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

Kirsten, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful projects I worked on was very recently. I was gearing up to release a new song and video and it had been a while since my last release, so I wanted it to feel like a big moment—like the start of a new era. So, in an effort to build that buzz, my manager and I planned a release party. Two days after the song came out, we invited all of our friends to a small photography studio in Los Angeles to celebrate the release.

This was special to me for many reasons, the first being that it was my first proper LA show ever! And it was also my first show in general in a while. I performed a full set of eight songs, and I actually felt that while it was definitely not perfect, I felt I had grown a lot since my last performance in terms of nerves and the way I carry myself. And for my first LA show, I was pretty thrilled with the draw and all of the cool people who made the effort to come out.

Secondly, the event itself was fun, and we did it all ourselves! Yes, ultimately the goal was just to have me perform a full set, but I derive pleasure from giving my friends fun, memorable things to do. So, in addition to that, we also had a full table of merch that we designed, a temporary tattoo station, a photo booth moment, and we premiered my music video using a projector so I got to watch the video with everyone in person which was terrifying but also an incredible experience that artists so rarely get.

And finally, on that note, the video itself was very special to me because my mom filmed it in my LA apartment and I edited it, so it was truly a family effort. My mom is a visual artist, so we used one of her drawings as the single artwork. Giving my mom a platform for her work and having it reach a whole new audience that wasn’t previously familiar with it… I could see how happy it made my mom which essentially gave me a new lease on life, ha. I also edited the video myself which I was a bit apprehensive about considering I haven’t edited in a while, but it turned out to be so fulfilling proving to myself that I’m still capable.

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

I am a singer/songwriter/producer currently based in Los Angeles. I was born and raised in New Jersey and New York, which is partly responsible for how I got into music at such a young age. My dad taught me the guitar chords for Pink Floyd’s song, “Vera,” and then I used those chords to teach myself a Taylor Swift song because I was obsessed with her (and still am today!).

When I entered teenhood, I was lucky to spend my entire high school career focusing on music as I attended a fine and performing arts program for music and technology. Through this program I was surrounded by fellow musicians and producers, as well as dancers and actors. There were so many great New Jersey music venues that I frequented with my friends during that time—Asbury Lanes, The Stone Pony, Starland Ballroom. During that time I couldn’t be more obsessed with acts like My Chemical Romance and Taking Back Sunday, but then also indie and pop artists like Britney Spears. When I wasn’t at school, I was making tons of music in the basement of my childhood home. I’d just go down there alone and scream my head off, not thinking about “being successful” at all. I just made music for class projects and also for fun. I was very prolific because I never thought about it, it was just what I did.

Today, I spend my days trying to preserve that mindset. Everything I know I’ve learned by ear, so I try not to overthink things. When I’m writing or producing, my goal is never to make something I think others will like. I’m actually quite selfish—I stick to what feels good to me, even if it may not be the most traditional or “correct.” And that’s why sometimes when you hear some of my music, you may feel that way as well. I’m don’t want to make a song that is good by pop standards—I’m trying to get better at writing lyrics and telling stories while still staying true to my ear.

I make songs and I tell stories from my perspective. All I want is for people to feel something when they listen to my music. My goal is for people to listen to a song and then think to themselves, “I feel this exact same way, I just never knew how to put it into words.” When we’re listening to music, whether we’re aware of it or not, we’re searching for ways we can personally relate to it. To listen to music is to experience your own life, to marinate in it, process it, and hopefully, feel less alone knowing that someone experienced something similar enough to put it into words. It would be an honor to be on the other end of that.

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

If you want to support an independent artist, buy their merch. They pour so much energy into designing the merch, and then so much money into getting the merch made. Seriously, no one talks about how expensive it is to print t-shirts. Even printing some good-sized stickers can make a dent in an artist’s bank account. Help them break even, or maybe even make a little extra dough that can be put toward studio time so that the artists can actually continue creating. When you’re doing this all by yourself, marketing and promotion can take up so much energy to the point where the artist can feel less like a creative and more like a professional marketer. Then they get to the point where they can’t afford a professional mix or master, which defeats the whole purpose.

If you don’t have the means to buy merch, show up to your favorite indie artists’ shows. Getting people in the room is a major help. If you are able to carve some time out of your day to physically show up and support that way, efforts like that never go unnoticed. In addition to that, stream their music! A lot of industry folks won’t even look at artists until they reach a certain number of streams on platforms like Spotify, so actually listen to the music (over and over and over again, please!).

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

Building your social media presence is a daunting task. Again, it’s something that can make someone feel more like a professional marketer and less like an artist. Frankly, creating content for socials and writing songs are two entirely different jobs. It takes a whole different mind set and skill set to do these things, and they both equally take a hell of a lot of time.

I’m still in the early stages of building my social media presence myself, but as an early adapter of YouTube and now as someone who has spent the last few months experimenting with other platforms, one thing I’ll say is work smarter, not harder. Try not to film and edit everything right before you post it. Instead, if you can, take a day to plan and batch content—it’s a lot of work upfront, but then it won’t be taking up so much mental space through the rest of the week. Just because it was more challenging to make doesn’t mean everyone’s going to see that and it will perform better. In fact, my highest performing videos are the ones that took less effort. So don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s social media, it doesn’t have to be perfect.

Building on that point—give yourself breaks. Just because you have to post more to build your following doesn’t mean you have to be on social media all the time. Your followers take breaks, too. Maybe that means you batch content on Saturdays, and then put your phone on Do Not Disturb on Sundays. No one’s watching to make sure you don’t burn out, so you have to take care of yourself.

Lastly, social media can feel like a bummer. You can put a lot of work into a post just to have it flop… You can wake up with super nasty vulnerability hangovers… You get the idea. And I feel that way sometimes, too. However, it’s all about perspective. It wasn’t long ago that artists didn’t have the power to put themselves out there on their own. They relied fully on industry gatekeepers just to get their name out there. So, it’s pretty cool that we have that power now. I’ve connected with so many wonderful strangers that I would have never met if it weren’t for the internet. So on the days when you’re feeling hopeless, remind yourself of that.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kirstenizer.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thekirstenizer
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Kirstenizer
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirsten-spruch-b14640107/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaYf91wJH4LsvERQ5VLqApQ

Image Credits
Amanda Verdadero