We recently connected with Klarissa Grissom and have shared our conversation below.

Klarissa, 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.

Learning the craft

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?

By profession I am a speech language pathologist and creative. My creative endeavors have led me to songwriting, singing, and acting. Growing up I performed theater at The St. Louis Municipal Theatre Association (the Muny), the largest outdoor professional theater in the U.S. beginning at age 8. I spent the next 9 summers performing at the Muny in front of crowds of some 12,500 people. Between theater and church music, this is where my music journey began.

In recent years I have had the opportunity to sing the National Anthem at Globe Life Field, have appeared in national commercials, and sing regularly at events in Dallas and elsewhere. I also am a songwriter and recently released two singles, “Thin Line” and “Does Anybody Care”, which are on Spotify and Apple Music. As a songwriter, I draw inspiration from r&b and soul rhythms and melodies, and the lyrics I write are meant to inspire. Growing up listening to gospel, jazz, and r&b music, I recall the songs and artists that changed my life. My goal as a songwriter has been to write music that does the same for others. I want to write music that helps people feel seen, heard, and known.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

When I started on this journey I truly thought that there was a “right” way to be successful as a creative which involved perfectionism. I have had to unlearn the lie of perfectionism and realize that the desire to be perfect ruins the ability to create art. As a teenager I ventured to NYC for the first time and returned full of inspiration. From that moment, a spark continued to flourish that pushed me to grow creatively. My eyes were opened to avenues for creatives. At that time my perspective was that a creative took the following steps: they went to school, they studied under a mentor, and then pursued a full time living performing or teaching at a performing arts school. This viewpoint of creativity reflected the world that I had been exposed to at this point. I also held the perspective that inherently creatives must practice to be perfect. As a student studying in a conservatory, I internalized this view and the practice rooms became my solace. I spent late nights and early mornings there and learned discipline and intrinsic motivation. I would practice until I could not make a mistake.

This method worked for years when performing musical theater and opera. However, when I began branching into original music, suddenly there was no “right” way to express my thoughts. Yes, there are tools that songwriters use to clearly express thoughts, but there was not always a perfect lyric. In recent years, I am unlearning the concept of perfect to allow myself to have freedom to express myself when I write lyrics. The key to authenticity is allowing your songwriting to be imperfect.

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 am a creative but I am also a speech language pathologist (SLP). This has allowed me to see two sides of careers, which I enjoy. Health care and business careers can often have a more defined trajectory. For instance, as an SLP you are required to obtain a Master’s degree in Speech Language Pathology, complete a clinical fellowship, and then obtain certification. The path as a creative is less clear. There is not a singular path to success as a creative and oftentimes the same steps can lead to drastically different outcomes. You can attend a top school for music and struggle to find work in the industry, and some people find work in the industry straight out of high school. It is a world where you have to pave your path. That certainly makes it exciting, but that also means you really never know where you can end up. However, I can say that a lot of people in many industries end up a different place than where they began. As a creative you also may have an irregular schedule. You may have a fully booked month and then have a few slower months. You certainly have to learn to plan ahead for the possible fluctuations in work.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/klarissaofficial/?hl=en
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3omZcDd9p0o8QrxARhVqDt Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/klarissa/1677009926