We were lucky to catch up with Marrialle Sellars recently and have shared our conversation below.
Marrialle, appreciate you joining us today. Risking taking is a huge part of most people’s story but too often society overlooks those risks and only focuses on where you are today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – it could be a big risk or a small one – but walk us through the backstory.
So Taking The chance to start a career in music is a scary thing, especially when you don’t know exactly how to start. The only thing you really can do is start singing, and I hope that someone hears you and gives you a chance. I started busing In downtown Indianapolis, when I was 15 years old then as soon as high school ended, I started doing it full-time. I was down there three or four days out of the week and it was just me and Guitar and an open case. A few people saw me and gave me a chance to sing at different venues around Indy. I started meeting people and meeting those people open my eyes to bigger venues to more opportunities. One reason why it was such a risk for me was that I knew I wanted Music to be my career, I was scared that no one would listen to the songs that I’d sing, but without taking that risk, I would’ve never known that people really want to listen and want to know as a person and as an artist. So I’m glad I took that risk. I’m glad that I kept going downtown every day to sing and to get out there!
Marrialle, 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?
My name is Marrialle Sellars, I started singing when I was very young and I turned it into a full-time profession when I turned 17. I worked really hard on my own before then I would go downtown to bus and to make money on my own and then when I got to my senior year of high school I was on a TV show called American Idol. I auditioned for season 13 and got to the top 20. After that, I left the show and started singing full-time. A few people had known my name and seen me On television and it opened a lot of doors for me work wise. I started singing at different venues across the country. I got to perform in Florida and Texas, but I was always Singing in Indiana at restaurants and bars full-time. I had a band for a while so we would go to different venues to play as well and the genre of music that I play has turned into so much variety that it’s hard to put it into a box. So I would tell people that I am a variety artist so my box just gets a little bigger.
Can you open up about how you funded your business?
So strictly surviving off of Tips is a hard situation. I’m not saying it can’t be done because that’s what I had to do. So whenever I would go to a show, whatever the check was, that’s what I used for my living expenses, But all of the tips that I made went back into my music. I would save for a better guitar than when the shows got bigger. I would put more money away for a better microphone then I would have multiple shows in a week and those tips would go towards a better speaker system. It took a number of years to get into a good groove, but that’s what I did. Once you understand what you need, you make a list and that list is to tell you you have to get certain things before you can spend it on random stuff so it was a guitar, a microphone, then a speaker Then it’s business cards, Then it’s better outfits. And once you start putting that money away for the things that you need, you’ll have extra money for things that you want because you’ll have the room to do it.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I remember all those days that I didn’t have A show. I remember all the times when I wasn’t working for a paycheck and it was just me on the circle of downtown Indianapolis with an open guitar case, a snapback And my phone. I remember it was raining and I knew that I couldn’t play my guitar out in the pouring rain but instead of turning around and heading back to my car, I had paid parking for. I found a new spot next to the mall where it was semi covered and I kept playing, there were still people walking by going to work heading to lunch and a few people stopped they would say “wow you’re so good! Shame you’re playing in the rain.” Then toss me a few bucks I’d say “thank you! I don’t mind it” And to be honest, I didn’t mind it. Maybe that’s because I just wanted someone to hear me. But it made me a stronger person because I didn’t turn tail and run because of a little rain.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theemarrialle?igsh=MXJqanVpYXcxZnFjZA%3D%3D&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theemarrialle/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@marriallesellars
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/theemarrialle
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/live/W_if3aMa_wo?feature=share
