We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Nikki Stringfield a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Nikki, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Most people know me simply as a guitarist. I’ve played in many incredible bands as both rhythm and lead, but I’ve never been able to contribute as an artist to these bands. I’ve been playing with The Iron Maidens (female tribute to Iron Maiden) and other originals for a while now, but I haven’t been able to really share myself musically with the world. I finally decided to find my voice (literally, as a vocalist as well) and I’ve been dedicating myself to releasing my first full length album, “Apocrypha,” this September. I wrote, recorded, and produced all songs with my husband and I finally have an album that I’m very proud of. I have an album release show as well and it will be my first time ever being a front woman, commanding the stage with a guitar and my voice. This is something I’ve always dreamed of and I’m so thrilled to finally be sharing my music with the world. Anything is possible if you work hard enough and believe in yourself.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I always wanted to be a musician, but there wasn’t much to do in my small town of Red Oak, Texas which is about 45 minutes south of Dallas. I decided to go to the University of Texas in Austin to major in Radio/TV/Film with a minor in Business, which was the closest thing to the industry as I could get there .I was always the shy, honor roll student who wore all black and band t-shirts. I had been playing guitar since I was 14, and had yet to actually step foot on a stage. I thought moving to the “live music capital of the world” would finally make that happen, but I still had nobody to jam with. I kept practicing and got an internship in Los Angeles at Warner Brothers Music in the digital distribution department, and that’s the moment my whole world changed. I moved half way across the country to a major city where I knew nobody, and I had to learn quickly how to overcome my shyness and make a name for myself. I went to the NAMM show every single day when I was there and networked as much as possible, meeting so many musicians and companies. I got my endorsement with Schecter Guitars, who I’d been playing since the start and shortly after that I joined an original band and The Iron Maidens (all female tribute to Iron Maiden.) I’ve been playing with the Maidens ever since and I’ve been able to tour the world and play for some of the most incredible crowds. I also now play for an original rock band with my husband called Heaven Below, and we also play acoustically when we’re both home from the road. I’ve recently been able to focus on my own solo music where I sing as well, and that to me is the biggest reward.. getting to share my music with the world. There’s truly nothing like it. I’ll be releasing my debut full length album called “Apocrypha” in September, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I think the most rewarding aspect of being a musician is getting to connect with people in different ways than you normally would. To me, music transcends all barriers.. it can be in an unknown language and still make you feel something. Getting to see a smile on people’s faces when they hear you playing their favorite song or when they tell you how a certain song made them feel.. nothing compares to that for me. Getting to play music and tour around the world has given me the opportunity to meet so many people that I never would have and I’m so grateful to have that opportunity.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I actually started posting YouTube videos around the time it first started.. there wasn’t a huge amount of musicians there yet so I feel like I was one of the early starters. Some of those people from YouTube still follow me to this day. How awesome is that? I was just a 17 year old playing guitar covers in my room at that time. Social media is always evolving, and I’ll admit that it’s been hard for me to keep up with it in the past few years. I’ve always tried to have a personal page and an artist page on Facebook so I can separate the two as much as possible. I try to post consistent and good quality content in addition to engaging with followers. I feel like communication and making connections with people are key.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nikki-stringfield.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nikki_stringfield/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/xNikki.Stringfieldx/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nikki_shreds
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/nikkistringfield
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3Akc6n4EOh6Zq9ppbtvBDa
- Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/nikki-stringfield/1236448884
Image Credits
Jack Lue Adam Hendershott Michael Eskanazi Jon Glittenberg