s what I am.

As the bandleader it’s my job to not only get the band ready to perform but to do the scheduling, booking, setlists, handle the money, book the travel, write original music, go to the studio to record, write lyrics, and do all of the marketing. At a normal job you would have multiple people filling those roles but because we don’t get paid for anything outside of live performance yet, I do all of it myself.
Most of us HAVE to do it ourselves because outside of people wanting to sponsor us or donate money it’s almost impossible to raise that money to hire another person. I’ve personally found that people in creative fields typically have to work a lot harder to be “successful” in their careers even though most of the time it’s perceived as the opposite.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

I think my goal would be to just let people know they’re not alone. As someone who has OCD, PTSD, and ADHD I know how daunting the world can feel sometimes but it does get better. To be able to change even one persons life for the better would be incredible. I would love to one day help end the stigma surrounding mental health conversations and, if I do ever make money, I’d love to be able to find a way to put it towards both that goal and helping our veterans.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.cocoandthenash.com
• Instagram: @theadventuresofcocogroves

Image Credits

@livvyphoto