We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Dair recently and have shared our conversation below.

Lauren, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I think the most meaningful project I have worked on is the song I worked on with Linkin Park. Back in 2017, my song “Monster” won the Stagelight Monthly Music Competition with the grand prize being writing a song with Linkin Park. My win was announced and the next day Chester Bennington took his own life. There was such a wave of emotions that came in those 48 hours as both an artist and as a fan of Linkin Park. Chester was such a figure in the rock scene and his honesty and openness regarding mental health was so admirable.

A few months after his passing, Mike Shinoda and Brad Delson of Linkin Park reached out and said they still wanted to work on a song together. We wrote a song called “Every Little Light” which talks about the complexities of mental health and how to look for the light when you can only see darkness. This song is so meaningful to me and the feedback has been incredible! The number of people who have reached out to say that song has changed their life is so incredibly heartwarming. I’ve written many songs but this is probably the most important song I’ve ever released.

Lauren, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Lauren Dair and I am a singer/songwriter/actress/content creator based in Los Angeles, California. I was born and raised in Alaska before moving to LA as an actress. I got my start playing “Young Jess” on the hit FOX show New Girl. I spent years auditioning for various movies and TV shows while exploring my first love, music. I played in several bands and played venues all over LA including The Roxy and The Troubadour. After years of being in a band, I started diving deep into songwriting while exploring a solo careers. I have won several songwriting competitions including the Stagelight Monthly Music Competition and the West Coast Songwriters International Songwriting Competition. I am a huge mental health advocate and strive to create music that is relatable and vulnerable.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

I think a lot people view creative fields as a hobby rather than a job. It is hard to make money as an independent artist and even more when people say you should do something “for exposure”. You would never ask your hair dresser to cut your hair for free, so don’t ask your creative friends to create art for free!

There are also so many things you can do to support creatives. For musicians, stream their music, engage with their social media content, share their music with friends, go to live shows, and help promote their music where you can! For writers and artists, buy their books/art, share your favorite works, engage and promote their work on social media.

Lastly, remind them that are talented! There is so much imposter syndrome in the entertainment field, so remind your creative friends and loved ones that their work is valid and good!

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

I think that one of the biggest things for non-creatives to understand is that inspiration is not constant. It comes and goes in waves. There are days where a song will pour out of me in 1o minutes and other days where I stare at a blank page for hours. It can be incredibly frustrating when you can’t find the right words or chords and everything comes out wrong. Which, as I mentioned before, leads to a great amount of imposter syndrome. I would LOVE if creativity was an on/off switch that could be controlled, but unfortunately that isn’t how it works. For those working with creatives, give them some patience and encouragement. It can be hard to consistently put out work, especially if the creativity isn’t flowing.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.laurendair.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/laurendair
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/laurendair
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/laurendairmusic
• Youtube: www.YouTube.com/laurendairmusic
• Other: www.tiktok.com/@laurendair