We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful King Howe. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with King below.
Hi King, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I spent most of my years treating violin as a hobby. It was something I loved to do but struggled to be disciplined about. When commending tertiary study in Australia, I began studying a double bachelors of medical science and music performance, with the intent of medicine being the career path, and music being the side project. It only took me a single semester to realise that I’d grossly misjudged my passions and gotten the two mixed up. I stuck with both for the full 4 years but – after concurrently working full time in the music industry – decided to pursue music at the graduate level. Despite having many, many fears about a career as a performer in such a tumultuous industry, and many dreams about post-grad medicine, I decided I would give myself 5 years to make my mark as a musician before attempting to do both simultaneously again. I’m now 2 years in and wouldn’t change it for the world.
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 am an Australian artist who moved to DFW to begin a masters of jazz studies at the University of North Texas. Despite having an amazing music scene, there isn’t a lot of jazz violin in Australia, so studying in the states has been truly life changing.
I began my training as a classical violinist, but made the switch to jazz when I was 18. My own music integrates both my jazz and classical background with production techniques (my favourite DAW is Ableton!) and lands within the realm of indie/experimental pop. All of my music is self-produced and includes many layers of violin and vocal harmonies, with my laptop (running Ableton) included on stage for live sets.
Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?
I think non-musicians often struggle to understand the sheer number of hours that musicians sink into their craft. Unlike many other fields, we never stop learning, and we are never really afforded the luxury of one day being ‘fully qualified’. This makes for a LOT of hours sunk into our craft, but also a lot of satisfaction when it all pulls together.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
It’s seeing my music connect and resonate with people. Having someone approach me after a gig and share that certain songs made them reminisce, certain lyrics reminded them of their parents, and certain violin lines made them cry. It’s really special being able to travel to the other side of the world and still have my music connect with strangers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://allyhockinghowe.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allyhockinghowe/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinghowemusic/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AllyHockingHowe/videos
- Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@allyhockinghowe
Image Credits
Liam moreland
D!FAcult
Harry Chalker
Meg Houghton